too early to sit on her?

No_Angel

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2003
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Ireland
i had a whole plan on what i was going to do with ceryn before i sat on her.
i was going to wait for her hair to grow back on her rainscald patches (which it pretty much has now), i was going to walk her up and down the roads (shes been both ways down the roads and hasnt batted an eye lid at all), ive put travel boots on her (was fine) put numnahs and rugs on her (didnt bat an eyelid at all) and put a roller on her (also no reaction).
i will take my saddle up tonight and put it on her, i might take her bridle up aswell. i am going to walk her out over a local field with a sensible companion to get her used to it and i was going to walk her with maddie up a gravel lane to wear her feet down a bit and get maddie used to stones, but the travellers have decided to break through the gate again and set up camp:rolleyes: so thats a no go for a while as i dont want children and jack russells running at us or to get hit by a transit van:rolleyes:
so besides the walking up a field in hand with tack on, do you think its to early to sit on her? ive only had her 2 weeks:eek: but shes is so settled and has come on leaps and bounds (was very head shy, now lets you rub her ears and face)
 
Sounds like she's getting a good introduction :).

Just to fill in some gaps (you've probably answered them elsewhere :eek:, but make it easy - it's Friday ;))... How old is she and has she been backed?
 
shes 13 and to my knowledge has never been backed at all (but im having my suspisions as shes taken to everythng so well)
 
Finger's crossed it carries on going well for you :). What's she been doing for the last 13 years?

Have you walked her around with the stirrups down, so she gets used to things against her sides? Does she lunge? If so lunging with the saddle on so she gets a feel for it in trot & canter as well as walk.

Sorry - not really an expert in backing. The one time I saw it up close "sitting on" was a 3 person job - one to hold the head/lead, one to lean/lie over the saddle, and one to hold the (human :p) legs ready to control them on the way down if required - the leaning/lying human was very small and light ;)
 
shes been a broodmare.
she hasnt had a saddle on yet, im doing that tonight.
im not going to teach her to lunge as she joins up, and i think they confuse each other.
shes very nervous so they fewer the peole the better with her, and i will have a helper to hold her. she already lets me lean on her back (shes 14 hands so i do it from the floor) and it doesnt bother her.
 
she was brill:D
tacked her up and put her bridle on, no problems. walked her out of the stable and pulled the stirrups down, walked her down the field a little bit, then trotted her back towards her stable, she just stood there while i talked to mum. then i took her for another walk while mum got her some more chaff, stopped her, patted saddle, attempted to lie on it abit, then put foot in stirrup and jumped a few times as if i was trying to mount, all she did was put her head up a bit, but stood stock still:D
i may try to sit on her on sunday, i shall need your services for that if you dont mind:D
tasha
 
This is my first proper backing on my own, so im all excited:D
shes been a very good girl so far and my mum is getting on really well with her.
ceryn has now taken to licking my face in the morning:D and mum just loves her cause she can give her kisses, murf doesnt like all the girly attention and turns away from us when we try to kiss him:rolleyes: :D
 
how exciting! you're making me jealous!she sounds absolutely lovely.
regarding that she may have been backed before because she's being so good- i started my 13 y.o. shire x tb brood mare last spring and i've had her since she was 3 months old (she came with her mummy not as a weanling) so i know she's not been backed but she too took to it so easily that if i hadn't known better i would have said she's done it before!
sounds like you've got a good un there
 
lol, not in hospital yet:D
i decided i wasnt going to sit on her this weekend as mum wanted to give her some more time.
we had a bit of a problem catching her:rolleyes: we bought her as being nervous but she is far from it, shes taking the P! she gets just close enough to you then runs away, so we put the others in the stables, then ceryn waits by her stable door and mum catches her and takes her in, so far once the others are away she just stands to be caught with no problems at all:rolleyes:
so once id caught her on sunday, i put mums (expensive) saddle on her to check the fit of the now redundant (expensive) girth that mum doesnt want to sell. just got the saddle on her with the girth done up one side, i walk round the other side to do it up and one of the other horses walks past her door, she has a mini fit and reared a little bit (tiny rear, feet only just off ground), saddle falls on floor under her feet, and i have to get her away without her standing on it so mum can pick it up.
Murf escaped out of his stable the night before, so we think he must have been harassing (sp?) her over her door:rolleyes:
once she was calmed down i took her outside and out the other saddle i had with me on her, she was alot calmer then, tho she still moved a bit. i then took her for a walk down the road and did some groundwork, then took her back up past the stables and up the road the other way, she was a bit puffy and wanted to go back abnd figited while i was making her stand but she got it in the end. i then took her to our back make shift mounting block (i used to use a crate to get on, but as smudge can tell you, i got my foot stuck in it last time we rode and was half on my horse with a crate on my foot:eek: ) and i made her stand while i leaned on her and put my foot in the stirrup.
tomorow we should be venturing the open field, mum will lead her while i lead maddie out so she has a friend to go with.
 
tasha

I rather like Mark Rashid's idea that the first thing you do when you get on a horse for the first time is... get off !

The reason for this is that the horse needs to know you are not up there for all time ') after all, thats where certain predators target to attack so it is a vulnerable area for them.

He gets on and off both sides. And I think the idea is that you could then gradually extend the time between the on and the off :)
 
the first few times i get up on their back(which i do without the saddle), i don't ask for anything, i just scratch them so they associate it with nice things happening to them.i get off after about 1-2 minutes and increase the time to about 10 mins (by this time i've no finger nails left)
the saddle is introduced at the same point in time but they just go for walks in it to get used to it, and again they associate it with having a nice time.
 
shes walked out in her saddle now, and doesnt seem to have a problem with it at all, the stirrups dont bother her which i thought they might. shes usually perfect to tack up, and i really didnt want to scare her with it, but she seems a good sort and forgives me easily.
i fancy turning her into a western pony aswell:D i put my trekker on her and she looked so sweet, im going to use the rope nose sidepull on her (seems a bit stronger in a headcollar than a rope halter, she leans on the leather) and i fancy a new sadle anyway so a western is definatly in:D
i did wonder that after mum had seen her little bit of an outburst she might be slightly nervous of her, but last night when i was walking maddie out mum was grooming her while ceryn stood outside the stable as good as gold:D (she actually commented she didnt care f she could ride her she just likes her cause shes sweet)

i forgot to say, ill have a look at mark rashids work, seems like a very good and sensible idea :)
 
Tasha

we were out for a toddle on Saturday and a partridge went up - both ponies spun away. Images flashing through my head of my mother flattened on the floor, and her becoming nervous of Rosie..

she sat the spin and I did the hale and hearty act "we're ok, the only thing we can do is carry on" ...

mentioned afterwards that I *was* aware she might have been feeling quite worried and got the reply "no that was fine"... she was more worried about how Rosie was going generally as they had a lesson during the week and it didn't go very well ...

so it really is dependent on the pony, not on the behaviour....

your lassie sounds sweet :D
 
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