# A look at Kitty?



## amberly (Dec 16, 2012)

Well first off, what a beautiful horse you have!
Second - I have the same problem: holding still while mounting. I have not tried it yet, but I will soon try to grab his mane and rein in one hand while I mount. I am also going to try being more polite when I mount - instead of just rushing up.
third - I would love to help with neck reining, but my horse was already taught how to do it - so I don't think I'd be much help for teaching that.
fourth - I am also interesting in Barrel Racing! I haven't started yet, but this April there is a barrel racing club that I will join and just race for fun.
One of my horses - Brisco - was actually training to be a barrel horse, but he was WAY too lazy and I think that's why he never got to be a racer. haha!


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## RunSlideStop (Apr 21, 2012)

She looks decent. Hard to tell really. Muscle and properly set up shots will help. 

For standing still: Every time she moves when you are trying to get on, step off her and back her up for a good 10ft briskly. Rinse and repeat. Soon she will realize that standing still is much easier than being backed up to Timbuktu. 

Also please check your saddle fit and girth. Could be she is compensating for poor fit and balance, especially since she has no topline to speak of.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## amberly (Dec 16, 2012)

RunSlideStop said:


> For standing still: Every time she moves when you are trying to get on, step off her and back her up for a good 10ft briskly. Rinse and repeat. Soon she will realize that standing still is much easier than being backed up to Timbuktu.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


This is my opinion - not meaning to like, tell you your wrong, because it might work..
but on my opinion on this, I would have to disagree with that. I have a horse that backs up when I mount, so shouldn't I move him forward. It's just that to me it would seem like that is teaching the horse to back up when he mounts. I could be wrong, but it just doesn't seem like it would work. 
I do have a horse that goes forward though, so then would I back him up when he moves foreward?
Just wondering..


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## RunSlideStop (Apr 21, 2012)

I would say my general rule when a horse moves and I haven't asked it to, is to make it move a lot more than it wanted to. Get the feet moving in any direction; backing is just usually the easiest. If a horse is backing, side-stepping, rearing, etc, then the horse's attention needs to be moved and the rear end disengaged by tight circles until the butt moves over, or what have you. 

Of course not every situation is the same, even with the same horse. The point is to make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy, and always make sure the focus is on what the rider wants it to be on. 

Also, tack fit is a huge one. If a saddle is ill-fitting, a horse will not be happy. Likewise, a rider trying to heave themselves up from the ground when horse/rider/both are unbalanced can lead to struggles. Evaluating the individual situation is the best option IMO.
_Posted via Mobile Device_

ETA: Also, it shouldn't be teaching the horse to back up as you would only be doing this IF they moved, and ideally doing it right away so the horse makes the connection.


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## amberly (Dec 16, 2012)

oh ok, that makes more sense. thank you!


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I would say that the saddle is way to far back, needs to be placed forward so that the pommel is by the withers and not 6" back. Also, it is very much to the side in one picture so would question the fit.


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

She looks a little downhill to me, but that is very possibly due to the saddle not fitting properly.

Please check your saddle fit! The way your skirt is lifting up off of her back like that is indicating that your saddle doesn't fit your horse, and that can definitely cause a horse to fidget when you're mounting.


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

I do think she very pretty though!


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

This horse looks to have a steep shoulder, long back and be built down hill. Looks like adequate bone. Hard to tell much else from the photos.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Your saddlepad also needs to be about an inch in front of the saddle pommel, and laying flat and straight on her back


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## hannah3marlette (Jan 8, 2013)

Yea I know the saddle was a problem for the pics, I had started to take it off and loosened it up some before I took the pictures and didnt realize how screwed up it was till I looked back on the pictures :/


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## SnowCowgirl (Jun 3, 2010)

I'm still learning a lot about conformation so won't say much there... but, if she is fidgety while mounting or riding, DEFINITELY get your saddle fit checked out. As you know now, your saddle is way too far back in these photos but the fact that you didn't notice this right away indicates that maybe you should have someone else check out the fit to see if maybe that's causing your mare pain and causing her to move when you mount, because perhaps you haven't noticed that your saddle may not fit her properly.


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