Often you will see the back of the saddle flap up and down on the horse’s back during trot or canter. You can see this whilst doing groundwork or lunging a horse wearing a western saddle. But sometimes the conformation of a horse or the positioning of the rigging (where the cinch is attached) lends itself to having a degree of instability to the back of the saddle. There is a benefit to this however in the way a western saddle transfers weight across a larger area of a horse’s back. Around 25 inches (compared to a 18 to 20 inch dressage saddle tree). Most western saddles are built on long trees. If you are roping cattle in a style that necessitates the use of a rear cinch. If you have a horse with odd conformation which demands that the saddle requires a little extra stability. The times a rear cinch becomes useful or necessary are If you are travelling over very steep and gnarly terrain. Most western riders can go through life without the need to consider owning or using a rear cinch. In the normal course of life a rear cinch is not generally required on a western saddle. So what purpose does the rear cinch hold? In a nutshell it is a tool to help stabilise the saddle under certain conditions. Minor spoiler for the article - it’s never a good idea to introduce a rear cinch first time whilst starting or re-starting a horse. But only in relation to the purpose of the article, which was the first time introduction of the western saddle to an English broke horse. I’ve written about the rear Cinch very briefly in my latest article for Western Horse Uk. (First of all for English riders, Cinch is the western word for Girth).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |