Horse Tack Help Needed!!!

[HorseLady1]

I have an issue with my western breast collar... It's missing the cinch connector, so I can barely ride with my breast collar. Anyway I ordered a cinch connector offline, 18" (16" when buckled). It doesn't fit

! Yay me! So I started to search around and I can't find a 20", 22" or a 24" cinch connector. This really sucks because I need to ride, but prefer to have a working breast collar. Does anyone know of anything I can do to make one or a place to buy a longer strap? The widest the strap can be is about 1/2" and it has to be longer than 18-20". Thanks for any help!

 

[Trefoil]

I've been out of horses for years and never used a breast collar,but I don't get the connection between cinch connector and a breast collar. Are you talking about the part that goes between the front legs? If so, I think its called a tie down or center strap. A cinch strap is used to connect the back and front girth.

http://weaverleather.shptron.com/c/replacement-parts_breast-collars

 

[HorseLady1]

I guess it is a tie-down, but I've seen others call them cinch connectors. Anyway, the kind I have resembles http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015THNRT4/ref=nav_timeline_asin?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Except it doesn't have the tie down piece.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

I have always heard the strap on a breast collar that goes between the horse's front legs called a "down strap." NRS has two listed online, but they don't give any lengths.

https://www.nrsworld.com/schutz-brothers-inc_/replacement-down-strap-brass-snaps-8887
https://www.nrsworld.com/nrs-tack/nrs-tack-latigo-replacement-down-strap-143381

They do have a store at Decatur, TX that will have those products on the shelf, so you could always call and ask them to get you a measurement before you order.

 

[CathieG]

Do you have a picture of what exactly you are talking about? Some breast collars do not have the piece that goes between the front legs, My daughter will cut that piece off if a set has that strap. Her gelding prefers not having it, so she does not use it. You do not HAVE to have a breast collar to ride. I don't use one at all. The cinch connector is the connector between the front cinch and the back cinch, not the front cinch and the breast collar, that is why you are having trouble finding one so long.

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

Some breast collars do not have the piece that goes between the front legs

Those are called "tripping collars" and have extra tugs which attach to the tie rings on the cinch, as well as to the breast collar rings on the saddle, and are designed to function without a down strap. A breast collar without the down strap does not function quite the same. It may keep a saddle from sliding quite as far back, but it would not be as stable as a complete breast collar and would still allow for the saddle to have some play. Plus, the down strap keeps the breast collar from riding up and cutting off the horse's wind. A tripping collar is less apt to get into the horse's neck because they are contoured, and the cinch rings help keep them tied down where they belong.

You do not HAVE to have a breast collar to ride. I don't use one at all.

What the rider needs depends solely upon the horse being ridden and the task at hand. In some cases, yes you do need a breast collar to ride. We own two horses who cannot be ridden without some kind of breast collar because the saddle will continually slide back on them. Overcinching doesn't help, and is never a good idea anyway. We also own two horses who have never needed a breast collar to just ride around but we still use "pulling collars," which attach around the swells of the saddle through the gullet, when we are roping and dragging calves off of them to help even out the work load.