Note: Just a reminder that I may know a few things about driving, but I really don't know much about riding under saddle. I'm kinda doing what I feel with some good advice from one of my favorite mentors, the wagon teamster, Bob Skelding.
It turns out Bob is doing some horse breaking of his own, and the timing of both of us doing this at the same time has been great. You can read about Bob's efforts here: Link Here
So I got Buck out of the pasture, and put him in the round pen. Buck is easy to catch and is quite human savvy. The first thing I did was pull out my trusty training stick and did some ground work with him. Basic desensitization and then some flexing, body movement. I ended by lunging him a bit. His mind was on me (although always looking to make sure the mares were nearby in the paddock).
I saddled him up, and put on the bridle. Buck did lots of tonguing on the bit, so I let him stand for a bit as he got used to it. (I have had a bit in his mouth before, but it's not something he's grown used to yet) With the saddle on him, I did some practice mounts, and eventually did jump up in the saddle while he was tied. Buck was laid back and relaxed, and didn't care about me climbing up on him, or the feel of the saddle. Love that draft cold blood!
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| Buck with Saddle and Bridle on |
The next thing I did, was new to me, but I got it from Bob Skelding. Instead of just hoping on and riding, I did some ground driving. I hooked my long lines up to the bit, and I drove buck around the round pen. The purpose of this is to let him feel the bit in his mouth as I turn him. Had Buck had a problem with this, I'd rather it happen with me on the ground behind him, than in the saddle on his back. But, true to his nature, Buck didn't care at all. He understood what the bit meant right away, and didn't balk at it or fuss. Perfect reaction.
This led to me climbing up on his back again, ready for my first ride on him. I was working alone, which probably isn't the safest thing to do, but I pressed on. After I was on his back, I leaned down and unsnapped the lead rope. We then proceeded to ride around the round pen. It was awesome. Buck was quite unsure at first, but he knew his queue's, and he followed them. The reassurance he got from me let him know he was doing the right thing. Within 10 minutes we were doing figure 8's in the round pen. Buck also stopped and backed pretty well. With behavior like that ... why not head out of the round pen, right? So we did.
Buck has herd anxieties!! I mounted and started riding perfectly outside the round pen. But as I rode away from the girls, he reached about 75 yards away from them and got VERY hesitant. He was trying not to walk forward any more. I kept coaxing him, and turning him ever so slightly to keep him moving forward, which worked. However, I knew once I turned him around to walk back the other direction, he was going to act up a bit. As I turned him around, I choked up on my lines, and sure enough, that boy LEAPED a few giant bounds towards the girls. Luckily, my saddle is an aussie, and those wings are GREAT! on the 3rd giant leap I pulled his head to the side for a 1 reined stop, and he stopped perfectly. We then walked back, turned around, and redid it all over again. He got better and better.
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| Buck after his ride |
After a good 45 minutes in the saddle, I decided that was enough for his first time. He stood great for me to unmount. I then tied him and he stood great as I took the bridle off. HOWEVER ... at that time the mares decided to leave the paddock and go out to pasture. Buck started to lose it because they were leaving him. As I was trying to take his saddle off, he started side passing away and over me, which is bad. So ... buck got tied off. I tied buck up and let him stand in his saddle till he calmed down. That horse came unglued. He was rearing, pushing, pulling, slamming his side into the tree, doing anything he could think of to get free. For 4 hours he acted like that. I guess he really likes those mares. :) This kind of behavior is exactly why I use rope halters! No way he was getting away ... he had to behave to get out of this one!
Finally, he calmed down, and stood great again. Once I saw that, I'd go out and pet on him. I took his saddle off, pet him some more, brushed him out, and just spent time with him. I then let him stand for another 30 minutes. He was great. So finally, after about an hour of good standing, I did let him go back into the paddock.
So anyway ... that's how my day went. It was GREAT to be sitting in the saddle. I'm very excited about the future with him!! Next time I'll try to get a photographer to take a picture. :)
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