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Saddle Your Horse Step-by-Step

By Katherine Blocksdorf, About.com

6 of 7

Do Up the Girth Buckles or Cinch Straps

Do up the cinch straps or girth buckles

Do the cinch or girth up gradually.

2005 K. Blocksdorf
Either buckle the girth or tie the cinch up loosely. Tighten the girth or cinch gently in small increments. It’s common to girth a horse up suddenly and tightly, causing the horse to kick or bite. This can cause the horse to resent being girthed up and become ‘girthy’. Some horses may bloat themselves in anticipation of discomfort. Ask the horse to step forward, wait a moment for it to exhale and tighten the girth gently again.

Only tighten the girth enough to hold the saddle firmly in place. Some riders feel the tighter the girth the more secure they will be. There should be no need to make link sausage out of your horse by over tightening the girth—this can lead to injury and may compromise your horse’s breathing. You should be able to slide your fingers between the girth or cinch and your horse.

If there are tabs at the front of your saddle pad, loop them through the D-rings at the front of the saddle and tie or fasten them.

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