Saddles, bridles, bits, breastplates…There’s so many types to choose from, sometimes it’s hard to decide.
The first thing you have to consider is English or Western style tack? If you choose the latter, there’s a flatwork saddles, hunter saddles, dressage saddles; it all depends on what you want to do.
If it’s Western, then there’ll be roping saddles which feature a much wider horn, barrel racing saddles that are much lighter to maximize speed, trail saddles designed for maximum comfort on long rides. Once you’ve decided what kind of riding you’ll be doing, you can then pick your saddle, which is no easy task – even after you’ve decided on the type; there’ll be brands to choose from. Once you’ve decided on a saddle, you’ll need a bridle, right?
Assuming you’ve decided upon either English or Western, there’s one basic types of bridle, again the English and Western versions; The English carries one bit, usually a snaffle bit, and usually features a browband and throatlatch, which some Western variations do not include to assist in speed of tacking up. English bridles generally have more straps because English events usually require more control and sometimes a second bit.
Speaking of bits, once you’ve chosen a bridle, you’ll need a bit to go with it. Your basic bit is a Snaffle bit, these are used with most horses, although some horses have tougher mouths and require more pressure to guide them. Riders usually either use an Eggbutt Snaffle or a twisted bit which apply more pressure to aid in control – if you use a regular snaffle and just wrestle your horse around, you’ll toughen their mouth up, often the cause of needing a special bit. And then, lastly, for those horses who just don’t respond well there’s what is called a curb bit, although it’s not recommended to use this particular bit unless you’re very familiar with them because you can desensitize a horse’s mouth permanently, and quite easily with a curb.
So, now that you have your tack all set, happy trails! Take a look at horse saddle or Wintec saddle.
