page_title: Breastplate (tack)
section_title: Breastgirth or loop breastplate
hierarchical_section_title: Breastplate (tack) / Breastgirth or loop breastplate
caption_attribution_description: English: Riders of the Cadre Noir. Party promoting the candidacy of Paris to the 2012 Olympic Games., Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 5 June 2005
context_page_description: A breastplate is a piece of riding equipment used on horses. Its purpose is to keep the saddle or harness from sliding back.
  On riding horses, it is most helpful on horses with large shoulders and a flat ribcage. It is also a safety feature, especially on cross-country, should a rider's girth or billets break, as the rider will have enough time to stop the horse and dismount before the saddle slipped off the animal's back or underneath its belly. The breastplate is used on both English and Western saddles. When used in English riding, the hunting breastplate is made of thinner straps of leather, as is the western style used for horse shows. Working western horses in disciplines that involve work with cattle use a thicker, sturdier style.
context_section_description: The breastgirth is made of strong elastic, and runs from either the D-rings of the saddle, or is attached to a loop that runs around the saddle's stirrup bars. Although similar to the breastcollar, there is no wither strap. Breastcollars are usually seen in show jumping and eventing (usually on the cross-country phase). They are desirable because they tend to be less-restrictive to the shoulders, so the horse is better able to pick up his front legs and fold over a jump.
caption: A breastgirth.
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