My horse is afraid of his saddle.....?

Question

My horse Buster is afraid of his saddle, does anyone know what I can do to make him not afraid?

I always have to ask someone to do his saddle, and I'm experienced enough not to have to ask.

Answer 1

Is it fear or pain?  He may be just trying to avoid the pain.  First get his back checked out.  Then get his saddle fit checked.  

Then if everything checks out ok then you have a training issue and the only way for a horse to conquer his fear is to de-sensitize him to what ever it is.  If he fears his saddle then you should be putting the saddle and blanket on him a various times throughout the day until it is no big deal.

Answer 2

try getting a saddler out to him, even if the saddle is slightly off it will pinch his back and make in uncomfortable when he moves.

if the fit is OK, then work on his acceptence of the saddle. leave it in his stall with him (when you are there) so he can get used to it being around. then put it on him gentley and do the girth up very losly to start with. just lunge him so he can have a run round and a buck with it on before getting on him and just walk him round on a loose rein until you feel a difference, when he as calmed down.

good luck

Answer 3

See if you go out there and show your horse that you love him. Then put the saddle on him and see if their any adjustments need made.

Answer 4

Usually a horse gets over this fear during the first stages of his training.  If Buster has been trained properly, evidently something has caused him to fear the saddle since then.  

Either way, you need to go back to the basics of introducing the saddle to him, and let him explore it and investigate to see if it contains any "monsters".  I would work with him in a small pen or stall.  Carry the saddle in and set it down and lead him up to it.  Let him smell it, sniff it, and get used to it being there close to him.  When you lift it up he may get scared all over again, so let him sniff again, etc.  You do not want to chase him around the pen with it, so try to just hold him still and encourage him to look it over.  

Only when he is starting to get bored with the saddle being that close to him would I then put it on his back.  If he spooks, snorts, rolls his eyes, etc., take the saddle back off and let him look at it more, then put it on his back.  Repeat this until he is bored again.  If you are very careful when putting the saddle on (don't let the stirrups flop and hit him, don't plop it down hard on his back, etc.) he should get over his fear.

Practice makes perfect on something like this.  If you never do anything to actually hurt or scare him with the saddle, he should learn that he doesn't need to be afraid of it.  But you do need to spend some time working with him, or he may always act up at saddling time.

Good luck.  Those are just some things I would do, and maybe he missed out on that part of his training, or has been rudely handled during saddling in the past, making him afraid.  Just always work slowly and gently and patiently with him, and he will learn to trust you and the saddle.

Answer 5

It sounds like the saddle may not fit properly and he is trying to tell you.  Have his back checked, it may need some work done on it.  After wards, try a different saddle that fits properly to see if he reacts the same to it.  It may take several times of being ridden with a correctly fitted saddle to teach him that it is no longer painful to ride.

Answer 6

Well practice everyday. Maybe even soem days just go talk to him in the pasture with a halter and lead rope. Put in loose in the round pen and slowely approach him yet not like a pretator.

Hope this helps.

Works for me!

Answer 7

check if the saddle fits him properly

if it does, then whenever you have time just keeping putting the saddle on and taking it off until he becomes relaxed about it.