Making Horse Training Equipment
How to Make Simple Horse Training Equipment
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Horses have been trained to be ridden for thousands of years. Consequently many different methods and equipment has been developed. As to be expected, some are now considered to be outdated whilst others are still in use. The horse training equipment used is mostly the same regardless of whether you are training a horse for Western or English style riding. All horse training equipment have the same attributes, such as being durable and strong as well as being flexible; this doesn’t mean it has to be expensive though. This guide will teach you how you can make some of the horse training equipment that you will need.
Finding Materials to Make Horse Training Equipment
• When first starting to make horse training equipment, it is best to formulate a list and categorise the equipment depending on the horse training methods that it will be used for and the strength needed for those methods.
• You should consider that any horse training equipment that will be in direct contact with horse will need to be durable and waterproof. One of the most important materials you need when training horses is rope. By lengths of .25” double braided nylon rope. This can be cut to any length required.
• You will need to consider the size of the horse when you start buying materials and constructing your horse training equipment. When making a halter, measure from above the nose but below the cheekbone. This will tell you how much rope you will need. A measurement of 24” will require 22’ of rope, while a measurement of 20” will require 18’ of rope.
Making a Halter for Training Horses
The Halter is one of the most fundamental and important pieces of horse training equipment. It is also not very difficult to make.
• Begin by making a loop that is half an inch larger than the measurement of the horse’s nose. Tie two double overhand knots and place them half the distance of the horse’s nose away from each other. The rope should now be doubled with two equal lengths or ropes hanging downward from each side.
• Establish whereabouts on the base of the horse’s throat the nose loop will sit and measure the distance from here to the nose loop. Use an overhand knot to fasten two pieces of rope here. Below the right ear, tie another knot and connect a piece of rope between the nose loop and throat latch. Do the same on the opposite side.
• The next step is to hold the two pieces of rope from the knot on the right ear and tie them to the left knot with a latch knot. To ensure that the rope doesn’t fray, you can braid or twist the remaining rope together.
Making a Lunge Line
Another piece of essential horse training equipment, the lunge line, can be homemade very easily, saving you valuable money.
• Take a piece of the nylon rope that you bought and cut it into a length of between 25 to 30 feet (7.6m to 9.1m). At one end, attach a brass clip that is used to attach the lunge line to the horse. It is important that this is sturdy, especially when horse training as you must have control over the horse at all times. To make sure it is secure, braid the rope.
• When training horses, it is important to always be in control, this means knowing how much rope you have left in your hand so you know how much you can give the horse. A very simple way of doing this is to tie knots at intermediate lengths. Measure 10 feet from the brass clip and tie a double knot. Measure another 10 feet and tie another double knot. to let you know when you are nearing the end of the rope, tie a knot at 5 feet from the end, then another at one foot.