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Re: [RC] rearing horse when saddling - Chris PausHow do you know he doesn't have a sore back? Or isn't sore somewhere? IMHO, 99 percent of the time when a horse behaves this badly, he's either in pain or there is miscommunication from the rider/handler. Horses rarely behave badly just to be naughty or to irritate us.
It's his way of telling you that something is very very wrong. My horse would sidestep, pull back at the hitching rail and do all kinds of avoidance things when I came near him with a saddle that didn't fit. Once I got the right saddle, that behavior stopped.
Another time, he reared and carried on when I tried to bridle him. I finally got him over to a place where I could stand above him. Right at the top of his poll, he had a nasty wound. It looked like he must have rammed his head into a thorn tree or something. His behavior was the only way he could tell me that something was wrong.
A lot of people THINK their horse doesn't hurt anywhere, when in fact it really does.
the other thing to look at is how you are approaching him with the saddle, how do you go about cinching him up? Maybe you need to look at what you are doing to see if there's something you can change that will make him more comfortable.
I know that most of the time when one of my horses misbehaves, if I really assess the situation honestly, I could have done something different to avoid the problem.
Good luck.
chris
Sherman <sherman@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship. Louisa May Alcott
Chris Paus
BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus
Lake Region SWA http://lakeregionswa.fws1.com
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