Surcingle the withers area. It usually has padding to relieve pressure on the horse's spine. A variation of this design is used for equestrian vaulting. Many trainers first teach a young horse to accept girth pressure by strapping on a surcingle before a saddle and girth. The surcingle is commonly used for longeing, often as a base from which to attach training equipment such as side reins, overcheck, lauffer reins (sliding side reins), or chambons. A surcingle is also important in long lining or ground driving, as it provides rings for the long reins to run through. Double longeing, using two
Tree girth measurement noted below, in addition to basic girth measurements. A variety of monocular w/reticles are available from different manufacturers. They can be used as hand held instruments but more accurate reading can be obtained when mounted on a tripod. Some higher end electronic surveying devices, like the Criterion RD 1000 have an electronic version of the reticle scale built into the device and can be used to measure diameters. Photographs of trees can be used to determine girth or other measurements if there is a something of known size in the photo to provide a scale. The following information must be