Mary Jordan's Extreme Mustang Adventures

HCHF Wild Horse Clinic Series

2011-05-30T12:06:00.002-04:00

Please Join us this Thursday the 2nd of June at 6:30 pm at the Boys Home Equine Expo Center at Lake Waccamaw, NC! We will be hosting our first Wild Horse Demo and Clinic. Sueño will be there showing you all what she has learned in her first two weeks here at HCHF. Please contact us to pre-register for $10 at 910-471-2658 or high.cotton.horse.farm@gmail.com or pay $15 at the door ..... We hope to see you there!

Check out Lindsay's FB page for updates on her and Sueño.... you do not have to be a FB member to view! You can get to it by clicking the title to this post or Here is a link... http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lindsays-Faith-Mustang-for-Americas-Favorite-Trail-Horse/178750158831398#!/pages/Lindsays-Faith-Mustang-for-Americas-Favorite-Trail-Horse/178750158831398

Thanks so much and hope to see ya Thursday!!!

New Wild Mustangs and AFTH Reality Show!

2011-05-13T19:13:00.000-04:00

Goodness, SO much to update you on! I have been keeping up Lindsay's America's Fav Trail Horse fb page so please do come visit it for recent posts! Below is a link

To try and give you an overview... Lindsay'Faith and I were selected as Finalist on the up coming Reality TV Show America's Favorite Trail Horse. We went to TX in May for a week of filming. Had a BLAST! It is put on by ACTHA and Lindsay Loves ACTHA Trail Obstacles. She was just a star! The show airs in the Fall on HR TV and Audience votes from home determines the winner! We will sure do our best to keep you posted and hope you can check it out and vote for YOUR Favorite! Lots of really neat horses!

We also picked up our TWO NEW MUSTANG MARES for the 2011 $200,000 Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover! They are 5 yrs old and Wild and Un-Touched. I will have from today until mid-Sept to develop my partnership with them and then it's back to Texas for the competition!

There are LOTS of pictures of Lindsay during the AFTH filming as well as the new Mustangs on Lindsay's FB page... I will try and update here as well, but FB will likely have the most recent posts! Please come check it out!

Here is the link again...

Happy Trails!!!

Part 16

2011-03-11T20:30:00.002-05:00

I had become at ease with Mary's hands on my face. As long as she was in my right vision her presence felt safe and inviting. The other day she had brought a snake in the pen with her. I was petrified at first, just certain it would strike out at any moment. It never did though. She had dropped it on the ground over and over again. She had even tossed it around me in different directions. It never struck at me, it never hurt me. I was ok with her holding the snake, Mary seemed to have it well tamed. I was also ok with her touching me, my face and neck. However, I was not ok with both at the same time. She attempted to bring the snake with her as she approached me to stroke my face. I was having no part of that. If she wanted to put herself in danger by holding that snake that was her decision. I had accepted her tossing it around, but to bring it all the way to my side? No, I was having none of that.

Thankfully she put the snake away the next time she entered my pen. She approached me and began rubbing my face and neck as before. She even put a hand on either side of my neck simultaniously. It felt odd at first, when I felt her hands on both sides of me, but I didn't flee. I relaxed the longer she held them there. She ever so slowly worked her hand around my throat latch and behind my ears. She then brought them around my muzzle. I felt something brush over my nose, if felt different than her hands did, but I did not flee. I was aware of something happening, something different, but I held my ground. I let Mary continue to stand close to me and touch my face. She then spend a long time at my throat latch. I felt something tug slightly over my nose, but I continued to stand. She then stepped away and asked me to step off to the rail and begin to move around the pen. As I did I felt something odd. I had never felt it before. I tossed my head and it bounced lightly over the bridge of my nose. It did feel different, something was there, on my face that had not been before. It did not hurt though. Just felt a bit odd. She snapped her fingers and I wheeled in to turn and face her as I licked and chewed.

She approached me again. She had one hand behind her back as she walked up to me. I thought it seemed a bit odd, but it did not bother me enough to flee. I let her approach me. She rubbed her hands down my neck and shoulder and then my face and lastly down by my chin. I heard a quiet click and she softly stepped away.

As Mary stepped backwards towards the center of the pen I noticed something strange. The snake was now attached to me. It stretched out in a long line from my face directly to Mary's hand. I bowed my neck as I looked over at it with my right eye. Mary pushed her energy towards my hip and sent my feet moving forward. The snake remained attached to me as I moved around the pen. I could see it out of my right eye and it did frighten me. However, I knew what was happening, the way Mary was pushing me with her energy around the pen. We had done this before, this made sense and I liked it when things made sense. Even though the snake was attached to my face I took comfort in the fact that Mary was sending me around the pen like before. She would melt her body, looking to the ground and I would melt mine and slow my gaits. She would then step towards my hip, looking at it intently and I would lengthen my stride adding impulsion with each step. I focused on Mary, her body language. I focused on what I knew and what made sense and I ignored the snake that hung limp from my face.

As I began to fall into the rhythm of our movements. Shortening and lengthening my strides as I watched Mary's body and eyes guide me. It was relaxing, this was familiar. Familiar is good.

