In This Chapter
- Staying grounded with horse handling
- Saddling a horse with care
- Putting on a bridle without breaking a sweat
Before you can get on a horse, you have to do plenty of work from the ground. The activity of riding starts with handling the horse while your two feet are planted firmly on Mother Earth. For your safety and for that of the horse, you have to know what you’re doing in this part of horse handling.
In this chapter, you discover how
to handle a horse before you mount up. You also find out the safest and most
effective ways to deal with horses when approaching them and how to halter,
lead, and tie them. Finally, you get details on how to saddle and bridle a
horse so you can mount and start riding. (For more safety tips on working with
horses from the ground, see Chapter Safety
First: Protecting Yourself around Horses.)
When you first start riding, your
riding instructor guides you through the various steps of preparing your horse.
Expect your instructor to help you the first few times. After that, you may be
on your own. Read this chapter as a refresher before you head out for your
lessons!
Handling Horses from the Ground
Play catch: Approaching horses
A halter is a harness of
sorts designed to fit on the horse’s head for the purpose of leading and
restraining the horse (not riding); a ring under the horse’s jaw lets you clip
a lead rope to the halter. Well-trained horses who are used to being handled a
lot are easy to approach and catch with a halter; however, practicing safety
measures whenever you approach a horse in a stall or pasture is still a good
idea — particularly if you don’t know the horse.
In the stall or paddock
Catching a horse in a stall or paddock
(a fenced area smaller than a pasture and without grass for grazing) simply
means going up to the horse and placing a halter on his head. In most cases,
you can just walk up to the horse without a problem. The following method is
safe and effective for most horses in a stall or paddock:
1. Have your halter with you
with the lead rope attached.
2. Speak to your horse to let
him know you’re there before you enter the stall or paddock.
If the horse is facing away from you, make sure he sees you before you approach him.
Protocol
3. Enter the stall or paddock and approach the horse at his left shoulder rather than directly at his face.
4. As you get close to the
horse, extend your hand, palm down, and let the horse sniff you.
5. Loop the lead rope around
the horse’s neck.
6. Slip the halter over the
horse’s head and buckle the strap that comes from behind the ears (see “Buckle
up: Haltering horses” for details).
In the pasture
You may discover that catching a
horse in a pasture is a little more difficult than catching one in a stall or
small paddock, especially if the horse doesn’t want to be caught. Happy,
well-trained horses stand quietly when you approach them for haltering, even in
a big pasture, but some horses don’t. The ones who don’t want to work take off
walking, trotting, or running, making it impossible to slip halters over their
heads.
Your body language and approach
can make a difference when trying to catch a horse in a pasture. Use the
following technique to capture a pastured horse, especially if other horses are
out there with him:
1. With your halter and lead
rope in hand, walk quietly toward the horse with your hands at your side.
2. Approach the horse at his
left shoulder, never directly from the front or back.
3. When you reach the horse,
gently pat or scratch his neck, speaking softly.
4. Place the lead rope around
the horse’s neck in a loop.
5. Holding the noosed lead
rope, put on the halter as I describe in the following section.
Remember
If the horse doesn’t want to be caught, don’t give up — letting him get out of it just teaches him that his evasion tactics work. If the horse is yours, talk to a trainer about teaching him to allow himself to be caught.
Warning!
If the horse is alone in the pasture, you can try taking a treat out there with you to entice him to be caught; however, if other horses are in the pasture too, having treats in your hand may prove hazardous to your health. The horses may get nasty and competitive with one another over the treats, leaving you vulnerable to a misplaced bite or kick.
Buckle up: Haltering horses
The most important tools you have
for handling your horse on the ground are the halter and lead rope. A horse who
has been properly trained offers no resistance when you slip a halter on his
head.
Tip
The hardest thing about putting a halter on a horse is figuring out where all those straps are supposed to go. Take a look at a horse wearing a halter before you attempt to put one on the horse you’re going to catch. If you understand the way the straps go on the horse’s head and then hold the halter in your hand, imagining the horse’s head inside it, you should have an easier time putting it on the horse.
Your instructor should guide you
through the haltering process the first one or two times to make sure you know
how to do it right. Follow these steps:
1. Stand at the horse’s left
shoulder, facing the same direction your horse is facing.
