Horse and Rider Partnership George Slater

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Creating A Partnership Between Horse and Rider by George E.Slater

George Slater

The round pen is still a great place for the initial saddling and tacking up

Saddling & Tacking Up
Introduction
Saddling and Tacking Up the horse is the next logical step which follows the Round Penning and Rope Tricks exercises described in "Creating a Partnership Between Horse & Rider, Parts 1 and 2". The rider has gained the respect of the horse and the horse has demonstrated its desire to let the rider be its leader and safety blanket. At the same time the horse has been warmed up and its attitude has been checked to see if it is receptive to going to the next logical step. Saddling and putting a bit in the horse's mouth for the first time are two of the most traumatic events in a young horse's life so it pays to take extra care to make this a positive experience.

Tools For Saddling and Tacking Up
The round pen is still a great place for the initial saddling and tacking up. The horse is accustomed to working within the pen already and should be quite comfortable inside the pen. The pen acts like a second set of hands for keeping the horse's focus inside and on you. It is not necessary, but a fenced area is recommended so that the horse cannot run off if it happens to get loose from you.

The saddle type is up to you. Just be sure that it fits the horse and does not pinch the withers or set down tight on the withers. Use whatever blanket(s) you are accustomed to. Have the saddle, blanket(s) and bridle you are going to use conveniently stowed around the edge of the round pen if the pen has rails that allow you to do this.

We recommend a full cheek snaffle bit to start all horses. Mount it in a high quality headstall that fits the horse well, using rope reins for better hand control in the initial training phase. You may choose other bits, but refrain from starting a horse in a leveraged bit, which may injure the young horse's mouth. The initial training under saddle that will be described in Parts 4 and 5 assumes that the rider will be using a "side pull" snaffle bit of some sort.
A 12½-foot lead rope with leather thongs on the end (as used by Pat Parelli) is recommended. A good quality, soft, rope-tied halter is preferred for this task.

Putting on the Saddle Blankets
Lead the haltered horse to the area where you have stowed the saddle, blankets and bridle, letting the horse stand and relax with the rope laid on the ground. You may lay the rope along the side of the horse so that if the horse starts to move off, you can stop it by simply stepping on the rope.

The first step is to present the saddle blanket to the horse and place it on its back. If you have done all the previous steps correctly the horse should be relaxed and feel safe being close to you. Extensive "sacking out" of the horse with the blanket is not necessary. Let the horse smell the blanket for a moment. Then place the blanket on its back in a relaxed, nonchalant manner. Be sure that your manner stays quiet and calm. Now rub the horse and give it praise, keeping it calm and receptive.

If the horse feels that it needs to move off, try to get it to stop, using your hands gently or giving it the signal to come to you. You may step on the rope and the horse will most likely stop when the rope comes tight on its halter. If it is just "too much" for the horse and it takes off from you, send it out around the round pen and make it work hard for a few minutes before calling it back to you. By this time the horse should understand the "drill" and bring its emotions under control very quickly. Then, calmly go back and repeat the process of putting the blanket on just as before. The horse should accept the blanket quite readily since it is a rather non-threatening piece of equipment. If you have to repeat the process more than two or three times, you should stop and go back to the exercises of Part 1 and Part 2, getting the responses that you know you can get and letting the horse find out how good the "right" answers feel again.

Once the horse will accept the blanket on its back it is a good idea to take the blanket off and put it back on five or six times, just so the horse gets really comfortable with the exercise. Then, immediately go to the next step of putting the saddle on.

Putting on the Saddle
You are about to begin one of the most nerve-wracking tasks in starting or re-training a horse. Putting a saddle on this claustrophobic, prey animal invokes all its fears of predators jumping on its back, wrapping their legs around it and not letting go. This is where you cash in all the chips you have earned getting the horse trained to this point. The hardest part about this exercise is controlling your own emotions to the point that you can be the "safety blanket" for your horse. Most trainers consider this first saddling to be one of the two most traumatic things in a horses life. The other is mounting the horse for the first time.

The only way to approach this task is to maintain that nonchalant air that you used for putting on the blanket. As soon as the horse is comfortable with the blanket, go gather up the saddle and get it prepared. Make sure the girth(s), breast collar or any other gear hanging on the saddle are stowed so that they are not flopping around loosely. Any unnecessary gear should have been removed before bringing the saddle into the pen.

