Are You Ready to Ride?

Are You Ready to Ride????? (Article by Miriam James*)

PRIOR PREPARATION ...

Picture this ... you are galloping your horse along a winding trail in the Blackfoot filled with the signs of spring, the pungent smell of flowering choke cherry bushes, chattering squirrels, the fresh, humid spring air blowing in your face. You haven’t felt this good in weeks.

All of a sudden your perfect spring ride is cut short. Out of the corner of your eye you see your cinch flying forward in a beautiful arc to the front of your horse, complete with rigging ring, where it begins to wrap itself around your horse’s front legs. In three short, but powerful crow hops, your horse unloads you and your saddle. You hit the dirt with a dull thud that knocks the air out of your lungs. While rolling around on the ground, the saddle and pad still between your legs, you try to get that first big gulp of air back in your lungs. Instead you sound like a wheezing cat! Your horse is still freaked out and is now a quarter mile away. What happened?

PREVENTING PERSONAL INJURY

This chain of events wouldn’t have happened if you had taken that few minutes prior to saddling up to check your saddle and tack.

One of the things we neglect the most, because it is not readily visible to our eye, is the state of our western saddle rigging and latigos. What holds you on your horse?

Even if you have been riding all winter in an indoor arena, checking your gear for safety should come first.

Here are some things to look for:

Does the leather move that’s holding your rigging ring in place? Check both sides of your saddle and give it a tug and a side-to-side movement. If it does, get a saddle maker to look at it—it shouldn’t move.

Is the leather where it’s bent over the rigging rings show signs of thinning, cracking and general wear? If it shows excessive thinning or there are large cracks appearing on the surface in one area or another, it should be replaced. Cracking is a sign of dry leather or rot and can be just as detrimental as thin, worn leather. (Excessive oiling can cause rot as well.)

Are your nylon latigo and half breed fraying where they hang from the rigging rings? Once nylon webbing shows signs of fraying, thinning and/or tearing, it’s time to change it. It can be more unpredictable as to when it’s going to give and is just as unsafe as cracked or thin leather.

Are the strands of your cinch breaking or showing signs of excessive wear? Check the strands carefully where they attach to the rings and in the centre. If the rings are all rusty and crusty, be nice to your horse! Change it!

If your saddle has a flank cinch, it may be attached to a ring and it also has rigging holding it in place. Is it solid?

If you have in-skirt rigging or plate rigging on your saddle, what shape is the leather around that piece of metal? If it’s thin, cracking or tearing, get it fixed.

The cost of fixing these few things is minor to the cuts, bruises, broken bones and aches you’ll suffer through if you have a wreck on that beautiful spring day!

If you have questions you would like answered or comments you want to share with others, please call, fax, write or e-mail me:

Miriam James
c/o James Built Saddlery
Site 9, Box 10, RR. 2
Tofield, Alberta T0B 4J0
Phone: (780) 662-4980
Fax: (780) 662-4089
e-mail: jamesb@jamesbuiltsaddlery.com
*Member of the Alberta Trail Riders Association (A.T.R.A.)

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