How to Prevent a Horse's Saddle from Slipping

Do you devote a good deal of time and attention to tacking your horse correctly only to find your arrangement disheveled by the time you get to your lesson? Or perhaps it all looks good, but stepping into your stirrup brings the saddle sliding down on you? I've even seen students leading a horse whose saddle has slid completely upside-down until it droops beneath the horse's belly. While you may have followed the textbook instructions on tacking up, only experience will teach you the art of saddling your horse safely.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Appropriately-fitted saddle
• Breathable saddle pad or saddle blanket
• Cinch or girth of an appropriate size for your horse

Tacking Up

1. First, let me stress that you should never be embarrassed to ask fellow riders or your instructor for help in choosing the correct-sized tack. Unless your saddle was made especially for your horse, selecting a saddle means taking your best guess and trying out different sizes and shapes. If the horse you are riding already has special equipment, make sure you always use the same pieces that are saved just for him. Going to a lesson with ill-fitting equipment that is uncomfortable for you or your horse wastes much more time and causes many more problems than simply asking your instructor which saddle to use.
2. Generally, your saddle (whether English or Western) should rest at the base of the withers in the natural curve of the horse's back. The most common mistake among new riders is putting the saddle too far back on the horse's spine, so I recommend starting more forward and sliding it back until it rests easily. Unless you manage to put the saddle on your horse's neck or directly onto the crest of the withers, it should naturally slide into the right position in the arch of the horse's back, just behind and above the horse's front shoulder muscle. Some horses have very high withers, while others are low enough to almost appear flat. If you're unsure, check with your instructor. The pommel of the saddle is made to fit over the slope of the withers, and should never be pressing flat onto the bone. There should always be an open space between the withers and the arch of the pommel. Otherwise, your saddle either doesn't fit your horse or it has slid too far back onto the flat part of the horse's back, and this will definitely hurt your horse once you are riding. Always check to see how the saddle fits without a saddle pad first, so that you can see exactly where it will make contact with the horse.
3. The saddle pad or blanket can sometimes help to distribute the pressure on the withers and cushion other areas if it is specially-designed for that, but mostly saddle pads are meant to soak up sweat and dirt and help keep the horse and the saddle mostly dry. Using a pad made of breathable natural-fiber material will help prevent slippage and allow the horse's skin to breathe. Make sure the underside of the blanket is clean and there is nothing stuck to it that will poke your horse, then lay it evenly across the saddle area, including the over base of the withers. Next place the saddle straight and centered, and make sure the saddle pad covers all areas where the saddle touches down.
4. When doing up your cinch (or girth for English riders), you should make sure both sides are attached fairly quickly, but do not jerk it tight. Slowly adjust your straps until your cinch sits snugly against the horse's side in the groove behind his armpit. If you can slide one or two fingers underneath and stretch it gently, you are ready to go.

Mounting Up

5. So far, you have secured your saddle well enough to walk your horse on foot to your lesson area. A brief walk helps relax the horse, as he was probably holding his breathe nervously while his saddle was being tightened, and you will probably find that your cinch seems miraculously looser after a few minutes. Act quickly but smoothly to once again tighten the straps until the girth is very snug. At this point, you should be able to slide one finger under each side of the cinch with no room to spare.
6. You should now be able to step into your saddle from either the ground or a mounting block without shifting it significantly. Make sure to center yourself and your saddle before walking your horse forward a bit.
7. Once on your horse, you should once again quickly run your fingers between the cinch and his side to check for looseness. The weight of your body on the saddle usually pushes it down a bit, and the cinch now has to hold the weight of both you and the saddle. If you feel safe, begin to warm up your horse at a walk and then possibly a trot.
8. After a few minutes of riding, stop and check again. Many horses will "bloat" or puff out their stomach before a ride in order to keep from being strapped so tightly that it is uncomfortable. But some of them are so good at it that once they let out the air, your saddle is dangerously loose. After a little exercise, your horse will have to let out its breath and you can now tighten your girth for the final time until it sits snugly against his side AND you find that you can lean slightly to the right or left on your stirrups and you don't feel the saddle sliding around beneath you. By following these steps every time you ride, you can stay safe and in control while also keeping your horse comfortable by adjusting the tightness gradually.

Tips & Warnings

• Many horses have been hurt almost every time someone has tightened their cinch, and they might start to panic or get angry, acting as though they might bite or tossing their head around in frustration. Soothe your horse and talk quietly to him until he calms down, and do not yank quickly or roughly to tighten the cinch, but gather up the slack slowly and smoothly. This reduces the chances of accidentally pinching your horse's skin, and it keeps tacking up from becoming a violent and painful fight between you and your horse.
• As you go about saddling your horse, always walk around the front of the animal to get to its other side. NEVER sit, bend or duck underneath a horse's neck or body. Only your arm should pass under the horse to pull the cinch through.
• Horseback riding is an inherently dangerous activity and the nature of the animals makes them unpredictable, even for the most seasoned professional. This activity is undertaken at the rider's own risk, and should only be attempted while wearing adequate industry-approved safety equipment and under the supervision of an experienced instructor.