reasoning behind dressage girths

[goldendryad]

I was asking a dressage rider at my barn why dressage girths are so
much shorter and why dressage saddles have longer billets. So ladies,
what is the reason for it. She had no idea. Is there a specific reason
in terms of movement, saddle placement?

[Littlegreymare]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT face=Verdana color=#668f5a size=2#ed_cl#I would love to know too!#ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT face=Verdana color=#668f5a size=2#ed_cl#My new saddle has considerably shorter billets than other dressage saddles, so my regular girths fit on it. (I suspect someone trimmed the billets)#ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#FONT face=Verdana color=#668f5a size=2#ed_cl#But how come they're usually longer?#ed_op#/FONT#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Kobau]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#well one reason that i was taught was that it means that you don't have buckles directly under your thigh. If you have buckles there, since you ride with a longer leg in dressage it would make it harder for your thight to lay flat against the saddle and be used. So reduces bulk under your leg...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Tabby]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm sure this is not the real reason, but it certainly makes doing up the girth on fashionable giant 17 + hand WBs a lot easier !#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Shoal]

I had heard the same thing Kobau.

[mallard]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#My dressage saddle is a custom made Paramount and I requested short billets so that I could use the long girth from my CC saddle. The buckles under my thigh does not bother me at all. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I found it hard to adjust the girth from the saddle on the short dressage girths.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Carol Brett from Balance saddles has done a significant amount of research on saddle fit and her results showed that many horses prefer the long girth.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Chisholm]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#OK here's my understanding behind the short girths long billets.  There are two reasons:#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#First to allow more freedom in the rib cage!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Second to make the flap lie flatter as stated before.  Don't forget at the time a short girth was developed saddles etc... were a lot bulkier than they are now.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Oh also with a short girth you can set the billet strap out from the point of the saddle for a better fit.  And the billet straps can be put at different angles depending on the saddle.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Now with my Forestier saddle from Paramont you can only have short girth because there is no flap, it's all one piece with the billets built inside.  I love it for my horse, but this saddle would not be for all horses.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Now this is where knowing your horse well comes in.  Some horse do prefer  the short girth over the long one.  My guy is one of those.  He finds the long girth too restricting.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#But meanwhile my old guy used only a long girth, mainly because I think it was what he was use to.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Interesting to see if anyone else comes up with other reasons.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Rio Roulette]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Carol Brett from Balance saddles has done a significant amount of research on saddle fit and her results showed that many horses prefer the long girth.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

I didn't know that - I wondered why my Balance had short billets. And the buckles don't bother me at all. #ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ellie]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Very interesting topic!  My first dressage saddle was a stubben which I absolutely loved, and it had short billets.  My instructor was ALWAYS correcting my leg placement, and I was always complaining that when he placed my leg in the correct position I got bruises from the buckles on the girth.  Now when I had the saddle refitted to the horse I was riding back then, I had the billets replaced with long ones and didn't tell the instructor ( he had initally said it probably would not make any difference).  My first lesson after the saddle was returned he kept walking around the ring shaking his head, I finally asked him what was wrong and he said nothing, absolutley nothing is wrong, I just can't figure out why after 2 years of lessons, all of a sudden your legs are staying in the correct place!  When I told him that the billets had been changed, he said that he would have never believed it if he had not seen it for himself. Same rider, same horse and same saddle only change was the lenth of  billets.  Since then my saddles all have long billets, and a few months ago when I tried riding in a close contact saddle for the first time in about 10 years it felt really awful with those buckles right under my leg!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#So, maybe some saddle maker way back when had the same problem and found this as a solution.  I guess some horses and riders don't have a preference but for those who do its nice to have a choice#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[*Giddy Up*]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I have always heard it is to allow the flap to lie flat, with no buckles in the rider's way. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#