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Horse Sense
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Horse Sense
Horse Sense
Horse Sense
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Horse Sense
Copyright © 2013 Ferry County View. All Rights Reserved.
Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License. |
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Previously I have talked about using the round pen in your ground training to teach your horse respect for your space, and to teach him to join up with you. The round pen is also handy to help your horse burn off some steam if he has not been ridden for quite some time, to make your ride safer. But now the question is what if you do not have a round pen or access to a round pen? The answer is teaching your horse to work on the lunge line. Even if you have a round pen, you should still teach your horse to work on the lunge line, because every place you will want to go may not have a round pen for you to get the excess energy out of your horse before you mount up and ride. I have found that giving my horses the opportunity to get the bucks out in the round pen or on the lunge line has made my job easier and safer when I step up into the saddle.
How do you correctly fit a saddle to your horse? That is a great question, and a very important topic. Just because you have a saddle, it does not mean it will fit every horse. For my training horses, I have a variety of western and English saddles with different tree widths and wither clearance to give an adequate fit. An ill-fitting saddle could cause back soreness, wither rubbing and bruising, pinched shoulders, and the worst-case scenario: it could be the cause of your horse bucking.