Staying Fashionable - Western Show Tack

You know you've seen it: The person riding into the arena with the violent neon nylon tack....as Nancy Kerrigan says, "WHHHHHYYYYY??!!" If you are going to take the time to make your self look good, why not tidy up Spanky while you're at it? Spending money on your show clothes is pointless if you are not going to spend the money on your horse's tack. Properly adjusted and fitting tack is a must for the show ring. You look ridiculous without it, and chances are you're poorly fitting saddle is pinching your horse so he can't move correctly. Might as well of saved the entry fees.

The Rundown:
Bits:
Ah, yes, the bits are back! (Refer to "Leading Into Western Tack..." for more information on bits). Fads come and go, and we like to see our bridle horses (5 or over) in a shank bit with a bit of the fancy shmancy etching on the shank. Silver only.

Like the one seen at right. Don't worry, it's easy to find them in different mouth pieces.

Snaffle Bit horses are those 4 and under. But, snaffles are pretty out of style in the show ring. Bosals are all the rage, they look nice, your mecate drapes so nicely off so you can show your horse on a loose rein, but it's easy to pick up and fix the horse's face quickly if needed, without all the mouth opening and avoiding of the bit you would get in a snaffle. Bosals need to be legal. They have to be rawhide covered...no metal, no Quik Stops! Rope halters are not the same thing as a bosal. I understand that some people buy rope halters that have rawhide plaited around the noseband. These are not, not, not, not bosals and are completely unacceptable in showing! This is the type of bosal you need. These are 12-plait bosals, but you could also use an 8-plait at minimum.

Headstalls:

What's in is simple, two ear headstalls with silver. Browband are really, really, outdated now. Two ears are used with bosals and shanked bits, so if you're following the fashion rules, you should be okay. No worries. Two eared headstall with silver. They don't have to be top of the line, but they need to be clean and not have completely cheap silver plating that comes off the first time you try to clean it. Light oil is in. Dark oil and Black tack is completely out of style for AQHA and APHA classes. Like this one:

Saddles:

There are some people out there who think they will never win without a saddle covered in silver and get all sorts of butt hurt when their horse loses the class. More often than not, they are bouncing around on an old roping saddle and the horse is going to 90 to nothing.

For saddles, if you want to sit correctly for western performance classes, you need an equitation type saddle. These seats will put you in the correct position for horsemanship and all those "slow" classes. I also prefer to have my saddles with the "cut out" or "butterfly" skirt, depending on what you call it. This is where the skirt is cut out from where your leg goes and gives you better contact with the horse. It also won't push your thighs away from the saddle and lets you keep a better leg position.

Your saddle doesn't have to be coated in silver, but there are some rules you should stand by. Square skirts only. Round skirted saddles are for trail riders and barrel racers. If you don't want to look like Billy Bob come to show, get a square skirt saddle. Also, your saddle needs to be a light oil. Like I said, dark oil and black are pretty out of style. If that's all you have to work with, that's okay, just make sure no matter what color your saddle is, it is clean. This is the kind of saddle that a lot of people are afraid to invest in:

This particular saddle retails for under $5000.00 which is pretty darn good for the quality! However, if you are afraid of a lot of silver or are going to be doing a lot of other riding in your show saddle you may want to invest in a saddle like this:This is actually a reining saddle, but it would work for all around events provided you have the lower leg strength to keep your legs in position.

No matter what kind of saddle you get, it is important that it fits both you and your horse.

Back cinches are not to be used in showing western performance classes. Neither are those super long tie strings that people put on their saddle to.....tie themselves in? I don't really know what those are for.

What we didn't mention: Breastcollars.

Why we didn't mention them: They are so far out of style it isn't even funny. I cringe when I see someone showing in one.