2. Place the lead rope in a
loose loop around the middle of the horse’s neck and hold it together with your
right hand.
This step secures the horse and keeps him from walking away.
3. Check to make sure that the
crown strap of the halter is unbuckled.
The crown strap is the piece of the halter that goes behind the horse’s ears and buckles at the horse’s left cheek.
4. With the buckle side of the
strap in your left hand and the crown strap in your right hand, slip the horse’s
nose through the noseband of the halter by reaching your right hand underneath
the horse’s neck, as shown in Figure 11-1.
5. When the horse’s nose is
through the halter, bring the crown piece up behind the horse’s ears and buckle
it so the halter fits comfortably — not too tight and not too loose.
It’s too tight if you can’t fit a finger between the nose strap and cheek strap.
6. Take the lead rope from
around the horse’s neck and fold it in your left hand, with your right hand
holding the attached rope just below the halter.
Figure 11-1: Halter a horse from the left side.
Follow me: Leading horses
1. Stand on the horse’s left
side.
2. Hold the end of the lead
rope closest to the horse’s head in your right hand, with your thumb pointing
up toward the horse’s head.
Your hand should be about 6 inches from the halter. If the lead rope has a chain at the end, hold the rope just below the chain so it doesn’t injure your hand if the horse pulls back. If you find you need more control when leading your horse, move your hand closer to the halter.
3. In your left hand, hold
what’s left of the lead rope folded up.
Warning!
Don’t coil the remainder of the rope around your hand. If you do and the horse pulls back, the coil can tighten, trapping your hand.
4. Before you ask the horse to
move forward, stand at his left shoulder, facing ahead, your hands holding the
lead rope as I describe in the preceding steps.
Hold out your arm on the side of the horse to make sure he doesn’t step into you when you start to move.
5. As you begin to walk
forward, give the lead rope a gentle pull with your right hand.
The horse should begin walking, keeping pace with you so you remain at his shoulder.
6. To turn the horse while
leading him, push your right hand to the right or pull your hand to the left
and step in the direction you want to turn.
Keep an arm’s distance between you and the horse if you ask the horse to move to the left to ensure he doesn’t step on your heel. The horse should follow your lead.
7. To stop the horse, say
“whoa!” and stop walking, giving a very slight backward tug on the rope with your
right hand.
Remember
When leading your horse, keep in mind that your horse doesn’t know which way you intend to go at any given moment. Remember that your horse is much bigger than you and can’t turn as fast or stop as quickly as you can. You know you’re about to turn or stop, but your horse doesn’t.
Tip
Horses are very adept at picking up body signals. They also learn voice commands quickly. Give your horse a warning before you turn or stop. Slow your pace as you start to turn, and say “whoa” as you begin to stop. Your horse will appreciate the warning.
Also, as you lead the horse, look
where you’re going, not at the horse. Doing so helps the horse have confidence
in you and keeps him from getting confused about what he’s supposed to do.
Figure 11-2: Lead a horse
at his left shoulder and look where you’re going.
Take care of loose ends: Tying horses
Tying a horse isn’t as simple as
it may sound: You can’t just tie a horse to any object with a regular knot and
walk away. That’s a recipe for disaster! Some horses, being nervous Nellies,
are prone to pulling back when tied. When a horse pulls back, he may panic at
having his head constrained and throw all his weight onto his hindquarters,
practically sitting on his rear end.
Remember
If you tie a horse to a strong object (such as a hitching post or a large tree out on the trail), the horse won’t be able to pull the object out should he panic. Also, tying the horse with a safety knot enables you to pull the loose end of the rope and quickly release the panicked horse’s head before he can do damage. Figure 11-3 shows you one method of tying a safety knot. You essentially create a loop (Step 1), pull a second loop behind the dangling rope and through the first loop (Step 2), and then pull to tighten (Step 3).
Figure 11-3: Tie a safety knot
when securing a horse for a quick release.
Warning!
When tying a horse, follow these rules for safety:
- Whenever possible, tie a horse in cross-ties. Cross-ties are two ropes or chains, one on each side of the horse, that attach to the sides of the horse’s halter with metal clips and then to poles on either side of the horse’s head. Cross-ties should at least as high as the top of the horse’s shoulders. Figure 11-4 shows a horse tied to cross-ties.
