You’d be surprised at the number of people who use a breastplate on their horse mostly for looks.
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. We’ll admit it looks cool. It makes a horse look even more like a horse. So if fashion’s your thing, then using a breastplate is perfectly fine.
However, there’s another reason for utilizing a breastplate, and it’s far more important: safety.
As you may know, a breastplate is a piece of riding equipment, used to keep the saddle or harness on a horse from sliding back. It not only secures the saddle, but still allows a horse’s big shoulder’s to move and gives the rider something to hold onto. Sometimes horses need them specifically for a job they do.
Breastplates can be expensive, but it’s probably a good idea to have one. Let’s take a closer look.
What is a breastplate?
A breastplate helps secure the tack onto the horse and becomes particularly helpful on horses with large shoulders and a flat ribcage. It’s also a safety component from the standpoint that if the rider’s girth or billets should break, the rider will have time to stop and dismount before the saddle slips completely off.
For many, a breastplate gives your hands a place to grab. That’s because the breastplate’s strap goes over the withers – that ridge between his shoulder blades. It’s handy for beginner riders, on a horse that’s galloping, or if a horse makes a lot of jerking motions.
A breastplate is used on both English and Western saddles. If used for English riding or western-style horse shows, the breastplate is made of more thin leather straps. A stronger design is used for working western horses. The harness can be a breast collar design or a collar and harness design. The breast collar harness is used for pulling lighter loads at horse shows and in harness racing.
Why do saddles slide back?
The way horses are built, there’s nothing really to prevent saddles from moving backwards, which is where the breastplate steps in.
It’s no real surprise the saddle can have a tendency to slide. If a horse has no barrel, the shoulders and muscles will push the girth and saddle back. Ideally, the girth should be built in the saddle with the breastplate holding it in position.
If you already have a breastplate and it’s still sliding back, it could be that it’s fitted too loosely. Other issues could be that the saddle is too tight, and there could be improper girthing points on the saddle – or the wrong girth is being used.
Breastplate styles
There are a lot of different options when it comes to breastplate styles.
The classic breastplate for English riding is the stockman’s or hunting breastplate – which essentially has a “Y” shape. It has a yoke with a neck and wither strap, a breast strap at the yoke’s bottom that runs through the front legs and attaches to the girth, and two straps at the top of the yoke which then attach to the D-rings on a saddle. This style is used by endurance horses, hunters, eventers and show jumpers.
Another popular breastplate style is called the breast collar. This can be confusing, because western riders use “breast collar” and “breastplate” interchangeably. With this style, the breast collar consists of a chest strap that buckles to one billet of the saddle, goes around the chest and attaches to the billet on the other side. A wither strap allows the height of the breast collar to be adjusted and prevents it from slipping. That makes this style slightly more secure than the hunting breastplate, but it’s a little less desirable for jumping and riding in steep hills.
The breastgirth is made of elastic and is similar to the breast collar, but has no wither strap. It runs from the saddle’s D-rings or is attached to a loop around the stirrup bars.
While the style is up to you, it’s also important to find one that allows the horse to have shoulder movement and not hinder breathing. Also, higher quality leather is a strong investment; cheaper versions can be more irritating.
Fitting a breastplate
As noted, you don’t want to fit a breastplate in any way that might restrict movement. It must be stretched across his shoulders but still allow for full range of motion in that area.
Take note of the chest and area between his front legs, as well. There a fist should fit between the breastplate and the horse’s chest, and there should be a hand with between the wither strap and withers. There’s shouldn’t be a gap in the leather from the girth between his legs in the Y-shape version.
The breast strap should have a little play, but you don’t want the buckle rubbing against sensitive skin. If you notice hair loss, that’s a sure signal that you need to make an adjustment in his fit. You could also consider a new style breastplate altogether, or simply add some padding.
