How to Tack a Horse

Series Summary

Man has enjoyed a unique relationship with the horses on this planet. Horses have carried us into battle, bravely 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. 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. In this free video series, an equestrian and horse riding coach provides tips for taking care of a horse. Learn how to tack a horse, how to clean a saddle and how to build a round pen. Take care of foals and ponies, measure girth size and put together an equine first-aid kit. Become a better horse owner with these tips on pet care and equine basics.

Video Transcript

"To tack your horse, we'll begin by making sure your horse is groomed. Assuming that it is, we'll begin with the saddle pad. And we're going to put the saddle pad right up to where her hair starts to grow on her withers. And the place that the girth goes is at right behind her shoulder. And then we'll take the saddle, and it's also going to sit right up on her wither and I'm going to pull the saddle pad up into the gullet of the saddle. And then we'll take the girth and attach it just first on the lower holes and I'll attach them on the other side as well. I like to make sure that it goes through these girth rings here, just keeps the saddle pad in place with the saddle. And now we'll put the bridle on. To begin with, we're going to put the reigns over her head. We're going to take the halter off. Right away, my hand replaces the halter. So my hands take the bridle in the one hand. With my left hand I help the bit into her mouth using my thumb in the corner of her mouth to make her open... one ear at a time. Then I'll attach the nose band, which goes under the cheek pieces and should be fairly tight. You want to make sure that after you've attached it, you put the leather into its keepers so it stays neat. This bridle is a flash nose band so it's going to go underneath the bit here and it should never be tighter than the nose band, but it should be firm. And the last thing is going to be the throat latch which is the loosest of all three. I should be able to fit about a fist between her and the throat latch. And then we're ready to go."