Which Girth For Which Horse?

Nowadays, you are quickly overwhelmed with various girth offerings.

Leather girths, girths with lambskin, neoprene, cord strap? Narrow, anatomical, straight or wide contact surface? Side elastic - Yes or no? And if so, then one or two?

The Right Girth For Your Horse

To be honest, I am very grateful that there are many possibilities. It is important to find the right girth for your horse. However we are not talking about the correct girth length, which is quickly found.

The feel-good girth must be found. The one with whom your horse breathes relaxed when under saddle, the shoulder can move freely and the saddle also finds suitable support.

Develop a Feeling For Horses

I grew up in a sport horse training facility. There were horses of all ages and training stages. “The high school for show jumping horses” as my mother likes to call it. Since my father trained with Herbert Rehbein and at that time the training path of a dressage horse took longer than that of a jumping horse, he decided to focus on show jumpers.

The dressage work and training and the incredible feeling for horses made working with the horses so special.

The Right Girth is Determined By The Occasion

At the time, a girth was often made of leather or cotton. Just these cord straps that you still know today and with which Ingrid Clime still rides daily in dressage.

For jumping and also in versatility, Ingrid then uses various tunnels or jumping girths. So it is important not only to find the feel-good girth, but also always the girth appropriate to the sporting task.

Self-Protection When Riding?

I have been meticulously watching this since I once rode with a cleat girth with a wide loop. The horse got stuck with the horse shoe in the saddle girth when bending the front legs and we landed upside down in the sand.

The shock was great and taught me to pay meticulous attention to the right cleat girth and the corresponding strapping as well as to the jumping manner of the horse in the future. So the movement sequence of the horse always plays an important role! Also in dressage, there are horses that are very sensitive to saddle straps that interfere with the elbow.

Summary: When choosing a girth what do I have to pay attention to?

• Which girth material is the best for me/my horse?

• What fit should the girth have?

• What do I want to ride with my horse: distance, dressage, jumping…?

• Which anatomical or health points are important for my horse?

• What is the movement sequence of my horse?