Adjusting the tack; taking apart, reassembling and cleaning the bridle

Badly adjusted tack rubs, bothers the horse or ends up coming undone. At Galop 3 you check every adjustment yourself, and you can take a bridle completely apart to clean it.

In the exam programme

Adjust the tack.Specific part
Take apart, reassemble and clean a snaffle bridle.Specific part

At Galop 2 you learnt to tack up and to name the parts of the bridle and the saddle. Adjusting means checking that every piece is in its place and at the right length on this particular horse: no two horses have the same head or the same back.

Cheekpieces: one small wrinkle at the corner of the lips
Noseband: two fingers between it and the face
Throatlatch: a fist between it and the jaw
Browband: clear of the ears
Bit: just showing each side of the mouth

Fig. 3.7The signs of a well-fitted bridle

Fitting the bridle

Part	Correct fit	If it is wrong
Cheekpieces	The bit touches the corners of the lips and makes a small wrinkle there, without pulling them.	Too short, they pull on the lips; too long, the bit hangs in the mouth and the horse plays with it.
Width of the bit	It shows a few millimetres beyond each side of the mouth.	Too narrow, it pinches the lips; too wide, it slides from side to side.
Noseband	About two fingers’ width below the facial crest; you can slide two fingers between it and the face.	Too high, it rubs the bony ridge; too tight, it stops the horse chewing.
Throatlash	You can fit your fist between it and the jowl.	Too tight, it bothers the horse when it flexes at the poll and when it breathes.
Browband	It does not touch the base of the ears and does not hang down over the forehead.	Too short, it pulls the headpiece against the ears.

Fitting the saddle

The saddle sits behind the shoulder, with the withers well clear; the numnah is pulled up into the gullet of the saddle so that it does not press on the withers.
The girth lies straight in the girth groove, without pinching the skin; to smooth out any wrinkles, stretch each foreleg forward.
Tighten the girth gradually, with the buckles at the same height on both sides; check it again before you mount, then after a few minutes of walk.
Adjust your stirrups to the right length and check from the front that they are level; for jumping, they are usually shortened by one or two holes.
Tuck all the strap ends into their keepers.

Taking apart, cleaning and reassembling a bridle

Note the settingsBefore undoing anything, note which hole each buckle is on, or take a photo: you will put the bridle back together fitted exactly for its horse.
Take it apartUnfasten the reins from the bit, then the bit from the cheekpieces. Undo the noseband and slide it out; take the browband off the headpiece.
Clean the leatherWipe off sweat and dust with a barely damp sponge and glycerine saddle soap, without soaking the leather. Let it dry in the air, away from any heat.
Feed and inspectNow and then, apply a little leather dressing or oil. Check the stitching, the holes and the buckles: a worn piece is replaced before it breaks.
Wash the bitIn clean water, then dry it, as you have done since Galop 1.
ReassembleThread the headpiece through the browband, then slide the noseband’s headpiece under it, through the browband, with the noseband inside the cheekpieces. Attach the bit to the cheekpieces the same way round as before, then the reins to the bit.
CheckPut every buckle back on the hole you noted, tuck the ends into their keepers, then hang the bridle up: it should be symmetrical.

Common mistake

Putting the noseband back outside the cheekpieces, or the bit in the wrong way round. Before you hand back a bridle you have reassembled, compare it with one of the club’s assembled bridles.

Ekidemy

The Galops^®, from the first step to Galop 7