A Proud Mum Moment

[forestgirl]

Yesterday morning I had just changed Florrie's rugs to put her out in the field. I was standing outside the stable chatting and Florrie had her head over her friend's stable door , giving each other a good scratch. Another girl came walking towards us with her horses tack , so nosey Florrie stopped grooming Riva to see what the girl had. She was curious about the saddle , giving it a good sniff all over. The girl said " What would she do if I put it on her back ?".
Now in the 8 months since I bought this pony , she has gone from being completely unhandled and unsure of everything to a confident , happy 2 year old who behaves more like a bombproof 10 year old. I use every opportunity as and when it arises as a training opportunity for my pony. Last week , for example, we were walking through an 8 foot gap between 2 tractors with their engines running. They were sitting in the yard when I brought her in from the field , so I asked her to follow me between them which she was happy to do.
Going back to the saddle. I took off Florrie's turnout rug and the other girl placed the saddle on her back. Florrie didn't even flick an ear . The saddle is quite a heavy dressage saddle and does not fit Florrie as it belongs to a thoroughbred. It is a 17 inch which is too long for my pony , the back of the saddle sits beyond her last rib. It is also a narrow fit so sits about a mile higher than my pony's withers. Good news though , my sister has a 16 inch Working Hunter Pony saddle which she used on her Exmoor pony. She is bringing it over on New Years Day for me to try on Florrie.
I'm so proud of her though for just standing and letting someone put a saddle on her back

[SarahW]

Good work. And because you did it with no terrific build up, she has taken it all in her stride. She's a very smart looking pony - won't she look good in her own saddle when the time comes?

[horsey123]

ohh well done

i think she looks like a right little dressage pone in that hehe

[forestgirl]

Thankyou Sarah . She has this same " am I bovvered" attitude with everything new . Of course , having an excellent temperament and being so easy to work with is part of the New Forest Pony breed description.
I'm looking forward to trying my sister's saddle on Thursday. I'll post some pics of that too.
Although my pony will not be 3 until May , and I will not back her until the end of next summer , little things like this are all helping to establish a good basic education. Bitting her was easy too. She was cutting teeth and wanting to chew everything so I bought a little nylon In Hand bit. She took it into her mouth herself and held it there while I tied it on to her headcollar
She loves wearing her bridle and going for walks round the fields. She didn't mind trying on a breaking roller or long lines either - all in preparation for working with her next summer

Please note - There is not a girth on the saddle as this was a spur of the moment decision to try the saddle on my pony. My pony and I have a very good understanding and I would not have tried the saddle on if I didn't think she would be happy to do so. She was very relaxed about the whole thing. There were several people just out of camera shot , on hand to remove the saddle if my pony was upset by it being there . I will be using a girth on Thursday with my sister's saddle as A - it has been planned in advance, and B - if she is comfortable with it , I will walk her around a little with the saddle on.

[iammizz]

ahh shes gorge, and what a brave girl..
We do the same with willow, twice a week we just let her wander round her stable with a synthetic i have, never bats an eye xx

[DebbieR]

I'm not surprised you're proud of her forestgirl - she's a star!

I think you're doing really well introducing things as they arise & with no big build up, I'm sure she'll continue to take things in her stride.

[wabuska]

I think that's great- you taking the opportunity at a nice relaxed moment to show her her first saddle. She looks so laid back about it all. Super.