Warming up your horse

Warming up your horse is very important. You want to make sure he is relaxed and ready to begin working. Similar to humans, before horses run or do a lot of activity, they have to warm up in order to get their muscles loosened up to prevent further muscle injury.

When you warm up your horse, you get the chance to see what type of mood your horse is in, whether he's calm and relaxed, excited or stressed. Warming up your horse will allow you to determine what would be the best way to ride him, either with a long rein and a lot of leg, or with a short rein and not too much leg. Horses, just like humans, are a little different everyday depending on their mood. When you warm up your horse, you get him loosened up, which is very important, especially when jumping (as they are using many muscles).

When warming up your horse, you want to make sure you walk, trot, and canter your horse (all the three gates) to see if he's stiff at all or if your going to be having any kind of trouble during your ride.

Tacking up your horse

When tacking up your horse, you want to make sure you put it on correctly. If your tack is on wrong, your ride could be dangerous for both you and your horse. You always want to make sure there's nothing pocking or irritating your horse.

If for instance your bit is underneath the horses tongue you will have no control him/her (the bit is what tells your horse to stop) if the bit is underneath your horses tongue you will not be able to stop him, and that could be dangerous if you're horse is fresh or gets spooked.

When you tack up your horse you want to make sure that you place the saddle and saddle pad up towards the top of there withers, making sure its not to far back towards there rear (so that it doesn't slip and its comfortable for you and the horse) you also want to make sure that your girths are well tightened, but not to tight because that could irritate the horse, you want them to be just tight enough for you to fit your hand between it and there belly. When bridling your horse you need to make sure the nose band is done up not to loos but not to tight, you should be able to fit two fingers between the band and your horses snout. Finally when doing up the throat latch you must make sure you can fit four fingers between the band and his throat. Doing these techniques will allow everything to fit comfortably and safely on you horse.

Grooming your horse.

One of the most important things to do before riding is to groom your horse. Grooming is a great time for bonding and just spending time with your horse. While grooming, you can check for sores, injuries or irritation you might not have noticed from a distance. It's very important to make sure your horse is well groomed and clean before putting on his/her tack, if there is dirt or sweat underneath the tack (girth or saddle) it can cause irritation for the horse. which could lead to soars or other injuries. Cleaning your horses hoofs is the most important part of grooming, by being out in the paddock for long periods of time or just from walking your horse threw the barn, he/she could have rocks or sticks stuck in his/her hoofs. By picking there hoofs you can remove any rocks, sticks or object that could damage you horses hoof. If you do not pick your horses hoofs before riding your putting your horse at risk of an injury, if some sort of pointy object had got into him hoof and you then work him with it pried in there it could severely damage the soul of your horses hoof, and as you may know a horses hoofs are the most important part of there body, if they get damaged the horse my not be able to be ridden.

What you will need to groom your horse:
-A Curry comb
-A soft brush
-A hard brush
-A hoof pick
-Tail brush
-A main comb
-Grooming spray (Not necessary)

How to groom your horse:
Your going to start off with a curry com: brush your horse in circular motions starting from his head and working your way down to his tail to lift up any dirt or sweat matted on his coat (do the same on the other side). Then your going to take your hard brush and brush in the direction of the hair, starting from the head and working your way down to the tail (same on the other side). This will place the hair back in its original position, removing the dirt you've lifted up with the curry comb. You are now going to take your soft brush and brush the same fashion as you did with the hard brush. This will remove anything you've missed with the hard brush, and will also help to perfect your brushing, leaving your horses coat shiny and clean. Next, you are going to take your hoof pick and remove all the dirt or rocks from your horses hoof, being careful of the frog (the soul of the horses hoof). Now you are going to take your tail brush and brush out your horses tail. You want to start with little sections and eventually gather more hair, brushing from the bottom, working you way up. Finally, you're going to take your comb and comb out your horses main and forelock (use the same technique as you did for the tail).

Hey guys,

My name is Katelyn Samson and my blog is all about horses! Ever since I was a little girl I've always had a passion for horseback riding. I've been taking horseback riding lessons for about 6 years now, at Nova Equestrian center. I ride three nights a week. I'm currently leasing a bay thoroughbred named Money Muncher (but we call him Munch for short). Munch is a dressage/Hunter horse which means we do a lot of jumping and a fair amount of dressage. Munch is an amazing horse, I've been riding him for the past 2 years. We've entered in many hunter/jumper competitions in the past year and have done extremely well. Last summer we won Grand Champion at a Greystone show, it was very exciting! I love evrything about riding, but my favourite thing is jumping. The highest I've ever jumped was about 4 feet. Jumping is very exciting, and very fun! I love to ride because I feel you really get to develop a strong bond between you and your horse. It's really a great feeling! Horseback riding to me is very relaxing, when I'm cantering around, it's almost as if i have nothing to think or worry about, it's just me and my horse. Horseback riding is also a fun/great way to be active!

-Hope you enjoy!