Zora Starts Under Saddle

 Zora is a percheron/QH cross that has come for the month to be started under saddle.  I actually had the good fortune of finding and choosing her for her owner two years ago.  I was looking for a horse just like Amy's previous mare, Dakota, except young and sound.  I found it in Zora, who was two at the time in Missouri.  We made a road trip out east, and picked her up around the fourth of july.  Fast forward two years later and now Zora has done some growing up both mentally and physically and is ready to begin her under saddle training.

Zora's owner, Amy, has done a lot of ground work with her already, so Zora's been an extremely easy start.  This first photo is of Zora and I at the mounting block, working on standing still for the rider to get on.  I do a lot of this with my youngsters, mounting and dismounting from both sides until it's all very boring and routine.  

This next photo made me laugh, as Zora looks headless!  When I first get on the youngsters they often are confused at how one of my legs is on each side of their barrel.  Zora was no exception, and she took the opportunity to snurffle up and down each leg, inspecting the oddity that was me straddling her back.

The routine is to be groomed and tacked at the barn, then we go to the round pen.  I put on her bridle with a bit, we landed on a mullen mouth eggbutt snaffle.  (Yes I do realize how much that sounds like a Dr. Seuss book.)  I had tried another bit with her, but this was the one with the least movement in her mouth, so was the least distracting for her.  As she progresses in her training it's likely her bit preferences will change, but this was a good one with which to start her.  We did quite a bit of lunging, but in what I've started calling traveling circles to help her focus more on me.  

Once wearing a bit and lunging with it was routine for her, I introduced long lining and then ground driving.  This is a safe way for me to teach her brakes and steering from the ground, so when I got on she already knew about stopping and turning.

During a later training session I actually got Zora tacked up in a saddle and bridle and we had her first official ride here!  Here is some video of the mounting, and subsequent walking and turning with me aboard.

All in all it's been very boring getting Zora started under saddle, just how I like it.  Ideally the horse understands what I'm asking and has done everything from the ground, so the only new thing is me asking for the behaviors from aboard their back.  Zora is both smart and eager to please, which is a special combination.