How to Mount a Horse Before Walking

Series Summary

Man has enjoyed a unique relationship with the horses on this planet. Horses have carried us into battle, brave and without fear. They’ve helped us travel over long stretches of terrain. In some parts of the world they still pull our farmer’s plows and carry our loads. They’ve been indispensable in herding and driving our cattle. And the police have mounted horse patrols for crowd control situations in urban environments. No question, horses have proven to be well-suited for human life, expressing qualities of loyalty and bravery, responding to commands, and usually having a calm, docile demeanor.

Since they are wild animals, all horses need some sort of training before they can work side by side with humans. Especially in horseback riding, the relationship between horse and rider must be cultivated over time and with the proper techniques and equipment. In this free video series, watch as Kelli LaBar teaches how to ride a horse at a walk, Get tips on one handed and two handed techniques for turning, reversing, and halting a horse.

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Kelli on behalf of Expert Village. I am going to show you how to ride your horse with a walk. So the first thing we are going to do is we are going to mount up so we want to make sure that our girth is nice and tight which mine is not. So we are just going to tighten this up just a little bit. You want to make sure that the girth is nice and snug on the horse and not too tight or is uncomfortable for your horse but snug enough for the saddle is not going to slip when you get on. I am going to place my rein over her neck and you always to mount from the left side of your horse. You can mount from the right side of your horse. It's a little bit more difficulty involved but usually you want to mount from the left. So what we are going to do is we are going to take our reins in our left hand, we are going to grab the horn, we are going to take her stirrup with her right hand, we are going to place our left foot in the stirrup, we are going to grab the horn, we are going to swing our right leg over and then we are on. Once we are on, we are going to put our feet in the stirrups, make sure they are a comfortable length for our legs, not too short or not too long. I'm riding in a Western saddle so you want to make sure there is a slight bend to your knee. You wouldn't want your knee jacked up here or have it too long where it is straight. So these are a comfortable length for me. So once I am on, I am going to grab my reins and I am ready to go ride. So that is how you mount a horse. "