A breastplate (also referred to as a breastcollar, breaststrap or breastgirth) is a piece of tack (equipment) used on horses. Its purpose is to keep a saddle from sliding back. It is also a safety feature—if the saddle's girth or billets break, a rider may have enough time to stop the horse and dismount before the saddle slips off the animal's back. The breastplate is used on both English and Western saddles. Western riding involving working cattle use a thicker sturdier style than in English riding or Western riding horse shows. A breastplate is most helpful for horses with large shoulders and a flat ribcage. A breast collar as part of a harness is used to pull a load.
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English saddle in the context of Girth (tack)
A girth, sometimes called a cinch (Western riding), is a piece of equipment used to keep the saddle in place on a horse or other animal. It passes under the barrel of the equine, attached to the saddle on both sides by two or three leather straps called billets. Girths are used on Australian and English saddles, while western saddles and many pack saddles have a cinch, which is fastened to the saddle by a single wide leather strap on each side, called a latigo.
Although a girth is often enough to keep a well-fitting saddle in place, other pieces of equipment are also used in jumping or speed sports such as polo, eventing, show jumping, and fox hunting; or on rough terrain such as trail riding. These include breastplates, overgirths, cruppers, and, on pack saddles, breeching.
English saddle in the context of English riding
English riding is a form of horse riding seen throughout the world. There are many variations, but all feature a flat English saddle without the deep seat, high cantle, or saddle horn found on a Western saddle, nor the knee pads seen on an Australian stock saddle. Saddles within the various English disciplines are all designed to allow the horse the freedom to move in the optimal manner for a given task, ranging from classical dressage to horse racing. English bridles also vary in style based on discipline, but most feature some type of cavesson noseband as well as closed reins, buckled together at the ends, that prevents them from dropping on the ground if a rider becomes unseated. Clothing for riders in competition is usually based on traditional needs from which a specific style of riding developed, but most standards require, as a minimum, boots; breeches or jodhpurs; a shirt with some form of tie or stock; a hat, cap, or equestrian helmet; and a jacket.
English riding is an equestrian discipline with many different styles; however, at the most basic level, most versions require riders to use both hands on the reins, rather than just one hand, as is often seen in western riding. Riders generally "post" or "rise" to the trot (rising and sitting in rhythm with each stride). The "posting trot" is used most often in a working or extended trot, although there are also times when English riders may sit the trot; the "sitting trot" is most often used to ride collected forms of the trot seen in dressage, show hack and hunt seat equitation competition.