Horsemanship II

1
Horsemanship II

• Section 1
• Chapters 1-6
• http//lorienstable.com

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Safety...
3

• Smoking...
• Drinking...

4
HandlingRiding
5

• Ask tell demand
• schooling whip
• or crop
• or over under
• or bight
• Don't Nag

6

• Extra Control
• twitch
• Harsh Control
• War bridle
• vice breaker

7

• Equipment...

8
Evaluating Saddles for Quality

• Purpose of the saddle
• Keep pressure off the spine
• Distribute weight front-to-back and side-to-side
• Stability for horse rider

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Evaluating Saddles for Quality

• high quality design, materials, construction
• cheap visibly or internally
• twisted
• broken
• design flaws
• stirrup bar
• point billet
• flare
• center of balance/slant of seat
• changeable gullets
• CAIR and FLAIR

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Treeless Designs

• No tree to distribute weight front-to-back

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Treeless Designs

• Pommel/cantle give some structure and spine
  clearance structures need to fit properly just
  as a tree does
• Limited applications
• light rider
• shorter rides
• light riding
• no significant use of the horse's back (dressage,
  jumping, reining)

12
Remember to

• Place the saddle correctly behind the
  shoulderblade,
• don't use a saddle that's too long,
• and do the cinch up directly below the rigging.
• Also tighten girth/cinch slowly,
• and double check before mounting.

13
Keeping Trees Straight

• Store saddles in a protected environment
• (ac or dehumidifier)
• and on a symmetrical horse-back-shaped stand.

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Keeping Trees Straight

• Try to mount from a mounting block, not the
  ground
• Try to mount from alternating sides.

15
Bridle Concerns

• Bridles should fit as well as saddles
• browband may pinch,
• noseband too tight or loose,
• throatlatch may be too tight for horse to flex
  neck comfortably

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Alternatives to standard bridles

• browband / one ear, two ear
• curb chain / leather curb strap / rubber curb

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Alternatives to standard bridles

• jaquima / bosal

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Alternatives to standard bridles

• halter bridle
• You can also leave a halter on under the bridle,
  or put a halter on over the bridle temporarily to
  tienever tie to the bit.

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Rein use Soft Corrections

• For busy hands, horse that likes to lean, ...

20
Padded bridles, modern designs
21
Crossunder Bitless (Dr. Cook)

• This one is the Freedom Bridle variation

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Cavessons

• Regular
• Drop
• Flash
• Figure Eight (Grackle)

23
Tie Downs/Martingales/Draw Reins

• Purpose is to restrict the horse's head.
• Better option would be to find the reason why the
  horse is raising his head.
• (Rough hands, uncomfortable bit,
• poor saddle fit, confusion, ...)

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Anti-Grazing Reins

• These can be used for a smaller or tentative
  rider who has difficulty preventing a horse from
  eating
• unlike some other devices to restrict the motion
  of the head, these can be adjusted so that they
  only prevent the horse from lowering his head
  enough to eatotherwise the head is unrestricted.

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Bit Guards

• Can be used to cushion a bit which might
  otherwise pinch the corners of the mouth
• Can also be used to make a bit slightly smaller
  to fit a horse with a mouth of unusual size.

http//www.saddler.co.uk/acatalog/Bit_guards.html
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Bit Wraps Medi-Wraps

• Nifty products which can make a horse more
  willing to take a bit, or take medicines.

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More Equipment Comments

• biothane
• tack cleaning
• rope halterNH, suitable for some things, more
  severe, NO TURNOUT

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Saddle-Related Equipment

• flank cinchonly necessary when high stress on
  saddle, eg roping
• breast collaronly necessary when lots of hill
  work or other backwards stress on the saddle
• seat saverscomfort, size

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Girths/Cinches

• neoprene, leather, fleece, cotton, felt
• (horses can be picky, each horse may have own
  preference)
• elastic on both sides, if used
• traditional, anatomical

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Saddle Pads

• Natural Fibers (avoid synthetic fleece)
• 100 wool felt pad
• cotton or wool medicine blanket
• cotton quilted English pads

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• Making Riding Easier...
• More Convenient...
• Safer...

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Luxurious Sheepskin

• Horsedream (one source)
• sheepskin saddle covers, bareback pads
• http//www.horsedream.co.uk

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More Sheepskin

• Easy Care Shear Comfort
• http//www.easycareinc.com/shearcomfort-styles.asp
  x

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Cashel Bug Armorhttp//www.cashelcompany.com
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Anatomical Girths

• County Logic

Knockoff
https//www.ravenwoodtack.com/cart/product_info.ph
p?products_id590
Knockoff
http//stores.ebay.com/Legend-saddlery-and-equestr
ian
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Turned/Safety Stirrups
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Stirrup Turners
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Peacock Safety Stirrups

• These have a rubber band which pops out if too
  much pressure is applied, allowing a foot to
  slide free. However, they may warp if used by a
  rider of more than about 75 pounds.

http//www.justforponies.com/merchant/products/ent
er_1145.htm
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Closed Front Stirrups
http//www.chicksaddlery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv
c?Product_CodeWS40ScreenPROD
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More Stirrup Concepts

• Stirrup Cushions
• Extra Grip Pads
• Wide Tread
• Flexi Stirrups

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Safety Stirrup Bar

• A typical English saddle has a safety stirrup
  bar. This is the name for the design that allows
  the stirrup leather to slip off in case of
  emergency.
• Be aware that this design is not included in the
  typical Western saddle, Endurance saddle,
  bareback pad, etc.

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Webbers

• These are a nifty little innovation designed to
  reduce bulk under the rider's leg. A single
  strap attaches to the stirrup bar, and the
  adjustment for length is at the bottom. (May
  not slip off safety stirrup bar as easily.)

http//www.wintec.net.au/products/mounts/webbers.h
tml
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Stirrup Leather Covers

• Using a cover (the sheepskin sites mentioned
  earlier have some) can prevent the stirrup
  leathers from pinching or chafing bare legs.

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Girth Extenders

• Every buckle is a potential point of weakness
  girth extenders can be useful, but they also
  increase potential risk.

http//www.saddleuptack.com/webcat/items/item134.h
tm
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Rider Equipment...
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Bull Rider Body Protector
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Icelandic Jodhs

• Popular with trail endurance riders despite
  being of primarily English-style design.
  Comfortable, useful.

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Riding Sneakers
http//store.yahoo.com/crazyhorse/ariat1.html
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Shopping Around...
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Some Useful Links...