Now you have a horse of your very own—and he's due to arrive at his new home soon. Have you already named him ? Have you pictured what that name will look like when it's printed in the program of your first horse show? You may even have thought of ordering a special sign that you can place right over his stall.

But whoa! We're getting ahead of ourselves. Name plates are a luxury, and before you even consider such refinements, you'd better think of all the necessities you'll want to ensure safety and comfort for your horse— and your riding.

First of all, let's talk about the things you need for yourself—but re­member, you must not feel that you ought to go on a spree and buy all these items of equipment all at once.

Fortunately, equipment for your­self is limited. The only things you really require are the proper riding clothes for the horse show. If you ride hunter seat, the correct dress for a show (see photograph, p. 44) consists of: 1) canary-yellow riding breeches, 2) black boots, 3) either a turtle-neck sweater or a man's shirt and tie; other alternatives are a ratcatcher shirt and tie, or a ratcatcher shirt and stock, 4) a riding jacket, 5) a hunt cap.

These are what you'll need, so try not to get talked into buying anything else. What do I mean by getting talked into buying the wrong thing? Well, many misinformed parents and kids go to a store which sells riding equip­ment and decide to outfit themselves.

Complete outfit for hunter seat rider includes A-black jacket, B-canary hunt breeches, C-feathered bat, D-hunt cap, E-spurs, F-gloves, G-boots, H-ratcatcher shirt, I-white stock. When boots aren't in use, put tightly rolled newspapers in the legs to preserve their appearance and save the expense of boot trees.

Informal saddle seat outfit consists of A-jacket, B-jodhpurs, C-derby hat, D-jodhpur boots, E-gloves, F-riding crop, G-man's type of shirt. As veteran show-goers will tell you, no matter how clear the morn­ing skies—be sure to take a durable raincoat with you whenever you go to a show to outwit showers.

Hunter seat saddle has deep seat and knee rolls for jumping. Saddle seat saddle is flat

All too often they are confused by the difference between breeches and jodhpurs. Hunt breeches are wide at the thighs, having what are called 'pegs' which extend out from the right and left sides of the rider. Then the pants become narrow and fit very snugly from the knee down. Breeches do not continue down to the ankle but end several inches above and fasten with buttons, zippers or tie strings. Like breeches, some jodhpurs have pegs, but unlike breeches they extend all the way down to the ankle. They are worn with jodhpur boots and have a band at the bottom of each leg which you place under the instep of the boots. This keeps the pants legs from riding up on your leg. Kentucky jodhpurs are worn by saddle-seat rid­ers in shows and are different from other jodhpurs and breeches in that they have no pegs. They fit the leg snugly from thigh to ankle, then flare out in a slight bell shape. They, too, have a band which goes beneath the instep of the jodhpur boot.

These are the basic varieties of rid­ing pants, and the hunter-seat rider must be sure to buy breeches—not either of the other two styles. But likely as not, an unknowing buyer will end up with dark brown riding breeches. Now, nothing's wrong with brown riding breeches and if you can afford two or more pairs of riding pants, go ahead and get them. They are excellent for riding with friends or in small country shows. But they aren't right for large, more formal shows. The really experienced hunter-seat rider wears canary breeches in such shows and, if you show regu­larly, you won't feel at ease unless you have a pair of canaries.

The same goes for boots. They shouldn't be brown unless you plan to purchase more than one pair. Girl's boots should have either plain tops or tops of black patent leather. Only boys' boots may have brown tops— or they may be plain black. However, all boots should be comfortable, snug and high in the leg. There's nothing more unsightly than a rider in a pair of ill-fitting boots—loose around the calf and short below the knee.

If you intend to have one riding jacket, make it a black one. If you want more than one, choose a conservative tweed for your second, or a lightweight material for summer.

