How to Fit Your Western Breast Collar

Western Breast Collars have a very simple but useful purpose. They keep your saddle from sliding back and help the saddle to stay in the best fitting position on your horses back.


The fitting position is also determined by how how well your saddle fits on your horse, the better your saddle fits the less it will move around. So be sure you start with a quality saddle that has a proper fit.

Your decision on which type of Breast Collar to use will be based upon the type of riding you do and your personal preference.

The wider the Breast Collar the more the pressure is spread out across the chest.

Here is a list of the Styles of Breast Collars used for different various types of horse riding:

A breast Collar with a Narrow-1"style- used for a Flat trail, Show ring, or Light performance,

Endurance equestrian sports where lightweight is a factor...

A Breast Collar with a Mid size-1 1/2"-2"- used for a Mountain trail, Barrel racing, Gymkhana,

Cutting, any medium to high performance events.

A Breast Collar with a Wide width of- 2-3"- for Packing, Roping, Ranch branding work, High performance were you will need to dally on your horn.

You have many styles available to match your saddle or personal preference with beautiful hand tooling, stamping, and conchas or rawhide braiding.

Lets talk about fit. Most of the Breast Collars on the market today fit around on the shoulders and connect to the cincha ring. Riders are discovering that this fit is a little restrictive and rubs across the shoulder.

Many saddles now come with a dee ring mounted up higher on the front, for a better Breast collar position up over the shoulder at the base of the neck. Like an old harness collar for pulling a wagon.

An analogy would be the fit of your back pack. If the shoulder straps fall down onto your upper arm it is very uncomfortable.

This over the shoulder fit at the base of the neck is becoming very popular!

Different Breast Collar styles are being made To fit this way--

Many 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.

Some are called Buckaroo Breast Collar, Nevada Breast Collar, Old Martingale Breast Collar, and pulling Breast Collar.


The pulling breast collar pictured on the right is designed to fit any saddle as it wraps up through and around the pommel with one strap on each side of the horn fitting any saddle... even without the upper front Dee rings on your saddle.

This style breast collar is ideal for all medium to ultra high performance events.

Quality Finished Leather Breast Collars are extremely important due to the pressure on the front of your horse. When manufactured the edges of the Breast Collar must be finished off and rubbed down so there are no sharp edges to prevent chaffing.

Always check your Quality Leather Horse Tack for safety reasons and make sure there is not any build up of hair, sweat or dirt on the underside against your horses hair as this can chaff and create problems.

Buckaroo Leather has quality American Made Breast Collars on sale in our Valentine Specials category..... take a look at this......

Breast Collar Old Martingale style "Choker"

Price: $171.50
Sale:$150.50
You Save: $21.00

Hand crafted from the finest Hermann Oak Rough Out Oiled Golden Bridle Leather w/ chap lining, this Old Martingale style shaped breast collar (some in the sage call it a "CHOKER") features an over the shoulder fit for a better pulling position. Also featured is the adjustable neck strap and billet. The breast collar is hand edged, rubbed and finished with nickel hardware.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the
Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
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Farah DeJohnette Discusses Bitless Leather Side Pulls

I just read, Farah DeJohnette's new article from her Blogazine. Farah is a skilled horse trainer and her new article gives great insight to why she uses bitless leather bridles. Also, visit her website and follow her on facebook!


Bitless: Why I Do It........

my journey through Horsemanship and Training, I have come to look for better ways to communicate with my horse with equipment and without. The more skilled I have become the less reliant on equipment I have become.

I always used what I'd call "cheap" western Side Pulls from time to time in my training in the past but wasn't into them enough to convert completely. I hadn't found one that compared with my fine english bridle quality. I also was able to ride in halters, leather and rope, but found them a bit sloppy and imprecise for more than a fun hack around some slightly higher level work. Mechanical Hackamores were to me as aggressive if not more then some bits with bicycle chain and wire wrapped with leather in some designs.