Then I felt something odd. I felt pressure. It was all over my face. Behind my ears and over my nose. Not low enough to cut my wind off, just pressure all over my head. I panicked and I ran. I ran away from the pressure. It is the natural thing for a horse to do, run away from pressure. So I ran. My legs gained speed and my stride quickened as I attempted to escape the pressure on my face. For a bit all I could think about was running away. I knew I had to flee. I had to get away.

Then I heard a soft sound in the distance. It seems so far away at first, as all my focus was on running and not the least on paying attention to my surroundings. But I gradually began to decipher it more clearly. It was that rhythmical tone, that sound that Mary would make when I was relaxed, when I licked and chewed in content. I turned my ear towards the noise to take it in. In the same moment I noticed Mary in the center of the pen. I guess she had been there all along, I don't know. I was much to busy focusing on getting the heck out of here to pay any attention to her. But she was still there. She was gazing down at the ground, melting her body as dropping her head low. I watched her and I continued to listen to the soft tones. Their rhythm was slowing. The tones were becoming lower and more drug out with each stride I took. I felt my feet begin to slow to match the cadence of the tone. I felt my body begin to melt to mirror Mary's and I felt myself begin to relax as I slowed my speed. The pressure on my face remained the same throughout. It did not increase when I speed up, but did not lesson either. It remained constant.

Then an amazing thing happened. Once I slowed my feet and my speed, the pressure stopped. All at once it was gone. I dropped my head low and licked and chewed in sweet relief. After I had settled a bit. Mary urged me forward again. Once I had picked up the speed, again I felt the pressure on my face. This time I was not as frightened as before. I still sped up and began to run away from the pressure at first, but I quickly noticed Mary sinking her body low and gazing down. I heard the soft tone, slowing it's rhythm. I slowed mine to match it and instantaneously the pressure released from my face! It was like magic. When I slowed my feet, instead of running faster the pressure stopped. It happened again and again. Each time I slowed my feet the pressure released.

Mary sent me off again, around the rail at a brisk trot. After circling the pen twice I felt the pressure on my face. This time I heard no soft tones and Mary did not melt her body as before. She just stood there, giving me no signal at all. All I felt was the pressure. I thought about before when I had slowed my feet in response to Mary's body language and gaze with her eyes and the soft tones of her voice. I thought about how when I had slowed in response to that, how the pressure on my face stopped. Instantly. As I circled around at my forward trot feeling the pressure squeeze my face, I slowed my feet. Much to my delight, the pressure stopped. Instantly it stopped. I relaxed and dropped my head as Mary began to babble those kind words in a soft, relaxed tone. I licked and chewed and relished in how I had made the pressure stop. On my own, I had made it stop.

Part 15

2011-03-11T19:12:00.001-05:00

Mary continued to do things to seem to try and get me to approach her. She would send me off away from her and then ask me to spin around and face her yet again. Sometimes the forward motion that I would build as she sent me away would keep me driving forward as I faced her. I would step in closer to her almost be accident. Sometimes I would move in so quickly that I would get so close to her that I frightened myself once I stopped and I would step a few feet back to a more comfortable distance away. I still was content with our invisible line that connected us, but had no desire to make it any shorter than it already was. I was intent on facing her though, when she snapped her fingers I knew that meant I was to face her. I was certain of that.

She began walking all around the round pen, walking over things, even running. I never took my attention off her. I would whip my body around as quickly as I needed to in order to face her at all times. She would run around me so fast I would practically have to spin to keep up. Then she would step away and ask me to approach her. I would take a step or two, but no more. I was not comfortable walking all the way up to her, period. I was just not.

I did not mind her approaching me though. I had grown accustomed to her walking slowly to my right shoulder and putting her hands on me. I was ok with that. She would gradually move her hands over my body. Each time I became tense she would bring them back to that spot on the right of my neck. It was a relief when she moved her hands back there. I knew what to expect when they were there and I liked that. She even started touching my face a bit. First around my jaw and even under my throat latch to my left jaw. I was ok with this.

Then I panicked. I felt trapped, like I could not breath. My wind was being taken away from me. Mary have brushed her hand across my muzzle and it send me into a panic. I shot away from her, thinking of how I just had managed to save myself from certain death. I know I need air to breath. I was not able to be ignorant enough to allow her to block my wind. I am no fool.

As I shot away, contemplating my near death experience, I saw her step away as well. Once again, even in the flurry of my fear, it draw me back in. I had become quite used to that move. I knew when she moved away from me like that, I was to fill the space, to met her back in the middle. She was always kind and quite when I would do so. She was the same every time. I liked that.

As horses we can not breath through our mouths like two leggeds or cats or dogs do. We can only breath through our nose. Imagine if you felt your nose being pinched and your airway cut off. You would open your mouth and breath in I suppose, assuming you are a two legged that is. I imagine you are. Well, I can not do that, when my nostrils are covered and I can not breath in air, I have no way to breath at all. Naturally this panics me, it would any horse with the slighted desire to live. When I felt Mary's hands brush over my muzzle that is all I could think of. It felt as if something was going to block my wind. It was terrifying.When terrified I flee, as any sensible hose would.

