Note: Links with green underlines are shopping links and will open in a new window

How To Saddle A Horse - Page 1 of 3

Saddle a horse the correct way. This article covers saddling a horse with a Western style of 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 ahead of 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:

You are allowing room for everything to slide back a bit like it naturally wants to without it ending up too far back.
By allowing the pad and saddle to slide back, you are smoothing the hairs on the horse's coat, instead of possibly rubbing them the wrong way.

How to saddle a horse: Brush the horse clean

The saddle pad is first placed slightly forward of where it should actually be.

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, none of this stuff winds 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, breast collar, and right stirrup onto the seat of the saddle to keep them out of the way.

Lay the cinches, etc. across the saddle seat

You can also hook the stirrup over the saddle horn, instead
of simply laying it across the saddle seat as shown.

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 back of the horse. Setting the saddle down gently will also help make sure the cinches, breast collar, and stirrup don't fall off the saddle seat. If any of the stuff on the saddle seat does slide off, it could wind up underneath the saddle and you would have to start over, or it could spook the horse.

Lift the saddle onto the horse

In the photo the saddle has been placed quietly onto the back of the horse.

How To Saddle A Horse (you are on page 1 of 3)
Go to page 2 >>>

Think Safety!

While saddling a horse, a person can easily be injured. It is common sense to take a few, easy 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.

Saddles For Sale On eBay

Saddles By Type