Quiet Riding

Horses and Riders Working in Harmony


Horses in the Fog

Tacking Up

[As additional resources, links to book reviews and book purchasing information can be found beneath the quotations when this information is available.]

The foundation of confidence between horse and rider is laid in the saddling and bridling process, and "to create that confidence should be a constant endeavor, like an unbroken thread, through the entire process of riding and training."

Alois Podhajsky, The Riding Teacher
Buy Book
(Top)

"If things aren't calm as you bridle a horse, then your safety is going to be in question and you'd better go back down the line a little."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
Read Review
Buy Book
(Top)

On haltering: "For the better results, move slowly and reward the horse each time your feel on his head and neck produces the response you're wanting."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
Read Review
Buy Book
(Top)

On bridling: "In the majority of cases, it's possible to adjust a bit low enough to keep pressure off the corners of the mouth without having it resting against any teeth. If it's not bumping his teeth and not drawn up too high in his mouth, the horse will work his mouth and gather up the bit to a place where he can kind of hold onto it. At first he may chew on it or toss his head, but in a short time he'll know where it feels the best to him and he'll carry it there. You'll rarely see a horse impose wrinkles on his mouth with this approach."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
Read Review
Buy Book
(Top)

"...as far as that horse is concerned, he's a lot more comfortable if he can work his mouth and keep it relaxed and I'd rather think he can free up the part of his mental system that is set up to focus on things when that (too tight) equipment isn't figuring so heavy on his mind."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
Read Review
Buy Book
(Top)

"Take all the time it takes to get the bridle on without upsetting the horse."

Bill Dorrance and Leslie Desmond, True Horsemanship Through Feel
Read Review
Buy Book
(Top)

"Handle your horse with sympathy as well as firmness, and later on you will be able to cinch him up without his swelling up like a toad. That is caused by nervousness, not orneriness. So help him relax during saddling."

Mary Twelveponies, Everyday Training: Backyard Dressage
Read Review
Buy Book
(Top)

"Bumping his teeth during bridling or unbridling can make a colt quite set against taking the bit."

Mary Twelveponies, Everyday Training: Backyard Dressage
Buy:Read Review
Buy Book
(Top)

(Top)