We were back as before, standing side by side, her hand on my neck. She continued to pass her hand over my muzzle. Each time she would do it was quick. She slipped her hand across my muzzle then immediately moved her hand back to my neck. Each time I became a bit more at ease with her hand there. She never did try to cut my wind off, even though I was terrified she would. Rightfully so I do believe. No she would just quickly pass her hand over where I was most concerned, my muzzle and settle back to my neck. I finally became less worried over it and she began leaving her hand on my nose longer each time. Until, she just left it there, resting over my nose. We stood quietly like that listening to one another breath and feeling the quiet energy from one anothers body.

Part 14

2011-03-11T18:33:00.001-05:00

We spent many hours in that circular pen together. Mary would approach my right shoulder and after backing away a bit I would eventually stand and she would rest her hand on my side. She even reached under my neck and rubbed my left side a bit. It felt a little odd for her hand to be over there, but I didn't mind. As long as I didn't have to look at her with my left eye. She was much less attractive over there to me, down right ugly in fact. No, I did not like how she looked at all over there. It was amazing the transformation she made when she was in my right vision though. She was much more appealing, she appeared soft and kind over there. I much preferred that to the scary unsightly two legged I saw on my left!

She would step away from me a lot too, encouraging me to step towards her to fill the space and maintain the same distance between us. I would step towards her when she stepped away, but I went no further than that. She seemed to want me to continue approaching her. She bowed her head low and submissive, but I would not budge. I understood the need to fill the space between us when she stepped away. It felt natural to move towards her when her energy moved away from me. My energy just followed hers. But to continue to move in closer, once she had stopped, no that did not seem necessary. So I just stood and watched.

She did all sorts of things to try and interest me. I thought to myself how in my younger years as a foal, how curious I would have been. My child-like curiosity would have overtaken my common sense for sure. I would have explored her. I would have not been able to help myself from approaching her. But I am every bit of 6 years old and in each and every one of those years I have grown wiser. I outgrew that childish ignorance and constant desire to explore.

I was young, only an adolescent myself when I became pregnant. That happened often in the wild. As soon as a filly reached puberty the herd stallion would breed her. It did not matter to him that she was still growing, still a baby herself. So even though I was young and still very much a child I was driven by my maternal instincts to care for my own daughter and I grew up quickly. Having a child, a foal of my own, it changed me. I had to put her best interest and safety above all else. I had to set an example for her, to protect her, to care for her. She may very well be grown up and living a life of her own now, but that changes nothing about the individual that I have become, because of her presence in my life. Had I remained the curious youngster I once was, what good would I have been as a protector of my foal? No, I had to grow up fast and I had forgotten none of that. Mustangs never forget.

Mary continued to seem to try and spark some curiosity in me. She hung things on the rail for me to explore, but I never explored them. I looked, but did not touch. Once she even laid down, sprawled out on her back in the center of my pen. She lay there, motion-less as I watched her. I was confused, honestly I was a bit concerned. I had begun to like her, in my right eye that is. Her laying motionless on the ground like that seemed wrong. I did not want to, but I mustered up the courage to approach her. I walked ever so slowly towards her, stopping a good three feet away. I stretched my neck out as far as it would go. I just barely could reach. Stretching my neck out long and low I felt my muzzle make contact with her skin. I blew hard through my nostrils taking in her smell. Within seconds I snatched my head back and shot away. She was breathing, I could tell. She was ok. She was just going to have to get up on her own accord. It sure didn't seem natural for her to lay like that, but there was nothing I could do so I just watched her lay there from the outer edge of the pen. She laid for a while longer then slowly crawled back up to her feet. I'm not sure what her point was in all of that. Whatever it was it made little sense to me. If she thought I was going to go investigate her on my own accord, she had another thing coming. I had learned much to much in the wild to fall for a trick like that.

Part 13

2011-03-11T01:20:00.004-05:00

I had stood in this pen for a few days now. Mary would come in at least twice a day, sometimes three. I mostly rested eating my hay with my herd-mate Samantha P. She would ask me to face her and follow her as she walked around. She would approach me and I would back away until I reached the paneled fence, then I would hold my ground. I could have shot away, but I didn't. I let her touch me. But only where I was comfortable. I still much preferred her on my right side.

Once she even pulled my mane over my neck and began to play with it. She said it was all tangled up and needed to be brushed. The sensation I felt as she touch my mane felt different than when her hand rested on my skin. I could see that her hands were close to my skin, only inches away as she played with my mane. It bothered me for her hands to be so close, yet not rest on my side. I was unsure of what she might do next when her hands just floated in the air beside my neck. I much preferred to feel them lay on my skin than to see them dance around in the corner of my eye as if the could shot off in any direction without notice. I backed away from her when she first tried this. It pulled at my skin and tickled me. I just could not relax with her hands hovering there beside me. After I had backed away again and again Mary began resting her hand on my neck as she played with my mane. I liked this better. I was still unsure about the sensations I felt as she tugged slightly at my mane hair, but I was much more at ease with her hand resting on my side as she did so.

She played with my hair for the longest time. Said I had wind knots as she would tug gently at each individual strand. I wasn't sure what wind knots were. They didn't bother me. Apparently they did her, another one of those strange two legged things I suppose. As long as her hand rested on my neck I didn't mind her playing with my hair. The longer we stood like that, the more relaxed I became. The soft tugging on my mane actually began to feel good. I was really beginning to feel comfort in her hand, just laying quietly against my skin. I began to close my eyes and rested my leg.

