western saddle owners, please could you tell me?

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Cherrydan

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Hi everyone,
My trainer used a western saddle, and I fell in love...my mothers day gift this year, my oh bought me one from the kids...
So, my questions are:
*is the cinch at the front supposed to be made from leather (width of around english stirrup leathers)?
(Im used to wide cushiony girths)
*it looks like it needs 2 girths?
*can you get away with one?
I wont offer cyber food, just my gratitude.xxx
 
No I have never used a leather front cinch. I would imagine if you could get one it would be padded though. It's doubtful a front cinch would ever be just leather. The front cinches I use are all sheepskin padded although I do have some gel ones (which I really don't like).

Depends on the type of saddle. I have a roping saddle which is designed to be used with the rear cinch so I always ride with my rear cinch done on it. The rest of my western saddles are pleasure or trail saddles and they do not require a rear cinch.
 
What a lovely gift!

The long thin leather strap is like the girth straps on an english saddle. You still need a separate cinch, which will look like a dressage girth with a single big buckle at each end.

A rear cinch can help to stabilise the saddle, but horses need to get used to them. They can cause horses to buck at the strange feeling.

Please get someone out to fit it to your horse; it's no less important than fitting an english saddle.
 
A western saddle has a 'Latigo' on the left hand side (long leather strap) and an 'off-billet' on the right hand side (short doubled leather strap).

You then attach your cinch (girth) to the off billet, pass the cinch under the horse to the nearside, thread the latigo through the cinch buckle from back to front, pass it up and through the ring that the latigo is attached to from front to back, bring it down and back though the cinch buckle from back to front and secure in a hole in the latigo.

Clear-ish? This website has lots of western saddle help pages http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/

I like a neoprene cinch as its comfy and easy to clean. they also come in string (mohair), felt, webbing, sheepskin, etc. PM me if confused
 
Thanks everyone, its hard on here to explain..Ill try though:
The saddle has two silver round rings on each side. On the silver ring nearest the horn, (on both sides they are identical) is a leather strap with holes. I assume i just buy a cinch and attatch it to these straps (neoprene sounds nice)? I am unsure, is the latigo the straps mentioned above?
Would i attach the breast plate to the big rings? There are no d rings?
Oh, sometimes, i wish i was on a livery yard! Im a more visual learner....xxx
 
Good for you trying western, I love my western saddle, my cinch is slightly wider than an english girth, but padded, the long strap on the LH side is threaded through the silver ring, till tight enough, then you put the buckle bit through the desired hole in the strap, then tuck the surplus into the sleeve of the cinch, don't forget to stretch the legs to remove any wrinkles under the cinch. Enjoy, it's like sitting in an armchair
 
That makes sense...
What confuses me is that it has come with what looks like a leather strap with buckles on each end (think english style girth). What i really dont get is it is only a tiny bit wider (think a cm) than a stirrup leather, surely you cant use this as a cinch/belly strap on the back rings? It looks like it might chafe, dont get me wrong, its nice leather, but i dont get what it is for.
I think the front straps attached both on front rings are called latigos. My two back rings (rear cinch) have no 'latigos' do i need two more, as its just a bare ring?
I cant wait to try it, he went so well with the trainer on his western saddle. It looks really natural, checked shirt at the ready, i think its going to be by go to style, lol.x
 
The back cinch can be thinner than the front cinch (although many are wider) and it's almost always leather. If it is the back cinch that you are talking about then it will be in 3 pieces. A middle piece with buckles on either end, attached to two other leather straps which attach to the rear D rings. The middle piece will also have a short thin strap of leather attached to it in the centre; this attaches to the centre ring on the front cinch. The back cinch is not done up tightly, you should be able to get a small fist between it and the horses belly.

The large D rings on the saddle; are they attached to one another with a thin piece of leather about 1cm wide?
 
Yes spring feather, that is what i think it is too, and it would be right as it is in 3 pieces.
In answer to your question, the rings are connected by leather... Thanks again.xxx
 
My friend has a western and we had all sorts of trouble trying to work it out. I ended up taking her and the saddle to a western riding school, who demonstrated for us lol.

