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Posts Tagged ‘horse saddles for sale’

Horse care is very involved. It requires keeping track of and preserving your horse’s health as well as its emotional, physical and mental well-being. You must utilize all the available information to care for your horse and keep your horse in good condition. Below are a few important parts of proper horse care.

Overall Health

There are a lot of important issues in horse health. For example, horses often need to drink up to 10 gallons of water a day. Also if a horse stands in its own feces all day, it can become very ill. Horses coats need to be cared for regularly. With all the things to consider in caring for your horse, it is best that you get most of your advice from your vet because they are the most attuned to your horse’s specifics.

Caring For Your Horse’s Hooves

Horse hooves need to be picked clean on a regular basis and also need to be inspected for any damage. Keeping clean, dry hooves is the best preventative measure against hoof fungus or any other impairing conditions that can occur with an unattended horse. Daily, or at least weekly, cleaning and inspections should suffice in dry or normal weather conditions and more often in severe weather.

Feeding Your Horse

To some, all horse saddles may have a tendency to look exactly the same. Of course, this is often the opinion of a novice, as all saddles for sale will have their unique differences. These differences are not limited to looks either.

After you take a saddle home and place it on your horse, you will notice right away that it has it’s own feel to it. And again once you yourself climb into the saddle, you will discover that your own body has a lot to with with how well the saddle works out. When you test a saddle, it’s a good idea to sit in it and go with your initial reaction to how you like it. But beyond that, what else should you look out for in a saddle?

All saddles for sale have some important things to think about:

The most important thing to consider is how the saddle fits your animal. The saddle’s fit should trump any other aspect that may be influencing your decision to purchase. A horse can be hurt and become upset by a saddle that does not fit correctly.

Additionally, it can create a severe hazard for the rider since the improper fit could make staying on the horse difficult. Clearly, both are situations best avoided. The best way to actually avoid this would be to take a proper measurement of the horse prior to purchasing the saddle.

Most saddles for sale have the same basic make-up. Looking at saddles can be a bit overwhelming when you don’t have any idea what you’re looking at. Once you learn the basics, you can shop both western and English saddles.

The Most Important Saddle Parts

You’d probably be better off knowing the names for some horse saddle parts when you’re shopping around. This knowledge of saddles can help your quality checking process. You don’t need to be an expert, but a basic understanding about saddles for sale will lend to a more intelligent purchase.

The “tree” is the trunk of the saddle, the foundation upon which everything else is built.

The “pommel” is the front bump on a saddle that holds you in from the front. Western saddles have horns connected to their pommel.

The “skirt” covers the area where the stirrups attach to the saddle. They are available in round and square. Round skirts cover less of the horse’s side.

The “seat” obviously is where the rider sits in the saddle.

The “cantle” is the back part of the saddle that is a little higher than the seat which holds the rider in the saddle from behind.

The “stirrups” are loops on either side of the horse where the rider puts his or her feet.

The “billets” are straps on the saddle which connect to the girth that is used to essentially tie the saddle to the horse’s back.

Upkeep on a horse saddle is very important. The leather and metal components can ruin easily if not properly cared for. More than likely, you have spent quite a bit of money on your horse saddle and it would be a shame to waste it with carelessness.

Cleaning your saddle on a monthly basis will help keep maintenance minimal and prevent the hefty job of undoing long term neglect. If you use your saddle on a more regular basis, you may need to tend to it more frequently.

Saddles have a long lifespan in general, but if they are not cared for they can rot and deteriorate rapidly. It is also always important to use some sort of leather oil when caring for your saddle once you have cleaned it. This will help to preserve the leather.

You can straddle your horse saddle over a fence to scrub it. You may use water and a mild soap to begin cleaning, but do not soak or saturate the leather too deeply. You can use a medium soft brush to scrub the leather, but be careful not to shred or tear it.

You do want to take your saddle apart to clean those hard-to-reach places. Crud can collect in cracks and areas between saddle parts. You do not want your saddle to become a petri dish of funk that can make you sick, your horse sick or just plain reek a foul odor. Be diligent with the sanitation of your saddle and you will save yourself the grief of a nasty fungus ruining your riding time.