Who's Ready to Ride?
There's a moment every rider knows. You're standing next to your horse, saddle on, cinch tightened, and you're about to step into the stirrup. And right there, in that moment, a thought crosses your mind.
"Are we actually ready for this?"
For a lot of riders, that question gets pushed aside. The saddle's on. The arena's open. The clock is ticking. So they mount up, hope for the best, and deal with whatever comes.
But hoping for the best is not a safety plan. And "dealing with whatever comes" is how people get hurt.
What if you had a way to know — really know — before your foot ever hits that stirrup, that your horse is connected, responsive, soft, and safe? Not a guess. Not a feeling. An actual, measurable answer to the question: Is my horse ready to ride today?
That's exactly what the pre-ride safety checklist is designed to give you. It's a series of nine specific tests you can run through on the ground that tell you, with confidence, whether your horse is in a place mentally and physically where it's safe for you to get on their back. And it might be the most important thing you ever learn in your horsemanship journey.
This Isn't a Warm-Up — It's a Safety System
Let's get something straight right from the start. This checklist is not a warm-up routine. It's not something you rush through to check a box before you ride. It's not busywork.
This is a safety system. Every single test on this list exists because it addresses something that matters under saddle. Something that, if it's missing or inconsistent, could put you at risk.
Think about it this way. When a pilot runs through their pre-flight checklist, they're not doing it because it's tradition. They're doing it because every item on that list represents something that could go wrong at altitude. Skipping one doesn't mean it will go wrong. But it means if it does, they weren't prepared.
Your pre-ride checklist works the same way. Each test tells you something specific about where your horse is in that moment — their attentiveness, their softness, their willingness, their connection to you. And each one gives you the information you need to make a smart decision about whether to move forward or spend more time on the ground.
This is about the fourth C of the Fearless Rider formula: confidence. Not the kind of confidence that comes from ignoring your gut. The kind that comes from knowing — statistically, consistently, 10 out of 10 — that when you ask something of your horse, they give you a favorable response.
That's real confidence. And it's built right here, on the ground, before you ever swing a leg over.
The 10 Out of 10 Standard
Before we walk through the nine tests, you need to understand the standard you're measuring against. Because this checklist isn't pass/fail. It's about consistency.
The concept is simple. When you ask your horse to do something, how often do they give you the response you're looking for? Not a forced response. Not a resistant one. A soft, willing, connected response that tells you they understand your ask and they're choosing to give it to you.
We're looking for 10 out of 10.
That doesn't mean perfection. It means consistency. It means that when you ask for a backup, your horse backs up softly and calmly every single time, not seven times out of ten. It means when you pick up the rein, your horse gives to it promptly and willingly, not sometimes.
Why does this matter so much? Because under saddle, the moments when things go sideways don't announce themselves. A deer crosses the trail. A tarp blows across the arena. Another horse spooks. In those moments, you need to know that your horse's training is solid enough to hold. That when you ask them to stop, they stop. When you ask them to soften, they soften. When you ask them to stay with you, they stay.
If your horse only gives you a favorable response seven out of ten times on the ground, where the pressure is lower and the environment is more controlled, what do you think happens when the pressure goes up under saddle? Those three misses become the moments that matter most. And they're the moments you're least prepared for.
That's why 10 out of 10 is the standard. Not to be rigid. Not to be demanding. But to make sure that when you step into that saddle, you're stepping into a partnership that's been tested and proven on the ground first.
The Nine Tests: Your Pre-Ride Safety Checklist
These nine tests are built on the foundation of the five ways to building a bond with your horse — the core exercises that make up your training toolbox. You've been working on these exercises already. This checklist is how you use them to evaluate your horse's readiness before every single ride.
Test 1: The Desensitizing Test
This is where you assess your horse's ability to handle pressure, change, and the unexpected without losing their mind.
You want to make sure your horse is solid with the five essential desensitizing exercises: basic desensitizing, advanced desensitizing, flagging, tarp work, desensitizing in motion, and punctuated desensitizing.
That last one — punctuated desensitizing — is worth spending some extra time on. Unlike gradual desensitizing, where you slowly introduce pressure and build your horse's tolerance, punctuated desensitizing is abrupt and unpredictable. You're adding pressure and taking it away without rhythm so your horse doesn't know when it's coming. Think of opening and closing an umbrella suddenly, or introducing a loud, unexpected noise.
Why does this matter? Because the real world doesn't introduce pressure gradually. Things happen fast. Things happen without warning. And a horse that can only handle pressure when it's introduced slowly and predictably is a horse that's going to come unraveled when something unexpected hits them on the trail or in the arena.
