Hey there Benjamin I'm not Mr. Boatwright but I like the 5/16 a lot. They take a super long time to break in but once broken in they're hard to beat. Another caveat is that if you're pulling stuff on trailers they're a little weak. We just broke a brand new one last week doing that and I've heard similar feedback from several others. 

Richard Boatwright 

Stephen Gowling man that is no fun. I hope you're able to get back into it.

He has come out of it. I've not had him do it in the last 10 rides or so now. I still regularly check him for soreness but I still can't really explain it.

Thanks for the thoughtful response! Yes we've had him since he was 2. He does not do this without the tack though he's been tacked up a bunch of times. I hadn't thought about no rear cinch/breast collar, good idea. I'll give that a shot as well. I'm also planning to treat for ulcers.  Thanks again.

Thanks for the response. We did recently rope some soggy cows, but he de doesn't appear to be sore (based on my prodding and poking around the girth area). He does seem a little touchy in the flanks (though not really jumpy enough to seem to warrant the level of reaction) so I went ahead and ordered the ulcer treatment just in case. It hasn't arrived yet so I've continued to work him with the saddle and riding. He has, strangely enough, seemed to come out of it for the time being.

Richard Boatwright

Richard Boatwright

Richard Boatwright