We're tacking up, taking our time, in a safe secure place with good footing (horses, in a sense, do 'think' with their feet and are very mindful of slippery ground underfoot). This is the crupper that will wrap around his thick luxurious tail. It's often filled apparently with tiny malleable linseed seeds wrapped around with supple soft leather, which ensures that, going downhill, the surcingle and wrap strap will not slide into the scapula (shoulder blade) - courtesy of the backstrap along his topline that connects the two pieces of equipment. Rise has deliberately, this first time, left the crupper unfastened until we get into the arena and work the Apache around to see how he adjusts to all this different gear before attaching the crupper – and then immediately working him forward. As it turned out, he didn't mind at all.