I have to admit, that I hold my breath when I cinch up that saddle for the first time. I do what I can to get my horses ready. I try to listen as much as I can to the horse. I tested Janus with a lead rope, tightening it up around his girth. Looking for any uncertainty. Petting him down at the same time to help him understand he doesn’t need to be cinchy. He had already carried a big scary tarp. He seems to take it all in stride. I know he has never been mashed on, has not had a bad experience with a human, so he is willing and trustful. I don’t want to break that bond.

Janus is hard to read though. Unlike his older brother, who, when bothered shows it all over, Janus is stoic. Not much seems to bother him. Most people like this in a horse, and I do too; once they are trained. But during training, it means that I have to listen all the more carefully. Janus is less outwardly communicative. Too easy to cross a line and not know it until AFTER.

He seems ready. I reach under for the cinch, working deliberately, focused. Don’t fumble this. I insert the tongue into a hole in the latigo and take a step back.

You know, those can be some long seconds when you are waiting to see how your horse decides to respond to cinching? I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it. Janus becomes clearly annoyed. Maybe not as much as it looks like in the pictures, with his tail switching and all- that is the horseflies. I suppose the GOOD NEWS is that he is more concerned with horseflies than the saddle. After a minute or two of standing, his eyes and ears soften. He hasn’t sighed yet, but he is no longer holding his breath. He turns to me. I pet him on the neck, massage the nuchal ligament under his mane. I encourage him to flex his head to the side and I rub him on the forehead. Relax, Son.

I don’t feel much tension in his muscles. I’ve had horses that feel like a loaded spring. I ask him to move out around the round pen at a walk. No need to get too energetic, just feel this thing up there. You’ll live through this. Short choppy steps at first, relax later into a more loose walk. We turn, calm smooth and relaxed. Janus has relaxed, so I ask him to step it up into a gait. Momentary stiffness, but again, he settles right in. Are we ready? Okay Son, Lope.

We do some gentle rollbacks, play the scales (as I call it) transitioning from a walk, gait, lope, and back down again. Easy, gentle. Whoa. I can tell he isn’t moving as fluid as he usually is, but hey, he is relaxing. Never got upset, no crow hopping. No buck. I’ll take it as a sign of success.

These photos tell part of Janus’ story.

1. Saddled, not cinched, and this look is what I hope he adopts at the end of the day.
2. You can tell he is troubled inside, but he is working through it.
3. Maybe Dad can help with this predicament?
4. ‘Eh Food. This was at the end of the training session.

Jumped right to the middle of this series? Here are the other parts, if you’re interested!
Part I
Part II
Part III
 

Thank you for reading this! I hope you find it interesting, maybe helpful. If you have any questions, or want me to discuss any topics you find interesting, fire me off an email or leave a comment below.