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Britchen

(22 customer reviews)

$221.00

The mule and donkey leather breast collar comes ready to oil or dye to your taste.

Our britchen is wrapped in soft chap leather rolled on the edges to prevent shaving of hair. Width is approximately 3″. Our buckles for adjusting on the hip are tongue buckles not conways. This britchen is designed for the comfort of your mule and designed for easy adjustment. This britchen is designed for easy adjustment with four roller buckles at the hip not Conway buckles.

For smaller mules and donkey you can custom fit the britchen by a cut to size and punch holes as needed. You do not want to trim any straps; just add more holes as you need. This is a top-quality britchen, I always add extra holes and then adjust the britchen according to the terrain.

Frequently Bought Together

Breast Collar

The mule and donkey leather breast collar comes ready to oil or dye to your taste.

This leather breast collar is designed to fit the shoulder of the mule and donkey. Since the bone structure is so much different from the horse, it is imperative that we do not inhibit the shoulder on the right or the left.

The breast collar moves right, left, right, left, and as the mule walks, the breast collar gives. That’s imperative because when you’re on flat ground, going downhill, or pulling something, you don’t want the saddle to be pulled forward. When the saddle is pulled ahead with the shoulders, the breaching is saying, don’t go forward, but the breast collar is bringing it forward. So that’s why I designed this leather breast collar.

The main thing about the breast collar is that it’s designed to not choke the animal or inhibit the shoulders.

The leather is made with a high quality harness leather that should be oiled regularly. The more you oil it, the softer it gets so that it flows with the shape of the shoulder and the neck. Whether your mule has a real thin neck like an average riding animal or has a thick, heavy neck like a draft animal, this breast collar fits them both.

SKU: B-001 Category: Tag:

Product Description

Our britchen is wrapped in soft chap leather rolled on the edges to prevent shaving of hair. Width is approximately 3″. Our buckles for adjusting on the hip are tongue buckles not conways. This britchen is designed for the comfort of your mule and designed for easy adjustment. This britchen is designed for easy adjustment with four roller buckles at the hip not Conway buckles.

Setup and Care Instructions

Your mule leather britchen comes ready for oiling (and dying if you choose).

Upon receipt, take a five gallon bucket with a half gallon of Lexol Oil and completely submerge all of the leather in the buck, allowing it to soak overnight.

The following day, hang the britchen over the bucket to drip dry. Once dry, put the britchen somewhere in the sun. This process will allow the oil to suck into the leather.

All leather breachings require regular maintenance and care, and must be cleaned and oiled regularly. If you would like to explore a no-maintenance option, Steve recommends the Beta Britchen, which is what he uses, personally.

Why a britchen?

A mule is”V” in the shoulders. Horses are “A” shaped in the shoulders. This is one reason a saddle will move forward on a mule and why a saddle on a horse will move back on a horse.

Why not a crupper?

A crupper will allow a riding saddle to move 2 ½” forward, back, left and right. The major problem with this is going down hill the saddle will move on top of the scapula. The scapula moves up and down like a piston of a car. Picture this every time your saddle sets on the scapula it will make your mule very uncomfortable and sore when the scapula hits the tree of the saddle. A crupper is designed for holding the back straps on a harness crupper is designed for 6 to 8 lbs total. There is no adjustment in a crupper and it is setting on the softest place of the mule. When the mule gets rubbed raw from the crupper you will not be able to use your mule.

Things to remember

  1. Always adjust your britchen up and down the hip, you have an average of 10” on a mules hip. This will help lessen hair wear on the hip.
  2. Keep you all you leather well oiled the softer the leather the less a chance of hair wear.
  3. All mules carry their weight down low their rib cage design makes the cinch slide forward. This will make you saddle slide forward as well.

Tips on looking for a saddle

  1. Note the design the “D” rings for the cinch must be 7/8 ¾ rigged is will allow the saddle to stay 4” from the leg.
  2. How do you know what the rigging plate is full rig? Note the pommel if the plate is just under the pommel it is a Full rig. The full rig will sore your mule.
  3. Skirting must be rounded mules move much different the horse in the hips a square skirt saddle will wear hair on the hip and shorten the stride of your mule. This britchen is made of top quality leather and made in the USA (no additional shipping charge when purchased with saddle).

Measurements

The measurements for this britchen are as follows. If you have any questions about the sizing for your donkey or mule, don’t hesitate to contact Steve.

Leather Britchen (One Size)

  • Butt plate 38″
  • Hip straps 25″
  • Backstrap 24″
  • Quarter straps 34″

Contact Steve Edwards for More Information on in-stock saddles and matching tack. Email: [email protected] Phone: (602) 999-mule

22 reviews for Britchen

  1. Dan (verified owner)

    This is a quality well made product. It has nice rounded edges so it doesn’t dig in and it fits our mule great!

