What do i DOOO?? Breastplate help!
 

Ok well I have a 15.2h quarter horse and i recently got a new (very expensive) breastplate for him IT DOESN'T FIT!!!
The actual problem is that the side bits that attach to the front of the saddle are wayy to short (I mean like, choking him) and the strap that goes under to the girth is wayyy to long!! Like he could actually get his hoof stuck in there if he tried hard enough.
I've thought about taking it to a person who makes saddle and bridles and stuff to get more leather sewn onto it, but would that really work?
Or is it just my horse's conformation? His neck doesn't tie in low, no-one's ever said that it does and I don't think it does either.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT??!!
And I can't take it back, I got it at a competition and the shop's really far away :(

The first thing I would do would be to contact the seller and try to arrange a swap for one that would fit - the mail is a good way to do it if you are too far away.

Secondly, can you replace the tugs with a longer set? On my breast collar, the tugs are separate and easily replaced. As for the bottom piece, being too long should not be a problem. The leather can be trimmed and new holes punched to give you the proper fit.

Our breastplate has elastic side pieces which have a piece of leather which attaches to the saddle. We have about 4 inches adjustment on each side.
The piece which goes between the horses legs has an adjusting buckle on the breast ring as well as adjustment at the girth end which gives heaps of adjustment options.

As everyone said, contact the person you bought it from and get larger side pieces. I would suggest you invest in a leather punch. Its something you will use over and over. If something is too big, its an easy fix by just punching more holes. I use a leather punch on leather and a wood burning tool to make holes though nylon.
Heres the type of leather punch I like-

That's a good idea. I use a nail (different sizes depending on the hole I need) held in a vicegrip pliers and heated with a propane torch. Besides a hole punch, I have a set of punches that you need to hit with a hammer - perfect for making larger holes such as in billets or rear cinchs.

I used to use a heated up ice pick. I decided I didn't want to ruin my antique picks :lol:

I'm not worried about my antique nails.:D

You should return it, send it back in the mail if you have to. Then email NuttySaddler and see if he'll make you a custom sized breastplate.

Yeah it's elastic but i've got the side bits on the longest hole, and the bottom bit is on the shortest hole and it still doesn't work.

I have got a hole puncher but I thought if i punched a hole in it i wouldn't be able to return it if need be?

Just to double-check, are you attaching it correctly? It should look like this below. The shortest strap in the triangle should be just in front of his withers on top of his neck. It sounds like you may have this strap under his neck ("choking him") which would make the tugs (side bits that attach to saddle d-rings) too short and the center girth strap waay too long.

https://www.millbryhill.co.uk/equest...-4003_zoom.jpg

If you do have it on him correctly, then it's just goofy and I'd return it! Call the tack shop and see if you can do it by mail. Otherwise, you can buy longer tugs or add clips to make it a couple inches longer. Then you'd have to punch more holes in the girth attachment. And yes, I doubt they'd return it after you punched holes, so make the decision to keep or return first!