Overview of How to Tack Up a Horse

Series Summary

The horse was used in warfare as early as 4000 BCE. There is archaeological evidence in the steppes of Eurasia of fortified towns being built to defend against horse-riding bandits and raiders. In 1350 BCE, the Hittite tribe developed a written manual for successfully breeding and conditioning chariot horses. Thus, since before written history and throughout the recorded development of mankind, horses have been a powerful ally to victorious armies and successful agriculturalists. In Medieval Europe, the heavy armor of mounted knights required a new style of horses, strong like a draft horse but athletic like lighter breeds. The destrier (and lesser so the courser and rouncey) became the type (not breed) of horse that would fetch the highest price among nobles and elite military officers.

In this free video series, expert horse rider Mara Keith-Hunter will teach you how to tack up a horse. You learn how to attach and adjust the saddle, back pads, bridles with flash, the girth, and more. She also gives you tips on attaching the standard and running martingales. Mara earns her keep by also showing you just how to remove, clean, and store all your tack, including saddle, back pads, bridle, etc.

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Mara Keith-Hunter for Expert Village. Today I would be talking about how to tack up a horse. Today I would be talking about how tack up a horse. We are going to go over different items that can be used. I have various back pads used for different fits of saddle. I have several type of girths and we would talk about their uses and when you need to use a different kind of girth. We also have several examples of martingale and we would be going over how to adjust and fit those. I also have 2 different examples of basic English bridles and we are going to go over how to put on and how to adjust and to fit these bridles. We are also going to go over the boots and different kinds of boots, how to put them on and make sure they fit and when it is important to use these. The last thing is cleaning and storing your tack. "