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Re: [RC] [RC] training problem (bucking) - Chris Paus

What seems like a good fitting saddle to you, might really be torture to him. Some horses are very stoic about saddle fit and others have a "princess and the pea" reaction to it.
 
I went through 16 saddles to fit my gelding, and he's got the white marks to prove it. Finally, I thought I had a saddle that fit well. It probably was the best fit we've had, but wasn't perfect.
 
Then I bought a $200 Littlejoe Bareback Saddle, It's kind of  a stripped down, simple treeless. put it over two thick wool saddle pads and he has moved so nicely.
 
I took that setup on our longest ride yet, a 30 yesterday. He moved so well, I hardly had to post the trot. It was very fluid and easy to ride all day. He finished the day with his back in the best shape it's ever been! And I'm a heavyweight rider!
 
I'm not saying that this is a miracle saddle or will solve every horse's problems. But I am saying, that you often need to look a little deeper at discomfort issues especially when a horse has a repetitive behavior problem.
 
I start with saddle fit, check teeth, have chiro evaluation, etc. Really rule out all potential physical issues before addressing the behavior issue. I've had students tell me their saddles fit fine. But when i took that saddle and set it up on the ground on it's pommel, you could clearly see the tree was warped! Sure, it fit fine, yea right.
 
"Whisper words of wisdom, let it be." The Beatles
 
Chris 


----- Original Message ----
From: "JANUSTUDIO@xxxxxx" <JANUSTUDIO@xxxxxx>
To: rdcarrie@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, November 3, 2006 9:34:11 AM
Subject: Re: [RC] [RC] training problem (bucking)

Thanks for your reply.

I've considered every possible physical reason that could be triggering this response, but he has done this with three different saddles. Two different Ortho Flexs, and a Western saddle.  He has a really nice back, so no fitting problems.  Plus, when I first got him as a 'very green' broke 3 year old, he would buck when resisting anything that didn't suit him while on the lounge line.  And cantering was a real issue.  I'm sure he did this with his former owner and that behavior got him out of any situation that didn't suit him. At the time I didn't have a round pen, so had to do the lounging thing.
He actually has a nice canter and usually goes along just fine.  I'm convinced it is a mental thing and he really needs to get over it...

Jan