As I was about to drift of to sleep in the warm sun with Mary playing in my hair something terrifying happened. In an instant I saw something beside my face move quickly. It was about 2 feet long and about the circumference of a foals leg. I wasted no time and darted quickly away, fleeing the impeding danger. I left Mary standing still in the dust. She had a few of my mane hairs tangled in her fingers and she chuckled at me. "Really?" she said. "I'm sorry, I was just scratching my ear..." Mary had reached up with her arm to scratch her ear apparently, well to me it was terrifying. I did not waste any time trying to figure out what was happening. All I knew is something moved very quickly in the corner of my eye, close to my body and I knew how to keep myself safe from danger. When danger presents itself, you flee. You do not think, then flee. That takes to long. By the time you do all that thinking you have already become the meal of a mountain lion. No you do Not think. You Flee!

This shook me up quite a bit and honestly, I wasn't so crazy about letting Mary approach me again. I know she said she was only "Scratching her ear" but that meant nothing to me. In my mind she did something scary, something I was not prepared for and it made me second guess my new found trust in her. I watched her nervously to see what would happen next.

She began doing what we had done that first time she entered the pen. She sent me forward around the rail, she stepped in front of my shoulder to change direction, she stepped away and asked me to face her again as she snapped her fingers. I began to relax, I did not forget what had happened, no I still remember. It terrifies me to think of that moment in time. But I took great comfort in this moving around the round pen. This facing one another. I had become quite comfortable with this. Every time I stood and faced Mary good things happened to me. She would hum those rhythmic sounds. We would rest together. I felt safe in this position and I felt myself melting back into that safe place I had come to seek.

Mary did approach me again, I must admit, I was nervous. I just could not let go of how her arm so quickly moved beside my face like that and sent me fleeing into a panic. She remained very quite. She moved calm and slow. Slower even than before. As she reached out to touch me I felt the tension rise inside, but as soon as her hand made contact on my neck I took a sigh of relief. Her hand resting there gave me a similar sensation to what I felt facing her in the middle of the pen. I drew comfort from it. She gently pulled some of my mane over to the right of my neck. She began working her fingers through it again, being careful to keep a steady hand resting on my skin. She did not try to scratch her ear again and I was thankful for that.

Part 12

2011-03-09T23:49:00.002-05:00

The critter that was round with no neck apparently liked me. "Samantha P" was what Mary said her name was. She would come to my pen every day. She went right to my water tub each time and splashed it all around until it made a puddle in the black dirt. Then she would roll. She would roll and scratch for the longest time sometimes laying there in the mud for hours. She would waddle over to my pile of hay and eat with me. I actually was beginning to like the funny looking thing. I never tried to scare her away, I didn't mind her sharing my hay with me. She never seemed to get in a hurry and was quite confident in herself. I respected that.

Mary added a bucket to my pen today. She put soaked alfalfa hay in it and topped it with some sort of brown crumbles. I liked the hay, even though it was mushy and wet. I remembered eating alfalfa out in Colorado at the holding facility. My herd mates and I had alfalfa free choice at all times. It was like a never ending buffet compared to roaming for miles to find forage in my Wyoming days. The taste of the alfalfa was familiar to me, I liked it. The brown crumbles on the other hand, well I hadn't a clue what they were. They smelled strong, a sweet smell, very different from anything I had eaten before. I figured I better air on the side of caution and eat around them. I carefully picked the Alfalfa out and left the brown crumbles in the bucket. Before long my new friend smelled the sweet odor and approached my bucket. She wedged her snout inside and somehow managed to lift her front feet up off the ground in order to reach the crumbles inside. She snorted and grunted as she ate every last morsel.

I relaxed for most of the day with my new friend until late afternoon when I spotted Mary approaching the pen. My eyes grew large as I saw her draw near. Much to my dismay she was carrying with her a long snake. It was huge. She had it coiled up in her hand and it's tail was dragging the ground. I lifted my head erect and held my body ridged as I watched her draw even closer. She entered the pen stopping in the center and snapped her fingers asking for my attention. I focused on her and the snake dead on, facing them but not about to approach. I heard her mumble those rhythmic tones, but it did not relax me. I was much to concerned over the snake to let anything disrupt my focus. I could feel my heart race as I wondered when it would strike.

Mary stood still in the center of the pen and opened her hands. Letting the snake drop to the sand floor. It made a thumping sound as it landed and I sky rocketed up in the air and took of to flee from the obvious danger. The circular rail guided my flee into a curve once again and I found myself unable to escape. Mary quickly snapped her fingers and I spun around to lock eyes on them once again. My heart raced, it felt as if it could jump from my chest as I watched her kneel to pick the snake back up. It was limp as she lifted it and it hung at her side. Again she dropped it to the ground, again I jumped and attempted to flee, but no such luck. I was trapped in this pen with this crazy two legged and a snake that was apparently her accomplice.

Time and again she dropped the snake to the ground and time and again I jumped high and attempted to flee. Each time she snapped her fingers asking me to come back and face her and each time I did. As this went on I began to realize that nothing happened when the snake landed on the ground. It never did try to strike at me, it just landed with a thump and lay still until Mary brought it back to life by picking it up. It was as if Mary controlled the snake and every move it made. She continued to lift it and drop it again, after a while I stopped jetting away. I would feel my body jump in place, but I held my ground. After a while longer the jumps became flinches and then they settled to nothing. I just stood still and watched her pick the snake up and drop in on the ground...over and over and over again. I figured it must be dead or if not Mary certainly had control over it. Any snake I knew would have struck out long before now. I decided to rest my leg as she continued to pick up the snake just to drop it once more.

