How to Prepare Your Horse For Riding - With a Western Saddle

Preparing your horse for riding, well there aren’t really in set guidelines to starting a young colt or filly. Every horse has id individual personality so you need to prepare yourself to work in that mind set. As a horseman you need to fit that particular horse to the situation and the circumstances. Remember those circumstances can change on a daily basis with a young horse. I’ll try to explain to you briefly how to prepare your horse for its first ride. These are some things that I do that work for me. Everyone has their own method.

1. Introduce your saddle pad to your horse. Make sure you do these things in a round pen with a halter and lead rope on. Offer the pad to your horse let him smell it. And look at it, get familiar with it. Then gently rub him all over with it. Rub it on his neck and back and on his over his hindquarters. Make sure you do this on both sides. What you do on one side of your horse you must do it on the other. Next after you feel your horse is comfortable begin to fling the pad on his back in a calm gentle steady rhythm, approach and retreat. When he is relaxed with this then lay the pad on his back and let him feel it I even walk him around with it a couple of steps then take it off rub him then put is back on. I do this a few times. This make take some time so don’t rush anything, be patient with your horse you don’t want to wreck what you have already accomplished on the ground.

2. Now its time to introduce the saddle. Make sure your saddle is set up cinches tied up correctly so they don’t fall and spook your horse. You want to make this an easy pleasurable experience for your horse. Again like with the pad present the saddle to your horse let him smell it see it etc… make sure the lead rope is in the cuff of your left arm saddle in the right. Now place the saddle gently on your horse in one swift move. Then retreat (take it off). Place the saddle on again then retreat. Stop for a minute and rub your horse to let him know every thing is ok. If your horse is moving then move or yield his hindquarters until he stands still. Once he’s relaxed then place the saddle on again.

3. Walk around to the right side of you horse and let the cinches down gently. Now walk back on the left side of your horse gently without being timid swiftly reach with your left hand and grab the cinch, don’t bend down looking for it unless you wanna bad migraine.
Now gently take your latigo and smoothly cinch your horse up in one swift gentle motion not too tight, but enough where the saddle wont fall off and roll under your horses belly
(a disaster waiting to happen). If you have a back cinch, gently cinch that up as well not too tight, but enough that he won’t get a hind leg caught in it the main function of the back cinch is to keep the saddle from moving up and down in the back. Remember to take your time and read your horse while doing this for any signs of hesitation.

4. Stand next to your horse after he’s saddle and let him soak in what happening, don’t be in a rush to move just yet let him get used to the weight of the saddle. Once you feel he’s relaxed lead him a few steps then stop. If he starts to buck quickly step out of the way and let him buck. Let him figure things out, when he’s stopped bucking gently walk over to him and rub him to let him know everything’s ok...

If you want to be a great Horseman or Woman learn how to get the best results out of your horse by building a solid foundation with your horse. Start learning today! Don’t put off til tomorrow what you can do right now!

Also view my article:
"How to train a yearling horse - Preparing a young horse for the saddle"

How to train a yearling horse - Preparing a young horse for the saddle

Most people have no idea how to train a yearling horse or what to do with them. So they just practice getting them haltered maybe pick up the feet and then turn them out in pasture until they are 2 or 3 years old, then begin training. Well I look at that time in between as time wasted.

There are many things you can do such as teaching your yearling horse good basics on the ground. Though don’t make things into a big training session because a yearling is still young has to have time to develop physically and their attention span is usually a lil short. So I suggest working on the little things. Work him in the halter rope and ask him to bend and flex his neck, teach him to yield to pressure form the lead rope. Rub them all over in the stall or out in the open to get them comfortable with being handled. Also while in the stall, round pen or small area introduce your yearling to some equipment that he’ll have to wear in the next year or so. Introduce him to the saddle blanket and saddle pad. Rub it all over his body head, neck, back and hind quarters. Handle his legs and feet a lot he’ll need to be able to stand still an be handled at trimming time. Another good exercise is teaching him to ground tie. Place the lead rope on the ground under his neck and step back 2 or 3ft if he moves back him up a couple of steps then ground tie him again until he stands still and honors that rope on the ground. Also begin some trailer loading with him. Use some small obstacles outside for your yearling to walk over & jump over.

