Today was an eventful day. This was the first day the horse was saddled. I prepared him with
another horse and sacked him out. He accepted it very well, he wanted to snuggle up to the other horse.He didn't mind me touching him. Using a plastic sack on the end of a stick to get him comfortable. I then got on the ground and placed the saddle pad on him. First on the left then on the right. He was curious and cautious and was looking to me to protect him the whole time. I tried the best I could to reassure him that he was alright. I placed the saddle up, he seemed to accept that pretty well. I began the process of cinching him up. He stood there and just let me saddle him. Once I had the saddle secure on him I tied the lead rope to the saddle horn so it wouldn't drag. Then got out of his way quickly.I was afraid that he would panic when he realized there was a saddle tied to his back. But to my surprise he just stood there for awhile ,looked around and walked off. I came back into the pen and drove him around. Then I got ahold of the lead rope and worked him left and right on the lead rope. Then I tied him up while we broke for lunch. After lunch I led him in the stall, began putting weight in both stirrups, jumping up to prepare him for me to get on. He seemed to be bothered by this. Everytime I would put weight in the stirrup he would look to the right as if to try to get away from me. I continued changing sides going through the process for quite awhile, but he seemed like he wasn't accepting it. So I led him back into the arena, then I tied two feed sacks together, and then tied them to the
saddle horn. I was glad that it was the feed sacks on him and not me. Because the sacks
on each side REALLY bothered him. He tried the best he could to outrun them, when he couldn't outrun them he tried to kick them off. He was REALLY bothered by them,which is how he would of been if I were on him. I got ahold of the lead rope after awhile,and tried to work him left and right, he insisted on looking over his right shoulder and kicking at the bag on the right side of his body. I used my lunge whip and would tap the bag on the left side of his body.Everytime he would look right I would tap the left bag and after alittle while he looked out through the halter and continued on forward and began to look me up for that security and comfort again. After he had accepted the bags on each side I took them off, unsaddled him and led him into the wash room where he got his 3rd bath of his life.
What a day!