When I found the Buckaroo Leather Side Pull and then went on to design the Padded version with John Brand, I had no idea this bridle would become my go to training piece of equipment until I had it in my hand and kept going back to no matter what type of horse I was riding.
I use it on soft horses, heavy strong horses, young horses, jumpers, dressage horses, western horses and more. I don't care if the horse is green or advanced I still use it.

Of course I still use bits because unfortunately, some competitions wont allow you not too, but hopefully that will change soon. I don't feel I need a bit at all though. Give me enough time with a horse and I can get him to ride beautifully in a Side Pull. Let me reiterate "TIME". It took me time to get the heavy pullers riding nicely in the Side Pull but I took that time as opposed to taking the easy way out and going to bigger bits and gadgets. I took the Time to teach them to be more supple, more balanced and strong through proper work and fitness.

Which leads me to another very interesting point. In my conversion of many horses to Bitless for training, I made a discovery about a common problem. Horses opening their mouths during training with the bit. I discovered that mouth opening had more to do will lack of suppleness in the Poll and being on the forehand then it had to do with the bit! How did I find this out? Well while training some known mouth openers with bits, Once I switched them to bitless guess what? When they were resistant, or unbalanced or both, They opened their mouth with NO BIT. When they were stiff in their body and poll, They opened their mouth regardless of whether they had the bit or not.

What does this mean? To me it means that the Poll and jaw are connected (not a new discovery in training) but why are we working on the jaw when the problem is originating in the Poll and body?

Hence back to why I use a Side Pull bitless bridles and Neck straps (Corderos). They allow me to talk directly to the body parts I need to without interfering with other body parts and possibly even DISTRACTING the horse from the area that needs focus. I'm not saying there are not dental problems and bitting issues that can arise from the mouth, but I am saying you can find out if you try a bitless bridle and in fact it may be the answer to horses with dental and mouth issues. Just like when I want to see if the saddle is compromising the horses desire to perform. I ride him bareback or with a bareback pad. If he rides fine, then I know the saddle is a problem. More food for thought from yours truly and my two cents. Also, Don't miss an opportunity to get one of these beautiful bitless bridles right now for 10% off in my Bridle Shop enter promo code "Summer10" at checkout.





Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Great AMERICAN Made Tack Savings Event....

We want to Thank you for your interest in Buckaroo Leather with a Sizzlin Summer Great AMERICAN Made Tack Savings Event of 25% discount off on our website....



Use discount code- buck25 - in shopping cart at checkout.



This starts June 19 and ends June 28 so take advantage now.

http://buckarooleather.com/



This is on our entire website, from Indian Hackamores to spur straps, pulling and martingale breast collars, leather headstalls, natural horseman reins, mecate reins, rope halters, heavy harness reins, weighted training reins, trail riding reins, tiedown nosebands, silver conchas, snaffle bits and saddle pads....

Also included horse training books, first horse books, horseback smart riding tips and ranch horsemanship.

Also we offer many different sizes of western bridles and western breast collars because of all your requests, from small horse tack, cob and pony tack to mule tack to large horse tack and draft horse tack sizes....

And on our newest addition Alpaca cinchas- Alpaca is one of the rarest natural fibers that is strong, soft, comfortable and extremely durable.. It is softer than cashmere, yet extremely strong and resilient. Elasticity of alpaca is comfortable to your horse and has a natural give as it moves.....

And this special is on all our new western bits and western spurs from Partrade...

"No Hour of life is ever wasted spent in the Saddle" W. Churchill



Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Cutting Horses-How it all Began

Cutting is an equestrian event in the western riding style where a horse and rider are judged on their ability to separate a calf away from a cattle herd and keep it away for a short period of time.

The horses involved are typically Quarter horses, although other breeds may be used, such as American Paint Horses or Appaloosas. A horse that instinctively knows how to keep a calf from returning to the herd, and is trained in a manner to be shown competitively, is considered a cutting horse.

In the event, the horse and rider select and separate a calf out of a small group. The calf then tries to return to its herdmates; the rider loosens the reins ("puts his hand down" in the parlance) and leaves it entirely to the horse to keep the calf separated, a job the best horses do with relish, savvy, and style.

