A little down

I have been lunging BG most nights recently (although she does have at least one day off a week) but felt I needed to do something else with her so she didn’t get bored. It was a long time since I put the saddle on her so I thought I would take that up.

BG was in a very amenable mood. I put the head collar on in the field, once P1 had stopped shunting her round with his head and given us a bit of space, and she walked down to her shelter as good as gold beside me without me leading her. She ate her tea, I checked her over, gave her a quick brush and a little bit of fly repellent in the main places. Then I put on her new head collar (she still won’t have it on first, I have to put the old one on then the new one over the top and remove the old one) and coiled up her lunge line. She goes through phases of seeing me doing this (the lunge line) and hiding in the back of her shelter, or not being fussed at all by it.

I tied her up to saddle her and she wasn’t overly happy to see the saddle but let me put it on without too many issues. I went to lead her out and was very impressed as she moved all the way to the door before planting herself. So my husband led her and I went and stood in the shelter with the lunge whip. I don’t have to use it, just stand there with it and she moves out the door as quick as she can.

We walked her round with her saddle on. She walked wonky, still looking over her right-shoulder to where one slipped over in the past and swinging her hind quarters round to turn towards home.

I watched her walking along, it makes me wonder if it is hurting her, if the girth is too tight and pinching, but then I have had her relaxing with the saddle on, and even bending to lunge with it on in the past, so I don’t think it is the saddle. I checked the girth and I don’t think it was that either. I guess she is still scared of it potentially slipping off, and we just need to persevere. She got a fly on her belly that she was trying to shudder off, and that scared her when she did that and felt the saddle on her so we used that point to call it a day, with just a couple of final leading her in, and straight out, of her field shelter.

I thought she might run off once we let her go to escape us and the scary saddle. She stood with her head resting on the gate where P1 and P2 had left to go on a hack, and let me make a fuss of her, so she can’t hold it against me too much. Plus, she was perfect to catch this morning too, so hopefully it hasn’t damaged her trust in me. We’ll see what she is like tonight. It does make me feel sad that she still hasn’t got used to the saddle though.

I will have the saddle fitter out again to check the fit, but I need to get BG at least a bit happier under the saddle first or there will be nothing for the fitter to see and BG might attempt the run them down like last time if she gets upset.