How do you put bridle on when horse is tied up?

I put the bridle over the headcollar. I either leave the headcollar on, which is really convenient when we get back, or take it off from under the bridle.
 
If I have a head collar on a horse when riding, I always have it over the bridle, not underneath. A bridle fits a lot more snuggly than a head collar.

When I tack up my horse (which is rare) (he's more or less retired) I bring him into the yard from the paddock (he lives out 24/7) and tie him to a single piece of baling twine with a quick release knot which always comes undone somehow.

Anyhow, tying him up again, I brush him, saddle him, head over to the tap and wash all the dust off my hands, go to my car where I change my boots and add a hat (helmet), then head back to the horse who is loose again. I tie him up, then I unbuckle the lead rope from the head collar, place the reins over his head, take off head collar, put on bridle, look around to make sure nothing is sticking out or falling down, lead him through the gate (stirrups still run-up) to the mounting block. I will have tightened the girth by degrees about five times.

Then I mount and wonder if today will be the day that I come to grief.
 
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splashgirl45 said:
i am amazed that anyone would use baler twine to tie up.....i used to use 3 strands of baler twine which was enough to deter a horse but would break well before the horse injured itself. i used to tack my mare up in the yard, she was tied to said twine, put saddle on, the undo nose part of the headcollar put bridle on, then do nose part up again. she was a very jumpy mare so i wouldnt trust her not to dart off if she was completely loose... i knew that 3 strands would break quite easily as my friends horse used to put his head down to eat a bit of grass and was always getting loose..
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Agree with you about baling twine. I had a mare that hating being tied up on the yard, so she had one of those plastic contraptions that allows the horse to pull back on an extra long lead rope. It was brilliant, once she realised she was able to move away if spooked, she felt safer and stopped still.
Also like the velcro tie up which snapped if pulled on. I've seen horses a couple of times become entangled around the legs and neck on the yard. The tension means it's impossible to unclip the rope, so I always keep scissors available to grab in an emergency.
 
I don’t like tacking up when tied up, mostly because I end up in a tangle! I tack up in the stable, or in the lorry if out and about.
If I do tack up when tied up then I put reins over head, remove headcoller, put bridle on, put headcoller fully on over the top with reins twisted through throatlash.
When unbridling I make sure I unclip the headcoller from the lead rope before I start. My pony had a habit of taking 2 steps backwards just as you’d remove the bridle, leaving you with just the reins round the neck and a headcoller attached to a lead rope which now won’t reach your pony.
 
ycbm said:
Wouldn't it still have broken its neck with it on its nose as well?

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Reading through this all has made me think. So often I’ve popped the headcollar round a neck while I bridled. Always on thinned twine but I’ve done it anyway. For a second I felt bad at not having thought of this and what could have happened.
But.... then YCBM makes a very valid point here, IF a horse is going to freak out, pull back and panic to the point they break their neck, surely they would break it panics to that extent with a headcollar on tied up?
I’m going to carry on as I do! With care!
 
DabDab said:
Yes, just loose on the yard usually. They are rarely tied up to begin with tbh, just ground tied, so they could wonder off while I'm putting the saddle on too if they fancied.
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You've got your own place, I think? I'm assuming you wouldn't do it if you were in a livery yard or on a showground? I get taking risks at home, I do it all the time myself.

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beingachicken said:
Reading through this all has made me think. So often I’ve popped the headcollar round a neck while I bridled. Always on thinned twine but I’ve done it anyway. For a second I felt bad at not having thought of this and what could have happened.
But.... then YCBM makes a very valid point here, IF a horse is going to freak out, pull back and panic to the point they break their neck, surely they would break it panics to that extent with a headcollar on tied up?
I’m going to carry on as I do! With care!
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I actually think it's less likely they would break their neck with it not done up at the nose, because there's a chance that it can pull off over the head. It's what they're tied to that's the issue, not having the headcollar done up or not.
 
I automatically untie the rope before undoing the headcollar to put the bridle on - it was drummed into me at a very early age, and i don't even think about it - it just happens.
Alf rarely gets tied up. He'll stand beautifully "pretend" tied for as long as I need him to, but if he moves and feels resistance, he will panic and pull back until something breaks - so i don't do it. I have metal gates, and usually just roll the rope round the top rung once, so it comes away instantly if he moves away. He doesn't go far anyway - usually goes and climbs the bank to eat grass. If i need him contained, he goes in a stable
I use heavy duty cable ties instead of twine
 
ycbm said:
You've got your own place, I think? I'm assuming you wouldn't do it if you were in a livery yard or on a showground? I get taking risks at home, I do it all the time myself.

