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[RC] saddle slipping forward/backward - k s swigart

Truman said:


Lawton found someone with a crupper and put a breast
collar on the front and the crupper on the back and
no girth. We hoisted him up and he did the last 11 miles
(mostly walking) without a girth. Actually I think if the
truth be known Lawton got off and walked most of the last
loop leading his horse since he came in leading it. That
is not an urban legend - it happened.


A couple of years ago while drag riding day two of the Bar H ride, my horse 
showed a girth gall at the last vet check(from the piece of tack that I had put 
on to keep the girth from galling no less, but that is a different story).

So I took the girth off and rode the last fifteen miles without any girth at 
all...and since it was late in the day and the last riders were up against the 
cut off, and the footing was nice, and it had finally cooled down, we didn't do 
much walking at all.  And while the trail did not include the "hills of 
significance" it wasn't flat either.  Oh yeah, and we didn't have a breast 
collar or a crupper either.  This is not an urban legend either â?? I was there.

One of the reasons I bought this particular saddle for this particular horse 
was that I was pretty sure it wasn't going to go anywhere even if it weren't 
tied in place, because before I bought it, I borrowed the same saddle from a 
friend to test drive it.  But since my friend had a 1000 pound horse and I have 
a 600 pound pony, the girth that I borrowed with the saddle couldn't be made 
short enough for her, but I had promised to bring the saddle back the next day 
and I wanted to try it, so I just put it on her and rode with a girth that had 
a whole hand's width of daylight underneath her belly and figured not tying it 
in place would give me some good information about how it fit.

Off we went to ride to Coal Canyon and back (flattest part of the terrain was a 
13% grade), including doing the "test hill" canter of 2 miles w 1000 ft of 
elevation gain, and the saddle didn't go anywhere.  I returned the borrowed 
saddle the next day and ordered the same model for myself.  

One of the ways that I test saddle fit is to not tie it in place and see where 
(if anywhere) it goes. _I_ consider the GIRTH to be the "just in case" 
emergency piece of equipment to hold the saddle stable in case the horse makes 
a sudden move or the terrain gets really precarious.  Otherwise, it is just 
window dressing :).  I suppose I could spend my money on a breast collar and a 
crupper (although I would be more inclined toward breeching) as well, but have 
never seen the point. :)

kat
Orange County, Calif.

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