A contestant has 2 1/2 minutes to show his horse; typically three cows are cut during a run, although working only two cows is acceptable. A judge awards points to the cutter based on a scale that ranges from 60 to 80, with 70 being considered average.

Cutting is one of the fastest growing forms of western horsecack riding/equine sports in the world. In 2006, the contestants at the NCHA Futurity competed for more than $3.7 million--over a hundred times the offering of the first year.

Here is the story of how it all began for this fast growing equestrian sport.

When American cowboys of the 1800s began using their best horses to separate individual cows from a herd, it was part of the daily job. Cutting's heritage runs strong and deep, like the centuries-old mesquites that flourish on the Texas plains. From Chisholm Trail to present day, cutting horses have been indispensable tools in the cattle trade.

During the era of the open range, cattle from one outfit often drifted and mingled with those of other outfits. Twice a year, in the spring and the fall, neighboring ranchers would join in a cattle roundup to sort out their brands.

Every outfit traveled with a remuda of horses. Within the remuda each cowboy had a string of horses, some of them more suitable for one job than another. For instance, a cowhand needed a steady mount to patrol the herd during the night, but in the morning he could ride last year's bronc to the far reaches of the roundup circle.

The cutting horse was an elite member of the remuda. A typical cutting horse might have started out in a cowboy's string, but his sensitivity to cattle brought him to the attention of the roundup boss. He was the horse that pricked his ears toward a cow and followed her with his eyes. He instinctively knew not to crowd her, yet was wary of her every move. He made the difficult job of separating cattle easier and quicker.

As big cattle outfits gave way to small farms and ranches in the twentieth century, pickup trucks and squeeze chutes took the place of cow horses. A few large ranches still rounded up cattle the old-fashioned way, but cutting horses were fast becoming obsolete.

The first advertised cutting contest was held at the 1898 Cowboy Reunion in Haskell, Texas. Fifteen thousand people, lured by ads in the Dallas News and the Kansas City Star, attended. Since the nearest railroad was fifty miles away, they came on horseback, or by wagon and hack. The cutting contest offered a prize of $150, a substantial sum in those days, and 11 riders entered.

The first record of cutting as an arena spectator event came at the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, when a cutting horse exhibition was added to the annual rodeo in 1919. It became a competitive event the following year.

By 1946, there were so many cutting horse contests being held, under so many different sets of conditions and rules that a group of 13 cutting horse owners met at the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show and decided to form an association to establish standard rules and procedures for holding such competition.

The first show was held in Dublin, Texas, in the fall of 1946, and the rest they say is history.

The bond between people and horses that make this sport so special, also links it to the sweat and dust of the Old West, and sets it apart from all other events.

To find out more about the Cutting Horse Sport please visit our Squidoo Lens and the links section for Cutting Websites.

Buckaroo Leather Cutting Horse Tack

American Made Leather, Timeless Quality

Quality Leather Horse Tack is vital for the performance for both horse and rider.

Leather Reins

The type of cutting horse tack used is harness leather split reins and harness leather headstalls for working and cutting horse training...

A quality rein can make the communication between horse and rider superior, creating a stronger performance. Below is a listing of some of the finest American made reins available at Buckaroo Leather.

Professional Heavy Leather Split Rein-(pictured to the right) 5/8" width with an 8' Length. These TOP OF THE LINE Quality Pro Horse Reins are for everyday use by the Professional Horseman! These are heavy hand picked uniform Split Reins with Hand Beveled edges and rubbed with extra oil for a soft supple feel-Providing the Best ready to use Feel! Great for reining, training, Cutting, etc.Famous Lined and Oiled Split Reins

Split Lined Reins (Pictured to the right) 5/8" width with 7' or 8' length. The finest Quality Split Lined Reins are sure to become your favorite! They have the uniform balance through out the complete length Because we take care when cut side by side they are PAIRED together, BORN together for that exact same feel & weight for the ultimate signal and communication! This is the only Rein of its kind on the market! Great for reining, Cutting, trail riding and stock horse events.

