The Tao of Spartacus Jones: Sacking Out

I had a wonderful learning opportunity the other day I thought I’d mention.
Had a chance to “sack out” a couple of young ponies.
The only sacking out I’d ever done before involved rainy Saturday afternoons, old movies on TV and junk food.

THIS sacking out was a bit different.

We were going to put blankets (actually we used saddle pads) and saddles on a couple of frisky young ponies who’d never had blanket or saddle on their backs before.
I’d fed these lads many times and had scratched their ears and stroked their necks and such, so we weren’t strangers.
Still, this was a big step in our relationship.
Not sure which base.

I had the luxury of having someone to guide me in this adventure, who already knew what they were doing, a horsewoman with both extensive education and a wealth of experience. She’s training some of the horses at this barn and I fell into the lucky position of getting to tag along. She knows so much, just off the top of her head, taht for me it’s like sitting at the feet of Yoda and furiously taking notes. I’d mention her by name, but I don’t have her permission, and I wouldn’t want to make her blush.



We worked in the round pen.

The key to this whole process, it seems to me, is patience. To go slowly, gently & quietly, a little at a time, letting the pony take whatever time he needs to get used to this crazy blanket-and-saddle idea. We let them move around us on the lead rope if they needed to, so they didn’t feel trapped or panic.
Horses like it better if they can run away from danger.
Come to think of it, so do I.

We just kept repeating our presentation of the blanket until the ponies figured out it wasn’t a threat.
I let my charge sniff the saddle pad, "groomed" him with it, laid it against his side, then up toward his back. When he got to the end of his comfort zone with it, he moved away and that was fine with me. I started over, each time going a little farther until he moved away again.
Then we'd start over.....

Going from zero to blanket took a little bit of time.
But going from blanket to saddle took no time at all, which surprised me a little.
I guess, once he was all right with having something on his back -- certain it wasn't a predator -- then having something ELSE on top of that wasn't such a big deal.
When you think about it, the process of desensitization is pretty impressive, and that horses do it so quickly is somewhere near the border of amazing.

Once blanketed and saddled, with the stirrups secured so they wouldn't flop around, we tied off the lead rope into short reins and let the ponies be at liberty in the round pen awhile. We just kept them moving, and I got a chance to work on my positioning with that, too. They walked, trotted and cantered, getting the feel of this new situation.

Not sure how long we spent. I’m guessing about an hour.
Did a little bit of unsaddled groundwork afterward, just leading and halting.
Mostly that was for me, to work on my own technique.
The ponies already knew how to walk and stop.

Learning to communicate with a horse speaking in Horse, is both interesting and challenging. it being an extremely subtle, non-verbal language.
In the bad old days, they say, a duel would be fought over a raised eyebrow, or an insolent tone or inflection.
Horse is a much more subtle lingua franca than that, even.
A shift of weight, a raising or lowering of shoulders, a change in gaze, can alter the whole meaning of what you think you’re saying.

Right now, I believe I’ve mastered enough Horse vocabulary to elevate me, in their eyes, to the status of “drooling idiot.”
That’s a long way from “trusted leader.”

Fortunately for me, horses are tolerant teachers.


sj