Saturday, July 10, 2010

Saddling, again

I got pistol saddled today with no incidents, which I am SO happy about.  He has had several incidents with saddling, including at his old barn where they "let him buck for 20 minutes" before they got on. So I'm taking saddling him super slow.  I put the pad on, which didnt bother him at all, so I moved on to the saddle.  That didnt bother him either, but he had an itch that he reached around to scratch on his back leg, and I was a little worried that the saddle would fall right off.  I've worked on bouncing the ball off his side, and rolling it over his back, so I dont THINK he would panic about it, but you never know.  I started with his girth on his "off side" and did some approach and retreat on his left side.  I've found that even though he is LBE, he is very treat motivated, so I gave him a couple pieces of his favorite molasses cookie each time he let me approach("tighten" the girth and hold it there).  I know that many treats is probably overkill, but for the first couple of times, I really want him to think "wow, being saddled ROCKS" so I'm willing to take the chance.  He's doing so well with everything they say you need to do in order to ride, driving in z3, bouncing the ball on his back, extreme friendly in z3-5, that I'm thinking I might get on him bareback to ride, while still working on the saddle.  I've noticed varying opinions on saddles vs bareback for starting riding, but I'm starting to think that bareback might be the way to go with him.  He's showing that he is ok with me getting on, but he's still unsure of the saddle, so I think if I get on bareback, there won't be anything to spook him like there would be with a saddle.  Plus if he does get upset for any reason, sliding off bareback is MUCH easier than getting off a saddle.  Any thoughts?

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you! Definately start bareback if he's okay with you being on him! A horse accepting the saddle and accepting the human are two completely different things! if he accepts you, then when everything feels right, by all means, get on! I'm dealing with the same thing with one of my horses, only he is tri-polar! You and Pistol are doing fabulous, by the way! I love reading your blog! (=
    Molly, Solo, and Cavallo

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  2. Great, thanks! I didn't even notice this comment for the longest time. :/ That was my thought too, that he accepts me up there, but not that scary brown thing that tightens. I just wasn't sure about the "official" take on it, if its something like "if they arent ready to be saddled you shouldnt get on" or something like that. I will continue working on the saddle, I just dont want to put off starting Freestyle with him.

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