The Basics

We need to begin with a mention of SAFETY!

POSSIBLE DEATH FOR HORSES

Side Reins: Never attach them with the ends through the runners and/or keepers. (If you do not know what these are, you should not be using side reins.)
Side Reins: Only attach them when you are in the arena and you are sure the horse is warm or loose enough to accept them.
Side Reins: Never allow anyone to mount or dismount the horse while the side reins are attached
Treats! Horses do not digest plastic. Carrot bags smell like carrots. Do not leave anything like that wihin reach.
Metal fence posts without top caps. Will impale the unlucky horse to land on one.
Horses WILL bite or play with light switches or electric cords. They do not know about the 10 zillion volts...
Being out in the lightning. All other weather is acceptable unless injured, sick or weak.

POSSIBLE DEATH FOR HUMANS

Riding with no helmet... esp. on pavement or hard surfaces.
Side Reins: Never allow anyone to mount or dismount the horse while the side reins are attached.
DO NOT EVER walk behind a horse while it is eating or distracted. It is a natural reaction to kick if startled from behind.
DO NOT allow your horse to be inattentive while being led. Work on shoulder to shoulder and personal space.
DO NOT mount without your rein contact and do not allow the horse to move or walk off before you allow.
Being out in the lightning.

POSSIBLE INJURY TO HORSES

Do not leave halters attached to anything (cross ties, poles, etc) without tying them up. No leaving them on the ground to get stepped on and tangled up in.
1/2 open doors. Open ANY door that the horse will be walking through as wide as it will go and make sure it stays open. Huge hip injury potential.
Cinder Blocks: Can become an unwanted anklet. Fetlock, pastern, hoof damage... at best.
Do not pasture mares with geldings if possible. Risk of bad kicks, broken legs...
Do not leave any access to the feed room (close the door) to horses that may get loose. (possible colic / death)
Do not spray water down your horse's ears. Take care washing the face. (ear infection)
Tying your horse to anything that it may be able to pull loose or down and then go barreling off with...
Riding a young or unbalanced horse without a drop or flash noseband. (possible injury to lower jaw if it stumbles or yanks hard on the reins)

POSSIBLE INJURY TO HUMANS

Do not wear sandals or open toe shoes around horses.
Pay attention to horses you pass whether riding or on the ground. Some may bite. Some may kick.
Do not turn your own horse away if it runs into the horse in front of it while you are riding in a group. Better your horse get kicked than you. (Then spank yourself for bad riding)
Do not wrap lunge lines, lead lines, reins, etc around your hand or finger(s) if attached to the (1200lb) horse...

JUST PLAIN STUPID...

Thinking that the horse even remotely thinks like a human.
Allowing your horse to be inattentive and move anywhere near your body with ANY part of its body.
Thinking that your horse is a dog... or like a dog... It is a horse and should respect personal space.
Purposely scaring the horse to make it brave. Why would this make it trust you???
Thinking your horse plans against you...
Smacking the horse the 15th time it does something... (the other 14 were ok??)
Yelling at the horse repeatedly. Do horses yell at each other?? Maybe once or twice here and there.

Moving right along... How about tack?

An Important Message from... your saddle!

Your saddle is an important piece of equipment. It is obvious that good care will make it last longer and clean, supple leather is definately more comfortable to ride in! However, there is one other important point that MANY riders are completely ignorant of... and that is the proper attention to consistent "straight" breaking in and use.

All of us struggle with straightness, balance, and weight placement... both with ourselves and with our horses. And yet, it is very easy to get off kilter and have it feel "normal." As we work at staying "with" the horse's motion and then with trying to manipulate the horse's way of going, we are often contorting and tightening our own bodies without realizing it.

One of the best ways to check on your own straightness and weight placement in the saddle is to examine your personal saddle. With your saddle firmly placed on a rack, feel the seat of the saddle just behind the "waist." The waist is the narrow section of the seat and behind it you should feel two indentions in there (somewhere!) that mark where your seat bones sit. Theoretically, these should be perfectly evenly placed and should be exactly the same depth of indention. Often, they are not and you need to try to even them up as best as possible. This is done by placing a slightly thin towel over the saddle and using a small hard rubber mallet to work the indentions to being more even. You can use a regular hammer instead but you MUST BE CAREFUL not to tear the leather as this is a spot with a lot of strain anyway.

You should do this check on your saddle every other month or so. This is a great way to critique your own postion! Make your life a little easier!! And, be that much straighter for your "soon to be made straight also" horse!!

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