Make sure the horse you’re working with is familiar with being cross-tied before you secure him, because if he’s not, he may panic when he feels himself restrained in this way. Also, make sure that the cross-tie clips have a breakaway feature so the horse won’t get hung up in the ties if he panics. A breakaway feature releases the horse should he put extreme pressure on the cross-ties.
- Tie a horse only by a halter and lead rope or halter and cross-ties. Never tie a horse by the reins of a bridle. If the horse pulls back, the reins can break and the bit may damage the horse’s jaw.
- Tie a horse only to an immovable object. The rope or chain should be tied so its height is stable and won’t slip down toward the ground. Horses should be tied to
- Solid fence posts
- Hitching posts made for this purpose
- Horse trailers hooked to a truck
- Cross-ties
- Strong, secure tree trunks (if on the trail)
- Tie a horse with the knot about level to the horse’s withers (where the shoulder blades meet), with no more than 3 feet of rope or chain from the post to the halter. Doing so keeps the horse from getting the rope or chain over his head or from getting a leg caught in it. Figure 11-5 shows a horse safely tied to a hitching post.
- Don’t tie a horse with a chain shank run through his halter. If the horse pulls back, the chain can injure him.
- Never leave a horse alone and unsupervised when tied up. Horses are experts at getting into trouble, especially when no one is watching.
Figure 11-4: A horse secured
in cross-ties with a chain on each side.
Figure 11-5: Short ropes ensure
that a horse remains safe when tied to a
hitching post.
Putting on a Saddle Properly
Tacking up a horse, especially
putting on the saddle, takes practice. Become familiar with the process in this
section and then ask an experienced horse person (such as your riding
instructor or trainer) to help you the first few times you try it. Making sure
the saddle goes on right is important because you don’t want it to slip off
while you’re riding. Correctly positioning and fastening the saddle on the
horse’s back are also essential for the horse’s safety and comfort; an improper
saddling job may hurt the horse, which can result in rearing or bucking.
Remember
The horse should be tied by the halter when you’re putting on the saddle (see the earlier section “Handling a Horse from the Ground” for info on catching, haltering, leading, and tying). The saddle and pad go on before the bridle, and you remove the halter after you put on the bridle (I cover bridling later).
Before you saddle up the horse,
do the following:
- Tie the horse securely by his halter to a hitching post using a quick-release knot or cross-ties. I discuss tying horses in detail in the preceding section.
- Groom the horse thoroughly, being careful to brush down the hairs on the back and the girth area (see Chapter Exploring Horse Care for grooming instructions). Make sure no dirt, bedding, or other objects are stuck to these areas.
- Check the saddle blanket and girth or cinch to make sure that no burrs, sticks, or other items are clinging to the underside.
Western saddles
Before you start, familiarize
yourself with the parts of the Western saddle (see Chapter Dressing
Up Horses with Saddles). Be sure to have
your saddle pad ready, too. Follow these steps to saddle your horse:
1. Lay the pad on the horse’s
back.
Stand on the horse’s left side and position the front of the pad a few inches in front of the horse’s withers, at the base of the neck.
2. Slide the pad backward a
couple of inches so the front edge of the pad is still covering the withers.
If you need to move the pad forward, don’t slide it, because doing so ruffles the hairs underneath, which can irritate the horse while you ride. Instead, lift the pad to move it forward. Check both sides of the horse to make sure that the amount of pad is even on the left and the right.
3. Prepare the saddle.
On a Western saddle, the cinch is attached to the right side. Before you approach the horse with the saddle, flip the cinch up and place the ring at the end over the saddle horn. Take the right stirrup and loop it over the saddle horn on top of the cinch ring. This step keeps the cinch and the stirrup out of your way when you put the saddle on the horse.
4. Bring the saddle to the
horse.
Grasp the front of the saddle in your left hand and the back of the saddle in your right. Approach the horse’s left side.
Tip
Lift the saddle up to the height of the horse’s back a couple of times to get a sense of the weight of the saddle before you hoist it onto the horse’s back.
5. Place the saddle on the
horse’s back.
From the left side of the horse, swing the saddle up and over, and place it gently on the horse’s back. The saddle should sit in the hollow just below the withers with about 3 inches of the pad showing in front and the in back. To determine whether the saddle is correctly positioned on the horse’s back, look to see whether the cinch, when attached to the saddle, will fit just behind the horse’s elbows (see Figure 11-6 for the correct position of a Western saddle).