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Well the box I have now doesn't have tie rings outside so I tack up inside now, but I used to do the same out and about with Dabs, and likewise used to do the same on livery yard before moving here.
Obviously if the horse has the look of mischief in their eye that day then I might not, but as far as I can recollect I have never lost a horse with a saddle but no bridle on....I'm certainly far more likely to lose one trying to manoeuvre them between field and stable 🙈
 
I use a lightweight rope halter and I just put the bridle on over the top. I consider it a useful safety net, especially as I use rope split reins which clip onto the bit, so I always have 2 6ft (or a 12 foot if I clip them together) leadrope and a halter if needed. I hack, fun ride and do TREC exclusively, so appearance loses out over practicality.
 
I have had over the years a variety of ponies for my children and they could tack up from about being six. This includes PC in an open field.
I buy Shires head collars with all the buckles, the pony stays tied up the bridle put on the throat lash tied up loosely with the reins hooked up.The saddles then put on. Then it gets checked by me.
Ponies get used to not pulling or wandering off, the saddle goes on last because if bridlework busts it’s easily replaced, and it will break easily, not so much saddles.
When they are ready to ride the head collar is taken off.
I can not understand why you would put a saddle on first, we all know that you have to tighten the girth after 10 mins, so if you are in an open area and it gets away it could end up under its belly. When it goes on last hopefully if you have a bridle on you have some method of control.
I used to take two children and often three ponies to events including hunting on my own, no spare adult to help.
 
honetpot said:
I have had over the years a variety of ponies for my children and they could tack up from about being six. This includes PC in an open field.
I buy Shires head collars with all the buckles, the pony stays tied up the bridle put on the throat lash tied up loosely with the reins hooked up.The saddles then put on. Then it gets checked by me.
Ponies get used to not pulling or wandering off, the saddle goes on last because if bridlework busts it’s easily replaced, and it will break easily, not so much saddles.
When they are ready to ride the head collar is taken off.
I can not understand why you would put a saddle on first, we all know that you have to tighten the girth after 10 mins, so if you are in an open area and it gets away it could end up under its belly. When it goes on last hopefully if you have a bridle on you have some method of control.
I used to take two children and often three ponies to events including hunting on my own, no spare adult to help.
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i always put saddle on first for exactly the reason you have said, i then do it up gradually from both sides until it is tight enough for me to mount so even if horse got loose the saddle wouldnt slip round . once saddle is secure i then put bridle on...we all do it differently but as long as the horse and rider are safe thats all that matters....
 
Yup I always put saddle on first too, but that's because I just don't like having a horse unattended even for a moment when it has a bridle on. At a show I have to leave briefly to get the saddle from the lorry and experience tells me that brief moment is long enough for something to go wrong 😅

Also it's a right PITA getting a headcollar on over a double bridle so easier to just pop bridle on when we're ready to go. That way the horse's back has warmed up under the saddle too. Different strokes 😉
 
When I have to put on some sort of tack for holding the horse's head down (howlet or gogue, over here) that has a strap running to the girth, I put the saddle on first, with a slightly loose girth, then put on the bridle and the other gubbins and run that strap to the girth, then take up the slack a bit, just enough to hold everything in place without being fully tight.

But again, I tend to tack up inside the stable. If I really decide to tack up outside, with the horse tied to baling twine on a ring set in the wall, I'll then return the horse to its stable if I need to wait around or if I need to go off and either take care of something or help somebody else (like a short rider whose horse throws its head high when the rider tries to put on the bridle... a far too frequent occurrence).
 
I always put the saddle on first and tighten the girth slowly as I am faffing about doing other things, hi viz, getting my hat on etc, bridle is always the last thing.
I've done it in different ways depending on what colour my socks are that day, including putting the headcollar round the neck sometimes. I'll think on before I do that again though thanks to this thread - I just never thought about the risk before and never had it pointed out to me. Every day is a school day as they say :)
 
Saddle on first, then bridle just before riding - reins over head, head collar off, bridle on. In everyday life however, we catch in with bridles and one person holds them all while the others tack up. We don't have enough space to tie up at home.
 
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