Almost, but not quite..

I almost like this one. It looks like a nice, good quality, well made saddle...except for the hair on cowhide seat and swells. I don't even really mind the accents on the skirts and fender. That seat would either be prickly and uncomfortable even through jeans, or slicker than snot. It would also look moth-eaten after long use as the hair starts to wear off. The swells, well, I just don't like the way they look.

Sparkly Pink Scariness

I really despise the big round parts on the straps, that looks weird. If they had to put a pink concho, why not there the browband attaches to the crownpiece like normal tack?

Side Saddle Available

Hi all, just wanted to let you know that I will be selling my sidesaddle to put toward a new one that fits the Silly Red Filly and myself better. The one I have is a Royal King western, dark oil leather, suede seat and no silver, though it could be added. The seat is about 19 - 20". It has the upright horn and the leaping horn, both suede lined. I moved the stirrup leather foward to be more correct, switched the western stirrup to an english iron and added dee rings under the front skirt and safe to attach a breastplate. It is on full QH bars. I am asking $200 plus shipping. This is HALF what you can buy one new for off of eBay. Good starter saddle, just does not fit the SRF and I need like a 23" seat! It has standard double Western rigging. I will post more pics as soon as I can. This one of my Dad on mine at least shows the color...

Trooper B

B for BLUE. I was so stunned when I saw this in an email from a reader that I actually sat with my mouth hanging open for a few seconds. This is amazingly ugly, and probably amazingly cheaply made too. I still sit and stare thinking, "OMG, really?"

Just In Time For Hunting Season

Just the right thing for the hunter in the family. A camouflage saddle pad and saddle bags to top it all off.

Barbie Strikes Again

I swear, one of the Barbie horses I had as a kid had a saddle blanket just like this. Then again, back then, these were my two favorite colors, together. What was I thinking?

Bad Blue

Nice. Blue ghetto-flauge. Not quite as offensive as the pink version, but pretty obnoxious. The free blanket it comes with doesn't even match.

Star Struck

This one wouldn't be TOO bad were it not for the stars on the fenders. The stirrups also look WAY too far back to be comfortable.

Seeing Red

A reader sent me this, I have never before seen a solid red saddle. It seems to be part synthetic and part suede. I would imagine that a red suede seat would stain the crap out of your jeans if it got wet. Embarrassing.

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I Am Speechless

I like leopard print, but this left me speechless. I usually don't pick on native costumes on this site as I don't classify that at Tacky Tack. The reasoning is that just because it looks weird to us, if it is a country's properly executed, correct, native tack, then it is perfectly acceptable in that context. This however, is not. Egyptian dancing horse tack is traditionally solid colored with silver accents, usually black. This is an abomination in any country. It might look cool if only the seat of the saddle were leopard print, I know that in period, leopard skins were often used as accent pieces on native tack. This is just overdoing it folks.

TTOTD's Take on Natural Horsemanship

There is a huge discussion (again) going on over on Fugly's blog about NH. We all know that she doesn't think much of it, to say the least. I thought I would take a chance to state my views on it.

- I am not anti-NH, I am anti-stupid. I believe in what I call CSH or Common Sense Horsemanship. That thing weighs many times more than you do, don't be stupid. You can't be "nice" all the time to your horse if it is being a brat. You can't "love" them into submission. You have to have some common sense.

- I do use some so-called NH techniques. I tend to try to communicate with my horses in their own language, as much as a person can at any rate. They know I am boss mare, they respect my space. If they get too close, a growl and the "ugly mare face" will usually back them off. If they persist, they get smacked.

- I don't beat my horses, I WILL smack the ever-livin' crap out of them if they do something naughty. Bad behavior must be punished quickly and fairly. Usually I try to make it seem to them that THEY caused the punishment. "Oh, I am sorry! Did you just run your nose into my elbow REALLY HARD when you tried to bite me?"

- One example of my method in comparison to a well-known NH guru's teachings - My horse has no idea what the hell to do when asked to back up using Parelli techniques. Waving your finger at her and wiggling the lead illicits the head in the air and confused look from her. If you want her to back, point at her chest and give a gentle backwards tug on the rope and say "back up". Nice and quiet, no dramatic hand waving needed.

- I do use positive reinforcement, if she is good, she gets a pat and a cookie if I have one.

- I ride her when I want, not when she wants.

- Spooking and refusing to move for no reason is not tolerated, I do not dismount and do "approach and retreat" what does she learn then? "Oh, if I pretend to be scared and refuse to go forward, Mom gets off of me and we mess around on the ground and I don't get ridden as much." No, if she spooks and refuses to move forward, she has to stand facing the scary monster until she decides to go on. We can stand there ALL day, I don't care. And while we do, I am going to fidget, bump her sides and wiggle around and make it as uncomfortable as possible. As soon as she moves toward the monster, I relax. Simple, spooking and refusing to go forward makes things uncomfortable, going past the monster is much more pleasant.

- I try to remain calm and centered when working with horses, especially mine. She is sensitive and very much able to pick up on my mood. If I am tense, she is more spooky and high-strung.

So, no, I don't "follow" any one specific training method. I think everyone needs to figure out what works best for them and their own horse. I try to be fair with mine and use common sense when handling them. I have a horse that is sensitive, somewhat fearful of new things, and very, very silly at times. She is also very smart. It does not take long for her to figure out how things are going to be and what the consequences are for her actions. You just have to be consistent and fair. Using too much force with her nets the opposite result, you have to be firm, but not harsh. That's just how she is, her mother is the same way.

So what works for you and your horse? Do you have issues with a behavior and want some help correcting it? I know there are lots of experienced, successful trainers that read this blog. Let's discuss it.