Saint Lawrence was purchased as a yearling from one of our favorite Thoroughbred breeders in April 2011. He is now almost 29 months old and time to be broke for riding. We have done a year and a half of ground work and training and now I was finally able to get on him for the first time. This was no easy feat. Saint Lawrence is over 17 hands in the rear and not far behind on the front end with — three more years to grow!
After lunging him around the arena with the saddle, we worked on standing quietly as I mounted – first laying over his back on my stomach and later sitting up. At all times he was quiet and unconcerned.
Thank you to my able assistant, Barry, who helped hold Saint Lawrence and the stirrup as I got on and off several times before what you see in this video. Once we were sure that Saint Lawrence was calm and unconcerned, Barry then stepped back to get these photos documenting our momentous occasion. Had Saint Lawrence not be so laid back, we never would have been able to get these photos. Safety is always our most important concern when working with horses. Next time we might even walk a step or two.
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