I think we’ve all had times when we’ve reached down to check our girth and found there was a bit of air between it and our horse’s belly. Certainly when I foxhunt I’m extra careful to make sure that my saddle (and I) will stay with my horse and I think if I were going to jump a fence of this size I’d be double checking that girth too! When I was first learning to ride I can remember riding with a trainer who had us ride without a girth (it’s such an appalling concept to put a kid on a horse without a girth that I only know it’s true because my mother remembers it). His feeling was it taught you to stay balanced in the saddle. Do any of you have any girth(less) disasters?
I don’t remember much about it, but several years ago, a trainer asked me to test ride a pony that someone else was interested in purchasing. The future-owner tacked up and warmed up the mare, then dismounted and held the right stirrup as I mounted from the ground. To my shame, I never checked the girth. I proceed to start trotting, cantering and jumping. Going through one turn, I shifted and the saddle shifted with me. I have a brief memory of the saddle flapping upside down on the mare as she galloped in a panic around the ring, but that’s it. The next memory is in the emergency room.
So, yeah, always check your girth!