All about horses

Part 3

Tacking Up

Now that your horse is leading correctly and is calm around you you can begin to introduce the tack. The young horse that’s never been saddled before should be started in a box stall so that he cannot run away if he becomes afraid by the feeling of the girth and saddle . Preferably the stall should have a full door or at least A full grate so The Horse cannot jump over the stall.

Start with the saddle pad and use the saddle pad as a brush to pet your horse with and then place the saddle pad on his back .

Talk to the horse in a soothing voice .

Watch whether he is remaining calm , you may have to do this several times before he excepts the tack but be sure not to scare him with it .Before saddling you should have a bridle on the horse so that you can control him with the bit.

Now you begin to place the saddle very carefully on his back but allow him first to sniff whatever you are putting on him so that he can check it out.

Horses learn by touching things with their noses to make sure it’s ok.

The girth comes next ,it’s good to have an assistant so that one person can keep the horse calm and restrained a little .

Put the girth on and before doing it up just touching lightly behind the elbow and the midline of the horse with your hands .A horse that’s been petted at all over including the belly and the underside is not going to be as afraid when he feels the girth there for the first time .

The next thing is to attach the girth fairly loosely but not so loose that if he moves quickly the saddle will slip. So that means the girth has to be a little bit snug. It needs to be elastic on one side so that it allows The Horse to expand his rib cage. Allow the horse to just stay in the stall with the saddle on or you might be able to walk him a little.

If he steps around the box stall so that he gets the idea of the feel of the saddle and the girth pressure that’s good enough for the first day .

You will need to do this repeatedly for several days in a row .

Keep the sessions short not more than 20 minutes at a time .

Horses learn best by repetition and consistency.