Always wear closed-toed shoes or boots around horses  - preferably boots

Wear long pants when riding to avoid saddle sores and blisters

Wear a helmet when riding

Don’t ride a horse beyond your level of experience

Know your horse – understand your horse’s body language so you have a chance to prepare for spontaneous spooking

Try to ride with a partner. Riding alone can be dangerous because if you fall off or are injured, it will be difficult to get help

Wear reflective clothing if you are riding close to sun down

When you reach a problem you cannot solve, enlist a professional’s help

Do not feed a horse with curled fingers. Always hold your hand flat to avoid the horse’s teeth from biting your fingers off!

Never tie a horse by the reins

Speak to your horse when you are approaching so that you do not surprise and startle the horse

Always use a quick release knot when tying your horse

Do not turn a horse out in a nylon halter. Instead of a nylon halter, use either a leather halter or a halter with a leather breakaway strap to prevent the horse from breaking his neck in the event that his hoof becomes caught in the halter

Check all equipment to make sure that it is in good condition. You do not want to be riding and have your equipment break

Never leave the reins hanging on the ground. You do not want the horse to accidentally step on the reins, spook, and become injured

When turning your horse out, be sure to turn the horse’s head towards you so that the horse’s hindquarters automatically turn the other direction. You can then take the halter off and turn out the horse into the pasture or paddock

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 11:41 pm and is filed under Horse Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.