Whether you have a young horse that has never been saddled or you have a horse that has not been saddled in a long while - you're most likely going to experience issues when you saddle your horse.

The technique for both situations is the same. First let your horse investigate the saddle. Remember, horses are psychologically wired to be prey animals and they panic when they don't "know" something. Let your horse get to know the saddle by sniffing and even tasting it. Once he loses interest in it, then you can move on to the next step.

Take the saddle and place it on your horse's back without cinching it. Just let him feel the weight of it and all the while, pet and praise him. Do this every day until he seems bored with it. Then, cinch up the saddle. If your horse will allow the saddle on his body without bucking, attempt to lead him around while wearing the saddle. Again, repeat this exercise until he follows the lead while wearing a saddle without hesitation.

Then you are ready to ride. If you're horse has been a riding horse before, your horse will probably fall right back in the groove. If you have a young horse that has never had a rider, you may experience some bucking or other nervous behavior. If you have never been on a horse that may buck, it's worth letting a professional horse trainer break your horse into being a saddle rider.