Re: cinches

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>Hi all,
>
>Got a question that I know someone here can help with.
>I am a competitive trail some light endurance riding type person.
>I just got a big horn endurance with no cinch on it and am trying to decide 
>what I like. Teddy Lancasters  "Easygirth" looks interesting but I am 
>wondering about the "center fire rigging" that is made to go with the saddle.
>   I've always ridden in an wintec endurance so don't know
>diddly about western made saddles. Any opinions???
>
>Julie R.Coats, A.H.T.
>NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine
>
I own a couple of these saddle and have tried different riggings and girths
with them.  What I have found that works the best for me is a neoprene
girth with the latigos run thru both the front and back rings to help
anchor the saddle.  This system works for Blaze, Billy, and Cabby, but not
for Darby.  Blaze needs the anchoring in the back because of the mediocre
saddle fit and doing it that way just pulled the saddle more forward over
Darby's low withers.  With her, I just ran the latigo like a normal western
saddle.  The felt girth that came with the saddle was *not* acceptable by
any of them.  

I tried the Center-fire Rigging system designed for the saddle but found a
couple of problems.  One is that you can only use certain girths (I ordered
the mohair girth designed to go with the system) because the biothane
straps are too wide to accommodate any of my english 2-buckle (neoprene)
girths (darn.)  Another point was that Blaze got rub marks on his sensitive
skin from the straps.  I covered the straps where they joined the rings
with those ring protectors that you can buy for western cinch rings --
which was an okay fix until the (fairly new) mohair girth tore apart along
the stitching and one of the buckle straps (where it's divided) came off --
a scary thing but luckily happened before we started riding and I was able
to switch back over to the latigo system.

Blaze has a DeSoto saddle coming (it's in the mail!!) that will actually
fit him since the Big Horn was not a good fit and had to be used with a
shim to keep it from bridging after he lost the fat on his back.  I've
requested a center-fire type rigging system with the new saddle also since
I like the concept, especially for him since every saddle put on him over
the years twist a bit in the back without a V style anchor -- I think his
big barrel, wide back, and horky shoulders has something to do with it.
Darby is next on the list for a custom saddle since she's a Welsh/Arab mare
with mediocre withers, wide, flat back, big shoulders (and a nice, long
stride) and a big barrel -- and, if she isn't ridden with a crupper, you'd
be on her neck.  The other two, at this time, seem to fit into the Big Horn
okay.  With them, I'll continue to use the latigos in the center-fire
set-up and a neoprene girth.

Sue

sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.