Helping Hands on Horseback

Home , Bit (horse), Bridle, Girth (tack), Halter, Lead (tack)

Additional Guidelines for Pegasus Barn Volunteers

General Safety and Conduct

• Except in the case of an emergency, walk at all times when on the premises. • Speak in a calm, quiet voice and avoid sudden movements, particularly near horses. • Wear appropriate clothing and shoes (no flip flops, Uggs, sneakers). Avoid floppy items and dangling jewelry. • Absolutely no smoking, use of illegal substances or drinking of alcoholic beverages on the premises. • When leading a horse in and out of a stall, be sure the stall door is open all the way. • Face the front of the stall before removing the halter. Always have an escape route. • Horses with tack on need to be on cross ties in their stall and cross tied to their halter, not the bit. • Always make sure the stall door is latched properly when a horse is loose in the stall by himself. • Stall doors should stay unlocked when a person is in the stall or if the horse is on cross ties. • Return all supplies and equipment to their storage locations when you are finished. • Ask staff any questions you may have. We are here to help!

Approaching and Haltering a Horse in a Stall or Paddock

• Pegasus uses both grooming halters and full halters for a variety of reasons. Please ask a staff member which halter is appropriate before putting one on your horse.

Full halter Grooming halter

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Approaching and Haltering a Horse in a Stall or Paddock (continued)

• Hang the halter by the crown piece on your left arm, with the noseband facing your body (A). • Talk to your horse as you approach his left front side so he can hear you and readily see you. • Once you have greeted your horse, put the lead rope over his neck, slip the halter off your arm, place the noseband over his nose, and gently slide the headstall up and over his ears (B). • Make sure the throat latch is snapped before leaving the paddock or before putting your horse on crossties in the stall (note: grooming halters do not have throat latches) (C). A B C

Grooming Your Horse

• Cross-tie your horse in his stall using the grooming halter (see above for safety guidelines) (D). • Begin by picking your horse’s hooves, including up into the heels and around the frog, making sure all dirt is removed (E). Be sure to examine each foot for any foreign objects, loose or displaced shoes, or obvious injuries. Advise staff of any strong odors or heat in any of the feet. D E

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Grooming Your Horse (continued)

• Clean the outside of each hoof with a brush and apply hoof dressing. Be sure to include the heel. • Curry your horse’s body and legs. Be careful to stay above the knees and hocks, and do not curry your horse’s face (see photos below). Use the curry comb in a circular motion, applying pressure to remove dirt, mud and hair, and to aid in circulation and skin health.

Examples of curry combs CORRECT USAGE 

INCORRECT USAGE X INCORRECT USAGE X

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Grooming Your Horse (continued)

• Use a stiff-bristled brush (brush F) everywhere except your horse’s head, and be gentle when brushing FG H the lower legs. Always brush in the direction of the hair growth. • Use a medium-bristled brush (brush G) on your horse’s body and legs, brushing in the direction of their hair. • Use a soft-bristled brush (brush H) to go over your horse’s coat and face to give it shine.

• Take a small section of your horse’s tail in your hand, and gently run the comb through to the end until smooth and free of shavings and debris (I). If you are removing more than a couple of hairs, you are pulling too hard. Apply detangler as needed. Repeat until the entire tail is clean. • Gently wipe your horse’s eyes and nose with a warm washcloth as needed (J). • Apply green spot remover to manure stains on light-colored horses and remove with a towel.

I J

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Tacking Your Horse Up for Program

• Consult the lesson assignment sheet posted on the main barn aisle outside of the volunteer lounge. • Collect the appropriate tack from the tack room and place it on the saddle rack and bridle hook outside of your horse’s stall (K). Please note: the grooming halter is used for program. • Set up cross ties in the stall and put the grooming halter on your horse (L). If he has not yet been groomed, groom your horse before tacking him up. K L

• Without unbuckling it, slide the neck strap over your horse’s head and onto his neck (M-O). M N O

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Tacking Your Horse Up for Program (continued)

• Your horse may have additional pads beyond the saddle pad. If you are not sure of the order in which to place the pads on your horse, please ask a staff member for assistance. CORRECT  INCORRECT X

• Place the saddle pad about a third of the way up your horse’s neck and slide it back into place so that the front of the pad is just over the withers. The sliding motion will smooth your horse’s hair and avoid bunching of the pad, which helps to avoid rubs and sore spots. • Place the saddle over the pad(s), making sure it is centered over your horse’s spine, with the pommel just over the withers (P). Grasp the saddle pad over the withers and pull it up into the pommel, leaving a small space between the pad and the withers (Q-R). P Q R

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Tacking Your Horse Up for Program (continued)

• The girth should always be attached to the right side of the saddle first. Check the girth to see if it has elastic on one end or both. If the girth has elastic on one end, attach the leather end on the right side of the saddle and the elastic end on the left. Be sure to run the girth through the girth loops at the bottom of each saddle pad before attaching it to the saddle (S). Use the first and third billets on the saddle when attaching the girth. Be sure to correctly buckle the billet straps to the buckles on the girth (T). Gently tighten the girth, paying attention to your horse’s comfort. A good measure of correct fit is to be able to insert one finger comfortably between the girth and your horse’s side (U).

