One last nickles worth--my father (1902-1998) spent his life till he was 70 breaking horses; at which time he said he didn't heal as well any more and spent the rest of his life riding and watching his cattle. But he never wore a big buckle. He either wore suspenders (braces) or else on Sunday wore the traditional "Ranger Belt" which is a 1.5-2 inch wide belt with two stitched on straps on the front which held a 1 inch buckle and keeper. Big buckles, like Chris says, are worn by young Rodeo performers who haven't learned yet what a real injury they can produce, and young studs who work in town and think they know the dress code for country music events--events which have nothing to do with horses.