Breastplate western breastplate - ponca

Western Breastplate, made from tan leather.

A breastplate is a piece of horse riding equipment, used to keep your saddle from sliding back. It secures the saddle while still allowing the horse’s shoulder’s to move. Why would your saddle slide back? From a horses’ built, there is not much keeping the saddle from sliding backwards, so it’s no surprise the saddle can have a tendency to slide (if your saddle slides a lot, it could be a result of a poor fitted saddle). It is also an additional safety measure from the standpoint that if the rider’s girth or billets should break, the rider will have time to stop and dismount before the saddle slips completely off.