Starter Tack Part 1

My Mommy is young, she will be 20 years old this Summer.

Safe to say, she is still developing her own style of doing things, especially in the horse training community.

But the best way to learn anything is by trial and error.

If Mommy has a bad day, or I didn't respond to a specific session, she'll step back and come up with a different way to approach it. Normally, this second attempt is successful.

In her opinion (along with many other horseman & women), it is NEVER the horses fault! The human either did not communicate correctly, or did not teach their horse to respect them as a leader.

You should never try to teach us horses anything new while you are in a bad mood or stressed. We can easily pick up on the difference in your body language and even heart rate.

Today I would like to talk about saddles. Starter saddles to be exact!

It is my Mommy's firm belief that when starting a young horse, you should use a light weight, properly fitted, well used saddle. You than work your way up to a full size saddle as your horse's training progresses or his body grows.

My Starter Saddle

My first saddle is a old, synthetic, western, pony saddle (which is borrowed from a friend). 

It is light, well worn (which makes it more acceptable if during training it sustains any scratches or nicks) and fits me comfortably.

Mommy & Me (in my saddle)

When I out grow this saddle (which I am doing quite rapidly) I will then be switched to a full size. Probably a barrel racing saddle, but this is not set in stone, we will see how things go.

Besides synthetic western saddles, examples of "starter" saddles that Mommy likes include:

Racehorse Exercise Saddles

Wintec Racing Exercise Saddle
(Photo found on Google)

Trail Saddles

Royal King Woodland Ranch & Trail Saddle
(Photo found on Google)

Endurance Saddles

Tucker Endurance Saddle
(Photo found on Google)

Modified Bare Back Pads

Cashel Soft Saddle G2
(Photo found on Google)

Barrel Racing Saddles ( lighter than working, reining, or roping saddles)

NRS Competitor Series Saddle
(Photo found on Google)

Each of the above saddle types come in many variations and materials. 

Obviously, humans can start us horses in whatever saddle they choose. 

But something that every trainer of any discipline should always remember is that whatever tack you start your horses in, it should be comfortable on our backs, if it isn't, it can make training a punishment.

 IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE FUN for both human and horse!

Lots Of Love

-TigerLily