Saddle Day for the donks

I went and hung out with the girls since it was much cooler than it had been. I wanted to take advantage of it.

I brushed, cleaned feet & saddled Martha up with NO problems, she didn't even move a muscle!! I didn't even have a lead rope on her! I even got a crupper on her!! she didn't clamp down her tail like Daisy does!!

 then it was Daisy's turned to get saddled up, I wasn't quite sure what my goal was today other than wearing saddles lol. I didn't know if it was possible for me to get them both saddled!!  Daisy made it interesting to say the least, she was kinda moving around, I almost had her cinched up and then she went after Martha. Of course the saddle bounced around a bit and and then flopped off, which scared the crap outta Martha & she took off running & bucking out to the pasture ( geez I need a training pen!).

So I was hoping the saddle stayed on!! LOL she came back around and the saddle was right where I left it. She got it all outta her system and was fine. LOL. then I took Daisy into the small pen, tied her and finished saddling her.

Then I just let both of them wander around the pasture wearing their gear. and of course Daisy was stuck to me like glue, she knew i had pellets!!
had to readjust Daisy, her saddle was sitting too far forward.  went over and messed with Martha's saddle, slapping the seat, fiddling with stirrup leathers etc. she did really well, she just held steady and got rewarded .

I found out the weirdest thing, the stirrups on the black saddle are teeny, I always thought they looked small, but I tried to slip my boot into one, and it wouldn't fit! sheesh!!  put a little weight into each of their stirrups, on Daisy's saddle I could tell if I actually mounted up, it would slide.  I have been looking at some of those super grippy saddle pads ( the kind with the waffle weave on each side) so if anyone has tried those, let me know what you think.

I was actually testing out a $10 pad I got for Daisy, you're supposed to use another pad or blanket with it, but I didn't cuz I wanted to see how it fit. Its a nice thick cushy foam. I found it used at the local snooty tack shop. lol

After that I unsaddled Daisy, I have been working on laying across her, in hopes to eventually hop on her bareback. She's done really well so far. and tonight I did it a few times ( I also bridled her at this point), she was being really good so I swung a leg over. sat there for a second and then slid off. The whole time I've been clicking her for standing STILL. Did that a few more times then sat up there longer, then asked her to move out. I actually rode her around just a teeny bit! and direct reined her!! yay for full cheek snaffles, I don't think there's anything confusing to them with those things!!

I'm pretty proud of my girls!!

walking off into the sunset LOL

Martha is always close by me these days.

Saddle Weight...

Knowing that I'm very close to Daisy's weight limit, I weighed her saddle, I had no idea how much it weighed before.




not bad!!

grooming, saddling, bitting up, walk 7.12.09

Daisy was so much better on Sunday about being groomed, she didn't paw, and wasn't evasive, like she usually is. I think we're making progress in that department. She's starting to realy shed out on her shoulders & rump. Still very fuzzy in the middle. It was nice that she was so good, it really let me work on getting her brushed out well.

She was excellent for saddling & bridling. In this session I bitted her up - I'm not sure if thats the correct term. But i adjusted the reins ( leather with a rubber stopper on the end - ran under the stirrups, and up over the seat of the saddle), so that in her normal relaxed standing position, there is no pressure on the bit. Pressure only engages when she drops her head. the idea is to let her figure out on her own what the pressure on the bit means & how to realease it. I let her walk around & figure it out for about ten minutes. I think she was getting the idea of it by the end, in the beginning there was alot of 'oooooh i wanna eat that, gah!! can't reach!!!' actions going on.

Next session i'll be working on the sides, one rein with pressure to teach her to flex & give to the pressure.

I took the reins off & we went on a walk. I think this may have been our best walk yet. She was so relaxed, and wasn't rushing ahead or veering off towards grass. It was a great walk - very relaxing. I think having her bridle on helped - she was thinking about the bit in her mouth more than other things.

People on my road - some of them - dont really understand that they should wait til I have her off the road before they go by. I even had one lady keep advancing towards me even though I had my hand up trying to signal her to wait. This time I was trying to get Daisy off to the side of the road - and the guy just couldn't wait, so he drove by. So daisy had a car come up from behind & drive around her, while saddled & bridled. She didn't do anything! i was pretty impressed, the last time a car came up from behind her she was like 'whoaa!!! whats that back there!!' and picked up her pace quite a bit. This time it least the guy was driving slow!

then back to the pasture, Daisy was unbridled and allowed to graze with her saddle on. Then it was time to unsaddle & clean her feet. She was really good. I could tell a couple times she got just a bit tense - the dogs were barking at something, so I'm sure she was wanting to see what was going on. But no kicks or nothing - got the feet cleaned & hoof maker applied. I know she needs another trim soon.

I get to attend a hoof clinic in two weeks where I'll get to see a couple different donks get trimmed - most likely with the abrasive method. It ought to be fun. Interested in meeting other donkeys to see how much their personalities differ. I have a feeling that I'm going to appreciate Daisy even more - I'm sure they'll have a 'difficult' to trim donk there. maybe. lol
I will def post pics of that, maybe even some video.