YOU’VE BOUGHT A NICE HORSE- SO GET STARTED THE RIGHT WAY
If I can raise your awareness in these few topics…maybe it will inspire you to question your knowledge in other areas and get the help you need… and your horse deserves.This is my effort to ensure the comfort and happiness of the horses I sell.
I hope you find this information helpful.
my wish for you is for you and your new horse to bond and become partners in the relationship.
Your relationship with your horse is like marriage and should be treated with that level of respect and consideration.
With that said…. lets get started!
often people are riding in a saddle that is too big or too small for them and they don't even know it. when riding in a saddle too large you get alot of "slop" and can feel insecure in your seat and think that its your lack of riding skill... while that may be true in some areas....a smaller saddle that holds you more securely can sure assist you to feel more secure in the saddle, and hold you in tighter when you may need it the most. Plus...it's a huge possibility that your horse will be frustrated if there is no consistency in the placement of your hands (because you are inable to stabilize your seat)
riding in a seat size too small causes your weight to be distributed more to the front of the saddle and can cause extreme and uncomfortable shoulder pressure to your horse. A large "belly or boobs" on a person can cause this same discomfort to your horse. so be truthful with yourself...it means a lot to your horse.
keep in mind that the amount of weight you have out front can certainly be a factor to consider in deciding your need for the next seat size up because of the change this makes in your center of balance and the necessity to set your weight more to the back of the saddle to counter balance your added frontal weight.
ridi9ng in a seat too large allows you to slop around in the saddle....and to your horse that means the reins are continually getting longer and shorter as you slide forward and back. your horses frustration should be obviously apparent at the trot and lope if this is the case. so next time you ride look for this sign.
My general rule for fitting a seat to a person and it as mostly to do with pant size.
if a woman wears a pant size 0 to 5/6 she needs a 13 to a 14 inch seat. 7/8 she needs a 14 inch. A pant size 9/10 or 11/12 she needs a 14.5 to 15 inch. size 15/16 to a 17/18 pant she needs a 16 inch.
if she is a narrow hipped woman ( size 0-5) be careful not to get a twist that is too wide. she will be sore in her "pin bone" area if she rides for long periods.
if a man wears a size 32-34 pant with no belly(or very little)- he would need a 15 to a 15.5 inch seat. a slender man wearing a 36 inch pant would ride a 15.5 inch saddle comfortably. if he wears a 36-38 you would need a 16 inch seat. a 40 plus you would need a 16.5 to a 17.
the saddles that work the best for men are the flat seat roper or cutters (cutters have the 4” horn...i dont like it...but some like it cuz they can hold onto it with the whole hand really easy)
the equitation and "narrow twist" type seats make things "uncomfortable" for mens "parts".
pay particular attention to the words "flat seat". its a better guarantee that a man will be comfortable.
a true full qh bar saddle will have 8 inches distance between the front conchos on the front lip. a generous flare in the bars is necessary for horses heavily muscled over their topline and down the shoulder.
the very best pad combination i have found is a professionals choice air- ride pad over the top of a 1 inch hospital felt with wither relief and vent holes down the back (i get black felt. white gets too darned dirty)
i have never had a horse come up sore, or come up with hot spots, or pressure point or complain with this pad combo. its actually quite unbelievable- if you were here for me to show you- you would be a believer! so if you are buying pads for your new horse you might as well buy right the first time and not be sorry. This pad combination is a proven success for me in every case...and i ride alot of different horses.
The buyers that come here for a showing are given the opportunity to see the difference this pad combination makes in the horses attitude. Cuz I SHOW EM by saddling the horse up both ways and riding both ways.
SOME BASICS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET STARTED:
this is the way i cinch a horse. and i have never had a cinchy one:
3 step cinch process:
tighten the cinch until it touches their belly firmly but in no sense tight.... move around doing whatever else you have to do while they stand there waiting. then just b4 you unhitch them from wherever they are tied: tighten to approx 2 notches less than what you actually will mount with.
step them away from the tie spot and take 5-10 steps or so or go wherever it is you are going and do some more stuff...then last thing b4 you mount. tighten the last 2 holes and get on. being careful not to jab your toe into your horses side while mounting.
i step to the rear of my saddle b4 placing my toe in the stirrup. that way my toe is already pointed forward and there is very little chance i will rub or jab my toe into my horse causing them develop the bad habit of moving forward or away.
always always remember to check your cinch again 200 yards after mounted. if its gotten unacceptably loose. reach down while mounted and pull 1 hole more. always check cinch again b4 loping. some horses are very good at bloating (its a defense to improper cinching tactics)... and can hold the bloat quite some time,and people forget after mounted to check again, and as the muscles work they slim up and tighten up and the cinch that was tight when mounted is no longer and the saddle might roll when you go into the lope or go downhill.
