Originally Posted by
Digger_O'Dell
Easy-That's a cinch buckle. We had similar on a couple vintage cinches that we only used for shows as they were antique and impossible to replace if one broke or got lost. There were 2 in a set, for either side of the horse. The modern ones almost always had a center pin for the buckle to attach to a hole punched leather strap from the saddle. But the oldest ones we had were permanently attached by a riveted leather loop at either end of the cinch, then attached to the saddle (going under the horse) to a leather strap that was wound a couple times between the saddle and cinch, then tied so as to not come loose. Yeah, a loose cinch usually ended in having a very bad day for the rider. Just having a tied leather strap couldn't guarantee the saddle staying tight through a long day of riding, so they were eventually upgraded to the modern style.