Part 11

2011-03-09T22:26:00.002-05:00

We stood there like that for quite some time. Mary's hand gently pressed against my neck.

Then, ever so slowly, she moved it.

The tension rose inside me as I felt her hand slide down my neck. It built to the point that I was on the verge of jetting away when, much to my relief, she stopped. Now just resting her hand on my skin as before. My body melted a bit as I took in a breath of air and released it into a small sigh. I was far from totally relaxed with Mary's hand touching my neck, but I was much more relaxed when it was still. The movement felt odd and I was not sure what to expect from it. After I had relaxed a bit once again Mary slowly lifted her hand off my neck and moved it a bit higher. I saw every move she made. Even though I was tense and afraid I stood my ground, ready to flee, but holding my own to see what would happen next.

Her hand ever so slowly landed on my neck once again, her fingertips first, then the rest of her hand melted onto my skin. In the first instant of contact I felt a quiver move through my body. But only moments later as I felt the warmth of her hand quietly resting on me I began to feel more at peace. I did like the rhythmical pulse I could feel from her as we stood connected. I gradually began to accept her presence so close beside me as I shifted my weight from hugging the rail, to a more comfortable stance bearing my weight equally on all fours.

We shared this space for a long time, standing only a foot apart, her hand resting on my neck. Every once in a while it would gently sliding down a bit only to lift, move up and touch me again. It took me a while to grow comfortable with her hand moving against my side. Once she pushed her hand slightly up my neck, letting her fingers trail against my haircoat instead of lifting them off as before. This I did not like. My hair coat lays flat against my skin and the lay of the hair grows down from my head all the way across my hips towards my tail. When I felt Mary's fingers run briefly against the lay of my hair it startled me. It felt prickly against my neck and I did not like it one bit. A horse's skin is highly sensitive, we can feel a house fly land on our back and we will rapidly twitch our skin to rid ourselves of the nuisance. Well in that moment Mary's fingers felt like that fly as they pushed my hair up in the opposite direction of it's growth. My skin quivered uncontrollably and I jumped back in surprise at her unexpected move. Mary stepped back quietly herself and I felt that familiar draw to fill the space and approach her again.

The next time she touched me she was careful to stroke with the lay of my haircoat. She worked her hands down my neck and even my shoulder. She lightly stroked my right jaw, just beneath my eye. When she tried to exceed those perimeters I would become tense and send my energy away from her, but she was respectful of that. She never pushed me so far as to the point of moving my feet, only my energy. She would move her hand to the very edge of the places I felt secure and just in the moment before I decided to flee she would bring her hand back into the center of my neck. I had grown comfortable with her hand there. It was a relief to me when she moved back to that area. I would settle my stance so that all four hooves shared the same weight and feel my body melt as I sighed.

It was odd to me how something like her hand resting on my neck had been so terrifying, yet now I was finding comfort in it. Something as simple as a quiet resting hand and a soft rhythmical pulse against my skin. Yes, I was beginning to find comfort in this two legged. Mary slowly took a step backwards letting her hand drop quietly of my side and she walked away.

I watched her as she left my pen. She had walked quietly out and shut the door behind her, looking back to me with a sparkle in her eye. She then turned and ran towards the barn, she was yelling, "Mike, Mike..I touched her! She let me touch her, it was amazing!" She seem very excited and full of energy as she bounced away. I thought to myself that I was thankful she had not bounced up and down like that beside me. She had been calm beside me and I liked her that way.

2011-03-08T23:43:00.003-05:00

I stood along the rail of my pen while Mary was gone. I watched the horses around me. They all seemed relaxed as the quietly ate their hay. A few of them had laid down in the warm sun. I noticed the round critter with no neck was across the field. She was close to one of the horses that was sprawled out on his side. She pushed the black dirt around with her snout as the horses that surrounded her slept. They did not seem to think she was a threat. It still seemed odd to me, but I was gradually getting used to these strange critters. They had not seemed to be dangerous yet. Everyone else seemed to think they were ok. I dropped my head and ate some more of my hay.

The sun was starting to drop in the sky. The soft light blanketed the pasture, lighting up the grass to an iridescent glow. I watched the horses graze and thought to myself how wonderful it would be to graze in that field. The grass looked as if it went on forever. I noticed a horse walking beside Mary towards the pasture. She opened the gate and he followed her inside. She then set him free. He dropped down immediately and rolled. I noticed he only managed to flip twice. That made me chuckle inside. When he got up he trotted off to where two other horses were standing and dropped his head to eat. I thought to myself how interesting that was. How the horse had walked along side of Mary, seemingly relaxed and content, and how she set him free to eat and roll at his own free will. I would not be that comfortable with her that close to me. She was within two feet of that horse, no my invisible line between myself and Mary was a good fifteen feet. It sure would be nice to eat that green grass though.

Mary continued walking up from the field. She was coming back up the hill towards me. As she approached she said, "Do you think we could try it just one more time?" Try it? I wondered what she meant by that. She entered the pen.

