How do you know when it's time to replace your Latigo?

One often overlooked piece of equipment that can have a huge impact on your safety is your latigo. This piece of leather takes a lot of strain and wear. It is also bent, wrapped, and stretched on a daily basis, and often soaked with corrosive sweat. These stresses can cause weak spots to develop. If it gets bad enough, the latigo could snap and then you might be in for a real rodeo, and I don't mean the fun kind. I urge you to inspect the latigo on the near side as well as the your choice of latigo, billet, or half breed on the offside each time you tack up. I collected a couple of bad latigos from some of our old saddles that needed replacing and decided to show you some examples of things to look for. In the large picture on the left you can see spots where the surface of the leather has pulled completely off. There's also surface cracking and cracks around the holes. All of these things lead to potential weak spots. On the right top, you can see some surface cracks. These look small and relatively harmless when the latigo is laid flat, but when you bend it just a tick you can see how deep they go. Some are almost half way through this particular latigo. Center right, you can see a sneaky one. this latigo is the original one that came on a handmade saddle that is over 20 years old. This is a good, thick piece of leather. You will find almost no cracks or damage to the surface of the leather. The problem was at the top where it wraps around the dee. Hours and miles of riding have caused this latigo to rub agaist the saddle dee so much that it is almost paper thin. You wouldn't notice this type of wear unless you where really looking. Once it started to give way I noticed it and the leather is so thin that I think I could pull it apart at least halfway through just with my own strength. The back edge was still solid and holding, but when the first half went, that part would like give out very quickly. The bottom picture on the right shows a deeper crack in the latigo. I included this little crack mainly becuase it was really hiding. It wais very hard to see when the latigo was flat, and it is in a spot that is usually covered by the outer layer of the latigo when it is wrapped twice. I didn't even notice it until I took the latigo off the saddle. Be sure to bend your latigo and check for weak spots and cracks throughout the entire length of the latigo!