A surcingle (or roller) used for equestrian vaulting. When used without a saddle, a surcingle sits just behind the withers. When used with a saddle, the surcingle runs over the seat near the pommel. A surcingle is also used over the top of certain types of pack saddle and pack to keep the pack bags and swag in place.
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A simple surcingle over a horse racing saddle Detail of a training surcingle or "roller" Many trainers first teach a young horse to accept girth pressure by strapping on a surcingle before a saddle and girth. The surcingle is commonly used for longeing, often as a base from which to attach training equipment such as side reins, overcheck, lauffer reins (sliding side reins), or chambons. A surcingle is also important in long lining or ground driving, as it provides rings for the long reins to run through. Double longeing, using two longe lines, requires the use of a surcingle to thread the longe lines through the rings.
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Lyons Press Horseman's Dictionary pp. 206–207 ;surcingle #Surcingle (NAm, UK/Ir), roller (UK/Ir, Au/NZ). A piece of training equipment which goes around the barrel of the horse.Price, et al.
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For very light use, saddle and girth may be replaced by a surcingle.
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A show Friesian horse wearing a surcingle. A surcingle is a strap made of leather or leather-like synthetic materials such as nylon or neoprene, sometimes with elastic, that fastens around the horse's girth. A surcingle may be used for ground training, some types of in-hand exhibition, and over a saddle or horse pack to stabilize the rider's weight. It also is a primary component of a horse harness.
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Price The Whole Horse Catalog 2nd ed. p. 194-195 Compared to a saddle, a surcingle allows more precise adjustment of side reins due to the placement of additional rings. While a saddle only provides one height to attach the rings (the girth buckles), and can be uneven or at the wrong position, a training surcingle places rings at more appropriate locations for ground work. Many surcingle designs allow the side reins to be attached at several different heights along the sides of the horse.
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The sliding side rein. These are adjusted with the side reins attaching between the legs. The sliding side rein gives a bit more freedom to the horse than the standard side rein. It attaches from a lower ring on the surcingle, through the bit ring, and back up to an upper ring on the surcingle.
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Both a bitting rig and a classic surcingle with side reins are intended only to be used while longeing a horse. They are not to be used on a horse that is standing in a stall (though this is a very common type of misuse), nor are they used while riding. However, the surcingle and side reins are used as safety tools in the sport of equestrian vaulting. While a surcingle and side reins are considered classical training tools, the use of the full bitting rig is controversial in some circles.
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I have already sent away for a surcingle which has a silver buckle with the initials A and M romantically entwined.
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Vaulting horses are not saddled but wear a surcingle (or a roller) and a thick back pad. The surcingle has special handles which aid the vaulter in performing certain moves as well as leather loops called "cossack stirrups". The horse wears a bridle and side reins. The lunge line is usually attached to the inside bit ring.
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A basic surcingle is unpadded, attaches around the horse by means of buckles or rings, and has no other hardware. A training surcingle, sometimes called a "roller," has many extra rings attached, running from the ribcage up to the withers area. It usually has padding to relieve pressure on the horse's spine. A variation of this design is used for equestrian vaulting.
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A surcingle belt is a belt having a web body with leather fittings on either end and a frame style metal buckle. The web is usually a heavy wool twill and may be solid colored or longitudinally striped, or embroidered with a repeating motif. The leather ends are sewn onto this, and are generally narrowed. Surcingle belts are conventionally considered an element of casual dress.
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This is because the dressage saddle has longer billets, to keep the buckles out from under the rider's leg, and so a shorter girth may be used. Dressage girths can be made of all the materials, and in all the styles, mentioned before, and also can be made entirely of very strong elastic. A black overgirth or surcingle is on this horse, wrapping over the saddle. An overgirth or surcingle is often used in addition to a regular leather girth.
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This allows the horse to stretch down and lower his head while still maintaining contact with the bit, and are therefore useful on horses that are tight in the back, carry their head too high, or are learning to stretch forward and down for the bit contact. Like the side rein, the lauffer rein is adjusted so that the horse has contact with it when his head is at or just in front of the vertical. Green horses should have the lauffer rein attached to a lower and middle surcingle rein, while more advanced horses can have the reins raised to a middle and high ring on the surcingle. The sliding side rein was designed to be attached to the outside rings of the surcingle, not between the legs.
