The Mustang Diaries: Penny - First Saddling!

Yesterday morning, Joe saddled Penny for the first time! She stood very calm for the saddling, but we could see she was spring-loaded with tension and ready to break in half at any second. Joe kept his cool, set her up, and then politely asked her to move her feet, to which Penny let him know how she felt about it by letting out a bunch of bucks. For the first saddling, we don't mind if the horses have a bunch to say or nothing at all, we just let them do what they need/want to learn how a saddle feels, because for them it can be SCARY! He kept her feet moving forward, and eventually she calmed down and understood that the saddle wasn't there to hurt her. By the end of the session, she was carrying herself like a nice little western pleasure prospect!

She doesn't turn 3 years old until next month, and she's showing all the signs of still growing, so we won't be putting a bunch of weight on her right away. However, she will be performing most, if not all, of her groundwork in the future while under saddle.