Pulling Breast Collars by Buckaroo Leather

Cutting horse breast collars are very popular also because the horse is so fast and athletic it is needed to hold your saddle in place. The pulling breast collar, martingale breast collar (sometimes called choker) and over the neck breast collars are the most popular.

And in the cutting horse shows they often add silver conchas and buckle sets to accent and bling up their cutting horse tack...

Pulling Breast Collars-Tooled - (pictured to the right) Hermann Oak Leather Buckaroo style Pulling Breast Collar. The width is 2 1/2" wide with Nickel Plate hardware. This Breast Collar has an over the shoulder fit. It is designed to wrap through the saddle swells, perfect for a pulling position.

Pulling Breast Collars (pictured to the right) We have added 4 beautifully hand engraved Antique Berry Conchas to this Pulling Breast Collar. This Cowboy Pulling style Breast Collar is American made of Golden Bridle leather, is 2 1/2" wide, oiled & stitched with a soft chap lining and finished with Nickel Plate roller buckle hardware. The Breast Collar has an over the shoulder fit and is designed to wrap through the saddle swells, perfect for a pulling position.

Pulling Breast Collars - (pictured to the right) Quality Hermann Oak Leather Pulling Breast Collar. The width is 2 1/2"with a Golden Bridle leather color. This Cowboy Pulling style Breast Collar is oiled & stitched with a soft chap lining and finished with Nickel Plate roller buckle hardware. This Pulling Breast Collar is designed to wrap through the saddle swells, perfect for a pulling position.



Quality American Made Horse Tack

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
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A Breast Collar style worn by Trigger

Not only Popular, but a Celebrity?

The Over the Neck Breast Collar strap is not only popular, but some what of a celebrity.


Roy Rogers used this same piece of horse tack on his famous horse, Trigger. In the picture above, you will see one of his amazing saddles, designed by Edward H. Bohlin, with this style of Breast Collar.

Trigger, or Golden Cloud his original name, was born on a ranch in San Diego, Ca in 1932 or 1934. Roy Rogers changed his name for their first movie together, "Under Western Stars" in 1938.


Trigger's first movie role was in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" in 1938. He was the horse of Maid Marian played by actress Olivia de Havilland.

Roy Rogers was truly impressed and enamored by this horse. So in 1943 Rogers purchased Trigger from Hudkins Stables of Hollywood for $2,500. (In 1943 $2,500 was roughly equivalent to $30,000 today.) Rogers paid the $2,500 in payments, as quoted by Rogers "just like you would a bedroom set." He would later say that it was money well spent!Roy Rogers and Smiley Burnett, Roy's sidekick in his first two films, where discussing a name for the horse, when Smiley commented that the big horse was sure "quick on the trigger." Roy decided that would be a good name for him and that is how Trigger got a new name. Smiley was right, Trigger was very fast; in fact he was the fastest horse on the lot. The beautiful golden horse was very athletic and could stop on a dime and give you nine cents change. He could cut and spin so fast that a less experienced rider could be left in mid air and yet his disposition was such that Roy could put three or four kids up on his back at the same time without any worry they would be injured, a remarkable trait for a stallion.

Whenever Roy Rogers was making personal appearances, Roy always placed Trigger and his fancy horse trailer outside of the arena or building where they were appearing before the show. He wanted all the kids to be able to see Trigger, especially the ones that couldn't afford to buy a ticket.

Roy Rogers was careful not to overwork his equine partner, so, along with the original Trigger, there was also Little Trigger and Trigger Jr. Neither Little Trigger nor Trigger Jr. was related to the original Trigger. The original Trigger remained a stallion his entire life, but never sired any offspring.

As mentioned before, Trigger's finest saddles were made by Edward H. Bohlin, known as the Michelangelo of saddle making. Mr. Bohlin got his start as a famous saddle maker by making horse tack for Tony, the famous movie horse of cowboy actor Tom Mix. Many of Trigger's saddles were covered in intricate patterns in silver and gold, and some of them weighed as much as 150 pounds.

