When working with your horse make sure he has a halter and lead on, but keep him untied. Why? He needs to know that if things get too scary for him, he can leave. This reduces anxiety. If you tie a horse and introduce scary things, the only thing he learns is he can’t get away, not to not be afraid of the object. And chances are when first starting your sack out routine he will get panicky. So, tying up a horse and sacking out are counterproductive.
You can start your sack out with the saddle pad. Let your horse smell it first to see what it is before you start tossing it about. If most cases if they see the object first it helps them relax. With some horses, this upsets them. Gage what you need to do by the response of your horse. Read the rest of this entry »

Apart from the horses clothing equestrians should also take care of their horses. After all, the performance of the horse has a major impact on the scores. No matter what sports the horse is going to participate he must be well prepared before the event. This entails not just proper but also grooming. Riders are not the only ones who should look their best but also the horse. There are many supplies out there for the horse. Riders have a wide array of choices for their horses.

One of the most important of these supplies is the grooming kit. This is an essential kit when grooming and preparing the horse. With it riders will be able to maintain their horse’s coat in good condition. This will also be a good time for them to check for any injuries, scratches and bruises on the horse. Grooming will also massage the horse and promote circulation. Read the rest of this entry »

A horse lover, or any animal lover, would want to find someone who likes horses like themselves. While it may seem petty for some people, an equestrian who ends up with someone who dislikes horses or does not understand their partner’s passion for horses is doomed to have a lot of potential relationship problems in the future. Weird but I’ve heard of some people feeling jealous of the partner’s love and attention towards their horse. That is why horse lovers would want to find someone who shares the same love for the animal. But where do equestrian singles meet and mingle?

A primary venue where equestrians may find other equestrians is in a horse show or competition. There are also local horse-riding groups in the community which conduct meetings with members. Through regular meetings and competitions, you get the chance to see other horse-loving people in your area. Read the rest of this entry »

So, you’ve done the sacking out with the saddle pad, and your horse is doing well. Next move on to a rope. Like the maxim that all horses should be sacked out, all horses need to be sacked out with a rope. Do not even think about getting on a horse without sacking them out with a rope all over their bodies. And all over in this case, means some places you’d likely not even think about. Such as the head, ears, rump, under the tail (yes, under the tail), around the legs, on the belly, the chest and the withers. As an extension to this lesson, you can also teach them to stand still when you have a rope tied to their feet so if they ever get caught in wire or something else, they will know to stand still.
Back to the sacking out with a rope. You do this because most of what you use to ride a horse has something on it that will bump, slap, slide down or get tangled in the legs and feet (long reins, cinches, etc). They need to learn a rope will not harm them to start with, and that anything else under their belly, tangled in their feet (like a saddle that has slipped under them) – is not a cause for a rodeo. Teach this lesson well, it may save your life and that of your horse. Read the rest of this entry »

The best thing you can possibly do for your horse, no matter what their age, is sack them out. This is a little harder with older horses as they have already developed a set response to things that “spook” them – however, it can be done.
Sacking out simply means slowly and calmly introducing the horse to things they regard as scary – and – some things you wouldn’t think would be scary, but are. The problem with the previous sentence is this: YOU wouldn’t think would be scary. We don’t think like horses for the most part, and there are times when they just go right off the rails over something they’ve seen hundreds of times before, didn’t blink an eye at and then one day, the “object ” didn’t look the same and they pitched a hissy. So what do you do? You do your best to try and sack them out as well and as thoroughly as you possibly can. Read the rest of this entry »