Saddle and Horse

Riding horses has been in American culture for a very long time. In today’s time it’s not just for travel, work and war, but for fun and some ways it can be competitive. I would say I ride horses for fun and in competitive barrel racing. I’ve been riding horses since I was a little To get started you should have a well-mannered horse and a nice place to keep him/her. If your first starting to learn to ride you should choose a horse that’s at least 8 years or older. The horse should be calm, experienced and in good shape, not wild eyed, untamed, lazy or stubborn. Someone with more experience can help you find the right horse and environment to keep him/her. Having a good riding area would be appropriate. Somewhere you feel comfortable and make you feel like you have a lot of control of the horse. Before riding, you should always groom and tack the horse. When grooming you should use a curry comb and brush him/her out, making sure there are no stickers or anything that can disturb the horse when saddled. Also use a hoof pick and clean out the horses hoofs. When putting the saddle on make sure you stand on the left side every time. Put the saddle blanket on first, then the saddle. When saddling a horse you strap the latigo under the belly right under his front legs, then the flank cinch and if needed the breast collar in that order. After the saddle is tight enough to ride in you need to put the horses bit which goes in the mouth. To get in bit in the horse’s mouth put two fingers on both sides of the lips inside and squeeze down. When the bits in all you have to do is hook the throat latch.
To mount the horse you get on the same side you saddle, the left. Hold the reins with one hand and with the other the saddle horn. Put your left foot in the stirrup and gently swing your right leg over, sit down really calm. If you have no familiarity at all in riding someone with more experience should lead your horse around until you get the feel of it. Make sure