Saddle Fitting

Hello Horse Lovers,

So today my dad and I missioned to the stables so my dad could see my bubba in his new home and so that I could see my instructor to devise a plan for training and to fit his saddle and bridle so that we can get him onto work!

We got there as the groom set out his lunch, 2 slices YUMMY oat hay, so obviously he paid us no attention. I must say though that I realized today how absolutely amazing it is, and how very thankful should be, having a horse that is not possessive over or nasty with food!

 We put his bridle on while he was chomping down, lifting his head when asked to and we made all the necessary changes without him even batting an eyelid! Can I just add that my absolute favorite part of fitting a bridle is counting the little mouth creases!! After fitting the bridle, we moved on to the saddle, and again, he stood rock still. the only movement out of him was to chase flies and he looked around once when we tightened his girth! Unfortunately, and as expected his saddle does not fit, but lucky me cause I have a saddle with an interchangeable gullet so we will be changing that ASAP.

SO with a fitting bridle and a not so fitting saddle we set off to the barn to put my tack away and then returned with a camera to take some pictures of my model boy! Still not paying any attention to us... But at least I now have an album full of photos of my little pig stuffing himself on oat hay!!

Even my instructor commented on how easy it is to work with him and what an amazing temperament he has. That line that people throw: "All OTTB's are crazy, I'd never buy an OTTB because they have the worst temperaments etc" is now thoroughly debunked and I call TOTAL BS!

My boy has been off the track for little over 4 months, has had a three month letting down period and has been in work for little over a month now and he is the most chilled, sound minded horse I've seen in a long time! He boxes like a dream, he stands for the farrier, he isn't nasty with food, he is ridden in a HALTER (because contrary to popular belief OTTBs actually do have brakes, especially if you school them properly from the ground up) and he is such a pleasure to work with!!

Like with any horse, we are going to have off days and fresh days and silly days and naughty days but that you get with ANY horse and not just OTTBs. So to people putting down these amazing creatures, I say go screw yourselves, own one and then we will talk again. 99% of people I have spoken to who have owned or still own an OTTB, ONLY have great things to say about them. The nasty comments usually come from people who aren't familiar with OTTBs. Obviously you do get silly ones and I would not recommend them as a novice/first mount, but with patience and time you will have a great competition horse with a quick mind, unbelievable work ethic and a huge heart to give!!

Tomorrow we start his retraining officially, focussing this week on everything he already knows, to get him use to the new surroundings!! Our adventure is finally starting and I am now more excited than ever!! Watch this space!!

Love,
Lawquii and Island Ridge