  2. Linda D (verified owner)

    It was quick to ship and receive. The quality was good and I was very please at the amount of adjustment. I would definitely recommend.

  3. Sara Anderson (verified owner)

    There is not a better Britchen out there. I just came from a mule ride with 750 mules and didn’t see a better britchen. People try to imitate QVM but not the same. I have both the leather and the beta. Easy to adjust and doesn’t cut into hairs like other’s. I would suggest if you have a Molly to get a beta, they are easier to clean when they urinate on the britchen. My saddle doesn’t move forward when riding the hills and mountains. I’m happy and my mules are happy.

  4. Matt Moore (verified owner)

    Well built, nice padding, great customer service

  5. L. Hibler

    I bought Steve’s brown leather britchen and was surprised at how quickly it arrived. The additional mini catalog and WOW, a free gift knife. Thank you! The only problem was, I had to make additional holes for adjustments to fit my 16h mule.. But, I would suggest adding a soft, 2” leather sleeve to the back hip strap for sliding down over the buckle.. my mule’s tail gets caught on the buckle, which results in significant bunches of hair getting pulled out. I’ve tried to devise a remedy myself, but it would be nice if a buckle sleeve was included.
    With that said, I still soon ordered the Beta britchen for my smaller 14,2h mule. I’m a happy camper!
    Yes, I will recommend this product!

  6. Gary McKay (verified owner)

    We liked the quality of our new Queen Vally Mule Ranch leather britchen so much that we just ordered a second britchen. These britchens are of the highest quality I’ve ever seen. It’s nice in this day and age to spend hard earned money on equipment that exceeds your expectations. Many thanks to Steve and his team for marketing such an outstanding product!

  7. Kelsey

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  8. Scott (verified owner)

    Fantastic fit and finish. Fit my mule well and all contact points are smooth and well dressed.

  9. Lori (verified owner)

    I ordered this for my little guy and wasn’t sure which size to order. Walter is only 14 hands right now but only coming 3 this spring. Decided to go with the Draft/Saddle mule size since he should grow to 15 hands. It fits great and easily adjustable for when he grows. The leather and hardware are high quality and it looks really sharp on Walter. So glad I decided to get from Steve at Queen Valley. This britchen will last s long time! Thanks QV!

  10. Neil Campbell (verified owner)

    Great britchen. Plenty of adjustments to achieve the perfect fit. Holds my trail lite saddle in place with piece of mind. Durable and classy looking ,nice leather.

  11. Lucia (verified owner)

    Fast shipping, and the leather and seams are of excellent quality

  12. Aaron (verified owner)

    This is a well made user friendly britchen at a very reasonable price. There was a mix up in my order and Steve took care of it very fast. Great customer service. Thanks ?

  13. Scott (verified owner)

    Great britchen, really well built and the draft/saddle size fit my 15 hand guy really well. I also appreciated getting a call from Steve when he had trouble with my home shipping address in Weaverville! Thanks for the great product and even better service!

  14. Bo Cruz (verified owner)

    I’ve owned several britchens before and none compare to the quality and durability of Steve’s.

  15. tammy h devarona (verified owner)

    This is a really nice britchen, easy to fit and very well made. Shipping was Super fast

  16. Shelley (verified owner)

    High quality, fit my mule and saddle great. I received it quickly and the price was right in line with what I could find one for elsewhere. Happiness all around!

  17. David T. Malters MD (verified owner)

    After I received my leather britchen I had some issues with the stitching. I called Steve and he contacted the supplier and we were able to correct the problem right then and there. Steve contacted me several times to see if the fix was satisfactory and if not he offered to supply return postage and replace the britchen. I sent him photo and he made further recommendations. Steve suggested that I soak the entire leather britchen in lexol or neats foot oil before use. Have had no more issues. This is a good product and Steve makes sure that there is service after the sale.

  18. Angelique Blain

    This is way too big fir my Hinny. Really wish you had different sizes. I can make it work but probably not perfectly as it should.

  19. Charlotte (verified owner)

    I bought the leather britchen and breastcollar. Very nice quality. I had to make more holes for my donkey 14.2. It fits very well on my mules. The shipping to Italy took nearly a month.

  20. Bob (verified owner)

    Disappointing, I thought it would be much better. Britchen is poorly designed, there are better ways of wrapping the soft chap leather around the harness leather, side straps running to cinch need to be changed, no need to be doubled, use different hardware. Do away with spring loaded snaps where it attaches to saddle.

  21. Patricia Morine (verified owner)

    Very well made Britchen. I purchased one 7 years ago and it is still like new. Got a new mule. Had bought 2 other britchens from other company’s but they did not fit well. Needed a reliable britchen for a trek down a steep crater (Haleakala National Park). With just a few days before the trip the britchen arrived very quickly. Mahalo Steve.

  22. Happymule (verified owner)

    Just Great!

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