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Center-fire Rigging

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Center-fire Rigging
  • For those who are curious.  I use this rigging setup quite a bit, while it is not always the best option for every horse and every saddle it comes in handy.  With a wide, low-withered horse it helps pull the weight of the saddle evenly over the ribs and keeps it from sliding over the shoulder, it also reduces saddle roll (when you mount or dismount).  On a slab-sided (or flat-sided) horse (where the barrel and the shoulder are pretty much on the same plane with no real contour between) and most mules, it keeps the girth from galling (making sores) and also helps keep the saddle from sliding onto the shoulder.

    My preferred way was to have a very long latigo, to start AND finish at the rear rigging D'.  But I have found that a shorter latigo will work, you can start it just like normal at the front rigging D', go through the cinch, up to the flank rigging, and then buckle off at the cinch.  If the latigo is long enough, I would take it back up to the flank D' and tie off a latigo knot.  In the pictures below, with Gibson's big belly and a short cinch, I have to settle for just buckling at the cinch and poking the slack through the keeper. The key is that you do not want to 'finish' your centerfire rigging on the front rigging D', it needs to have the final tightening and fastening pull it BACK toward the flank.  If it is 'finished' by being pulled through the front rigging and buckled or tied in a latigo, the saddle and girth will still pull into the 'heart' or forehand of the horse as you ride.

    Center-fire rigging has to be done on both sides, and you will find you can adjust how far forward or back the cinch goes, so be sure it is the same on both sides. 

    I recommend practicing it just for fun, even if you don't use it you should know how in case you are out on the trails and you get a cinch-galled horse.  The only problem is you need 2 latigos, an off billet won't work.  I have been resourceful in the past and swapped an off billet with a latigo on another horse I was riding with; so one horse's saddle was held on with 2 billets and I center-fired the cinch-galled horse.



  • Now, on the last photo you noticed I had a lot of latigo left.  It was still too short to tie off in a knot on the flank rigging, so I just poked the slack up through the front riggin - no tension, this is just keeping it out of the way and preventing the buckle from getting popped loose.  After Gibson blows off his haybelly (a mile down the trail) I would be able to pull more slack out and tie off at the flank rigging.

    To put the saddle away, I do not untie the off side - just wiggle it back a little (see picture - notice it is not unbuckled) and throw the cinch up over the saddle for storage.
  • Thanks for this 3equines. I need to start doing this with Tonto. He has some lumps right where his girth lies with regular rigging.
  • Another thing I find helpful with saddle fit problems is the Charmayne James Ortho Sport pad by Professional's Choice.  With a saddle that is sliding forward, tight in the shoulder, or voiding behind the wither (no contact) it helps fill in the gaps and lift the front of the bar off of the shoulder (without making the shoulder even tighter under the bar like traditional thick pads do), this in turn affects the girth by reducing tha amount of forward pull and weight shifting.  I initially got the pad for my late Polish Arabian, Taz because we just could not get a saddle to fit right on him.  Since then I have used it in a variety of situations and been pleased with the results. 

    A pic of the pad.....