So she got back in town, and met me at the barn tonight. I tacked him up, and other than being a little cinchy, all was relatively well. Lunged him in the arena a bit, got him listening to me pretty well, and trotting and walking calmly on the lunge line, and all was well. SweetPea told me to get on, and I managed to procrastinate a little bit to fetch his reins and make our way back to the mounting block, and all still seemed well. I took a few deep breaths, rearranged the mounting block again, and got on. And all was well. I sat there, quivering and taking not-so-deep breaths while SweetPea told me to breathe and relax. She even unwrapped the lead rope from the horn and prepared to lead me like a three-year-old. I wasn't convinced that would do any good if he got it in his head to buck, but whatever. It made her feel useful. ;-) (I'm totally kidding, she was very useful, both with actual horse skills and with calming me down.)
So, I squeezed a little and she led him a little, and he took a couple of steps. I remarked that I could feel his body tensing up under me, and she said it was just because I was tense. Okay. Deep breaths. But then he did it--a little tiny crow hop, and then another one, and even SweetPea agreed it wasn't my imagination. We thought maybe it was pain from saddle fit, but to rule out rider weight (she weighs significantly less than me) or ability (she knows her stuff, and I'm woefully ignorant), I hopped off and she got on. I took over the lead rope duties, and after a step or three, he crow-hopped and simultaneously tried to bite me. We agreed he's not viscious or even lazy, but there does seem to be a pain issue.
So, I think I'll see about getting a chiropractor or massage therapist out to see him ($$$), and make a plaster cast of his back to take around to local saddle shops with good trial policies. One local tack shop owner even said she'll occasionally take saddles out to horse owners that don't have trailers, so they can try multiple saddles all at once instead of taking one out at a time. I'll figure out what I have to do to bribe her to do that. :-)
So, I've been a horse owner for 11 days so far, and sat on my horse twice, for a grand total of about 90 seconds. Whee!
But hey, at least they were tiny little crow-hops and not full-on bucking sessions like I experienced the other day. Cutting the alfalfa definitely helped.
Photo you've already seen, just because:
I have a tucker saddle you can try on him and a great chiro. For $90, she just did Leo yesterday.
ReplyDeleteCool, I'll call the chiro tomorrow. Is your saddle for sale (and if so, how much?), or just to try out for curiosity's sake? I don't want to borrow anything I can't afford to buy, but we can have a saddle-fitting party any time, just to figure out what I need to look for. :-)
DeleteCan you hop on him bareback? I'd be curious to see what he does with no tack on at all...
ReplyDeleteHis prior owner (see below) said the one and only time he bucked with her was bareback, and she weighs significantly less than me, so no, not gonna try that. :-) (Besides, I do NOT have enough of a seat to try that!)
DeleteSo sorry to hear he is bucking. In the last six months Trigger has been ridden by at least a dozen different people and has never bucked, not even a crow hop, not once. I'm pretty sure that there is something causing him pain, probably the saddle, or it may be cinched up too tightly. He's been ridden in a variety of saddles, mainly western with semi-QH bars. He also goes great in my dressage saddle, which has a narrow tree. The last two saddles we rode him in were made by Circle Y, park and trail with semi bars.
ReplyDeleteThe only time he did buck on me was last summer when I got on him bareback. Apparently he didn't think too much of the cozy connection.
Does Tucker make a saddle with a narrow tree? Can you post a photo of the saddle you've been using? Maybe there is just something wrong with it. We also used to ride Trigger in an Abetta saddle with a regular tree. There must be a simple solution - I'd try a different saddle first since that is most likely the problem. :)
The friend who was helping me last night was the same friend who loaned me the saddle, so she took it home with her last night. It was a semi QH tree with an Arabian flare, according to her. He does seem to have wider shoulders than the rest of him, but maybe the flare caused the back of the saddle to dig in, or something. I'm going to call a chiropractor today (not sure when she can come out, of course), and take a mold of his back tonight so I can find saddles in-store to try without wasting time on ones that clearly won't fit. That (and cleaning my house) will be my project for the weekend.
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