Several of these amazing saddles are on display in the Roy Rogers museum in Branson Missouri. Roy Rogers' beautiful Bohlin silver saddles and his unique plastic saddles are on display. Roy's trademark Bohlin silver saddle first showed up on screen in 1942. In the Bohlin catalog of that era it is listed as the Dick Dickson, Jr. model. It is a beautiful black hand carved saddle with silver triangles and diamonds. Roy used that saddle throughout his career and it is now displayed on Trigger in the museum.

Along with his Bohlin saddles, Roy also purchased the Music saddle. It is one of the most elaborate saddles ever made. It was created in the early 1930's for a lady named Mrs. Music and she rode this saddle in the annual Rose Parade and other events for a number of years. She was a small lady and this saddle has a very small seat. It took 16 men almost a year to produce this saddle set that originally sold for $20,000 and reportedly contained 1,400 ounces of sterling silver, 136 ounces of gold and hundreds of Czech rubies. Roy bought the items from the original owner's estate in 1950 for $50,000.

Trigger passed away peacefully in 1965. Assuming he was born in 1932, he would have been 33 years old at the time of his death. When Trigger died his hide was mounted over a plaster cast of a rearing horse. It now located at the Roy Rogers Museum in Missouri

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

The New Over The Neck Breast Collar Strap

A Breast Collar attaches to the front of the saddle, cross the horse's chest, and usually has a strap that runs between the horse's front legs and attaches to the girth. They keep the saddle from sliding back or sideways.

A Breast Collar is usually seen in demanding, fast-paced sports such as jumping, polo, and fox hunting. They are also seen in Western riding events, particularly in rodeo, reining and cutting, where it is particularly important to prevent a saddle from shifting. They may also be worn in other horse show classes for decorative purposes.

Horseman and woman are becoming more aware that the best fit of the Breast Collar is up over the shoulder so not to rub across the shoulder. It allows for a better pulling position for all types of riding and is more comfortable for your horse. This position will also keep your saddle more secure.

To assure this proper fit of the Breast Collar, there is a popular piece of horse tack, called the Over The Neck Breast Collar Strap.The new Over the Neck Breast Collar strap connects up over the neck of your horse to hold the breast collar up over the point of the shoulder in the valley were the shoulder and neck meet for a better fitting position.

Please see the Our Video Demonstrating the Use

This very popular, Over the Neck Breast Collar strap, is now available in a western design and universally adjustable to fit any style Breast collar. Buckaroo Leather offers plain straight style Over the Neck Breast Collar Straps to shaped designs . We also offer styles that you can add your horses name or favorite conchas to. All styles have Nickel or Brass hardware available.

Buckaroo Leather offers many styles of breast collars with over the neck straps already designed into them. So whether you have a favorite Breast Collar and want to add the Over the Neck straps with a concha or are looking for a new Breast Collar with straps already deigned in, Buckaroo Leather has the quality and design you are looking for.


Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

How to Properly Fit Your Breast Collar with an Over the Wither Strap

All serious Western Performance Horseman will want to use this Innovative quality leather Tack Item. Keeping your Breast Collar in the right position always helps your horse perform at optimum levels and add balance and support to your athletic Horse.


If you like this video-please see our Squidoo Lens with more great How To Video's

Better Breast Collar Fit....

The most asked for tack item is now available in a
western design and universally adjustable to fit any
style Breast collar.....



The new Over the Neck Breast Collar strap connects
up over the neck of your horse to hold the breast collar
up over the point of the shoulder in the valley were the shoulder and neck meet for a better fitting
position...


Horseman and woman are becoming more aware that
the best fit is up over the shoulder so not to rub across
the shoulder. It allows a better pulling position for all
types of riding and is more comfortable for your horse.
And will keep your saddle more secure....

Buckaroo Leather is offering plain straight styles #LT2926 to shaped designs #BC12 and styles
you can add your horses name or conchas to #BC15....



Many styles of breast collars now come with over the
neck straps already designed into them.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site