First, Uneventful, Saddle.

On Friday, in addition to our daily walk, I thought it was time to introduce something new to Reason's realm.  Ok, it's not like he's never been saddled, it's not like he's ever been ridden.  I mean we aren't exactly dealing with an unbroke horse here!  But...  Like I've said before, making sure he's comfortable, solidifying the basics, is so important.  For all I know, Reason could have greatly dis-liked being saddled.  I highly doubted that I'd get any other reaction that what I did, but you never know.  He had no reservations about the saddling process. 

First, I rubbed the saddle pad over his entire body, including his head towards the end.  Unfazed, yay!  Then, I making dragging it off and flopping it onto his back.  No reaction.  Then, I placed the saddle up there.  Still nothing.  And finally, girthed him up without any reaction.  No tail swishing, no un-sure looks etc. 

Next, I lowered the stirrups pretty considerably so they touched his sides and walked him around like that.  Again, no reaction. 

After that, I removed the saddle, gave him treats and we ventured out for our daily short, grazing, walk.  He was a very good boy.

I'm going to start taking Reason to the wash-rack and maybe, since the weather is nice, consider the beginning of the bathing process.  Depending of course on how he is.