The key to punctuated desensitizing is staying connected with your horse through it. You're not abandoning them to deal with the pressure alone. You're right there, reassuring them, working them through it, showing them that you won't leave them hanging when things get intense. That builds a kind of trust that no amount of gradual desensitizing alone can replicate.
Test 2: The Sensitizing Test
This test is about your groundwork. Does your horse have a good, clear understanding of the exercises you do together on the ground?
Start with a directional test. Lead your horse in different directions — with the lead rope, with the rein if you have one on them. Are they giving to your lead softly? Are they following your direction without bracing, pulling, or resisting?
Then check approachability. Can you approach your horse and back away consistently without them leaving? The approach and retreat exercise is a simple but telling test of whether your horse is comfortable with you in their space and confident that you're not a threat.
A horse that gives softly to direction and stays calm during approach and retreat is a horse that's telling you, "I'm with you. I trust where you're taking me." A horse that braces, pulls, or moves away is telling you something different. And that's information you need before you ride.
Test 3: The Sending Test
Sending is one of the most powerful exercises in your entire toolbox, and using it as a pre-ride test gives you an enormous amount of information about where your horse is that day.
You're looking at three things here. First, the quality of the three-step setup: backup, move the front end over, drive forward. Each step should be clean, soft, and willing. Between each step, you breathe. You wait. You give your horse time to process. If any of those steps are sticky or resistant, that's your signal to stay with it until you get that 10 out of 10 response before moving on.
Second, you're evaluating your horse's consistency on the circle. Are they moving out smoothly? Are they maintaining their gait without you constantly having to push them forward?
Third — and this is the big one — transitions. Can you increase your energy and have your horse effortlessly pick up a faster gait? Can you take a deep breath and have them come right down into a slower gait? A horse that is listening to your energy shifts and responding to your breathing during sending is a horse that's dialed into you. And a horse that's dialed into you on the ground is going to be dialed into you in the saddle.
Remember, transitions aren't just about connection. They're about balance. Every upward transition teaches your horse to engage their hind end and push into the movement. Every downward transition teaches them to collect and slow with their hind end engaged underneath them. A balanced horse is a safer horse. A balanced horse doesn't hollow out their back or throw their head up when things get difficult. They carry themselves — and you — with confidence.
Test 4: The Rein Control Test
Before you ride, you need to know that your horse gives softly to the rein. Not on their back. On the ground, standing right next to them.
Put the headstall on and pick up the rein. Does your horse tip their nose toward you softly? Do they give to the right? Give to the left? Back up with softness when you apply rein pressure from the ground?
Ground driving is an excellent exercise for building and testing rein control. It gives your horse the experience of responding to rein cues without the added variable of your weight on their back. It builds their confidence with the rein in a lower-pressure environment, so when you do get on, it's something they're already comfortable and familiar with.
If your horse is bracing against the rein, pulling through it, or ignoring it on the ground, that's not going to magically improve once you're in the saddle. It's going to get worse. The rein is your primary line of communication under saddle, and it needs to be clear and soft before you mount up.
Test 5: The Softness Test
Softness is the thread that runs through everything in this checklist. But this test isolates it and asks a direct question: is my horse giving to my ask, or are they resisting?
Work through tipping the nose, bending the nose, and full flexion. When you pick up on the rein or apply pressure, does your horse respond promptly and willingly? Or do they brace, resist, and wait you out?
The key to building softness is in the release. The moment your horse gives — the instant they soften toward you — you release the pressure immediately. That release is what teaches them that giving was the right decision. The faster you release, the faster they learn to give. And the faster they give, the softer the whole conversation becomes.
Before you ride, you want your horse standing still, calm, relaxed, and paying attention to you. But you also want them responsive enough that when you add pressure, they give to it right away. That balance — calm but responsive, relaxed but attentive — is the sweet spot. That's a horse that's ready for the saddle.
A horse that is soft and willing under these tests is a horse that trusts you. They know you've never pushed them into something dangerous. They know you've never followed them into a hole. They're partnering with you because they believe in your leadership, and that belief is what keeps both of you safe when it matters most.
Test 6: The Follow Test
This test cuts straight to the heart of your partnership. Does your horse choose to be with you?
When you walk, does your horse follow? When you stop, do they stop? When you turn, do they stay with you? Not because they're being dragged along by a lead rope, but because they actually want to be where you are.
