Within a couple of weeks Misty could be turned out with other horses but would come to be haltered on voice command. She would allow all of her feet to be picked up and worked on, even off lead. She was quite comfortable at the tie pole and was starting to adjust to all the usual domestic horse kinds of activities
Targeting the clippers	Clippers on the muzzle

Saddling Misty We noticed Suzi walking Misty about with a saddle blanket on her back and we decided it was probably a good time to get Misty acquainted with a saddle. Suzi had her camera and recorded the sequence. The first step was to get Misty acquainted with the saddle. Sharon worked with her for a few minutes on the line to get her tracked in and focused. Next we placed the saddle on a bucket for Misty to investigate using "Touch it!" cues. Then I picked up the saddle and let Misty investigate all the dangling trappings.

Setting up the session

Approaching the saddle

Checking out the dangling parts

As soon as Misty was undisturbed by the presence of the saddle we went into the round pen. We again let Misty investigate the saddle, then rubbed her shoulder with it for a few seconds. Sharon got Misty's attention as I slid the saddle over her back. The secret here was to let the horse follow what's going on without letting her get too worked up over it. If she started to get anxious, Sharon would ask her to do something familiar such as targeting her hand, then bending around and targeting an outstretched stirrup or billet. Our objective was to keep her mind active and interacting with us.

Placing the saddle

A hand on the saddle while I cross over	A distraction while I untangle some gear
Rigging and tightening the cinch is the delicate part. We always want to give the horse a place to go if she gets busy. Sharon repositioned herself so that she could still interact with Misty but if Misty bolted forward, Sharon wouldn't be struck. Also while tightening the latigo, particularly in winter, we make darn sure that we don't snag hair as we pull the leather through the cinch ring!
Setting up the front and rear cinches	Tightening up the latigo.
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