“Girthiness”: Resources for greater understanding

“There was a small study at University of California, Davis in which they reported on horses presented specifically for “girthy” behavior during tacking up. Two thirds of them did not have gastric ulceration, they had other causes for the behavior, mostly underlying lameness.” - Dr. Sue Dyson

The topic of “girthy” behavior has come up in a number of our previous live Q&A conversations, including those pertaining to saddle fit as well as back pain in horses.

Dr. Dyson joined World Horse Welfare in an excellent webinar that dispels some common myths about undesirable horse behaviors, including girthiness, that are frequently seen while tacking up and mounting. You can link to their free webinar below.

For more insight about girthy behavior and the science surrounding it, check out Equus Magazine and their thought-provoking article, “Reasons for Girthiness Explained”.