# Cinch Question????



## TerryR (May 20, 2012)

I have a cinch given to me when I purchased my pony. It is a felt cinch with a lot of fuzzy on the bottom. The part that goes against the horse. I'm looking to buy another one for my Arab I have now. This girl I went trail riding with that was trying to sell me her horse, said not to use that kind and use the neoprene ones as they won't slip, and let the saddle roll.
I went to farm & fleet and looked at the newest ones with the roll buckle, and the neoprene. I'm concerned that the neoprene might pinch their skin or hair while riding.
Any recommendations what cinch to buy?
thanks for your help!
TerryR


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

There are pros and cons to both type of cinches- the neoprene can pinch but the fuzzy ones will mat and rub. 

I used neoprene for years without a problem on many different horses.


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## Kris in MI (May 30, 2002)

I think it's just a matter of preference. I know people who swear by the neoprene ones, and people who think they are evil and bad for the horse. Same with the felted/fleece ones. And then there's the old time string-girth camp. . .


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I've used neoprene for endurance rides because they can easily be washed off for the next day. I have used real wool covers on sensitive horses and leather for dressage- shaped leather for jumping. I have used canvas and vinyl ones on Saddlebreds in showing. I have used both nylon string and mohair string girths.
The only one I would not use again was the nylon string because it actually cut into a horse once.
But all worked fine. It's keeping it clean and placing it correctly that matter most. And making sure not to pinch skin under it.


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## gracielagata (Jun 24, 2013)

I second the it depends! 
I have ridden my mare in both neoprene and wool. The neoprene does seem to be more apt to pull her hair off. But the wool doesn't seem to do any matting or anything from what I can tell. But maybe I haven't ridden long enough in it yet, as it is sorta new.
I haven't noticed a slipping issue with either... all seems more based on getting the saddle tight enough to begin with 
A friend used a mohair/string style on her gelding... then later noticed he had big bumps all on his girth area that lined up with the gaps in the strings... we didn't think she was cinching too tightly, but she did stop using it when she realized that. Maybe he was sensitive.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

For anything other than heavy trail riding I prefer leather for a cinch or a girth. 

This is the cinch I use:










This is the girth:










I have them both in several sizes and have never had a problem with either.


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## chewie (Jun 9, 2008)

mohair, prefer a 5 star as they are so soft. roper style


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

We used to hit the trails for 6-8 hours at a time. Started out with string girths. They galded the worse. Switched to felt. Better but would still gald by about the 3rd day. Up next was fleece and none of my horses ever had a problem with it but it was very high maintenance and then hard to get dry. Then neoprene came along and I've not looked back since. Easy on the horse and easy on me. I use a neoprene breast collar too. No matter what kind you decide to use once you finish tightening it, stretch your horses front legs to make sure there are no skin wrinkles underneath. Repeat if you retighten during your ride. I've never made the switch to a neoprene saddle pad though because I'd think (don't know for sure as I've never used one) they'd be awful hot for the horse.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

TerryR said:


> I have a cinch given to me when I purchased my pony. It is a felt cinch with a lot of fuzzy on the bottom. The part that goes against the horse. I'm looking to buy another one for my Arab I have now. This girl I went trail riding with that was trying to sell me her horse, said not to use that kind and use the neoprene ones as they won't slip, and let the saddle roll.
> I went to farm & fleet and looked at the newest ones with the roll buckle, and the neoprene. I'm concerned that the neoprene might pinch their skin or hair while riding.
> Any recommendations what cinch to buy?
> thanks for your help!
> TerryR



I don't feel that the cause of a saddle rolling has anything at all to do with cinch type. It directly relates to proper fit, properly tightened and not dragging oneself up the side of a horse when mounting. If you're riding a lot of steep hills and find your saddle sliding, you may need additional solutions. 

In my opinion, if you prefer a certain type of cinch and your horse is comfortable, go for it. A lot of equine companies are in business simply because they convince us that their product will make our horses happier and it's seldom based on fact.


