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How To Saddle A Horse - Page 1 of 3
This article covers how to saddle a horse with a Western saddle that has a front cinch, a
back cinch, and a breast collar. Please be sure to see a few common
sense safety precautions at the bottom of this page.
Clean Your Horse, Put The Saddle Pad On
| Begin with a clean, dry, horse. All dirt and dust should
be off the horse with particular attention given to the areas the
saddle, saddle pad or blankets, cinches, and breast collar will cover. The horse should be
properly tied with a halter and lead rope, held by an assistant, or
ground tied. Put the
saddle pad (or
blankets) on the horse. Place it slightly farther forward than where it should
be when you are finished saddling. By placing the saddle pad a little too
far forward on purpose, you will accomplish two things:
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Get Everything Out Of Your Way
You will need to get the
front cinch, back cinch, breast
collar, and stirrup out of the way so that when you
lift the saddle onto the back of the horse these things don't wind up
underneath the saddle.
In our photo, the rider is going to place the
saddle onto the horse from the horse's left side. He has laid the front
cinch, back cinch, and breast collar onto the seat of the
saddle to keep them out of the way. Since the right stirrup tends to easily
slide off the saddle seat, he has hooked it over the saddle horn. |
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Lift The Saddle Onto The Horse
Lift the saddle and place it onto the back of the
horse. Do this as gently and with as much control as possible so you
don't thump the saddle down hard onto the horse's back. Setting the saddle
down gently will remind the horse that being saddled is a routine, comfortable
activity, which will encourage the horse to stand quietly during this and future saddlings.
Setting the
saddle down gently will also help make sure
the cinches,
breast collar, and stirrup don't fall off the saddle
seat and saddle horn.
If any of those things do slide off, they could wind up
underneath the saddle and you might have to start
all over. They could also
spook the horse. |

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How To Saddle A Horse (you are on page 1 of 3)
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Think Safety!
While saddling a horse, a person can easily be injured. It is
common sense to take a few, simple precautions to avoid injury.
- If it is fly season, consider applying
fly spray to the horse. If the horse is fighting flies you could be
stepped on or smacked by the horse's head. Even a horse swishing its tail
can swing its tail into your face or eyes.
- Leave the
halter and
lead rope
on your horse while saddling, then put the bridle on when you are done or
ready to ride. If the horse is trained to ground tie (stand without moving
while untied) that's fine. If not, leave the horse properly tied up with the
halter and lead rope while saddling.
- When saddling, always snug up the
front cinch
first. When unsaddling, always loosen the front cinch last.
The front cinch is the main item that keeps the saddle secure and upright on
the horse. If, for example, during saddling, you were to buckle the breast collar or back
cinch first, the saddle could slip underneath the horse and cause a serious
wreck for the horse, equipment, and any people or property nearby.
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