Saddling Up

The saddle goes on first like this...

• Gently lower the saddle onto his back and make sure it sits BEHIND the shoulder so he can move freely.

• Never do the girth up tight immediatly - you can pinch his skin very easily. Rather do it loosley up and pop his bridle on

• Lead him around a little and just before you get on, check and tighten the girth.

• Pull his front legs forward one at a time to smooth the skin out from under the girth - this is also a very good stretch for him.

Bridling Your Horse Correctly...

This is often done so poorly the horse develops a phobia of being bridled and becomes evasive and avoids taking the bit. The causes can be - being in need of dental work - teeth need to be done AT LEAST once a year, being in a hurry and rushing the movements - therefore startling the horse, and the one that most often is the problem is the bit being clanked against the horses teeth. Try taking a teaspoon and knocking it against your teeth - how does THAT feel?

ALWAYS get your horse to open his mouth BEFORE attempting to put the bit in. And here's how you do that....

• Hang the bridle on your right hand thumb. 

• Place your right forearm between the ears of the horse with the bridle hanging down the face. 

• Lower the bridle so that the bit falls behind the horses face

• Grab hold of the forelock with your remaining fingers of your right hand to gain stability and more control.

• Now grab the left cheek strap in your left hand and use this for setup control by pulling the horses head back into position if it is evading you by hiding its face to the right and by pushing the left cheek of the horse if it is trying to evade you to the left. Do not attempt to complete the process until the horse has settled.

• Use the forearm and pressure from it if required to force the head down to stop upward evasion.

• Be holding the bit between your thumb and 4th,5th fingers leaving your middle finger free.

• Position the bit exactly adjacent to the join between the top and bottom teeth.

• Move slowly and gently.

• Insert your middle finger of the left hand into the right hand side centre of the horses mouth where there are no teeth, thus causing the horse to momentarily open its mouth.

• The right hand thumb immediately lifts the complete bridle including the bit up into the mouth.

• Place the ear piece over one ear at the same time.

• Complete the other ear with any hand you like.

• Always have the bridle adjustment too big by a couple of holes on the near side. Re-adjust them when the bridle is on. This allows a nice slack ear piece so that you don't have to crunch the ears.

While on the subject of bridles, I must jump up and shout at those of you who rely on drop or grackle nosebands. I believe no horse should have his jaws screwed shut by any sort of noseband. If he is opening his mouth -and yawing at the bit, it is because he finds that bit uncomfortable - switch to a softer bit and watch your hands.

More on BITS and Bitting...

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