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Some variations use pulleys and leverage on side reins to create a given "headset." Other designs add straps resembling breeching on the hindquarters to encourage engagement of the horse's rear end. The use of only a surcingle and side reins, a common component in basic horse training across all equestrian disciplines, is not usually considered a "bitting rig." It is the use of additional reins such as the overcheck, or the use of leverage to place the horse's head in a set position that turns a classic surcingle into a bitting rig.
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A surcingle is usually used with a pad, and fit to the horse's back as carefully as a saddle would be. It is tightened enough to prevent slipping, more when used with a saddle and rider, less when used for ground training.
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A horse properly equipped for vaulting with surcingle, leg wraps, side reins, and longeing cavesson Side reins are usually used for more advanced horses. They give the horse something to take contact with, encourage balance and correct head carriage, help develop self- carriage, and keep the horse from putting its head too low. Side reins may be attached from the bit to the surcingle rings, or from the bit to the billets of the girth. Side reins are adjusted longer for less-experienced horses, and gradually shortened, and raised higher (from point of shoulder up to the point of hip) as a horse becomes better trained.
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Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 204 The narrator experiences the blade mostly through sound as it "hissed" while swinging. Poe emphasizes this element of sound with such words as "surcingle," "cessation," "crescent," and "scimitar", and various forms of literary consonance.
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These were introduced in the early 20th century. This developed into the Surge hanging milker. Prior to milking a cow, a large wide leather strap called a surcingle was put around the cow, across the cow's lower back. The milker device and collection tank hung underneath the cow from the strap.
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The saddle is kept on with a girth attached to billets under the flaps, similar to those on a dressage saddle. A surcingle passing over the seat of the saddle is also used to provide additional safety. The rear of the saddle is sometimes secured by a crupper. A breastcollar is sometimes added.
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Chambon, left, gogue, right A chambon is a piece of horse tack. It is a strap that runs forward from the bottom of the girth or surcingle, and forks. The forks continue to a ring on either side of the bridle or halter, at the base of the crownpiece. Running through those rings, the forks follow the cheekpieces to the bit.
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A bitting rig or bitting harness is a training tool for horses that can teach a horse to accept a bridle and bit, and later assist a horse in developing the necessary musculature for a given equestrianism discipline. Generally used in conjunction with training on a longe line, it is most often seen in the training of Saddle seat horses, but also is used by some dressage trainers and as a tool to start horses in driving. A basic bitting rig consists of a surcingle (also known as a roller) that has a number of rings on either side, placed at varying heights, usually with a crupper to prevent the surcingle from sliding forward. A bridle is also part of a bitting rig, with side reins and rings or small pulleys on either side of the browband to accommodate an overcheck.
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A Friesian in surcingle, showing at the trot As use in agricultural pursuits declined, the Friesian became popular for recreational uses. Today, about seven percent of the horses in the Netherlands are Friesians. The Friesian horse today is used both in harness and under saddle, particularly in the discipline of dressage. In harness, they are used for competitive and recreational driving, both singly and in teams.
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Side reins used on an equestrian vaulting horse. Animation of side reins in use Side reins are equipment used when longeing a horse, running from the bit of the bridle to the saddle or surcingle. As a horse training tool, they encourage flexion and softness in the horse's mouth. For longe line work with a rider up who does not carry ordinary riding reins, they help calm and settle the animal.
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Related types of checkrein often used in conjunction with an overcheck are side reins, a pair of reins which run simply from the bit to a surcingle or saddle, intended to keep the horse's head tucked in. Side reins are a very common training tool for working horses on the longe, also considered standard safety equipment in the sport of equestrian vaulting, but rarely if ever are used by a mounted rider.
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The Decker style has two rings for tying sling ropes. The modern pack saddle is usually not intended to support a human rider. The upper side of the pack saddle resembles a rack to let its load rest on and be tied on with ropes, straps, a surcingle or other devices. One historical exception was a pack saddle used in feudal Japan by non-samurai class commoners who were not allowed to use riding saddles (kura) for transportation.
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Bull riding Calf roping Boddington Rodeo Original events included buckjumping (saddle broncs), bullock riding, campdrafting, bulldogging, wild-cow milking, wild bullock races, wild horse races and releasing the surcingle. Other common sporting events such as flag and bending races (similar to pole bending) were held for the competitors' horses. Later the term "rodeo" became more commonly used, with American saddles used and the events took on American naming patterns.Chisholm, Alec H. (ed.), The Australian Encyclopaedia, Vol.