Here you see how ratcatcher shirt looks. A stock may be worn instead of bow tie

These girls, schooling for the next show, find riding in blue jeans is perfectly comfortable

This young master cuts a dapper figure Here is more formal saddle seat riding wear, in proper hunting attire. He needs only a Jacket and jodhpurs are of same material, blue ribbon to put him on top of world Wisely chosen color will accent horse's coat

From left are: full bridle with the basic types of bit—snaffle (left) and curb; dee bit snaffle;and curb bit

A ratcatcher shirt may sound like something the Pied Piper should have worn, but actually it's a very stylish shirt designed specifically for hunt­ing. These shirts are available in a wide range of checks, plaids, and stripes. The only difference between a ratcatcher shirt and an ordinary man's shirt is that the ratcatcher has no collar that folds over. Its collar is simply a straight band of whatever material the shirt is made of. This little collar buttons at the throat, and over it you wear a bow tie which comes with the shirt and is of the same pattern—or you can wear a stock. A stock is a long strip of white material which you tie so that it looks something like an ascot from the front. It is a traditional part of cor­rect hunting attire and was worn orig­inally as a convenient way of carrying a bandage. If some injury occurred during the hunt, the rider simply re­moved his stock and used it for first aid. If you have a black jacket, a snowy white stock and ratcatcher go with it better than anything else.

Equipment for the saddle-seat rider has more color range or leeway to it, though the colors are still subdued and conservative. A rider should never wear floppy clothing or loud colors around a horse, for they are apt to cause him to shy. Another reason for subdued tones is that you want your horse to be admired—and, of course, your ability to ride him well—rather than your bright clothes.

Now, exactly what does a rider need to be properly dressed in a saddle-horse class? 1) Kentucky jodhpurs, preferably of gabardine, 2) a man's shirt and tie, 3) a jacket which either matches or looks very well with your jodhpurs, 4) jodhpur boots, 5) a saddle derby.

About the colors we mentioned be­fore—your jodhpurs and jacket will probably be available in shades of beige, brown, navy, black or gray. Any of these is suitable and you should simply choose a color that goes well with the color of your horse.

Where do you get these supplies? If your home town hasn't a store which sells riding equipment, Miller, M. J. Knoud, and H. Kaufman & Sons in New York City are three outfitters of horses and horsemen—and three of the finest horse-supply stores any­where in this country. Each of these stores sells only the best quality ma­terials and yet offers a wide price range.

The horse's full bridle shows correct posi­tion of bits and fit of decorative brow band

What do you wear when you are riding informally—hacking on the trails with friends, or working out in the ring? Saddle-seat riders will be most comfortable in inexpensive jodh­purs and jodhpur boots, while hunter-seat riders will fare best in breeches and boots. And in spite of what per­fectionists say, I've never found any objection to wearing blue jeans and sturdy shoes. Go ahead and wear them if you don't find them uncomfortable.

But now let's figure out what you need for your horse.

Use colored brow bands only on saddle type horses

The most obvious things are the bridle and saddle. These are referred to as 'tack.' To tack up a horse is to put his bridle and saddle on him, and the place where you keep the bridle, saddle and other stable supplies is called a tack room.

A saddle is fairly easy for you to select. You are the one who is best able to tell whether or not it is com­fortable to ride in. If you're buying the saddle for a Saddle Horse, the horse should be round enough in the barrel (see chart on p. 10) so that the pommel of the saddle won't rub his withers. A hunter or jumper, on the other hand, is apt to be a rangy animal with more prominent withers than a gaited horse. Use a good sheep­skin pad under the saddle to give pro­tection and choose a saddle with a reasonably high pommel. Chances are that the saddle will fit the horse per­fectly and the thing to be concerned with is whether it fits you.

A hunter-seat rider who is likely to do some jumping should pick a saddle with knee rolls (see the illustration on p. 46), and the girth should be of leather. The saddle-seat rider should choose a saddle with straight flaps and a cloth girth because cloth is more decorative than plain leather.

"S" shaped bit used on Walking horses

If you find the saddle comfortable when you ride or sit on it and if it looks about right for your horse, there's no more testing or searching to be done. Buy it. Unfortunately, a good saddle is very expensive if bought new. It can cost more than your horse! The very least you can get a new saddle for is about $75, and most good saddles sell for $150 to $200, so you may have to forget about buying a new saddle. Saddles are not expensive without a reason—they are crafted to last. You can pick up a used saddle for about $40, and it will serve your purposes perfectly if you take the same care in fitting it to horse and rider as you would in making a new purchase. A used saddle will look well enough for showing and will be rugged enough to take the every day wear you'll give it.

Bridles are a little more difficult to choose because you may not know ex­actly what bit is the correct one for your horse. You can get sound advice about selecting the proper bit from the former owner of your animal, or you might turn the question over to an experienced friend who has ridden your horse. Here are some pointers about the general type of bridle you will need, depending on the kind of horse you have bought.

