Stand still please

Because I am getting older, I am pretty cautious about what horse I throw a leg over. They have to be pretty solid and respectful on the ground first. Sparkle is definitely respectful, she doesn't invade my space and has good manners. However, getting her geared up to ride is an issue. She pulls back if you tie her up when you go to saddle- although she stands nicely tied for trimming her feet or grooming. So I just put the lead rope over my arm as I prepare to saddle her. As you can see in  the following video, her evasion is to back up. If she was tied, she would pull back hard enough to break something, which she has done in the past. I will deal with that after I get her solid with being saddled, as that seems to be the trigger. So what I do, is every time she steps back even a little I ask her to move her hip over, then when her feet stop, I try again.  As you watch this video (sorry it's a bit long, but that is the time it took to get this done) you will see places where my timing is off, but she got the idea anyway.

Once she is saddled, she stands quietly. It's that motion of putting something on her which makes her antsy. So of course, once she is saddled, the next step is to sack her out. In this case, I used my slicker. In the following video, you can see and hear just what she thinks of this! Little grunts and squeaks as if she expects it to hurt or sting or otherwise turn into a horse eating monster....

and once again it was all about her having to work whenever she wouldn't just stand calmly for me. This is actually really an important part of her training for me; I want to be able to trust that she isn't going to jump out from under me if I have to take off my coat or if a branch gets caught in my jacket and makes it flap.... 

It may take a while, but I have time. I would probably be able to step on and ride her, because I am told she is really nice to ride, and I know she does well out in the bush when I pony her- but I need that mental connection and peace in her mind before I will be comfortable riding her. Especially as most of my riding this year will be solo rides. So- I'm not in a hurry and a session spent doing groundwork and making progress is just as valuable and enjoyable to me as a refreshing trail ride. 

Oh- and in case anyone was wondering, the dog in the background wasn't an issue at all.