tightening the horse girth

Question
hello Anne. should i tighten the girth of the horse as much as i can or there should be 4 fingers gap between girth strap and horse belly? today when i was trotting my horse, it slowed down for a moment. i kicked with both of my legs in its belly. it made a blow sound. what does it mean?

Answer
Rohit, you want the girth to be snug. Since some (most?) horses will blow up, I always tighten a girth in two stages. Allowing there to be a 4 finger gap between girth and horse means that the saddle will not be secure. You can also end up with some nasty sores from the saddle/girth rubbing back and forth on the horse.