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Re: [RC] Saddle Fit - Don HustonHi,Obviously I am late to this party so I'm just brainstorming here. I do not agree that it is a saddle fit issue.....yet. He actually sounds like he might not be broke to ride? Or very high strung? When I lunge my horses with or without a saddle there is a point at the start when they are fresh where they will buck and kick and fart and show me how good they feel. I think some of that is normal and I keep them moving forward and they settle down within a minute. I would secure all the moving parts on the saddle and start again on the lunge line (you don't want a frantic runaway) working him both directions, let him buck but keep him moving forward, starting and stopping on command, basically giving him a good controlled workout with me in charge. I would do it over many days until he becomes completely at ease wearing that saddle. Then switch to free lunging and get him moving and stopping on command again. With no rider and a decent pad I would not expect any saddle fit problems to show up unless there are pressure points on bruised or broken body parts. When he and I are happy doing whatever with that saddle on then it's time to start riding. If I am sure that the horse is broke to ride and he is happy to do anything with an empty saddle and then starts bucking when I try to ride I would think that I was wrong about him being broke to ride :-[. IMHO it takes being able to ride many times for at least an hour to determine if problems are due to saddle fit or something else. Be careful, I have broken many things getting bucked off and it always ruined my day. :'( Don Huston At 10:54 AM 6/25/2007 Monday, you wrote: My horse is so difficult! I have loved all the helpful suggestions you guys have given with saddles though! SanDiego, Calif
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