Our little blind two-year old filly, Nikki, had a big day on Friday with her wonderful trainer, Nichole Zupan. Not only did Nichole introduce Nikki to having a bit in her mouth, but then came a saddle pad and finally, the saddle! Through it all Nikki was calm and acted, well, almost bored. Bear in mind that this was only her 6th day of training.
After watching Nikki's absolute ease at having a saddle on her back, Nichole was almost tempted to take the next step and climb aboard ... but Nikki needed some more ground work first. So the rest of Friday's session focused on driving (essentially, using extra-long reins to guide and control Nikki from the ground so she'll know how to respond with a rider in the saddle) and building more trust.
I suspect this coming week we'll have some video of Nikki being ridden for the first time. But until then, here's a short video clip of the saddle going on. You'll see Nichole already has the saddle pad on when the video starts (the saddle pad was a big yawn for Nikki, too); then she lets Nikki smell the saddle before easing it onto her back. To me it's remarkable that this blind filly is so calm and easy-going that she isn't even tied up for her first time with a saddle, but she's just standing loose in the round pen.
Nikki & Nicole are doing incredible work together. I am so pleased to be able to view part of the process via the blog. It is amazing how calm & trusting Nikki is!
Big hugs to all,
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | May 08, 2006 at 03:19 PM
WHAT A GOOD GIRL!! Thank you for sharing.
Posted by: Jacque Lanier | May 08, 2006 at 10:02 AM