It was time to see how he would handle the tie pole. We led Max up to the hay barn and put him on a Leader Safe-Tie. He was generally pretty cool headed although he was generally uneasy when being groomed with no place to move. We would take the brush back to his "safe zones" whenever he appeared too uneasy, then we would return to those uncomfortable places as soon as he seemed more settled. He pulled back on the tie a couple of times, but not overly hard. As soon as the idea about the tie registered in his head, he stood quietly.

Next we went into the round pen. After some basic drills, I flipped ropes over his back in a non-aggressive manner until it didn't bother him. Next I presented the saddle pad to him and asked him to target it. Targeting and having the pad touch his shoulders were definitely two different things so the trick here was to advance toward his back, rubbing the pad in a soothing fashion, and revert back to targeting before he left when he started to get worked up over it. Within a few minutes I could place the pad on his back on either side.

I approached the saddle the same way. His experience with the pad was not bad so he accepted the saddle with little worry. It definitely interested him but it didn't keep him from wanting to follow me as I backed up to take a picture.

We quit on a successful moment, while the saddle was more of a curiosity than a threat. Also, you will note from the photo that I didn't use the pad the first time I saddled him just to keep things simple. Once he's had both on his back a couple of times I'll go to the two step process of putting on the pad, then the saddle on top.

Getting relaxed at the Tie Pole

The pad is not too bad

Ears on the saddle
but note he's just ground tied

The first time saddling was attempted was at the end of a round pen session. Now it was time to let Max move around with the saddle on. This actually occurred 3 days later as in the meantime Max spent some time at the tie pole while things were going on around him, which he needed.

Saddling up again was no big deal except for the fact that the cinch barely made it around him. He stayed curious and focused on me which is what we wanted.

If a horse is going to explode packing a saddle for the first time, it's usually either when he first walks off and notices things moving on his back or when he trots and he feels it moving around on his back and/or he feels its resistance. Max had already "seen" the saddle from the previous session but we didn't know how he would take to the feel of it on his back when he moved faster than a shuffle.

In typical Max fashion, moving out with the saddle on his back was no big deal. Provided we stayed within his stress limits, he cooperated quietly and handled everything in stride. But all through the process we were careful since Max is so stoic that the difference that he displays between nearly asleep and near panic is about a two inch rise in his head and a couple of wrinkles over the eye. Accidentally panicking him wouldn't do much for advancing his adjustment to all of these new things.

Interestingly enough Max was wary all through the session of the other saddle sitting in the middle of the round pen. It was OK when it was covered by a fleece pad, but uncovering it made Max nervous. Eventually, with some encouragement from us, Max built up the courage to check it out. The key point here is that he was able to rationally consider new stimuli (the "strange" saddle on the ground while dealing with the background stress of the new saddle on his back) which will be important later when being ridden.

Getting set to go

Moving out nicely

Not a bad looking horse under saddle

"I think I'd like this saddle better."

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