If you are using a light English or endurance saddle it is quite easy to present it to the horse and calmly lift it to the horses back without any undue fuss. Let the horse smell the saddle a moment, then calmly place it on the horses back. Heavy western saddles are another matter and require that you swing the saddle up and over the horses back with lots of things flopping around. You should start the move with your rear end toward the front shoulder of the horse. Then, rotate the front of your body toward the rear of the horse and around, swinging the saddle up and over the horses back in a smooth movement, with as little extra energy as possible. Be prepared to move away quickly if the horse shows any inclination to buck, rear or kick out.

If the horse moves a little, try to steady it with your hands or voice, stepping on the lead rope or grabbing the rope as a last resort. It takes a major effort for you to control your own emotions at this point so that you can help the horse's confidence. If the horse moves off fast, try to pull the saddle off if you can. In any case, send the horse around the round pen vigorously before calling it back in to you. Then you simply start over again. Once the horse will stand quietly and comfortably you can start thinking about the next step.
Now, move around to the off side of the horse (its right side) and let down the girth(s), breast collar and other equipment. Then return to the left side, facing the rear of the horse. With your left hand, reach under the horses belly and pull the main girth toward you, trying to keep your hand in contact with the horses belly the whole time. Cinch up the girth snugly, not real tight so that the horse feels strangled. Just enough so that the saddle will not slide around if the horse gets real active. Then connect any other girths or the breast collar after the main girth is done. Keep a close eye on the horse's back feet in case it gets scared and wants to kick. Also be aware of the horse's head if it brings it around and back toward you. There is always a chance of it biting, especially at such a stressful time, but if you have done the previous work right, these things should not be of too much concern to you. Horses that are "cinchy" or want to bite or nip while saddling up will be discussed in a later section on specific problems that might arise.

Once the saddle gear is all hooked up, just rub and pet the horse, trying to keep it calm and receptive. Experience shows that most horses (maybe 95%) will accept the blanket and saddle when presented in this way, standing still without being tied. The excitement usually starts when you ask the horse to move with the saddle the first time.

If the horse kind of drifts around or wants to move constantly, you may loop the lead rope twice around the top rail of the round pen while going through the saddling exercise. Keep the long end of the rope in your hand and you may be able to control its movement in this way. Do not tie the rope off. You don't want the horse sitting back while going through the saddling procedure. It is better to let it go, then make it work around the pen, rather than trying to tie the horse to keep it still.

Moving with the Saddle
Once you have the horse standing calmly, try to lead the horse off in a left turn in a matter of fact way. Many horses will soon relax and let you lead them in circles easily without getting too frightened. However, a good percentage of them (maybe 25%) will start to get excited when the girths and equipment comes tight for the first time. They are claustrophobic by nature and now they are in a situation in which you have strapped a heavy thing on their back that has all manner of equipment hanging down from it; and it feels to them like this might be a permanent fixture. It also feels like a big cat has jumped on their back and is holding on with all its might. Moving the horse around, especially at the lope or trot will magnify the sensation and the only thing the horse can think of is how to get this load off its back as fast as possible.

Any time the horse gets too agitated, hunches its back and looks like it is going to buck, be ready to get away from the line of fire. If you are not experienced with handling horses when they bucking, the best thing to do is get out of the pen and let the horse go. There is nothing you will be able to do until the horse works it out of its system and stops. Then you have to approach it carefully, get hold of the rope, and start doing the rope tricks with the saddle on until you get back control.

If you are an experienced trainer you should be able to get hold of the rope, but stay off to the horse's side. Try to control the horse's direction after the first few bucks. Then you may be able to yank its head every time it tries to buck, finally getting it to stop. You must be careful that it doesn't turn and come over you when it is in such an excited state. Once you get it stopped, try to relax it a bit, then immediately get the horse circling using all the rope tricks of Part 2 until the horse relaxes and regains its control. The horse may "crow hop" and buck again, but the idea is to finally get it to complete several circles going forward in a relaxed manner without incident.

Our experience tells us that a horse that bucks with just the saddle on is no more likely to buck on first rides than one that accepts the saddle calmly and willingly without incident. There are a number of horses we trained that bucked after each saddling for several weeks, but never bucked with a rider on its back.

