A Percheron from Australia

A Percheron from Australia

Moby is an eight year old purebred Percheron gelding who is really built very wide. We own him since three years, and had bought him as a ‘beginners’ horse for my husband. He weighs at least 1750 lb and is a very good bush horse, he’s not afraid of all the animals that jump about around here, although he can get startled if something appears directly in front of him. Because it is pretty unusual here to ride draft horses like him, there aren’t any fitting saddles available. We have previously used an Australian stock saddle by Bates. It has an exchangeable gullet system, but even with the widest gullet, the saddle was still not wide enough and sat on top of his shoulder blades, squeezing them together. Because of that, I often rode him bareback, but, on this wide back, I would always slide backward when riding uphill. My husband is a beginner and didn’t want to ride him bareback. Moby got more and more afraid of the saddle, and tried to avoid it while being saddled. He also tripped a lot and didn’t like to trot. English saddles are not recommended around here, because even the calmest horse may shy in the thick brush, and they don’t provide much secure hold. I had also bought and tried a Western saddle, because they are sometimes made for wider horses, but it sat much too high in front, was very uncomfortable, and most importantly, didn’t spread the riders’ weight evenly.

Now, since two months, we own a new Barefoot Cheyenne, with the wide pommel fork insert and a Physio pad, and Moby is a new horse! When I put the saddle on, he watches at first, as if he wants to make sure that it is the right one, then he stands very quietly and doesn’t try to sidestep to avoid the saddle anymore. Then in the bush he goes much better, is more alert and focused. He doesn’t trip as often over his gigantic feet anymore, and most importantly he has much more fun trotting. We noticed that he enjoys our rides a lot more now, and he often starts trotting on his own. He reaches further out with his front legs and carries his head better.

Today we rode through a forest fire, which was still quite active to one side of the trail, and I felt very secure in the Cheyenne, even though Moby trotted in a zigzag pattern to avoid the smoke. My stressed back now benefits from riding, too, because the impact from the hard ground here is being dampened very well by the saddle.

Big compliments for the Cheyenne, which I also use on my other horses!

Hi from Moby and Barbara