Tack

One of the hardest areas of horsemanship to decipher is equipment usefulness. At first is seems easy, get a bit, get a saddle, get a saddle pad, and go ride. That is just not the case, the many vagaries associated with riding equines will bite you and bite into your hip pocket as well. I use simple and very specific tack to work my horses. Over the years I have found only one saddle pad I consider appropriate for a horses back, and I only used one type of headgear. All the equipment has one specific criteria, to remove the possibility of adding pain to the training and riding experience. Humans do not like learning when it is based on pain, horses are no different, I don’t go there.

There are two items of mandatory tack that I used initially, the first is a working halter and lead rope, and the second is a dynamic interface between the saddle and horses back, commonly referred to as a saddle pad. I consider the correct saddle pad to be one of the most important pieces of equipment you will ever purchase, the repercussions of a saddle digging into a horses back can take away and negate all the other work you do with your horse.

I don't use one particular type of saddle, I ride the many and varied saddle types depending on what discipline I am working in. Because of this fact, I don't recommend one particular type brand or design of saddle, it's a very personal choice, but the most important thing, is that it fits your horse. The biggest problem with saddle fit, is you are trying to fit a rigid saddle to a flexible horses back, not an easy task to accomplish. The focus has always been on the quality of the saddle fit, and not on the saddle/horses back interface, so singly most important factor in equine comfort. Without exception, every person I have recommended purchase a Equipedic pad has witnessed and felt a profound difference with a horse.