Don’t Take Your Steady Horse For Granted

It’s important to remember that no matter how “steady” our horse is, things can always go wrong.

That sounds kind of “doom and gloom”-y I know, and I’m not trying to scare you. But it’s important to remember that each time you step in the saddle, you’re taking a calculated risk. Even the best-trained horses can have an overlooked sore back, or a tender hoof, or maybe just a bad day.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should be afraid. There are steps we can take with our horses to do our best to avoid getting hurt.

That’s why it’s so important not to take our horses for granted.

Here are some things you should ALWAYS do when working with your horse:

1. Do your groundwork.

Groundwork is so important for so many reasons, but so many riders skip this step all together, or rush through it without really taking the time to do it right.

Groundwork gives you an important opportunity to take stock of how your horse is doing emotionally and physically. It also gives your horse an opportunity to evaluate you, and take stock of your mood, your energy and your feel.

This helps both horse and rider have a better, more connected, and safer ride.

2. Double, triple check your tack!

So, so many horse-related accidents can be directly attributed to errors made when tacking up. We can easily get lazy or over-confident when tacking up our horses. After all, we’ve done it hundreds — maybe thousands of times before.  But spending just a couple extra seconds checking your work here can save you months of being laid up from a preventable injury.

3. Set your horse up to be successful.

If we want our horses to do well, we should be mindful of how we’re setting them up. For example, if you’ve got a horse who’s been out to pasture for the past year, and then just saddle up and hop on right away, you’ve set your horse up to fail. You’ve given him no chance to re-acclimate to you, or to get comfortable with the situation.

If you really want your horse to succeed, you have to be patient. Spend a week or so with him just doing groundwork and desensitizing so you can both get to know one another again and build up your confidence in one another. Gradually prepare them to be ridden again so that when you do finally hop on, it’s not a big, dramatic event, but a quiet, steady, confident ride.

Maybe your horse hasn’t been out to pasture for a year, but by prioritizing his needs above your time-table, you’ll find your time with your horse so much safer and more rewarding.

It’s easy as humans to get caught up in rushing around, doing things on our schedules and without much thought. It’s easy to take our horses for granted when they’re doing well, and start skipping important steps that we should be taking for our safety. But here’s your gentle reminder: Be smart! Don’t skip the small steps, and don’t take your horse for granted.