INCORRECT CORRECT

INCORRECT CORRECT S T U

• Place the bridle over the grooming halter, carefully inserting the bit into your horse’s mouth (V-W) and gently placing the headstall over his ears (X). Program bridles have no nose band; the grooming halter takes its place. Make sure the bridle is adjusted and straight. Buckle the throat latch (Y), leaving enough space to allow no more than 4 fingers between the latch and your horse’s cheek (Z).

V W X Y Z

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Tacking Your Horse Up for Program (continued)

CORRECT BRIDLE APPROACH  INCORRECT BRIDLE APPROACH X

• Always attach the reins to the rings on the grooming halter, not the bridle (A). Loop the reins through the hand hold of the saddle for security (B), and make sure they are hanging evenly on both sides. • When ready, attach the lead rope to the center ring on the “y” connector attached to the halter (C).

A B C

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Tacking Your Horse Up for Program (continued)

• Take the cross ties off your horse, open the stall door all the way, and lead your horse to the ring. Be sure to lead your horse out of his stall by walking beside beside. Do not exit the stall ahead of your horse and lead him out behind you.

CORRECT STALL EXIT  INCORRECT STALL EXIT X

Leading Your Horse to Program and Warming Up

• When approaching the ring, always halt at the end of the paddock fence and loudly call out “door.” Wait to hear “ok” before proceeding into the ring. • Prior to the start of program, warm up your horse for approximately 10-15 minutes with a power walk and relaxed trot in both directions.

Untacking Your Horse After Program

• Lead your horse to his stall and attach cross ties to his halter (not to his bit). Be sure to leave the stall door slightly open to provide yourself with an escape route if needed.

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Untacking Your Horse After Program (continued)

• Unbuckle the girth from both sides and place it across the saddle (D). Remove the saddle by gently lifting it off of your horse’s back. Do not drag the saddle across your horse’s back.

CORRECT  INCORRECT X D

• Place the saddle on the saddle rack outside of your horse’s stall. Remove the saddle pad(s) and place them on top of the saddle. • Unclip and remove the reins from your horse’s bridle. Unbuckle the throat latch on the bridle. • Remove the cross ties from the grooming halter. Gently slide the neck strap, bridle and halter off of your horse’s head. Place them on the hook outside of the stall door. • Remove the cross ties from the stall walls and return them to their proper storage location. • Return all tack to the tack room unless otherwise instructed.

Turning Out Your Horse

• Open the paddock gate, taking care to not let it hit your horse as you lead him through (E). • Walk your horse completely into the paddock and turn him around to face the gate (F). • Close the gate, latch it and back your horse a few steps away from it (G-H). E F G H

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Turning Out Your Horse (continued)

• It is now safe to remove your horse’s halter. • Exit the paddock and lock the gate behind you. • Hang your horse’s halter on the hooks outside of the paddock, taking care not to let any of it trail on the ground and become a tripping hazard. • If you notice your horse is behaving unpredictably when leading him to the paddock, and you are unsure whether you can safely turn him out, please return him to the barn and ask for help.

Bringing Your Horse in from the Paddock

• Locate your horse’s halter on the hook outside of the gate. If the halter is not on the hook, your horse will be wearing it in the paddock. • Place the halter on your left arm with the noseband facing your body and enter the paddock. Lock the gate behind you. • Slowly and calmly approach the left front side of the horse so he can see you, and call his name to make sure he is aware of your presence (I). • Once you have greeted your horse, put the lead rope over his neck (J).

I J

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Bringing Your Horse in from the Paddock

• Place the halter on your horse and secure the throat latch (K). • Walk your horse out of the paddock, taking care not to let the gate hit him (L). • Lock the gate and walk your horse to the barn.

K L

Cleaning Tack

• Fill a bucket with very warm water. • Rinse out your sponge to remove any leftover dirt or grime. • Barely dampen the sponge and completely wipe down the tack to remove the dirt and sweat, frequently rinsing the sponge. • Thoroughly rinse your sponge and barely dampen it. Apply glycerin saddle soap and rub it onto the leather to condition it. If the soap is foamy, there is too much water in the sponge. • Leave all buckle settings on the bridles and halters. • When tack is clean, rinse out the sponge and bucket, and put them away. • Return all tack to its storage location. • Mark the cleaning date on the appropriate chart in the tack room.