Friday, August 22, 2014

What Is The Cantle?

The cantle is the back of the saddle.


As you can see, the cantle slopes upwards some degree. The amount varies according to saddle, and whether the rider needs more freedom of movement or more support. These horses have their riders' rain jackets tied to the back behind the cantle.

In English, dressage saddles have higher cantles than those used by jumpers (who push their butt backwards). In western, barrel racers use high cantles to help them stay on the horse, whilst cutters use lower ones so they can brace better when the horse does that "dance" they do (look up a video of a cutting competition to see what they mean).

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