Breastplates

[chickflick1066]

Hello :)

Do any of use breastplates and what for? Can I use one for hillwork whilst hacking and if so can you guys make me a recommendation?

Would prefer a synthetic/elasticy one and not leather please :)

[Freedoms_Girl]

I use one anytime I ride my horse with a saddle because his withers are so high that the saddle slips back...

[virtuallyhorses]

Yes, I have two - 1 for my treeless and another for my GP - for exactly the reason you are thinking about -hills. Elasticated 'Y' breastplates are excellent - make sure you get the correct size. If your horse has a large shoulder this can be a pain as they never seem to be right for Imp, they tend to make the shoulder part (from the centre of the chest to the dees) too short and the girth strap too long..

[Z.ero]

what is the real point of them im an experienced at hacks i do them all the time and we gallop and jump up hills. I dont even use my backprotector so can anyone tell me why you would need one?

[pico]

Z.ero -

Whether you need one or not depends on your horse's conformation. Some horses are built so that saddles can slip back more easily on them than on other horses. For example, some horses have a very sort of tube shaped barrel that doesn't really widen out much behind the girth area - so with a horse like that, when jumping or doing a lot of uphill work the saddle just works its way backwards until it's well back of the farthest possible correct postion and working its way towards the loins.

[Mossy]

I have both types, Y shaped and hunting style. The Y holds the saddle more firmly, the hunter style has the advantage of a strap across the withers. Great for this galloping granny when hammering across dubious ground, it's me that finds it dubious not the horse! Libby's do very good webbing ones in both styles.

[sidesaddlelady1]

Z.ero -

Whether you need one or not depends on your horse's conformation. Some horses are built so that saddles can slip back more easily on them than on other horses. For example, some horses have a very sort of tube shaped barrel that doesn't really widen out much behind the girth area - so with a horse like that, when jumping or doing a lot of uphill work the saddle just works its way backwards until it's well back of the farthest possible correct postion and working its way towards the loins.
A hunting breastplate is also useful for a nervous rider. It wouldn't stop you falling off if you were really going but can be used to steady you when cantering- better than trying to hold the front of the saddle like we did when we were little. I went through a loss-of-nerve period a few years back and although I didn't use it as an aid to stay on, I knew it was there. A sort of equine comfort blanket :o

[virtuallyhorses]

Yep, Imp doesn't really need one if he's carry a bit of a belly but as soon as he's fit then the saddle slips if we go up any steep hills.

If you are going over rolling countryside that's fine but we go up and down steep slopes - where the horse is more bounding up the slope and your feet can be back near the horse's stifle.

[Pink's lady]

Chickflick - from the pictures you've posted of Stumpy (and very cute they are too), I'd say you have the oppiste problem. In a large number of the photos, her saddle is actually too far forward. And breastplate will only make it worse. You would be better investing in a crupper

(*stolen from your photobucket:o *)

This shows it
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/chickflick1066/Chubba.bmp

This one is very exaggerated - you're almost falling off the cantle;) abd there's a huge space behind the saddle.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/chickflick1066/fab45186.jpg

Obviously jumping the saddle will slide forward a little, but this is a bit OTT
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y24/chickflick1066/HahahelenandStumpy7.bmp

[chickflick1066]

VirtuallyHorses, I found this nice looking elasticated breastgirth from Kincade, what do you think?

http://www.4dobbin.com/default.aspx?f=productDetail.aspx?product_id=419
Stumpy has MAHUSSIVE shoulders, and at 14?hh what size should I go for?

[chickflick1066]

Oops we x posted PL.

Well it's actually me putting the saddle too far forward that's done it in those pics. Whilst tackling a pretty steep uphill bit the other day the saddle did slip back.

Hmm, what do I do?

And there's a huge space behind the saddle- call me stupid but how'd you mean here PL?

[Pink's lady]

I mean that there a big area of her back, behind the sadde, where it should be sitting, if it was in the right place, i.e the saddle should be a good 6inchs+ further back.

[chickflick1066]

Ok. So how far away from the top of her shoulderblade roughly should I place my saddle?

[Pink's lady]

Ok. So how far away from the top of her shoulderblade roughly should I place my saddle?

The points of the tree should be two to three finger widths back from the edge of her shoulder-blade

Here's two picture of pink with her saddle on. The purple arrow is the highest point of her withers. The red line is the outline of her shoulderblade. The yellow line is the points of the tree and the blue line is her last rib

In the first on, it's slightly too far forward - notice how the saddle tips down towards the back a little, even though it's the correct width. Before I got on, I moved it back a bit
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/Pinkslady/Pink/pinksaddlefitposition.jpg

This one shows the perfect position - note how the saddle is now level.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/Pinkslady/Pink/saddlepositionfit.jpg

And here's stumpy's saddle. This one is as it was -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/Pinkslady/Other%20horses/stumpyoriginal.jpg

And, with the magic of a photo-editor, this is how it should be-
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/Pinkslady/Other%20horses/stumpysaddle.jpg

Those extra few inches backward takes it off her shoulder blades

[virtuallyhorses]

Having now seen the pony I can't imagine that the saddle could slip back with that belly! :D Perhaps he's slimmed down a lot since that photo ;)

Agree with PL your saddle is currently too far forward - so don't worry about the breastplate. Make sure you get the saddle placed properly - if you are feeling any slippage at the moment it is probably just moving into the correct position.

[chickflick1066]

Ok, cheers you both :)

What would I do without you PL ;) lol.

I'll try the saddle in it's new position today and take a pic for you.

(P.S, how did you manage to edit that pic, its clever how you do it!)