Hopefully your pack saddle will now look something like the one below.
Girths, Breast Collars, Breeching straps.
For flat land you’ll probably only need a girth. In the previous picture there is a hand woven
girth made from sisal string attached to the saddle. But if you are going up and down hills
then you may want to change that for a breast collar and breeching. If necessary you may
want to have all three. Girths can be done up pretty tight, but the breast collar/breeching
combination should have a little give, about 10 cm, or one hands width of free play. If they
are too tight then you’ll find that they restrict your donkey’s leg movement and may wear
away bald patches, or even cause sores. Any of these straps should be about 6 cms in width
and made of natural fibre. You can use nylon web but it must be lined with a material such
as denim, cotton or wool where it is in contact with your donkey.
The diagram shows a sawbuck saddle with girth, breast
collar and breeching attachments, these would be much the same if you wanted to fit them
on your packsaddle.
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