Patent ID: 7591125

Claim:
A cinch assembly for securing a saddle to an animal, comprising: a cinch having one end connectable to one side of the saddle and another end having a buckle including a ring and a catch; a strap extendible from the saddle; and a cinch connector detachably connecting the buckle of the cinch to the strap, the cinch connector comprising: a frame defining a strap receiving slot; a rigid latch bar connected to the frame member and defining a catch receiving space, at least a portion of the latch bar configured to be received through the ring of the buckle when the distal end of the catch of the buckle is disengaged from the ring so that the catch of the buckle may then be rotated through the catch receiving space of the latch bar to engage the ring of the buckle thereby capturing the latch bar to connect the cinch connector to the buckle; and a tongue pivotally connected to the frame and extendible through a hole in the strap to fasten the strap to the cinch connector.