Rec and Sports

All about Horse Tack – What you’ll need to ride a horse

Many people have liked the idea of horse riding, whether it is from seeing the big screen hero in an old western movie or the sport of equestrianism or horse racing on television. Horse riding has long been a popular past time for children and adults whether they own their own horse or ride horses at stables or riding schools.

One of the key things to sort out when taking up horse riding is arranging your tack, tack is the collective term for all the equipment you’ll need to fit onto the horse before riding it. This includes the saddle and reigns obviously but there are quite a few different pieces of tack that you may not be aware of, below is a list of some of the features you may need to buy if the stables or riding school does not have tack that you can loan.

Saddle

The saddle is probably the most important part of horse tack as it is what you use to sit on the horse and holds you secure on to the horse; the saddle will typically have attachments and variations depending on each model. Obvious ones are stirrups for placing your feet into but other attachments include saddle breastplates to stop the saddle from sliding sideways whilst riding.

Stirrups

The stirrups are a surprisingly important and potentially hazardous part of horse riding. You need to have stirrups that both hold your feet but also allow you to pull your feet away should you need to get off or if the horse falls. If your feet get stuck then the full weight of the horse could come crashing down on your leg which could break your foot.

Bridles and Halters

The headgear that the horse wears is what your reigns will be attached to, this is what allows you to control the horse and so is important to have. What is also important is that the bridle or halter is comfortable for the horse and not too tight or loose. Halters tend to be used for leading horses whereas bridles are used for driving or riding horses.

Harness

For horses being used with carriages or a cart a harness is needed, this is not necessarily something you will need for traditional horse riding but can be useful for moving heavy goods. A good harness should make light work of moving heavy objects and the horse shouldn’t have to struggle. It’s important to know your horse’s limits though and if they are struggling you should stop using the cart and harness.

To find the best deals on equestrian tack make sure you buy online for all your equestrian supplies