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It is intended to be used on a horse while the animal is being led or held by a person, and not left on an unattended horse. In windy weather, a loose surcingle may be added to prevent the cooler from blowing completely off. A traditionally-shaped blanket of loosely crocheted cotton, called an anti-sweat sheet, is used to absorb moisture.Anti-sweat sheet photo Often used alone to wick moisture from the surface of the horse, if placed under a cooler, it is removed when it becomes wet.
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The ABCRA is the largest rodeo and campdraft organization in Australia.ABCRA Retrieved 2009-11-22 In May 1992 the National Rodeo Council of Australia (NRCA) was formed to further the sport of rodeo and has represented ABCRA and several other associations.NCRA Retrieved 2009-11-22 Original events included buckjumping (saddle broncs), bullock riding, campdrafting, bulldogging, wild- cow milking, wild bullock races, wild horse races and releasing the surcingle. Other common sporting events such as flag and bending races (similar to pole bending) were held for the competitors' horses.
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A modern harness with an overcheck rein, visible along the neck of the horse A bearing rein, known today as an overcheck or a checkrein, is a piece of horse tack that runs from a point on the horse's back, over the head, to a bit. It is used to prevent the horse from lowering its head beyond a fixed point. A variation called a side check passes beside the ears through loops at the top of the bridle cheekpieces. It can be attached to the surcingle of a horse harness, or to the harness saddle.
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The bareback rider does not use a saddle or rein, but uses a rigging that consists of a leather and rawhide composite piece often compared to a suitcase handle attached to a surcingle and placed just behind the horse's withers. The rider leans back and spurs with an up and down motion from the horse's point of shoulder toward the rigging handle, spurring at each jump in rhythm with the motion of the horse. Bareback bronc riding began to develop as a professional rodeo sporting event around 1900. The riding equipment used during that era varied.
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In Brazil and Lebanon they are known as gymnastic belts. The term "stable belt" originates from when UK cavalrymen would place the surcingle around the waist when cleaning the stables and tending to their horses. In the 1950s they spread to all branches of the armed forces, adding a splash of colour and individuality to the drab khaki working uniforms. Initially they were resisted by many senior officers, who saw them as too individualistic, but they soon became accepted throughout the UK forces - and have now spread to the forces of a number of other countries.
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Stirrups on a western saddle cannot be run up, so they are usually tied together under the belly of the horse with a piece of twine or rope, though for a very skittish young horse they also can be thrown up over the top of the saddle and tied down in that fashion. A surcingle or roller is a padded band that straps around the horse's girth area, and has rings around on its side for side reins, or long reins or other training equipment, such as an overcheck. It may also be used on a young horse to get it used to girth pressure. It may be used with or without an English saddle underneath.
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To help distribute the rider's weight and protect the horse's back, some cultures created stuffed padding that resembles the panels of today's English saddle.Bennett, Conquerors p. 43. Both the Scythians and Assyrians used pads with added felt attached with a surcingle or girth around the horse's barrel for increased security and comfort. Xenophon mentioned the use of a padded cloth on cavalry mounts as early as the 4th century BC. The saddle with a solid framework, or "tree", provided a bearing surface to protect the horse from the weight of the rider, but was not widespread until the 2nd century AD. However, it made a critical difference, as horses could carry more weight when distributed across a solid saddle tree.
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In some cases, the rider simply held onto the horse's mane, called a mane-hold. Others held a loose or twisted rope tied around the horse's girth, and other methods involved using multiple handhold leather riggings based on a surcingle. In the early 1920s, when the old rodeo rules allowing two handed riding were being phased out and replaced with the newer rule of riding with one hand in the rigging and one hand in the air, Earl Bascom invented, designed and made rodeo's first one-hand bareback rigging. The original one-handed rigging was made by Bascom from a section of rubber belting discarded from a threshing machine, with the entire rigging—the handhold and the body—all made as one piece.
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Side reins may be attached from the bit rings to the surcingle rings, or from the bit to the buckles of the girth of an English saddle or cinch rings of a western saddle. Side reins are adjusted longer for less-experienced horses, and gradually shortened and raised higher (from point of shoulder up to the point of hip) as a horse becomes better trained. Side reins should never be so short that the horse's head is pulled behind the vertical. For green horses, the side reins should be adjusted so that the horse's head is approximately 4 inches in front of the vertical and the side reins are attached at a point level with the point of the shoulder.
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