Horse falls down when girth tighted..i need answers. please?

Question

My friends new App mare fell down while the girth was being tightened. My friend quickly loosened it and the horse jumped up , freaked out and pulled back on the lead. I have seen this question on here before but cant remember why this happens. Doesnt it have to do with the vein running under the girth area?? Will it happen again and what can be done to help and to stay safe? thanks

Additional Details

well I guess my friend did the right thing then. After this happened she walked the mare around and tightened the girth a little at a time. I did tell her it would not be a good idea to tie her again while tightening the cinch. She has only had this horse a week and doesnt know alot about her. I knew I had heard of this problem before and I warned her that it may happen again. so thanks ...I feel better knowing that she did the right thing and I will pass the info on to her.

Answer 1

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This is clearly an issue that needs to be brought to the attention of a vet who knows his stuff. If your horse is literally falling down with a girth being put on, she is obviously unsafe for riding at this point.

So overall, do a vet check. They'll help you more than we can and provide you with options and possible treatments.

Answer 2

Some say it is because of the vein on their belly, but that is superficial. If a horse can't breathe, it will become feint and fall. If the girth strap is too tight, it can't breathe.

Answer 3

I've never heard of this happening before, but (and this might be a little out there) some horses will learn to "breath out" when having the girth tightened. They will puff out their bellies so that when you *think* that the girth is tightened and walk away, they breath normally again and the girth becomes loose. Maybe your horse was trying to do this and got lightheaded? LOL it seems crazy but hey I guess it could happen. I've seen a lot of horses do this and not fall over, but maybe she wasn't breathing right or something. I'd still say have a vet look at her.

Answer 4

Yes, many believe it has to do with a nerve that runs right where the girth is. It's a pretty common problem.
Never tie horses with this problem when you are cinching them up...that is only asking for trouble. Tighten up a little at a time walking the horse around as you go.

I had a horse that did this every time i saddled her and another that only did it a few times in 25 years. It's best to treat them like they will do it each time to be safe.

Answer 5

Marlou is right, this happens in some horses quite frequently, and especially in a young horse that hasn't been saddled a lot, but sometimes in older trained horses, too.

If the girth is tightened too quickly, I think the horse buckles its knees as a way to try to escape the discomfort of the cinch.

I would always just handle this mare a little more carefully when saddling. Most likely she won't be hurt if she does it again, but it isn't desirable, so take steps to prevent it. Always tighten up slowly and in small increments, walk her in a circle, stretch her front legs out in front of her one at a time, so there are no wrinkles of skin pinched beneath the girth. Just treat her carefully, and she'll probably get over it.

Answer 6

Wow thats intresting, talk to a vet. Good Luck!

Answer 7

definitely tighten the girth much more slowly. If this continues, I would check for ulcers. Our QH became girthy and at 16 was diagnosed with ulcers. We had those treated and his girthiness stopped. It could also be a back issue. If taking your time girthing him doesn't help, call the vet for an evaluation.

Answer 8

yea, this has to do with a vein on the horses belly. My horse bites me really hard when i tighten her girth. So its kinda normal. Just tightten your girth a little to a time and walk the horse while your doin it. That will help. Good Luck and i hope i helped ya'll!

Answer 9

This is mainly due to the nerve that you have mentioned, it runs under the chest, where girth is placed. Some horses blow out when their girths are done up, so this problem is not noticed as often as it applies. Avoid tying such a horse up, when tacking them up.
Theres a horse at the college that i go to, named Elvis, and he has this problem himself.
The girth must be done up slowly and carefully, making sure that it is not too tight, and as your doing the girth up take breaks to walk them around and lift their front legs high and forward each in turn. This makes sure that their is no creased skin underneath the girth and may reduce problems. Be very careful in particular be aware of this whilst riding her.

Best of Luck xx

Answer 10

some horses know you are going to thighten their girth so they hold their breath and will faint and it is a common problem.another is the nerve mentioned in other posts.one thing you can do is knee the chest so that the horse has to take another breath and that is when you tighten the girth or you can poke them in the ribs with a knuckle.you dont need a vet,you just have to out smart the horse.LOL

Source(s):

4th generation cowboy/rancher

Answer 11

tighten the girth slowly.
I knew a horse that did that and ended up breaking loose once.

Walk her and tighten it slowly plus maybe streching her front legs out will also help.

Answer 12

I think you will find this explanation helpful...
http://nicholnl.wcp.muohio.edu/DingosBre…
You have already gotton many good answers on not tying up this type of horse when girthing and to girth slowly and in intervals.
You asked why, so that's what the link is for.
Best of luck to you and your friend.

Answer 13

Did the horse do this with the previous owner when she went to look at the horse?
Daisy could be right, but there is also the possibility that the horse is "cinchy". So tightening the cinch little by little & walking would work.
This is most likely a learned behavior that has worked in the past for this horse to keep it from having to do anything. I have not seen this in a long time, but when I was younger you saw this & a horse bloating so you couldn't cinch it up. Mostly they were horses & ponies owned by kids.
Walking the horse & cinching it like your friend has been doing will work & it may show the horse that this behavior is not working & it may stop.

Answer 14

I had a horse that was so lazy, My uncle gave him to his daughter after I had retrained him and she doesnt know much about horses, well she was tightening his girth and just went down on his side and looked at her. She called my uncle to see what was happening, my uncle called my dad and my dad said he was playing and to show him a whip, that horse got up so fast and was greatly behaved on that ride.

So some horses do it to get out of work.

It could be it went to tight to quick and cut off her breathing supply.

Answer 15

My mom had a horse she was leasing do this on her once, scared the crap out of her! But it was actually a normal thing with this horse, my mom just didn't know that yet. I'm not really sure what causes it but I do know other horses with a similar issue. The general solution I have seen is to leave the girth very loose when you first tack up. Take the horse out of the barn and onto a softer ground (just in case). Readjust the saddle if needed and slowly do up the girth as you are walking around. Depending on how the horse deals with it and what kind of saddle you are using you may be able to sneak it up a couple of wholes while you are strolling around, but if not just stop every few steps and tighten it a little more.

I don't know if that works for every horse with this "condition" but it has for the couple that I know about.