Wife on horse, as it were, has to wrap up (7)
I believe the answer is:
swaddle
'to wrap up' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'wife on horse' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'on' is an insertion indicator.
'horse' becomes 'saddle' (saddle horse is a kind of horse).
'w' placed within 'saddle' is 'SWADDLE'.
'as it were has' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for swaddle that I've seen before include "Bind tight with clothes" , "Wrap up well" , "Fully cover" , "Wind bandages round" , "Wrap with bandages" .)