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Girths and Cinches The terms Girth and
Cinch are often used interchangeably but they are not the same because
they use different attachment systems. The function of both
Girths and Cinches is to hold saddles on the horse and in place, both
side to side and front to back...saddle tree shape plays an important
role but one that is dependent on the horses configuration. Girths are primarily
used with English saddles
but also for some other saddles which are rigged with billets...Billets
are typically 1" wide straps(usually 3) which are made as part of
the saddle... 2 of the 3
billets attach to 2 buckles on each end of the girth... this
choice allows for some adjustment in
the Girths location under the horse...Girths are
usually longer than cinches because English saddles are usually
rigged with short billets
... some English saddles have extra long billets and use shorter girths
and some use a back billet as a preferred choice. These back billets are
located from under the cantle area and allow greater flexibility in
girth location as well as stabile saddle location and therefore greater
comfort and performance. Cinches are used
primarily on Western type saddles they are shorter because western
saddles are rigged with Cinch rings which are generally lower than
short English billet straps ....latigos are separate straps,
usually 1 1/2" to 2" in width, which attach to the Cinch rings
on Western saddles and then attach to the single buckles on the Cinch
for latigos with buckle holes... latigos with no holes
pass through rings on each end of the Cinch and then make
multiple passes through both saddle and Cinch rings, then tying off at
the original saddle Cinch ring. Modern Western
saddles now generally have a
rear Cinch ring as well as the front Cinch ring...these saddles use a
more forward front Cinch
rigging and so they require the use of a rear Cinch ring and Cinch to
hold down the saddle evenly...overly forward cinching tends to settle
the Cinch so that it rubs against the back of the horses front legs
causing discomfort and restriction...and rear cinching exerts pressure
on the horses unsupported ribs and belly restricting breathing and
creating even greater discomfort... A
simple way to
correct this situation so that the horses front legs are freed and its
breathing is not restricted is to simply close-link the two cinches so
that they are located with the front cinch pulled vertically, or back slightly, and the rear
cinch pulled forward. They then are both located over the horses sternal
supported ribs…this configures the rigging in a stabile triangular
form as opposed to dual
vertical cinching which is not stable.
Another solution
is to employ the rigging some advanced endurance saddles are using
which is similar to that used on McClellan
military saddles ... a single long latigo
attaches to a wide single
Cinch centrally located over the sternal ribs by using both Cinch rings
...the latigo starts at the front cinch ring on the saddle and then
passes vertically through the single ring on the cinch and then back up to the rear
saddle cinch ring...the latigo can tie off there or extend back down to
the Cinch buckle for fastening ...this rigging holds the saddle on
evenly and alleviates the problems caused by misguided custom of over
tightening the front cinch to make up for a back Cinch which is often
not tightened at all to keep the horse from bucking and, as with the
close linked arrangement
above, it lends front and
back stability to the rig.
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