Almost all Saddle Horses require a full bridle for maximum control, so if you own a three-gaited or five-gaited horse, always use the full bridle (see p. 49 for the illustration) on him. And remember to keep the snaffle bit behind the curb (as shown) when you bridle your horse.

The same general rule holds true for Walking Horses. Every Walking Horse should be shown with some ver­sion of the bit indicated in our il­lustration—the special walking-horse bit. Arabians and Morgans are also shown with consistently similar bri­dles—generally a Pelham bitted bridle (see illustration) or a full bridle.

All these breeds and types of horse should have decorative nose and brow bands when being ridden in a show, and none should ever be ridden with a martingale (shown on p. 51). Why? Because a martingale is designed as a restraint. It prevents a horse from tossing his head around. Now, since all the horses we have discussed should be well mannered as well as showy in action and appearance, using a martingale would indicate that the horse is not always mannerly and would automatically eliminate him in any competition.

A running martingale travels along reins

Rubber pelham is a good bit for hunters

Martingales should be used only on hunters and open jumpers—and then only when abso­lutely necessary. A running martin­gale, rather than a standing mar­tingale, is your best bet because it controls the horse only when the reins are tight, allowing him freedom to maneuver in case of a fall or a difficult jump when your reins would be loose. If you own a hunter or jumper, your choice of bit should depend en­tirely on how hard a mouth the horse has. If your horse responds well to the use of your hands and doesn't show much tendency to pull, use a mild bit—a 'snaffle' (see illustration p. 48). But if you feel you need firmer control, try a rubber Pelham. Should the horse's mouth be tougher, a full bridle ought to fill the bill.

Unlike saddles, new bridles are not prohibitively expensive. The finest grade of full bridle for a three- or five-gaited horse can be bought at Miller's for under $40. You can get a new Walking-Horse bridle for as little as $15. Better ones will run around $30. A good snaffle bridle costs about $15. However, if you must watch your expenses closely, you can buy a good used bridle for between $5 and $10.

You know now about the most im­portant equipment you'll need. Of course, there are a number of little things you ought to have on hand around your stable so that you can take proper care of your horse, either at home or at a show.

// you must lead horse without halter, loop belt around his neck or try method at right. Below trainer wraps twitch around horse's upper lip to distract him while medicine is applied

For safety's sake, keep a halter on your horse at all times and have spare handy

Here is a list of items for you to think about get­ting and a few suggestions as to their use. Under the grouping of medicines, you won't find comments about usage because this information either will be on the container or will be dis­cussed in a later chapter. STABLE EQUIPMENT Buckets—for watering the horse, cleaning tack, and general use around the stable.

Halters—two, one kept as a spare, and they should be of leather. Always keep your horse haltered so you can catch him in case of fire, accident, or any other emergency.

Pitchfork—to fork hay at feeding time and to remove bedding from stall for replacement with fresh bedding. Shovel—to be used for removing manure from the horse's stall. Wheelbarrow— to remove manure from the barn.

Canvas webbing or stall guard—to place across the entrance of the horse's stall during the summer so the door can be left open. A longe line—a length of canvas line with a chain end to be used for exer­cising the horse.

GROOMING EQUIPMENT

Curry comb, body brush, 'dandy' brush, hoof pick, mane comb—all to be used in cleaning the horse. Clippers—to keep the horse's whisk­ers and fetlocks trimmed off, the mane and tail clipped on three-gaited horses, and to remove hair so medi­cines can be applied to possible sores.

Lead shank—this should be of leather and chain, and kept in a convenient spot so you can find it readily. Twitch— this consists of a strong length of wood, about half as long as a baseball bat. A small loop of rope or chain extends from a hole at one end of the wood. This loop is put over the horse's upper lip and twisted rather tight. It is used to restrain the horse and divert his attention when he is being shod, clipped, worked on by a doctor, or treated in some manner that would make the horse nervous.

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

Alcohol Bandages

Sheet cotton Mineral oil Linament Thrush medicine Dose syringe Yellow oxide of mercury

Absorbent cotton

Tincture of iodine

Colic mixture

Cough, mixture

Kidney mixture

Healing powder

Gall lotion

None of these things is expensive and you don't need them all at once. Buy them when it's easy and conveni­ent for you to do so and know, once you have them, that you have a well-equipped stable—prepared for every­day work and for most emergencies.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here...