Introduction: Tack for English Equitation: Free Horseback Riding Lessons

Series Summary

Men and women have been riding horses for centuries. From the first, humans successfully tamed the wild pack horse, but not without being changed themselves. The noble spirit of the horse has led men, as Jonathan Swift has recorded, to remember the beauty of unspoiled creation… and sometimes to question modern civilization.

Early on, we learned that horses could be tamed, to a point, and used for a number of purposes in our world. Horses have carried us into battle, fierce and unafraid. They have pulled our plows and carried our loads. They’ve helped us travel over long distances. And they’ve been important in herding and driving our cattle. Without question, horses have proven to be well-adapted for human life, expressing qualities of loyalty and bravery, responding to commands, and usually having an approachable, friendly demeanor.

Since they are still fairly wild animals, all horses need training before they can work with people. Especially in horseback riding, the relationship of trust and instinct between horse and rider must be cultivated over time, and with the proper techniques and equipment. In these free horseback riding lessons on video, learn how to bridle and saddle a horse for English style equitation (riding posture and technique). Our expert will show you how to brush and groom the horse before riding, how to put on the English saddle, how to adjust the bridle, and give you some final tips for checking the horse tack before saddle up.

Video Transcript

" Hi my name is Sarah Stetner. I'm an expert horse rider on behalf of Expert Village. Today I'm just going to show you how to prepare for English, how to get ready to ride English and I will be saddling and bridling the horse as well. First off the first thing that you want to do when you want to prepare the horse to do something especially when they are as dirty as this boy is. You want to brush him. I will be brushing him. Brushing him, saddling him, bridling him and getting ready to go and also I will be putting on his bell boots which are these things. Bell boots are what protects his front foot from his lap foot from clipping it. So I will putting on those as well. So that is what I'm going to be doing in this video. Stay tune for the next segments."