6. Walk around to the right
side of the horse, unloop the stirrup from the saddle horn, and let it hang;
undrape the cinch so it hangs down as well.
7. Go back to the left side of
the horse and secure the saddle with the cinch.
From the left side of the horse, reach underneath and take up the cinch. Run the latigo strap through the ring of the cinch, starting from the side closest to the horse, and then feed the strap through the same D-ring on the saddle where it’s attached (see Chapter Dressing Up Horses with Saddles for a diagram showing the parts of the Western saddle), making sure the strap is flat and free of twists. Continue to loop the latigo strap through the two rings until you have about 12 inches of free strap coming from the ring attached to the saddle.
8. Make sure the cinch is snug
enough that the saddle won’t move but not so snug that you can’t fit the
fingers of a flat hand between the cinch and the horse’s body.
To tighten the cinch, loosen the knot and pull up on the outside layer of strap between the D- and cinch rings.
Remember
Check the cinch again after walking your horse a little and before mounting. You may need to retighten the cinch.
Figure 11-6: Correct placement
of a Western saddle.
English saddles
You need to be familiar with the
parts of an English saddle before you start saddling up; see Chapter Dressing
Up Horses with Saddles for
details. Then follow these steps to safely saddle a horse with an English
saddle (have your pad and girth ready to go):
1. Lay the pad on the horse’s
back.
Stand on the horse’s left side and position the front of the pad a few inches in front of the horse’s withers, at the base of the neck.
2. Slide the pad backward a
couple of inches so the front edge of the pad is still covering the withers.
Don’t slide the pad forward if you need to reposition it because doing so ruffles the hairs underneath, which can irritate the horse — lift the pad instead. Check both sides of the horse to make sure that the amount of pad is even on the left and the right.
3. Pick up the saddle.
Grasp the front of the saddle in your left hand and the back of the saddle in your right. Make sure you’ve pushed the stirrup irons up to the top of the stirrup leathers so they don’t flop around while you lift the saddle.
4. Place the saddle gently on
the horse’s back in the hollow just below the withers.
After placement, about 3 inches of the pad should be showing in front and back of the saddle. To ensure you’ve done it right, look to see whether the girth, when attached to the saddle, will fit just behind the horse’s elbows (see Figure 11-7 for the correct position of an English saddle).
5. Slide the girth straps on
the left side of the saddle through the tab, the loop on the side of
your saddle pad, from the top down.
Go to the other side of the horse and repeat the process.
6. Fasten the girth to the
right side of the saddle.
Three girth straps, also known as billets, hang on the right side of the saddle, but you need to use only the outer two. The third one is present just in case one of the other straps breaks.
Bring the girth to the right side of the horse and fasten the girth’s buckles to the two outside girth straps hanging from the saddle. (Girths vary, so get help from your instructor regarding which side of the girth to fasten to which side of the saddle.) Fasten the buckles about halfway up each girth strap.
7. Fasten the girth to the
left side of the saddle.
Move to the horse’s left side and reach underneath the horse to grasp the girth. Follow the same buckling procedure that you did in Step 6. Before you attach the girth, be sure it rests just behind the horse’s elbows and that it isn’t twisted or covered with debris. Make the girth snug.
8. Gradually tighten the girth
on the left side over a period of several minutes.
Doing so gradually is kinder to the horse. Make it snug enough that the saddle doesn’t move dramatically if you grab the pommel and move it from side to side.
If you run out of holes on your left-side girth straps, begin tightening the buckles on the right. Ideally, you should have the girth attached at the same notch on both sides or as close as possible for even pressure.
9. Check your stirrup length.
Before you mount (which I discuss in Chapter Mounting and Dismounting), determine whether your stirrups are the correct length. One way to check whether you’re close is to slide your right hand, palm down, under the flap of the saddle where the stirrup leather attaches to the stirrup bar (the metal bar holding the stirrup leathers to the saddle); if your horse has already been bridled, hold the reins in your left hand while doing this. Using your left hand, grasp the stirrup iron and pull it toward the crook of your outstretched right arm, allowing the stirrup leather to lay flush against the bottom of your arm. If the stirrup iron fits snugly in the crook of your arm, the stirrups are most likely the correct length for your leg.