She stepped towards the middle and snapped her fingers, I immediately faced her. I knew what that meant. She walked around me and I followed, keeping my body aligned so that I was facing her. Facing her but still not letting my left eye see. I had much rather her be in my right vision. She seemed ok with that this time. As Mary walked around me she would sometimes step away as well. I would step towards her to fill the space and she would smile and speak in those soft rhythmical tones. It was so relaxing, I licked and chewed. Every so often she would step in closer to me. I would become a bit tense, but I did not back up or shoot away. The longer she stayed there and walked side to side the more comfortable I got. Before long she was standing only three feet from me. I really never noticed her moving closer, I just gradually felt more comfortable with her presence there.

We were standing still, Mary at my right shoulder three feet away. Her hands were limp at her sides. I was relaxed, but very aware of her presence beside me. She took a small step closer. I took a small step away. I just could not bring myself to be comfortable with her that close. She again stepped towards me. I again stepped away. We did this, ever so slowly, until I reached the rail on my left. I thought about jetting away. I was slightly trapped, between Mary and the rail. I was not totally relaxed with Mary being this close, but I was not so frightened as to jet off. I decided to stand there. We both remained still. As time grew on I became more at ease and felt my body relax. Mary eased in closer. I felt a bit of apprehension swell up in me and shifted my weight back, but did not take a step. Again we stood.

Mary was now within a foot from me. She slowly, ever so slowly raised her hand. My body grew tense and I shifted my weight to hug the rail. Just before I shot away Mary stopped. She held her hand still in mid air, just at the edge of my comfort zone. Had she moved an inch closer I would have been gone, but I held my own and watched as her hand rested in mid air, only a mear 6 inches from the side of my neck. We remained like this for quite some time. I gradually become more comfortable with her being there and began to relax.

Mary slowly drifted her hand closer to my neck. Her fingers hung down relaxed with her palm down. Her hand was within two inches from my skin. I could feel the energy from it. I watched, I felt, but I did not move. Slowly I saw Mary out stretch her fingers towards me. I felt two fingers land softly on the side of my neck. They slide down my neck only a few inches as I grew ridged and went to jump back. In that very moment, as my energy sailed backwards away from Mary she stepped back away from me. It was as if we were connected by that invisible line. I felt my body surge back forward to fill the space she had created so quickly. I found myself back as I was before. She was at my shoulder, only a foot away. I relaxed as I remembered how long we had stood like this, I was ok with her here.

Again she slowly lifted her hand. I watched, but did not move. She stretched her fingers back out and my eyes widened as she rested them back on my skin. My body grew tense and I shifted my weight back, but did not move. I quivered slightly as I stood still and let her fingers rest on my neck. I felt their warmth as her fingers laid still. I could feel that they were real, a part of a living being. They were full of life, not dead and empty like the metal panel that brushed my left side. She slowly eased her entire hand against my neck. All five fingers slowly applied soft pressure and then her palm landed quietly in between them. I could feel the added heat that was caused by her hand covering more surface area on my neck. I could even feel her pulse gently touching me. It was rhythmical, I liked that it was rhythmical. She rested her hand there for quite some time. I gradually began to take comfort in it. It did not hurt, the energy I felt exuding from her was kind. Gentle and kind.

Part 9

2011-03-08T22:47:00.003-05:00

We stood for quite a while. Watching one another softly. I had rested my hind leg and my head hung low and relaxed. We were facing one another, but I still stayed oriented so that Mary remained in my right eye. I was becoming very relaxed with her there. She was speaking to me in a way I understood. She had not lied to me. When she led me to believe she was going to do something, like step over to my right and expect me to follow, she did just that...stepped over to my right and allowed me to follow. She did not force herself into my space, invading my comfort zone. She only stepped just as far to my right as I was comfortable. It was as if she would go to the very edge of that spot, the very edge of my comfort zone. Then she would remain there. She would be quiet and calm, just waiting patiently for that edge of my comfort zone to widen slightly and when it did she would enter it. Slowly, ever so slowly broadening it wider. She gradually would move around my right side, encouraging me to turn and face her. I appreciated her honesty. I was beginning to feel like I knew what to expect from her and that was comforting.

When two leggeds interact with us and are not conscientious of the way we speak, it is confusing. As horses, our language is primarily through our bodies. We watch each of our herd mates at all times. Always being aware of what our fellow equines are thinking and feeling by their bodies. When two leggeds surround us and ignore our primary means of communication it is well, scary. I mean one of my fellow herd mates can bless me out with nothing but the slighted shift of an ear. Imagine how it would feel to me, as a horse, when these two leggeds are giving me all these mixed signals through their body language. There can be some pretty nasty cuss words said, and I do not appreciate it. I am not even sure they realize it sometimes, the two leggeds, but we do. We always see their body language. It is All we see.

I had grown very comfortable with Mary in my right eye. She would walk circles all the way around me and I would pivot on my haunches to follow her. Crossing my front legs freely as they stepped around. Mary would circle me to my left too. I would circle faster this way. I had to be sure I stayed ahead of her to keep her in that right eye. She would try to sneak across my face and into my left eye, but I was to quick for her. I could spin much faster than she could walk around me. I heard her laugh, she said "Well aren't those some pretty reining spins" I didn't know what that meant, but it seemed to make her happy. It is funny what these two leggeds get excited about. Horses flipping over when they roll, spinning circles...yes, these are some odd folks. No doubt about that.

