When I first thought of riding Xena, I couldn’t decide between Western and English. I wasn’t strongly affiliated with either riding style, because I’d take both English and Western riding lessons. But in my heart I knew Western was my first choice, because Xena was bred for Western Performance and she’s from Alberta — home of the Rocky Mountains, Calgary Stampede, cowboy hats and all things Western. But first, I had to solve my problem with the Western-style latigo and cinch.
The root of my problem is that I have Osteoarthritis in my hands — it’s painful, ugly and debilitating. In the last 4 years, several of my fingers have become so contorted that I’ve lost much of my grip strength and fine motor skills. When it comes to riding, tightening and adjusting a traditional cinch is difficult because of my weakened grip, so I often have to ask for help. For this reason alone, I was considering an English saddle because English billets are somewhat easier on my hands.
The Smart Cinch has been a great solution for me. The cinch buckle has two slots with individual steel rollers for each wrap of the latigo. When the latigo is tightened it slides smoothly over the steel rollers, without the friction of leather on leather. With the Smart Cinch I’m able to tighten the cinch most of the way with only one hand. It’s made a huge difference for me and I highly recommend it — even if you don’t have arthritis, the Smart Cinch just makes life easier.
I bought my cinch at Greenhawk Harness & Equestrian Supplies. If you’d like more info, there’s a video demo on YouTube and a brochure by Weaver Leather.
Xena's YouTube Channel