SO frustrated :'(

[Blue]

I've been riding Honor bareback since I got him (with the exception of one or two days). He's been doing good, a lot of you probably remember that all he wanted to do was RUN when I first got him. I've just been walking him around in the pastures and arena and I'm usually able to get him on a loose rein. I had been doing downward transitions from the walk (walk, halt, walk halt, etc) and I've just now started to work on downward transitions at the trot. I'll ask him to trot a few strides and then walk, then trot down one side of the arena and walk, etc. A month ago he wouldn't have walked after being trotted, he would have JIGGED as I call it, with his head very high and his body very tense.

Well..
A friend of mine has a Wintec 2000 that I tried on Honor, he seemed to like it so I got him a used one and it arrived yesterday. I got the gullet changed to the correct size (also the same size as the friends horse) and rode him in it yesterday for a little while. He did OK at first and started acting up towards the end (acting up as in starting to walk really fast again, doing a LITTLE of his jigging) I didn't think much of it however, as this was the first time I'd ridden him in a saddle in a long time, so he might think bareback = walk, saddle = run. Well, I was wrong. :( Today I rode him in it again, he was 20x worse. It was awful. And I could TELL he hated it. He wouldn't stand still (he ALWAYS stands still, even when he's super jiggy and hyper), he RAN sideways (literally...), he REARED (never ever done that before), and the whole time he was prancing and throwing his head. So I decided I would try hopping on him bareback to see if he was still being bad. I took the saddle off and got on him and he was almost perfect. I could tell he was still a little nervous, but there was no jigging and running sideways or head throwing or rearing. So then I put it back on and everything started again. And I took it back off once again and he was better. :cry:

I'm thinking it's the saddle itself, because it seems to me that the CAIR panels are slightly deflated with one being more deflated than the other (but only VERY SLIGHTLY). I've never felt a Wintec CAIR with that much "squish" to it. I bought the saddle from someone on another forum and I'm waiting to hear back from her, but I'm thinking I want to send it back, there's no way I'M going to sell it to someone if I have a suspicion that the panels are deflated and there's no way I can spend that much money on a paperweight.

Now, granted I never really RODE in the 2000 I tried, just walked around on him and he was fantastic, so I figured he really liked it. :( Idk. I saved up for so long for this saddle and I'm so disappointed.

I guess I just feel like all of my work went down the drain in just one ride.

[Fork]

Don't get discouraged. :) I'm sorry you had a rough day with Honor. You now know what the problem is and you're ready to fix it. That's the difference between giving up and moving on. How can you tell that the panels are deflated? Is it really visible?

It could be that the fit on his shoulders wasn't quite right.

[Blue]

They were really "squishy". My friends were more firm. If you set it on the stall door and pushed on the panels with your hands it gave a lot. The other CAIR panels on the other saddles were a lot more firm.

I'm not going to give up, I just hope this isn't the beginning of a long and drawn out saddle hunt. :(

[Fork]

They were really "squishy". My friends were more firm. If you set it on the stall door and pushed on the panels with your hands it gave a lot. The other CAIR panels on the other saddles were a lot more firm.

I'm not going to give up, I just hope this isn't the beginning of a long and drawn out saddle hunt. :(I've never seen squishy CAIR panels. I had a Wintec CC with Cair and it had a really firm back. Is he a hard to fit horse? Those western saddles seemed to fit pretty well.

[Buckpoco]

Why don't you try a treeless?

[Petra]

Before you send the saddle back, maybe you could try to borrow the other saddle again and try riding him at trot. Just to make sure he doesn't have issues with having any saddle on him.
When I put saddle on Trigger after a long time of not having it on, he was great bareback, but tried to buck the saddle off.
If Honor starts acting up with the other saddle, I'd try lunging him with the saddle until he gets used to it. I would also try to get him tired on a lunge line before every ride. If he is so hyper, it's not exactly safe for you.

[mare]

Before you send the saddle back, maybe you could try to borrow the other saddle again and try riding him at trot. Just to make sure he doesn't have issues with having any saddle on him.
When I put saddle on Trigger after a long time of not having it on, he was great bareback, but tried to buck the saddle off.
If Honor starts acting up with the other saddle, I'd try lunging him with the saddle until he gets used to it. I would also try to get him tired on a lunge line before every ride. If he is so hyper, it's not exactly safe for you.

I agree. Lunge him, leave him tied, anything with the saddle on.

And someday, I hope you get him to where he'll behave even when he's full of energy.

[Blue]

Well the problem with lunging him is he gets even MORE energetic. :( The more he works the more energy he has, he NEVER runs out of energy.

The lady is NOT going to take the saddle back, period. She already bought a new saddle with the money. :( I don't THINK there's anything wrong with the CAIR panels after bunches of opinions on different forums but it really makes me angry.

I would LOVE to try a treeless, but I don't know if he'd like them and I've honestly never even sat in one. I guess I'd have to find someone who had a used one that would let me take it on trial.

[GrungeEquestrian]

Well the problem with lunging him is he gets even MORE energetic. :( The more he works the more energy he has, he NEVER runs out of energy.


I have a very energetic ex barrel horse as well. I lunge her every time before I ride her but its not to get her energy out, its to remind her who to listen to. Only on two occasions in two years have I ever seen her tired, but I don't use her energy as an excuse for why she isn't slowing down. Horses can still have a lot of energy and use it towards collection. They can still behave and listen with it as well. It takes a lot of work but it sounds more like a training issue than a saddle one.

One thing I have found worked with the forward energizer bunny horses I've ridden to make a lot of transitions, circles and don't just allow them to go any faster than you want.

It takes a lot of patience but its worth it in the end. Good luck.

[Petra]

I have a very energetic ex barrel horse as well. I lunge her every time before I ride her but its not to get her energy out, its to remind her who to listen to. Only on two occasions in two years have I ever seen her tired, but I don't use her energy as an excuse for why she isn't slowing down. Horses can still have a lot of energy and use it towards collection. They can still behave and listen with it as well. It takes a lot of work but it sounds more like a training issue than a saddle one.

One thing I have found worked with the forward energizer bunny horses I've ridden to make a lot of transitions, circles and don't just allow them to go any faster than you want.

It takes a lot of patience but its worth it in the end. Good luck.

I think that is a great advice.
Raven, the horse I took in not too long ago had a bucking fit when her owners put a saddle on her. That's why they gave her away. She still grinds her teeth when I cinch her up, but now she stands without moving around and she has stopped pinning her ears. I think she is race track trained, has a lot of go. The first few weeks I have lunged her twice a day just to remind her of who the boss is. (She was also very pushy and bossy.) Even when I got on her and she didn't want to listen, I got off lunged her again asking for a lot of direction changes and got back on. It really made a big difference.
I really think you should try that.

[TheBadLands]

I agree on the lunging. You lunge to get some attention put on you. Not to wear them out.

If you don't want to go into buying a whole series on round penning, even youtube has some good videos.

[Blue]

Thanks for the help everyone. I got the saddle checked at the local tack store and the lady i bought it from on the other forum also had it checked by a tack store and the panels are fine. I guess I was just looking for a reason for him not liking it. :( sigh. Guess I'm going to have to sell it, no use in having a saddle if he hates it.

But...thank you for the tips on lunging!!! WILL try that tomorrow! :)

[GrungeEquestrian]

Are there any other english saddles you could throw on him and see how he reacts? It may not be the saddle and it would stink to figure that out after you sold it. He may just not be used to it yet. I know my mare looked at me crazy when I first put an english saddle on her back.

[Blue]

I will try to find one before I decide to sell it, I'll probably give it a few weeks. :)