Get the horse relaxed about the saddle pad on them, both at the standstill and moving.
Saddle Pad
Success Tips:
- Use a very light saddle pad so it is easy on your arm to get on and off.
- With certain types of horses, you may have to stand there for quite a while, could be 15-20 minutes until they blink or show some sign of relaxation. Repeat this process until they no longer lose relaxation AS you place the saddle pad on their back.
- Keep your hand on the front corner of the saddle pad at all times so you can pull it off if you need to.
- If your horse gets worried and panics (so moves at the standstill or jumps/runs at the walk) pull the saddle pad off.
Common Problems/Mistakes:
- Horse tenses up (head raises, eyes stop blinking, etc.) but doesn't move: Leave the saddle pad in place and focus on your breathing until you see some sign of the horse feeling better about it (head lowers, blinks, licks, chews) - remove saddle pad then. Repeat.
- Missing signs of growing concern.
- Not waiting for them to reset in between each interaction.