After a bit longer of spinning on my haunches as Mary circled me she stepped towards me and pushed me away. I took back off and was met by the circular rail again, so I followed it and around I went. Mary had pushed me to track left this time. We went around a few laps and I noticed her back away from me, as she did I felt myself filling the space to keep our invisible line the same length. This time she was in my left eye. She had to back away further than she did on my right, in order to keep me magneting in towards her, but she did just that. As she continued to step away I continued to fill the space. Before long I was facing her again. I quickly shifted my stance so she was back in my right eye. Whew, that was a close one! She chuckled as I licked and chewed with Mary safely occupying my right eye once again. After I had rested a bit she pushed me back out away and tracking left again. Again she stepped back away and I filled the space, again reverting quickly to my stance that put her in my right eye as soon as I could. I was gradually getting more comfortable with her in my left, but it no where near compared to the peace I was beginning to feel when she was on my right. We stopped and rested once again.

Mary backed away from me as she stepped slightly to my right. This time when I went to move to the side to follow her I took a step towards her as well. I saw a large smile light up on Mary's face and she mumbled those soft words again in that rhythmic voice that relaxes me. I licked and chewed as I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. With that I saw her turn to walk away.

Lindsay's Story 8

2011-03-06T14:15:00.004-05:00

We had been playing this dance so to speak in the circular pen for about 20 minutes or so. Mary would step in front of my shoulder and I would change direction. She would look at my hip and it would send me more forward, then when she melted her body and looked at the ground, I melted mine to mirror hers and slowed my speed, licking and chewing each time I relaxed a bit more and understood Mary's movements. So far when I changed direction Mary would step forward, moving her body in front of my shoulder, but remaining the same distance from me. I would respond by turning away from her and into the fence to head the other way.

The next time it was different though, I was tracking right, at a relaxed trot, Mary slowly stepped back away from me as she stepped in front of my shoulder at the same time. By this point, I had grown accustomed to Mary remaining the same distance from me, so I felt my body drifting towards hers. Almost as if an invisible line connected us. I found myself moving in, away from the rail to to fill the space so that we remained the same distance apart. At the same time she had stepped a bit in front of my shoulder, so naturally my speed had slowed and I had prepared to change direction. But this time I found myself turning to face her, rather than turning away from her as I had been. I was very comfortable with this, it felt normal and made sense to me. She was on my right side and I was beginning to like her there.

But then a scary thing happened. In a split second Mary moved. She had been in my right eye and just as I was growing comfortable with her there and even moving in on my own free will to keep her there she disappeared! No longer was she in my right eye and before I had a chance to do anything, BAM she was there in my left eye! I was not nearly as comfortable having her there in my left, especially facing her like this and being away from the rail that I had been hugging so tight. I jetted off away from her, back to the perimeter of the pen, now tracking left as we had just changed direction. It was a bit unsettling at first, to have her appear out of nowhere in the vision of my left eye like that. It must of happened as I changed direction, must have been when I turned to face her. Yes, that was it, Mary had disappeared out of my right eye's vision and appeared in the vision of my left. It happened as I had changed my direction by turning in to face her. Whew, that was a lot to digest. I was happy to be back on the rail and was more relieved when Mary drifted her gaze back to the round pen floor and I softened my body and slowed my gaits as I dropped my head and licked and chewed. Sweet relief.

We were now tracking left and Mary again stepped away from me as she simultaneously stepped in front of my shoulder. I imagine she was hoping for the response she got from me when she was on my right side and I had magneted in towards the middle of the pen. But, no such luck for her. We were now tracking left and Mary was in my left eye, along with all those other two leggeds that were ingrained in my left eye's memory. As I said, we Mustangs never forget. I did change direction, but I turned into the rail and away from Mary to do so. What was really comforting though was this put Mary back in my right eye. Oh, how I was really starting to like her there! She once again stepped away from me as she also stepped in front of my shoulder. I remembered this move from before, I had enjoyed coming in off the rail to remain the same distance from Mary as she had stepped away. I was happy to do it again and I allowed my body to freely curve towards the center of the pen. As I was drifting towards Mary to keep our invisible line the same length I noticed she drifted even further away from me. As she did, I felt my body continue to draw closer, I really felt comfort in having her at this same distance from me and as she drew away I could not help but fill the space to keep us the same distance apart. Mary drifted all the way to the opposite side of the pen and I found myself facing her. My body was not exactly square and lined up with hers, but slightly cocked to the side. This way my right eye could take her in and my left knew nothing of it. I stood and watched as Mary stood quietly on the rail. She let her eyes drift to the floor and her body melted. I sighed and licked and chewed as I stood and watched her quietly. The relaxation my body and mind experienced was so satisfying. I just stood and savored the moment.

We stood there for at least a few minutes and I watched Mary the whole time. Then, out of nowhere, she moved! It startled me at first and my body rose ridged, but I did not flee this time, I watched. She slowly stepped to my right, staying the same distance from me, but moving parallel to me just a few feet. My gaze followed her and I felt my head and neck turn to face her. Again she stood still. Then she slowly stepped back to where she had been and I willingly followed her with my eyes and face, licking and chewing once again. She never stepped towards my left, which was a wise decision as I guarantee you I would have shot off as soon as she appeared in that eye, no she remained in my right eye and I was thankful for that.

