[AllAroundRdr]

It's used for more than just roping But yes, it prevents the back of the saddle from rising and falling.

Originally Posted by horselovr3583

its for when you rope steer around your horn it keeps the back of the saddle down

[Jenje!]

That bugs me! Not that it's useless loose, but that it's dangerous- they can get things caught between the cinch and their bellies and you know what, I'm just getting too old to rodeo myself. Big pet peeve of mine.

[Shotgun93]

Originally Posted by horselovr3583

its for when you rope steer around your horn it keeps the back of the saddle down

But when it's not even snug on your horse, it doesn't do much good for keeping the saddle in place.

[haunani]

I think some of it comes from people being told it should be slightly loose. So when they tack up, they leave it slightly loose, not realizing that when they mount up and their weight's in the saddle, it loosens up quite a bit.

On my boys, I snug it up when I'm tacking up. Doing it that way, when I'm in the saddle, it's slightly loose during the ride.

[Buckshot]

I keep mine slightly looser than the front cinch, but not much...

Once I rode a saddle when it was way too loose and it wouldn't tighten up any more. I just took it off.

On trail rides I see people who obviously don't know what a safety hazard it is, having it loose enough to fit a fist under it. Like others have said, some people think it just may be a "western" looking item with no real purpose, but when I'm bushwacking up gullies, I beg to differ.

[TrailBlazer]

I prefer to ride with mine tight myself (not tight like the front cinch). As already mentioned a leg can get caught. I have seen cactus or burs thrown in between the back cinch and the belly (causing quite the rodeo). Also have seen brush get caught in when going through some thick bush. It helps to keep the saddle in place when going down steep hills as well.
What’s the point of having one if it doesn’t do anything.

[AllAroundRdr]

Unfortunately I think a lot of the problem is when some people are taught, they're taught the term "bucking strap" or "flank strap" in reference to the rear cinch. I've heard both those terms used for it COUNTLESS times over the years - that in itself makes people leary of PROPERLY fitting a rear cinch

[Horsegma]

I can speak from personal experience. Nobody could give me the answer. I would ask several people about the tightness, or looseness of it, and got several different answers.

It wasn't from lack of trying to find out.

I did finally find the correct answer after owning horses for at least a couple of years.

The correct answer is to have it snug against the horse. You will find people who say it should be a little bit loose, but that won't help keep the saddle down like it's suppose to.

Not so tight that it cuts them in half either. That is not what snug means.

It's a good idea to see if your horse is used to one before having them use one for the first time. Otherwise a good way to start getting used to it is to wrap a rope around that area and slightly gather it up like a belt for a second and then release, keep repeating until the horse has no reaction.

Having it too loose can be dangerous if the horse gets a back leg through it. One person even told me that a fallen tree branch worked its way into the opening and that was a terrible experience.

It's on forums like this that people have the opportunity to get some good advice and education. It's where I have obtained a lot of good stuff from people who have been there, done that.

[Tack Collector]

I think they banned back cinches at 4H shows where I lived before I moved here. Somebody's front cinch broke, and the saddle was still connected due to the back cinch being fastened. I guess it was a really bad accident.

[Aussiesnapps]

Originally Posted by Tack Collector

I think they banned back cinches at 4H shows where I lived before I moved here. Somebody's front cinch broke, and the saddle was still connected due to the back cinch being fastened. I guess it was a really bad accident.

I'm sure that was terrible.

I've also heard that if the back cinch is used properly then the front cinch does not need to be quite as tight, and it helps with the all around better fit of the saddle to the horse.

Can someone post a good picture of a properly used back cinch for those folks that might be confused? I don't have any pictures of my horses saddled.