How to Tack Up and Untack a Horse - Lift Me Up! Volunteer Training

Learn how to tack up and untack a horse in this volunteer training video.


Video Transcript:


In the tack room, every horse has a saddle with its own girth and riser pad. If you don’t know what some of those words mean, not to fear, we’re going to explain it all in just a minute!

You’ll also see that each horse has a bridle hook, usually with one bridle and one sidepull. The reins are kept next to the sidepulls, but we’ll come back to those later in this video.

The first thing to do is put on the saddle pad designated by the instructor. You can tell which way it goes on by looking at the straps, which always face towards the front. Some saddle pads also have a shape that follows the natural shape of the horse’s back, which you will come to recognize with practice.

Place the saddle pad on the withers and slide it back just a couple inches to where it sits just behind the withers. The pad will slip back, so it’s always best to start with it further forward than you think you need it.

Next is the riser pad. All of them look a little different, but you can tell which way it goes by looking at the wider part, which will sit above the horse’s shoulder blades. Place it gently on top of the saddle pad. Here, you can see the alignment of the two pads.

Now it’s time to put on the saddle. With some practice it is easy to see which way the saddle goes, but to double check you can look for the grab strap, which is on the front of the saddle. The back of the saddle, or the cantle, is the part that looks like a seat.

Place the saddle gently on the horse’s back. The next step is very important and often forgotten, so watch carefully -- pull the saddle pad and riser up into the gap in the front of the saddle, creating space across the horse’s withers.

Check out the alignment of the saddle, riser and saddle pad here.

Now it’s time to buckle the girth. The girth is like a belt that keeps the saddle in place. This girth has elastic on both sides, so it doesn’t matter which side you start on.

Lift up the saddle flap. Beneath are three straps called “billet straps”. Here, you can see that the billet straps are lined up with the strap on the saddle pad. In this case, I can put the girth through the strap on the saddle pad to keep it in place. If they don’t line up, just skip this step.

Run the first billet strap through the girth buckle where the roller is. Then, skip the middle strap, which is a spare, and buckle the girth on the third billet strap.

Do the same on the other side, buckling the girth where it is snug but not too tight -- you should be able to fit a hand under the girth. Your instructor will tighten it again before the lesson.

Your horse might just use a halter in their lesson, but sometimes you’ll need to put a sidepull on. A sidepull looks like this. It’s like a bridle with no bit -- meaning, no metal piece in the horse’s mouth.

To put the sidepull on, first put the loop at the bottom -- called the noseband -- around their nose, then bring the top part -- called the crown piece -- over their ears. Next, buckle the throat latch loosely under the jaw -- you should be able to easily fit 4 fingers underneath.

To attach the reins, clip them onto the loose rings on the sides of the sidepull, with the snap facing out. To lead the horse, you will need to attach a Y and a leadrope. The Y attaches to the same ring as the reins, and the lead rope attaches to the ring in the center of the Y. Only attach the reins, Y and lead rope when you are about to lead the horse in their lesson -- never leave them on in the stall.

Untacking the horse is much simpler than tacking up. Remove the leadrope, Y, and reins from the sidepull. Unbuckle the throat latch and pull the sidepull over the ears.

Next, unbuckle the girth on both sides. Lift the saddle gently up off the horse’s back-- try not to drag it off, which can pull uncomfortably on the horse’s spine.

The last thing you’ll need to do is clean the tack that was used in the lesson. Outside the tack room, you will find a bin full of leather cleaning supplies. You may also use lysol on any non-leather tack, just be careful not to use anything that’s labeled “bleach”. Use a sponge and a small amount of cleaner to clean the saddle, focusing on high-touch areas. The same can be done with the leather sidepull. Lysol can be used for a quick spray of the reins, girth buckles, and lead rope. After cleaning, tack can be put back in its proper place in the tack room.

The steps for tacking up can be a lot to remember, but after a little practice it all becomes muscle memory! If you have any questions about tacking up, please leave a comment so others can learn as well.


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