A horse that follows willingly is a horse that has decided you're worth staying with. And that decision is everything. Because here's the reality: if your horse doesn't choose to come toward you on the ground, if they're not focused on you, if they'd rather be somewhere else, then under the right circumstances — when the pressure goes up, when something scary happens, when their instincts kick in — that horse is going to leave you.
They won't mean to hurt you. But in that moment, staying with you won't be their priority. Getting away from the pressure will be. And if you're on their back when that happens, you're along for the ride whether you want to be or not.
The follow test is your check on whether your horse has made the decision to partner with you. If they haven't, that's not a failure. It's a signal that more connection work is needed before you ride. And doing that work on the ground is always safer than finding out in the saddle.
Test 7: The Go Forward Test
This test evaluates your horse's willingness to move forward when you ask — and maintain that forward movement without being nagged.
The go forward cue shouldn't be something you use constantly. You don't want to be kicking, clucking, or pushing your horse every few strides to keep them going. That's nagging, and it teaches your horse to tune you out rather than listen.
What you want is a horse that, when you ask them to go forward, goes. And stays in that gait until you tell them otherwise. A horse that is comfortable and confident enough in your leadership that they move out willingly, knowing you're right there with them, guiding them through whatever comes next.
When you have a horse that is eager to go where you ask them to go, you're not just riding. You're moving together. You're working as a team. And that feeling — that partnership — is where the unbreakable bond really lives. It's not built in the big moments. It's built in the quiet ones, where your horse says, "You asked me to go, and I trust you enough to go."
Test 8: The Stopping Test
It goes without saying, but it needs to be said anyway: being able to stop your horse is critical. Non-negotiable. Absolutely essential.
A good stop isn't just about pulling back on the reins. It's about your horse being so tuned into you that when you take a deep breath and soften your body, they slow down and stop with you. They're responding to your energy, not just your hands.
The reason this matters so much is that when things go sideways — when your horse gets worried, when something spooks them, when the pressure spikes — forward is not the answer. Sticking with you is the answer. And a horse that has a solid, soft stop built in is a horse that can come back to you in those moments instead of running through your cues and taking off.
When you ask for a stop and your horse gives it to you, release all of that pressure immediately. Let them know you appreciate their response. Let them stand. Let them breathe. That immediate release is what tells your horse that stopping was the right choice, and it makes them more likely to stop for you the next time — and the time after that.
Build your stop until it's rock solid. Until it's 10 out of 10. Until you feel it in your bones that when you ask your horse to stop, they will. That feeling is confidence. And it's the kind of confidence that keeps you safe.
Test 9: The Backing Test
The final test is simple in concept but powerful in what it tells you. Will your horse back up softly?
You're looking for a backup that is slow, soft, and quiet. A horse that yields space to you willingly, without resistance, without rushing, without bracing. A horse that backs up softly is a horse that is paying attention to you, not thinking forward, not plotting their next move. They're waiting for your direction.
Some horses are lazy about the backup, and that's okay. You may need to use adequate pressure to get the response. But once you get clarity in the communication, start dialing that pressure down. See if you can get the same response with less. If you can't, go back to the level of pressure that works, then try again to finish with a little less.
The goal is a horse that responds to the lightest pressure you can offer. Because a horse that backs up softly for you on the ground is a horse that's going to be attentive and responsive under saddle. They're not leaning forward. They're not thinking about leaving. They're right there with you, waiting for whatever comes next.
The Checklist Is the Confidence
Here's what I want you to take away from all of this.
Confidence doesn't come from ignoring your doubts. It doesn't come from pushing through your fear. It doesn't come from telling yourself everything will be fine and hoping you're right.
Confidence comes from evidence. It comes from seeing, over and over again, that when you ask something of your horse, they give you a soft, willing, connected response. It comes from knowing — not hoping, knowing — that your horse is dialed into you, that they're choosing to stay with you, that they'll stop when you ask and go when you ask and soften when you need them to.
That's what this checklist gives you. It's not just a list of exercises. It's a system for building the kind of confidence that actually keeps you safe. The kind that's earned, not assumed.
You don't have to be ready for the saddle right now to start using this checklist. Wherever you are on your journey, these nine tests are your measuring stick. They show you where you are, where you need to grow, and exactly what to work on next. And every time you run through them and see improvement, that's your confidence building one test at a time.
Ready to Build the Foundation?
If you're looking for the next step in building that kind of safety and confidence with your horse, there's a free training available right now that walks you through the foundational exercises that make everything on this checklist possible. It's available for a limited time, and it could be exactly what you and your horse need to take that next step forward together.
