Further preparation of Taffy for her upcoming first ride
Channel: Carolyn Meinel
Date: 2013-05-04

Before the first time a horse gets a rider on its back, it helps to prepare it by exposing it to portions of the actions you must take to get into the saddle. Here, Mark Bohannon is preparing Taffy, a 33 month old filly, by jumping while putting pressure on the saddle horn, by bumping his knee against her on each side, bumping and sliding the stirrups against her, and putting weight in a stirrup while putting pressure on the saddle horn. He flexes her head at the atlas joint where her head joins her neck, to relax her and make it easy to break loose her hindquarters if needed. He also pets her from time to time. Taffy is Paso Fino X Navajo, registered American Indian Horse Registry, http://indianhorse.com/. The atlas joint is also known as the yes/no joint for its usefulness in training.