Longeing piece of twine or rope, though for a very skittish young horse they also can be thrown up over the top of the saddle and tied down in that fashion. A surcingle or roller is a padded band that straps around the horse's girth area, and has rings around on its side for side reins, or long reins or other training equipment, such as an overcheck. It may also be used on a young horse to get it used to girth pressure. It may be used with or without an English saddle underneath. Side reins are usually used for more
Harness saddle shafts from beneath. For display, a saddle pad may be placed beneath the saddle; historically in England a saddle pad, also called "housing" or "saddle cloth", was shaped to match the contour of the saddle, in the manner of an English numnah today. For heavy use, the saddle may be six or more inches long, front to back. For very light use, saddle and girth may be replaced by a surcingle. The harness saddle has at least two lines of evolution, both departures from the very ancient throat-and-girth harness . One line was developed as a refinement of that harness