| Whether or not you do up your saddle's cinches after | | | | 3. Move to the horse's off (right) side. The cinches will |
| a ride depends upon your plans for placing the saddle | | | | now be hanging straight down from the saddle. With |
| on your horse for the next saddling. | | | | your right hand, grasp the buckle on the free end of |
| For example, if you are in the habit of folding the right | | | | the front cinch. Fold the cinch back onto itself by lifting |
| fender up over the seat of the saddle (along with your | | | | the buckle straight up toward the saddle. Make sure |
| cinches) before setting the saddle in place on your | | | | the cinch has been folded, not twisted. A fold will |
| horse, chances are that "doing up the cinches" will not | | | | flatten out when cinching up, but a dried-in twist may |
| be part of your unsaddling routine. Instead, as you | | | | not. |
| unsaddle, it's likely you will simply grab the cinches from | | | | 4. While still holding the front cinch in your right hand, |
| across the horse's back and then lay them over the | | | | grasp the buckle on the free end of the back cinch |
| seat as you pull the saddle from the horse. | | | | with your left hand. Give the rear cinch a half turn in a |
| If, on the other hand, you leave the right fender down | | | | counter clockwise direction. Here's why: A counter |
| and swing the saddle onto the horse when saddling | | | | clockwise half turn will cause the rear cinch buckle to |
| instead, then doing up the cinches is an important task | | | | point slightly towards the horse's front legs when |
| to incorporate into your unsaddling routine. Here are the | | | | undone during the next saddling, making it easier to |
| steps involved. | | | | grasp a hold of when saddling--especially when |
| 1. Working on the horse's near (left) side, first undo the | | | | saddling unstarted colts. |
| rear cinch. It's now safe to undo the front cinch. As | | | | 5. Now fold the back cinch up and place it on top of |
| you unthread the latigo from the cinch buckle, lower | | | | the front cinch buckle. Thread the cinch keeper through |
| the cinch carefully, making sure the cinch buckle does | | | | the front cinch buckle and then buckle it into the back |
| not bang the horse on the legs. | | | | cinch buckle. If you don't have a cinch keeper, use the |
| 2. With the latigo twist free, double it and then tuck it | | | | saddle strings--but only until you can get a saddle |
| through the rigging plate (or ring) from underneath. That | | | | repair shop to add a cinch keeper to your saddle. |
| way, it will be set to feed out smoothly the next time | | | | With the cinches done up and out of the way, swinging |
| you saddle up. To hold the latigo securely in place, | | | | the saddle onto your horse the next time you saddle |
| wrap its tail around the loops and half hitch them | | | | up can be done safely, smoothly, and efficiently. |
| together to form a bundle. | | | | |