Is your young rider ready to saddle up with confidence? At Pony Club, our D Certificate members start learning how to saddle their horses independently, under a coach’s watchful eye. Knowing the basics of saddling is a crucial part of safe and responsible riding—and we’re here to guide them every step of the way!
Here’s how we teach our young riders to saddle up:
1. Your horse will be more used to you working from the near (left) side.
2. Place the saddlecloth evenly over the horse’s spine, after checking there is nothing in it to irritate the horse, e.g., grass seeds, burrs, or clumps of dirt.
3. Make sure the cloth is in front of the wither.
4. Check that the stirrups on the saddle are fixed out of the way (run up or crossed) so that they do not knock against the horse or get caught under the saddle.
5. It is better to place the saddle a little too far forward than back so that you can gently slide the saddle back to fit just behind the horse’s shoulder blade, ensuring it does not interfere with the movement of the horse’s shoulders.
6. Pull the saddlecloth up into the gullet of the saddle to remove pressure on the spine and wither.
7. Check that the saddle is sitting evenly over the horse’s spine and that the saddle flaps and saddlecloth are lying straight on both sides of the horse.
8. You can now attach the girth or pull it down if it was already attached to the saddle. Make sure it does not knock the horse’s front legs, and confirm that the girth does not have anything prickly or dirty on it.
9. Do the girth up with the lightest pressure at first, watching the horse’s reaction in case they are sore or react by biting.
10. The girth should lie in the horse’s girth groove behind their elbow.
11. Adjust the girth slowly from both sides to allow the horse’s muscles time to adapt to the pressure, preventing girthiness caused by rushing the process.
12. You can walk the horse briefly before ensuring the girth is firm enough for you to mount and ride.
13. Make sure the girth points and buckles are not pinching the horse by being too close to the saddle or too close to the point of the horse’s elbow.
14. The girth should be firm enough to keep the saddle in place at all paces—get someone to check it once you have mounted, but remember it is easy to overtighten a girth with elastic on the buckles. It’s also easy to overtighten when adjusting from the saddle due to the leverage from sitting higher than the girth points.
15. Use the reverse process to unsaddle your horse, taking care not to rush and monitoring your horse’s reactions throughout.
⭐ 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝘁? 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆! ⭐
Riding is more than just fun—it’s about building responsibility and care for our equine friends. Join us at Pony Club Australia to help young horse lovers learn lifelong skills. Find a club or accredited riding centre near you: https://ponyclubaustralia.com.au/join-us/find-a-club/