Western Breast Collars

The purpose of a breast collar is to prevent the saddle from sliding backwards on your horse’s back. Saddle fit is obviously very important, but it’s nice to have the security and peace of mind a breast collar provides, especially when climbing hills, packing, roping or branding. The style of breast collar you decide to use will be based upon the type of riding you do and personal preference. The wider the breast collar is, the more the pressure is dispersed across the chest.

Here are a few styles of breast collars and a few types of riding they are generally used for:

-Narrow: 1 inch. Flat trail, show ring, light performance, endurance.

-Medium: 1.5-2 inch. Mountain trail, barrel racing, gymkhana, cutting.

-Wide: 2-3 inch. Packing, roping, ranch work in which one needs to dally off the horn.

There are many styles of breast collars available to match your saddle or personal style with beautiful hand tooling, stamping, conchas or rawhide braiding.

Lets discuss fitting the breast collar to your horse. Some of the breast collars on the market today fit around on the shoulders and connect to the cincha ring, however riders are discovering that not only does it tend to be restrictive, it also rubs across the horse’s shoulder.

Many saddles come with a d-ring mounted up higher on the front, which provides a better position, sitting the breast collar up over the shoulder at the base of the neck, comparable to an old harness collar for pulling a wagon.

Many breast collars now have an over the neck strap which connects at the upper rings on the breast collar and goes up over the neck between the saddle and the mane, holding the breast collar up for proper fit. This strap can be purchased separately.

It is important when investing in a quality breast collar to choose one in which the edges have been burnished to prevent chaffing. Always check your tack for safety reasons and make sure there is not any build up of hair, sweat or grime on the underside against your horses hair, as this can chaff and create problems.

The Brand family at Buckaroo Leather manufactures the highest quality leather tack and wants to thank you for taking your time to stop by and be more informed.

We always look forward to hearing from our customers and welcome questions and comments.

Buckaroo Leather

The Brand to Demand