***remember that if i were to grab your belt and cinch it over until your tummy was squeezed tight...you would be bitter and squirrely too...it hurts! so don’t expect anything less of your horse.
So while the cinch needs to be safe…. IT DOES NOT need to cut your horse in half!
its rude to tighten a saddle all at once. and believe me...horses know who a rude person is and don;t like them any more than we like them!
and if your horse doesn’t like you(or is bitter) they are more likely to not take care of you as well on your ride.
never ride a bridle that is causing more than 1 wrinkle in your horses lips. its no fun to walk around with your lips stretched tight... (try it....stick your fingers in the corners of your mouth and stretch your lips and hold them for even 5 minutes and tell me how they feel!) so why expect your horse to accept it?
my rule of thumb is this: if its making solid contact with the corners of the mouth. its good to go. even if there isnt even one wrinkle.
but it should NOT dangle and slop around by being lower than the corners of the mouth. then your reining cues will be irritating surprizs to your horse. thats no good.
after placing the bridle in the horses mouth. step to the front of your horses face and look at the bit. is it riding evenly in his mouth? if not pull down on the cheek piece on the left or right until the bit is riding strait across in his mouth.
is the brow band or ear piece adjusted correctly? pull it down away from the bottom of his ear so he is comfortable. you will prevent "ear sensitivity" by making sure his ears are not chafed by the bridle.
whoa should never never be an "out of the blue sky yank" in your horses mouth....its rude.
a proper whoa is set up in your seat and legs first.then the reins last. then your horse will feel it coming and set themselves up for the whoa and the reins wont be a painful surprize. and you will find that your whoa will improve not only in response time...but in prettiness too. a pretty and proper whoa is a beautiful thing to watch and it only happens when the horse is not surprized by it...but instead is a willing participant in the action. and that means they must feel it coming.
a good whoa can also be ruined by a rider keeping bit contact at all times by "riding in the horses mouth" all the time. pretty soon bit pressure has become an all the time thing rather than meaning whoa (or even "slow down").
so stay aware of the reins. look down and notice- are the reins relaxed when your horse is being obedient? if not. change your riding habits quickly or very soon your nice reining horse will not be so nice and soft in the bridle. but instead has become "detuned" by constant bit pressure and banging around in their mouth.
notice your stirrup pressure....are you exerting even pressure in both your stirrups?
how to tell: without leaning forward- look down at your toes...can you see the same amount of boot on each side? have your riding partner look at your heels from behind. are they the same level from one to the other? if not..... make the necessary corrections so your horse doesn’t have to compensate for your lack of balance. its not fair....and may make your horse sore, and will in time detune your horse. he will notably become less responsive on one side and you will be frustrated and not know why.... this is the first place I look when assisting riders to become better partners with their horses.
check your saddle for straitness all the time. look at the horn...is it running directly up their mane? if not. hitch your saddle over til it does. when its strait your weight will be evenly distributed on each side of your horses spine. a very good help is that the rider who is behind alerts the other when the center stitching on the skirt of the saddle behind the cantle is not strait with the horses spine (the divit that runs between the horses butt cheeks on his topline)(my hubby rides unbalanced alot and for some reason cannot tell when he is "off" sides. so I find myself alerting him all day long.) in as little as one year of riding this way can cause atrophy in his back muscles.
in time the left stirrup leather will stretch with repeated mounting so its often necessary to shorten that stirrup one notch or make some new ones between the 2 factory ones so that your left leg doesn’t feel longer than your right. by riding with one stirrup longer you are exerting uneven pressure on your horses back.
so be helpful riding partners by noticing these little things about each other that make the horse more comfortable and assists each other in advancing awareness and riding skill.
be sure to wash your bits, cinches and pads often (every 6-12 months) to prevent bacterial infections and/or chafing due to dirt and sweat build up.( I wash mine very other month...but I ride a (TON)
remember: horses don’t like a stressful ride any more than we do. so they learn the "pressure/ release" system quite quickly. That can be a good and a bad thing depending on the awareness of the rider!
the key to resistance free riding is: the rider taking the responsibility of developing clear communication with his horse and then being aware of the little things they do that might mean something to the horse and using it to develop the horses trust and respect.
create a pressure to get your horse to respond....THEN RELEASE that pressure! its his reward and encouragement to make the right choice the next time they feel that pressure in that place and in that way. so try to remember exactly what you did to cause the response you got and recreate it again and again right then and there to ensure not only that YOU'VE got it down...but that your horse does too.... then the next ride you can create the same pressure and you will get the same response.
this goes in direct relation to negative responses too.... if you have done something that has created a negative response in your horse...figure out what it was...and DON'T repeat it.
see how it works?
Its not always the horses fault that things are going badly. You need to be aware and ADMIT your own ignorance and errors first and correct them… before you start unfairly blaming your horse.
If I can be of further assistance to you and your horse PLEASE contact me at any time. I want your equine experience to be a joyous one- and the highlight of your day!