Accept The Saddle

When starting a young horse, the first step is to accept the human, the second step is to accept the saddle. This is a step that has taken a lifetime for my seventeen year old mare. I have written previously about how Rydel came to me with a great fear of saddles and saddling, and it took me a few months to reintroduce the saddle to her as something benign. Unfortunately, while I was trying to teach my horse how saddles can be good things, I was also learning about saddle fit at the exact same time. Through a long process of trial and error with different types and sizes of saddles, I learned a lot at the expense of my horse's back. Even when I thought I was doing it all by the book (wider treed saddle with special pad and shims) it only took a few months before my horse ended up sore backed and ready to bite me when she saw me coming with  my saddle to ride. So, I knew something had to change, and fast!

After months of research (and taking a break from riding to heal my horse's back), I decided that Freeform saddle's were the way to go. My horse was getting sore with every treed saddle I tried, so I knew that I wanted to try treeless, but I also knew that not all treeless saddles are created equally and choosing the right one was very important. Research pointed me to Freeform every time as the obvious choice for quality and science. Tests showed Freeform saddles to have even weight distribution due to the special process in which they are made. A few years ago, the winner of the Tevis Cup (the 100 mile long grueling endurance race) rode in a Freeform and passed every single vet check along the way. I was convinced, I needed to try one.

In February of last year, I purchased my very own Freeform saddle for Rydel, and the difference was remarkable! My horse no longer tries to bite me when I saddle up and she never bucks or balks when I ask her to change gait. When I get off, she doesn't dip her back in pain, and I am forever grateful that we found something that works for us.

Trying on the Freeform

After a year of riding in the Freeform, I am still amazed at how well my horse is doing with it. However, last night, something even more incredible happened. We recently got a new horse, and while I was over helping my boyfriend ride bareback for the first time, I left Rydel saddled up, with the reins tied up so she wouldn't get herself tangled. I could tell she was relaxed, so I had no problem leaving her untied to wait for me to return. Well, the next thing I know, she started to act like she was going to roll...with my saddle still on her! As you can see in the video below, my first reaction was to think "NOOOOO, that saddle costs more than you do, silly horse!" Sadly, I was so dumfounded by her willingness to roll, that I didn't think to turn the camera to start filming her.

(It's the audio in this video that matters)

But after watching my horse roll in the snow and straight over onto her back with my Freeform saddle still attached to her body, I realized how truly big of a deal this event was. First, my horse has never been confident enough to roll in an arena full of people, let alone to be confident with the saddle enough to feel comfortable rolling in it!

I have no words to describe how amazing it feels to know that my horse finally accepts the saddle, and to know that I (with the help of Freeform) was able to help her overcome her anxiety and years of baggage to be truly comfortable wearing her saddle and to be the best partner immaginable!