If your stirrups need lengthening
or shortening, adjust them by using the buckle on the stirrup leather. After
you’re finished, slide the stirrup leather buckle so it’s under the skirt and
won’t rub on your leg when you’re riding.
Figure 11-7: The girth
fits well when you position an English saddle correctly.
Remember
Before you can mount, you may need to repeat Step 8 after leading your horse around. The girth may loosen after the horse starts moving. Before you get on, make sure that the girth is snug enough that it feels tight if you put your fingers between it and the horse’s body. If you can’t get your fingers in there, the girth is too tight and needs to be let out a notch.
Saving the Bridling for Last
The bridle is the tack that goes
on last. After you bridle your horse, you can’t tie him up again until you
finish your ride. Before bridle your horse, do the following:
- Tie the horse securely by his halter to a hitching post (using a quick release knot) or cross-ties. I explain how to tie horses in “Wrap it up: Tying horses,” earlier in this chapter.
- Groom and saddle the horse (see Chapter Exploring Horse Care for grooming details and the preceding section for saddling info).
- Check the bridle to make sure that the noseband (the part that goes around the nose) and throatlatch (the strap that fastens around the horse’s jowls) on an English bridle are unbuckled. If you have a throatlatch on a Western bridle, make sure that it’s unbuckled, too.
- Have an experienced horse person (such as your riding instructor or trainer) help you determine whether the bit size is correct and how short the straps on the headstall should be if your horse has never worn this particular bridle.
The steps for putting on an English and Western bridle are nearly the same. Familiarize yourself with the parts of both bridles before you begin (see Chapter Getting a Heads-Up on Bridles for more on bridles). Then follow these steps to put on the bridle:
1. Secure the horse with the
halter.
Standing at the horse’s left side, unbuckle the halter, slide the noseband off, and then rebuckle the halter around the horse’s neck (see the earlier section on haltering for details).
2. Put the reins over the
horse’s head so they lie on the horse’s neck.
3. Hold the bit and headstall
and stand at the left side of your horse’s head, facing the same direction that
your horse is facing.
Grasp the top of the headstall in your right hand and the bit in your left hand. Let the bit lie against your outstretched fingers. Stand next to the horse’s head, still facing the same direction as the horse.
4. Place your right hand
(still holding the headstall) just on top of the horse’s head, in front of his
ears.
If you can’t reach above the horse’s head, you can instead reach your arm under the horse’s jaw and around to the right side of the horse’s head so your right hand and the headstall are just above the horse’s forehead or above the bridge of his nose.
5. Open the horse’s mouth and
insert the bit.
With your left thumb, gently press down on the inside corner of the horse’s lip to open his mouth and gently guide the bit into the horse’s mouth, being careful not to bang it against his front teeth. Raise the headstall in your right hand until the bit slides all the way in to the horse’s mouth. If the bridle has a curb chain, make sure it rests behind the horse’s chin.
6. Gently slide the headstall
over the horse’s ears.
Adjust the browband so it sits evenly on the horse’s forehead, or make sure the horse’s ear or ears fit comfortably through the one- or two-ear loops. The bridle is now in place.
7. Buckle the throatlatch and
noseband, if any.
- Western bridle: Figure 11-8 shows a horse with a Western bridle. You probably won’t have a noseband to tighten. If the bridle has a throatlatch, make sure that two fingers fit between the horse and the strap.
- English bridle: Figure 11-9 shows a horse with an English bridle. The throatlatch and noseband should be snug but not so tight that you can’t get three fingers between them and the horse.
Figure 11-8: Putting on a Western
bridle.
Figure 11-9: Putting on an
English bridle.
If a curb chain or strap is attached to the bit, make sure that it’s loose when you let the reins go slack but that it makes contact with the horse’s chin when you pull the bit shanks back at a 45-degree angle.
8. Unbuckle the halter from
your horse’s neck.
If you plan to mount where you are, leave the reins over your horse’s neck. If you want to lead your horse to another area for mounting, remove the reins from around your horse’s neck and lead the horse by the reins. Chapter Mounting and Dismounting has full details on mounting your horse.by Audrey Pavia with Shannon Sand
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