Breastplates 3, point or 5 point... OH MY!

I’m pretty sure I need a breastplate for safety. I worry if I have the 5 point, I’ll get so irritated trying to hook it up, I won’t use it.

Is elastic a good idea or not? I see the elastic/leather combo, but that just seems like the saddle would just slip around as the elastic stretches…

Why are they so freaking expensive??

Do you have a >$100 one that you love?

Thanks for your help!!

I’m sure you’ll get fresh opinions and links, but here’s an old thread I’ve consulted to get you started:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?420014-5-point-vs-3-point-breastplates

Look at “Amanda Ross” FlexiFit Bridge Breastplate Less fussy that 5 point more stable than Hunt Style. Check Ebay AU (as in Australia)

I have this 5 point one: http://www.jefferspet.com/products/uniquely-english-five-point-breastplate It’s surprisingly nice for $50, but it does run big so it wouldn’t work for a small horse.

I use the breast collar type.

I only have a 5-point because my horse’s neck is set so low that the other types dig into him and look like they’re choking him. The 5 point sits lower beneath the neck and eliminates that.

I had a Nunn Finer elastic 3-point that I loved. You can find them used >$100

[QUOTE=Chaila;8607253]
I’m pretty sure I need a breastplate for safety. I worry if I have the 5 point, I’ll get so irritated trying to hook it up, I won’t use it.

Is elastic a good idea or not? I see the elastic/leather combo, but that just seems like the saddle would just slip around as the elastic stretches…

Why are they so freaking expensive??

Do you have a >$100 one that you love?

Thanks for your help!![/QUOTE]

Use whatever fits best, but if it turns out to be a 5 point you like, invest in a handful of small clips/snaps to add to the straps for ease of everyday use. You can get all your straps adjusted to fit your horse and then you won’t need to undo a bunch of buckles every time.

I have the HDR 5 point and while it’s not luxurious leather, it’s durable and nice looking for the low price point.

CWD Bridge type is by far the best I have tried, I have one of those and one from PSoSweden and both are fabulous.

I adore my Bartville Harness 5 point elastic breastplate :slight_smile: It comes with clips/snaps already too! My guy seems to prefer the elastic to regular (I had a trainer with one so I could test it out for sizing), but he has broad shoulders on a short body and they contour well.

I can’t remember how much I spent on it, but it wouldn’t have been much over 100$ if it was.

I would never use a breast plate with elastic. After seeing them break multiple times while the horse is being ridden, it’s ugly and can really freak a horse out.

I have one at home that I love that’s all leather, couldn’t tell the brand off hand though, sorry !

This.

I have a (Dover) standard style elastic Breastplate, it looks like this one (CLICK) - I turned it into a hunt style breastplate by taking an old flash and looping it through the metal rings that you see up by the shoulder - basically converting it into a grab-strap style breastplate.

IIRC, the breastplate cost me $50 but it doesn’t look like Dover has it anymore… I wonder if it is on B/O. Maybe I can snap a picture for you when I ride today. I made it much easier to put on simply by buying d-ring attachments for the stirrup bar and also small clips for the actual breastplate - now it just clips on and we go :slight_smile: it’s more of a PITA to put it over my guy’s head than it is to fasten it.

Personally I am not a fan of the 5 point breastplates - I think they can be easy to misfit or overtighten, and I also think they can encourage the saddle to be pulled/slammed forward on the shoulder. Plus they are a major PITA to put on and my BIGGEST thing is safety when it comes to tack - I’ve seen horses get into accidents with 5 point breastplates on and it can be really hard to remove them (to get the saddle off) in an emergency situation – I’d much rather stick to a breastplate that only attaches in one or two areas of the saddle… I did watch a horse a few years ago crash into a fence @ Full Gallop, got his leg stuck in the martingale and flipped right over, face into the ground – he couldn’t get loose and started thrashing, popped the chest part of the breastplate and the entire saddle flipped sideways and he bolted, dragging the saddle underfoot. Rider was okay but the saddle was completely destroyed… Just goes to show you when one thing goes wrong EVERYTHING will.

I have a few 3 point breastplates that I like. The Nunn Finer Elastic jumper breastplate is one I like. I also go to my classic Nunn Finer with elastic inserts. They hold up so well and are worth every penny. I get mine from Bartville. I tried the Crown hunting breastplate from Dover and it was fine. Not the quality of the Nunn Finer but passable.

I don’t like the extra straps of the 5 points and I don’t feel they make a difference. I tried a few different styles.

I tried the Nunn Finer hunting 5 point that I got from Bartville and it is a minimalist style. It works just as fine as my 3 point though. I tried the Jeffries 5pt and it was nice but so bulky. The HDR was bulky as well.

I currently have a 5-point. It does the job, but I don’t use it on a regular basis, to much time. So when I have the fund I will be investing, maybe a bridge breastplate or something similar since my 3 point didn’t help at all with my saddle slipping.

[QUOTE=ellevt;8608292]
I had a Nunn Finer elastic 3-point that I loved. You can find them used >$100[/QUOTE]

I have the same one and I adore it! It’s pretty, simple to put on, and gets the job done. I used to have a 5-point one (I’ll admit I got one because it was trendy at the time) but I found it to be excessive and they are much more difficult to fit. The shoulder piece was so large it just got in the way at times.

Thanks everybody. Sounds like I should suck it up and go for the 5 point. But it seems (at least intuitively) that the elastic wouldn’t prevent slippage. I’m not sure why some have elastic and some don’t. Anybody care to enlighten me?

The Amanda Ross 5 point breast plates from Flexible Fit are extremely popular with many 4* riders internationally. It has double elastic and the gel padding is very comfortable for the horse and the fittings make adjustment easy.

No breastplate is going to prevent your saddle from slipping 100%-- they aren’t really designed for that. They will help in case of a catastrophic failure like if you forget to tighten your girth or something, and they will limit the amount it slips back, but you can’t really rely on it to compensate for saddle fit. The elastic is meant to make it more comfortable for the horse, but IME the big advantage of it is that it holds up better than leather since the breastplate tends to get really sweated on.

Like someone mentioned-- if you get a breastplate that attaches to the saddle dees, make sure you get the dee savers, you don’t want a dee ripped off your saddle.

[QUOTE=Highflyer;8611653]
No breastplate is going to prevent your saddle from slipping 100%-- they aren’t really designed for that. They will help in case of a catastrophic failure like if you forget to tighten your girth or something, and they will limit the amount it slips back, but you can’t really rely on it to compensate for saddle fit. The elastic is meant to make it more comfortable for the horse, but IME the big advantage of it is that it holds up better than leather since the breastplate tends to get really sweated on.

Like someone mentioned-- if you get a breastplate that attaches to the saddle dees, make sure you get the dee savers, you don’t want a dee ripped off your saddle.[/QUOTE]

I’ve been eventing for years and until this moment I had never heard of a dee saver! :lol:

You learn something new every day.

I’ve seen a horse put his head down to grab grass and pull both dees off the saddle-- it was bad, especially since I think the saddle was worth more than the horse.