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## TerryR (May 20, 2012)

As of reading your comment YES, you are right! When the girl (selling me her horse) told me this, she took me riding on hills that were so steep the horses rumps were almost skidding on the ground. She was showing me how well he could handle the steep trails.
So, that makes sense why she said, neoprene only! Under those conditions. My wife would never ride anything close to those hills. I had a Blast riding like that but overall I want to keep living also!
Thanks so much for all the input, yes I fully believe the horse vendors are selling a product.
I will go back and look at others and make a decision. I forgot to ad that we started with a string cinch also and I really didn't like it under the pony. So we purchased the fuzzy wool cinch.
Great forum here! Thanks again!
TerryR


wr said:


> I don't feel that the cause of a saddle rolling has anything at all to do with cinch type. It directly relates to proper fit, properly tightened and not dragging oneself up the side of a horse when mounting. If you're riding a lot of steep hills and find your saddle sliding, you may need additional solutions.
> 
> In my opinion, if you prefer a certain type of cinch and your horse is comfortable, go for it. A lot of equine companies are in business simply because they convince us that their product will make our horses happier and it's seldom based on fact.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Only recently I encountered the concept of the cinch needing to be a particular length. This was a new one one me. The consequences of using a too-long cinch, it was postulated, was a saddle that was less stable and prone to rolling.

I started asking around and a few of my friends agreed with this theory. I thought it was weird that I had never heard of it before. My endurance-riding friend said that she didn't want her cinch rings to be more than 2 to 4 inches above the elbow. 

How does this practice mesh with English girths and the fact that the buckles sit way up under the panel of the saddle?

My Western and endurance friends could only shrug and say that they just knew what they knew. I re-measured my horse and bought a much shorter cinch. I have to say, the saddle *does* seem more stable now.

I use a neoprene cinch. I have never had it gall or chafe my horse. I make sure it is clean before each use. We ride through mud pretty often, so a fuzzy or felt one would be pretty high-maintenance.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Irish Pixie said:


> For anything other than heavy trail riding I prefer leather for a cinch or a girth.
> 
> This is the cinch I use:



This is strange to me. That looks like a flank (rear) cinch. But with center dees on either side, it is obviously intended to be the main cinch. I have never seen such a cinch.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

jennigrey said:


> Only recently I encountered the concept of the cinch needing to be a particular length. This was a new one one me. The consequences of using a too-long cinch, it was postulated, was a saddle that was less stable and prone to rolling.
> 
> I started asking around and a few of my friends agreed with this theory. I thought it was weird that I had never heard of it before. My endurance-riding friend said that she didn't want her cinch rings to be more than 2 to 4 inches above the elbow.
> 
> ...



I did know that but it's just one of those little things that I don't always think to mention. I'm not always a great resource because I literally grew up on horses so unless I actually see someone's horse and tack, I don't always think about them doing it different


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

wr said:


> I did know that but it's just one of those little things that I don't always think to mention. I'm not always a great resource because I literally grew up on horses so unless I actually see someone's horse and tack, I don't always think about them doing it different


I suppose a shorter cinch might some difference due to buckle placement but since the whole is a basically continuous attachment, I think that doesn't make that much difference unless it is so high the point of attachment is actually drawing down and outwards rather than down and in.
It depends on the saddle, horse and rider conformation as to the best buckle location.
Round barrel horses can be a pain re: rolling saddles whereas some horses built like fence rail hardly need a girth at all.


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## chewie (Jun 9, 2008)

I have also just been donig some research about length and bought a mohair cinch size 34 instead of 36 for my big gelding. i think it is better. 

speaking of cinches, anyone use a 3point rigging? or a Kcinch?


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I bought an Imus 4Beat saddle that had a cinch where the latigo went from a front dee through the cinch and back through a rear dee. Took me a while to figure it out but I kinda liked it when I did.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

I think that in my case, I grew up with everybody riding QHs all cut from similar cloth. Bridles, saddles, cinches - all were passed around and used without a thought given to "fit".... at least partly because it all generally fit. The cinches (most of them handmade mohair string and some horsehair string) were probably about 28" to 30" long, but this is only figuring in retrospect, based on the build of the horses. I know I never measured a cinch and didn't hear anyone mention the length of a cinch.

When I got my first draft horse, I went to buy a cinch I bought the longest one at the feed store... a 36. Got a new off-billet and latigo too. But if you centered the cinch on the horse's sternum, the off-billet wasn't long enough to reach. So I got a longer cinch, mail-order. 

What I should have done (and have now done) was dispense with the off-billet and just use a 2nd latigo on the off-side so I can use a 34" cinch (which puts the top of the cinch rings just above the elbow on my best horse).


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