Round Pen Drills with the Saddle
Once the horse has moved around a bit it is time to re-teach all the rope tricks described in Part 2, but with the saddle in place. The horse must re-learn all the exercises you taught it with all the new gear on. Cues will feel differently, so go easy and teach them again in a relaxed way. Use lots of positive reward when the horse gets the answer right; every time! When you can perform all the "Rope Tricks" with the saddle on the horse should be calm and relaxed with the new equipment and it is time to go to the next step.

Putting the Bit in the Horse's Mouth Putting on the Bridle

Putting the bit in a horse's mouth for the first time is a big event in its training so you want to do the best job you can the first time. Most people are very apprehensive when working around a horses face and mouth the first time and this shows in their movements and demeanor. If you are tight, shaky, awkward or too tentative, the horse will pick up on this immediately and it will mimic your state of mind.

Start by collecting your emotions while standing at the left side of the horse's head. Pet the horse and make it comfortable. You want the horse's head to be fairly low and really relaxed when you start. You should have the headstall and bit with you at this point. Now, calmly loosen the halter and lead rope and let them drop to the ground.

Now, carefully sort out the bridle parts, holding the headstall by the part that goes over top of the poll in your left hand. Make sure the throatlatch and any other straps (possibly a chin strap) are in a correct position that will make fastening them later an easy task.

When you are ready, place the headstall over the horse's nose, lifting it up toward the forehead. At the same time bring the bit back under its chin with your right hand. Hold the headstall loosely in this position for a moment using your left hand, while you drop the bit and move your right hand up between the horse's ears. Transfer the headstall to your right hand.

Now using the fingers of your left hand, support the bit and drop the headstall down to where you can place the bit in front of the horse's teeth. Your right hand controls the height of the headstall through all this. Be very careful not to bump the teeth or to pull against the teeth with the bit. Your left fingers feel like they are in a very precarious position in front of those teeth, but if you remain calm and focused, you can always move them quickly enough to avoid a bite. Just be gentle with the metal bit. You can put a fork or spoon in contact with your own teeth to get a feeling for what the horse must be experiencing.

Now, summon up your courage and slip your left thumb into the bars of the horse's mouth and touch its tongue. If you are calm and quiet, the mouth will open fairly soon. Just wait for it to happen without forcing the mouth open. When it does open, lift the bit into the mouth using the right hand. Don't jerk or make a big deal of it, just quietly lift the bit up until it sits on the bars of the mouth. This is where the exercises of Parts 1 and 2 come into play. The horse should already be comfortable with having your fingers in its mouth and all around its head.

Calmly work the headstall over the horse's ears, making sure all the straps are flat and fit right. Now go to the front of the horse and make sure that the bit is in the mouth correctly. Sometimes one of the cheeks of the snaffle can get stuck in the horse's mouth and cause real discomfort. Chinstraps easily get twisted and tangled causing the bit to go awry. Make this a habit every time you bit up a horse. "Old hands" still get caught occasionally when they get in a hurry. If you mount a nervous horse with the bit in wrong, it can lead to a very dangerous situation.

Once you are sure the bit is in place correctly, carefully connect the throatlatch making sure the strap is not twisted. There should be two fingers width of space between the throatlatch and the underlying throat of the horse to allow the horse room to tuck its head in to its chest without the strap coming tight.

Most horses will readily accept the bit when presented in this straightforward manner. Even older horses that throw their head and try to avoid the bit in many ways can be re-trained in short order. We find that horses that have had this type of problem will almost always forget about it if we take them back through the exercises of Parts 1 and 2, then re-teach them the saddling and "bitting up" exercises described in this Part 3.

The Next Step
We usually stop for the day at this point when starting a new horse. We have found that if you repeat this first sequence of exercises from Creating A Partnership, Parts 1, 2, &3 for several days in a row, our horses accept the rest of the training in a much calmer, more mature frame of mind. However, some horse respond so quickly that we will sometimes go right on with them on the first day. If you or the horse start to get real tired, it is best to quit at some place where you have had a positive experience and go back to it the next day.

Contact: George Slater
PO Box 409
Orchard, Texas 77464
Phone: 979-478-6716
Email: slatergeorge@hotmail.com
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