Horsemanship Merit Badge
The twelve requirements with requirement 11 marked as the one continuous performance it actually is, the requirements that need a horse present drawn as such, and the arrow from catching and tying the horse to saddling it drawn against the badge's own numbering.
13 steps (14 parts inside them). 2 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Horsemanship Merit Badge
No questions answered
This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the question at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.
Which of this applies to you
You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering one question will take out the parts that are not for you.
The steps
Stage 1 of 13
1 step
-
1. Safety around horses, and fire safety in a barn Requirement
Two parts, and the second is the only requirement on the badge about the building rather than the animal.
FIVE OF THE TWELVE REQUIREMENTS NEED A HORSE IN FRONT OF YOU: 7, 9(b), 9(c), 10 and 11. For most Scouts that means a stable, a riding school or a summer camp, booked in advance, so this badge moves at the speed of somebody else's diary. Get the horse time in the calendar first and fit requirements 1 to 6 and 8 around it, rather than the other way round.
Stage 2 of 13
1 step
-
2. Fifteen parts of a horse, and what each one does Requirement
Named, and the function of each discussed with your counselor. Fifteen is a lot more than it sounds, and the function half is what makes requirements 4, 5, 6 and 7 make sense.
Stage 3 of 13
1 step
-
3. Four breeds, and what each is known for Requirement
Named, with the special features each breed is known for. Requirement 8 comes back to breed when it asks why feed changes with the breed of horse.
Stage 4 of 13
1 step
-
4. The symptoms of colic, and four other health problems Often forgotten Requirement
Colic described specifically and by name, then four more named and described. Grooming, requirement 7, is when most of these are actually noticed.
Stage 5 of 13
1 step
-
5. Conformation, and lameness against unsoundness Requirement
What conformation is and why it matters, then the difference between lameness and unsoundness. Two words that get used as if they meant the same thing.
Stage 6 of 13
1 step
-
6. Why hoof care matters, and why a horse might need shoes Requirement
Explained. Requirement 7 picks the hooves out; this is why.
Stage 7 of 13
1 step
-
7. Groom a horse: hooves picked, and care after a ride Often forgotten Requirement
Demonstrated. The last part needs a ride to have happened, so this requirement cannot be finished on a day you do not ride. Grooming is also when the health problems in requirement 4 get noticed.
THIS REQUIREMENT CANNOT BE FINISHED ON A DAY YOU DO NOT RIDE. It asks for grooming "including picking hooves and CARING FOR A HORSE AFTER A RIDE", and the last part needs a ride to have happened. Group it with a riding day. The plan cannot draw the arrow from requirement 11 back to here without closing a loop, so this notice is the arrow.
Stage 8 of 13
1 step
-
8. What to feed a horse, how much, and why it changes Requirement
How to determine both, and why the amount and kind of feed change with the horse's activity level and its breed. The breed half reaches back to requirement 3.
Stage 9 of 13
1 step
-
9. The tack: ten parts, fitted, and getting on and off Often forgotten Requirement
Three parts, and two of them need a horse standing still in front of you.
3 parts
-
9(b). Saddle and bridle a horse properly Often forgotten YOU CANNOT SADDLE A HORSE YOU HAVE NOT CAUGHT. Approaching the horse, leading it safely out of a stall, corral or field and tying it securely is REQUIREMENT 10: numbered after this one, and physically always before it. Do 10 first whatever the printed order says.
Stage 10 of 13
1 step
-
10. Approach, lead and tie a horse safely Often forgotten Requirement
From a stall, corral or field, and tied securely: explained AND demonstrated. In practice this happens before anything else you do with a horse, including saddling it at requirement 9(b).
Stage 11 of 13
1 step
-
11. One continuous ride: seven movements without stopping Often forgotten Requirement
The badge says CONTINUOUSLY. Seven lettered movements ridden as one sequence, correctly, at ease, and in harmony with the horse. This is the only requirement here that can be failed on the day.
THE WORD IS "CONTINUOUSLY", AND IT CHANGES WHAT THIS REQUIREMENT IS. The seven lettered movements are ONE ride, performed in order without dismounting between them, not seven tests that can be passed on seven different days. And the standard is three separate judgements: correctly, at ease, AND in harmony with the horse. This is the only requirement on the badge you can turn up for and not pass, which makes it the only one that needs practice rather than attention.
7 parts
-
11(b). Walk a half-circle of not more than 16 feet radius Often forgotten
-
11(d). Trot or jog a half-circle of not more than 30 feet radius Often forgotten THE TWO HALF-CIRCLES ARE NOT THE SAME SIZE. 11(b) allows a radius of not more than SIXTEEN feet, at the walk. This one allows not more than THIRTY, at the trot or jog. They are nearly double one another and they sit two lines apart in the same list, which is exactly how a rider ends up practising the wrong one.
-
11(f). Back up straight four paces Often forgotten
Stage 12 of 13
1 step
-
12. A career, or a hobby or healthy lifestyle. Do ONE Requirement
The badge states the choice itself. Both routes are research and a discussion with your counselor, and neither is in the 2025 requirements book.
2 parts
Stage 13 of 13
1 step
-
Counselor signs it off Milestone
The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.
Usually comes after 12. A career, or a hobby or healthy lifestyle. Do ONE.
Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.
This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.