This week, Cricket received her first official saddles.
Because the round pen & arena were still pretty saturated, we saddled outside. I was confident enough that Cricket could handle it. She's been unbothered with the saddle being tossed on & cinched up. Initially, she was completely unfazed & walked around quietly for several minutes. It wasn't until I asked her to pick up the trot that things got a little western when she felt the cinches grab her differently than they had at the walk. Overall, she came back to me nicely but still had a few touchy & tense moments that would send her back into small bouts of crow-hopping once in a while.
Overall, I'm not terribly worried, as she's been progressing nicely recently. She didn't flail around with her legs going in every direction like she would when we first started our groundwork exercises. That was one thing I really wanted to see. She seems much more balanced. She much more level when asked for more energy & continues to regulate & come down from those higher energy moments better & better. We'll continue to build her confidence until she's a bit more ready for those first rides.
Next week, we'll continue to saddle & work on her groundwork so we build her confidence with the saddle. If she does well, I would like to put her first rides on next weekend, but she'll be the decider of that.
- Lexy Nuesch
Next week's update will be posted on Saturday.
I do my best to get these updates posted in a timely manner, but it's not uncommon for me to be outside until after dark, depending on the weather, my schedule, & who gets worked when so updates will sometimes be posted quite late in the evening. Don't be alarmed if you don't see your update right away. In rare cases, I may have to push them until the next morning, but I'll reach out & let you know if so.
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