Do 5 point breastplates restrict the shoulder?

[peterponie]

I’m sorry if this has already been discussed, i cannot for the life of me find it on here.

anyway, i recently watched a video where a girl said that she thought that a 5 point breastplate could restrict the horse’s shoulder over a jump.

i have thought of this before, but never really worried about it with my horse. recently we went to a jumper show, and looking at pictures from it, it appears that my 5 point breastplate IS restricting his shoulder a bit.

he has a huge shoulder and a huge jump, so it would make sense that the 5 point could get in the way of his full range of motion in the shoulder.

does this make sense, or am i crazy? and would a normal 3 point breastplate offer any better shoulder relief? anyone have experience with this?

i do need a breastplate, as we event and i like to have something to stabilize the saddle a bit more, and he goes in a running martingale so i need a breastplate to attach that to.

thanks!

[Highflyer]

It depends-- a correctly fitted one shouldn’t, but not all styles fit every horse.I do think the traditional 3 point onesthat adjust on the shoulder are most likely to fit a wide variety of horses. But I work for an UL eventer and she really likes this kind: http://www.victorycanter.com/Nunn-Finer-3-Way-Hunting-Breastplate-w-Elastic-nf833.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZfLBRCzARIsAH3wMKqF9eHYKRaTmIN8YnF66Gm101yaYDIXqgJhgpAQZj3P9bQkJ5zg_bUaAo3XEALw_wcB

[WNT]

I’ve come to like the style Highflyer posted. It’s not so busy as a 5-point but it’s not putting pressure at the saddle dees, potentially pulling the saddle down at the top of the shoulders. If I were in the market, I’d consider that newer style 3-point breastplate.