Saddle A Horse Saddle Analysis

I’ve realized in my lifetime that saddling a horse that you are going to ride is not as natural of an act to other people as it is to me. Since the moment I had both the strength and height to lift my own tiny saddle up to the back of my animal, I was saddling by myself. These days in the time that I set aside to ride, I don’t even think about the act of saddling, I could almost finish the act blindfolded. In my realization that not all people know how to saddle a horse and if they have an idea it may not be the proper way, I decided to share my knowledge in this area with others. My mom was the one to teach me and I will be the one to teach you. The beginning of the saddling process would include gathering all necessary supplies for …show more content…
You should tie the horse in a safe way and area and then proceed to brush the entirety of the animal. There should be no stickers or or anything that may make the horse uncomfortable once the saddle is on when you are finished brushing it. After brushing, the next step would be to put the saddle pad or pads on where the front of the pad is placed directly over the withers. There are many different varieties of saddle pads such as width, material, length, etc. that should be considered beforehand. I normally only use one barrel saddle pad that has a gel build-up in it and is a fairly short length on my horse. There is a front and back to most pads and you should check to see if the pad is facing the right …show more content…
When saddling a horse the horn will go towards the horse’s neck and the seat towards the horse’s rear end. Just like humans, horses don’t want to have stuff thrown at them so make sure to lightly place the saddle directly onto the pad. Then, take the cinch and pull it under the horse’s stomach and pull it tight enough with the latigo to keep the saddle in place but not too tight that it will be uncomfortable for the horse. When tightening or adjusting any equipment it is always done on the left side of a horse. After the cinch has been pulled you will then reach under the horse and hook the back cinch. This cinch is not meant to be as tight as the front cinch but it should not be hanging loosely beneath the horse’s stomach. If you have a breast collar on your saddle you can then pull that across the horse’s chest and attach it onto a hook near the horn area. Most breast collars also have a strap that will connect from the chest to the cinch in between the horse’s front