All about horses

Part 4

Now we are finally ready to back the horse .

This is a very important day !

The Horse should be calm and the weather should be reasonably quiet.

Tack the Horse up in his stall and take your time to get the girth tight.

Walk the horse several times around the stall using your voice to steady him .

Ask a relatively fit person to allow you to give them a leg up.

They will actually not be getting on the horse on first try they will be held just across the saddle keeping both legs on the same side .

This way if they need to slide off quickly they will be able to because they’re not committing to actually riding astride at this point.

After several attempts to lean over the saddle on top of the horse you can feel how the horse is reacting and as long as your horse seems OK with everything you may then ask the rider to put the other leg over .

Protective headgear should be used by both persons.

Pat the horse and speak softly to him so that he enjoys the moment.

If the horse is not quiet you must continue to do this repetitively over several consecutive days until he becomes used to it .

At this point if your horse does not react well to the pressure from the saddle when a small rider is put up you may have a veterinarian look for any abnormalities in the back.

The whole process should be started in a big box stall .

12 feet by 12 feet is a good space to use .This allows for ample room to have two people working together in the stall but not enough room for your horse to get going on you.