Western Training, Stella

Well after the initial success with Stella not minding the large saddle and milder bit of the western saddle we have decided to pursue this further.

We have 300 sheep on the farm and in the winter the bottom of the old marshland can be incredibly difficult to cross with a vehicle. Though it was drained years ago it sits on a floodplain and is still incredibly wet in the winter. 

So in preparation for this, we have been doing more ridden work in the western tack.

Currently, the majority of this is in the school whilst we are focusing on being able to hack calmly in her English tack as that is what she is used to.

But by the end of the winter, the aim is to be able to use her to get down onto the bottom fields and move the sheep if we need to.

Here is the checklist for what we need to do.

Become comfortable in walk, trot and canter in western tack in the school.

Improve suppleness and responsiveness with the bit.

Improve the groundwork to make it easier for her to understand what is being asked of her in the saddle.

be able to walk/ trot/ canter in an open space without her losing her head in English tack

Repeat the above in western tack.

Introduce her to the sheep.

Start working the stock whenever the opportunity arises.

Sounds simple enough, and I am hopeful that if broken down into nice manageable steps for her then it will be as simple as it sounds.

Here are a few pics of her working in the school, but progress updates will continue to flood in so keep yourself up to date!