Use tarps, poles, I also like to use a makeshift 6'-10' wooden bridge to walk over. I also like to teach my yearlings to walk through water especially when it rains I use the rain puddles to train in. Teach your horse to lunge. Expose your yearling to all sorts of things, use your imagination, be creative. By the time your horse reaches two years old and its time to start riding he’ll be well prepared and you’ll sure be glad because it will make starting your horse under saddle so much easier and when you start riding, those things learned on the ground will relate to the saddle. This is how you train a yearling horse

Horse Snaffle Bit - Training Your Horse With This Type of Bit

The Horse snaffle bit is the training bit of choice when it comes to true horsemanship. I believe firmly in training your horse with this type of bit
To be honest you can use this bit for the rest of your horse’s life.

It can be used not only for training, but performance horse events, trail riding showing, etc…. This is the first bit I pick up when it comes to horse training. The design is really simple, its a mouth piece usually jointed in the middle and connected by two rings. Each side of the bit works works independently mostly on the corners of a horses mouth. It allows your horse to follow a simple and direct feel from the reins.

It has a one to one ratio meaning that one pound of pressure in your hands equals one pound of pressure being applied to your horses mouth. Unlike a 7 inch shank bit with a 7 to one ratio you’d be applying 7 pounds of pressure to your horse’s mouth, unless you know what you doing. To ride with something like that your hands must be very light & you must be very experienced. So basically you don’t need anything other than a snaffle unless you are an experienced hand or horseman. With a horse snaffle bit I like to use a half inch leather curb strap, not a curb chain. The strap is the to prevent pulling the bit through the horses mouth. It is also less severe than a curbed chain I actually never use a curb chain on any of my horses. I always use leather, I just think that leather is more natural and more comfortable to my horses.

Basic Ground Work for Horses - Made simple for wild horses & gentle horses

If you wanna be a good horse trainer & rider you’re gonna wanna start with basic ground work for your horses. My theory is whatever you do on the ground is what your gonna do in the saddle. Whatever you allow or teach your horse to do on the ground is what he’s gonna do when you’re in that saddle.

Start your basic ground work by desensitizing & sensitizing your horse.
Desensitizing your horse is basically taking the fear out of your horse. I like to think of it as finding the holes in my horse and filling them in so I wont have any issues. Kinda like checking your car tires to see if there are any leaks in them and filling them with air before you go on a long trip. Remember a horse isn’t broke unless you can control his mind and handle every part of his body. Some horses will be more sensitive than others in different parts of their bodies. Its a matter of being patient taking your time to cater to each horses needs differently to get the results you want. What you are looking for with basic ground work is for relaxation in your horse. Getting him to relax and build a trust with you. Getting your horse to allow you to touch him, follow your body language and yield to pressure so that you become one with your horse.

You’re gonna definitely need the right tools to start with. A rope halter with a 12foot lead line not a nylon halter because it allows your horse to lean on your hand and pull away from you easier and your horse can also break out of it. Next you need a handy stick long crop or whip & make your self a flag buy putting a plastic bag on the end of it. Introduce your horse to your equipment slowly but not too slow as if you are a predator, but be gentle. I like to let my horses smell my equipment then I gently rub them with it and take it away I call this approach and retreat. I do this on every part of their body. Face, legs, under the belly in between the legs etc…until they are so comfortable with it that the get bored. Anytime your horse gets a lil to frightened don’t be afraid to stop for a brief moment then start again. Keep doing this until he understands what you’re asking you’ll know when he understands, when he stands still instead of trying to run from your equipment. Lastly your safety comes first and foremost, but I strongly encourage you to stick with your horse! Don’t give up on him to soon. I see many people do this time and time again when there horse is having a problem and they never achieve anything. Remember you can always stop take a deep breath and then start again until you get what you want out of your horse. One last thing to remember is to know when to stop and call it a day. There is always tomorrow.