We only use the front cinch, as the back ones can cause a horse to buck, which initially confused us as saddle had 4 straps lol. Much easier after we discarded the back two

If you send me a pm with your email address, I can send you some pictures of how its fitted :)
 
Please continue to wear a hard hat when you ride in your western saddle ... it is not true that you cannot fall off a western saddle .... it just takes a little more effort from the horse to get you airborne
 
i adore western saddles but can't tell you much about them, as said, they need carful fitting them you cant just throw one on. as far as i can tell, the material for the front cinch varies.
 
Thank you everyone, for taking the time to reply. I will use the front cinch to ride at first, (will buy a wider soft one). From what youve said, this appears to be a rear cinch. I reckon, I will build up his confidence with the rear cinch on the lunge line (I'm doing this alone, lol).
I promise I will wear a hat and a bodyprotector, and that the saddle will fit. I have to be honest, i am taking my wardrobe to a very lumberjack place, lol, it will be niceto wear jeans rather than jodhpurs....i dont intend to wear tassled chaps, i fear my horse would laugh, lol, no offence to those who do, its just i would look out of place in Derbyshire.xxx
 
It sounds like your saddle may be a roping saddle so may well be designed to use both front and rear cinches, however the rear cinch is really not necessary unless you are roping or sorting cattle. I work cattle so I do need the rear cinch because it's very fast and bumpy work, but most people who are just riding out on leisurely rides do not. I don't wear tassled chaps either :smile3: I tend to wear shorts in the summer :smile3:
 
I got my hands on a western saddle once. All on my own in the yard, no idea how to put it on, put it on, hacked off up the road, slid gracefully to the tarmac (still attached to saddle). Horse thought it was hilarious.

Where did I go wrong?
 
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Hello, congrats on the purchase of your saddle and welcome to western riding, I'd be happy to look at a photo for you if you want to pm one to me although I'm sure if you ask your trainer they would show it.

I wouldn't bother with a rear cinch, they aren't really nessicary unless your roping or going barrel racing.

I use neoprene cinches and they are approximately 5inches wide but you can get nice fleecey ones too.

Always happy to help with any questions :-)
 
Rhandir said:
Please continue to wear a hard hat when you ride in your western saddle ... it is not true that you cannot fall off a western saddle .... it just takes a little more effort from the horse to get you airborne
Click to expand...

Agree with this^^

I ride in a trekker saddle which is an english saddle in western style, hard to explain, anywho it is an armchair ride and everyone said you would do well to come off in that! Needdless to say I have done well and landed on my butt last week after a momentous spook and spin from my mare, I could have stayed on as my bum didnt leave the seat, sadly the saddle slipped at my massive change in weight from one side ot the other and I kind of baled before I was underneath!

So yes you can always come off, that said it gave me great confidence that I coudl stick on it, unlike other saddles where Ive pinged off!

Would really like to go full western, good luck with it!
 
I'm not Parelli (shudders) but I do love a fringed chap :-)
Welcome to western OP. There are a lot of dedicated western pages on Facebook, for example One Stop Western

https://www.facebook.com/groups/onestopwestern/

where you can get lots of tips and advice, as well as second hand and new western gear.
I echo the thoughts already expressed about the rear cinch - you don't see many western riders using them, they are just to stabilize the saddle for roping. I'm slightly concerned about your saddle though. Where did it come from? I don't want to rain on your parade, but there's a big misconception about western saddles fitting any horse, but it's totally incorrect. You need someone who knows what they are doing to check the fit for you - and they can't be adjusted like some english ones (unless you have a Specialised Saddle or similar). You also need a good saddle pad.
It's all worth persevering with though. Western is great fun and very friendly, and seems to make a lot of sense to the horse too. By that I mean they tend to be co-operative and calm (and I've seen an ex hunter convert, and become a different horse).
I'll shut up now, but I could ramble on for hours...I wish more people would give it a go!
 
Having been bucked out of a Western saddle, I can tell you it is a bit more precarious than doing a sudden dismount from an English saddle. Much more to get hung up on.

Also, watch that pesky horn doesn't get caught underneath your underwires when you dismount (I kid you not)
 
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