She continued to walk a few steps over to my right and I continued to follow her with my eyes and face. She again would step back to her original spot and I would follow her back with my gaze. She did this for quite some time. After a while it even got a bit boring. I mean I know she's a two legged and all and typically I am very cautious as to what one of those is about to do. So I typically watch them intently, but I was becoming so at ease with her movements I began to feel it wasn't as necessary to follow her every move with my attention. So the next time she stepped to the side I did not follow her with my eyes, as a matter of fact I turned my face and looked at one of the horses beside me eating hay. As soon as I let my eyes wander I heard a sharp snap from Mary! I shot my head back around lining up my eyes with hers dead on. She was acting like the boss mare in my old herd did....I guess I'd better keep my attention on her.

Back in White Mountain, Wyoming my herd had a leader. She was an older mare and had been out in the wild all of her life. She was our "Boss Mare" The lay of the land was engraved in her mind and she had many experiences embedded in her memory. She was very intelligent and well educated. We all looked to her for guidance. She was highly respected among us all, even the herd Stallion, my sire. He even respected her and would move out of the way to allow her to pass if she so wished. We watched her at all times, each one of us always remained within eyesight of her. When we had grazed a certain area long enough that it's resources were depleted it was her, the Boss Mare that made the decision to move on. All she had to do was start moving, heading in the direction she felt we should go. We all would move along with her. It was as if this imaginary line connected us to her. We wanted to remain within this safe distance from her. When we were within that distance we knew we were safe.

As I stood at attention, watching Mary intently she slowly took another step laterally to my right. She went further this time than before. I tried to follow her with my eyes and face, but my head can only turn so far. I stood for a while like that, with my neck circled around to the side so that I could give Mary my full attention. Each time I tried to look away from her those sharp snaps started again and I would immediately look back at her once again with certainty. As long as I faced her there were no sharps snaps, only Mary. She would talk sometimes, it sounded like babbles and the words did not really matter nor make sense, but her tone did. I loved that it was rhythmical and soft. I found peace in it's consistency. The consistency of this sing songy voice, humming the same rhythm over and over again. I couldn't help but want to mirror that rhythm with my own. It was peaceful.

So after standing quite some time with my neck circled around to the side in order to follow Mary's gaze, I decided it would be easier to let my feet follow as well. So I slowly stepped to the side so that my body was aligned with Mary's as it had been before. Facing her once again, but careful not to let my left eye know. It was so comforting to watch Mary with my right eye, no need to mess things up by letting lefty in on it.

I could see Mary smile, she continued to babble in that rhythmic tone and I licked and chewed. I even dropped my hip to let my right leg rest. This was a safe place to be, I figured I might as well stay here a while.

Lindsay's Stories

2011-03-05T21:53:00.003-05:00

I have began writing stories from Lindsay's perspective...or my best feeling of it anyway =) I have 7 so far and they are listed as "Notes" on Lindsay's FB page. The one for America's Favorite Trail Horse. Here is a direct link... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lindsays-Faith-Mustang-for-Americas-Favorite-Trail-Horse/178750158831398

I thought I would add the stories here as well for those of you that might not see her Facebook page.

I will cut and paste them below.....

PART 1

I thought I'd fill you all in on a bit of my history. I was born on the range in White Mountain, Wyoming. Wyoming is a cold, cold place...many times my water source came from eating snow! It is wide open land, few wind blocks and trees. Check out this link http://www.pbase.com/bander/image/83387718 It shows Mustangs in my home land. These are very likely my kin. See the bay roan herd sire...Mary is certain he is my Daddy. The background is just amazing to see. This is where I lived, in the wild until I was coming a four year old. I was in foal and was herded up by the BLM to go to a holding facility and have my baby then be adopted. I had a bay filly later that year, she stayed by my side for a year and I nursed her and took care of her, teaching her everything I could about the communication of the horse. How to "speak" to her herd mates through body language, "Horse Speak" I learned so much living in the wild, running with my herd. I learned how to use my body to communicate by even the slightest move. I did my best to teach all of this to my daughter. When it became time for her to grow up and move away, she was adopted out to a home of her very own. I stayed behind, hoping to find a forever home myself. I was hauled to adoptions and each time my number came up, no one was interested. I am not sure why, but time and again I was turned down. It looked as if I was headed to long term holding where I would live out my days or possibly be sold cheap to no telling who and end up God knows where. Well, thankfully the Mustang Heritage Foundation started to first ever, Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover. It was a competition for unwanted Mustangs like me, all older every bit of 6 years old and still never touched by a human. I was one of 100 selected for adoption in the SEMM. The trainer that adopted me would have 100 days to develop a relationship and bond with me then we would go to TX to compete with my fellow Mustangs.

PART 2

Well, I was videoed, along with ~100 of my friends and our videos were posted on line for the adopters/trainers to view. Mary says she really was drawn to me from first glance, but she was certain with my color, solid confirmation and quiet disposition that I would be well out of her price range, she she drew her attention to other Mustangs. Well auction time rolled around and adopters were to call in to bid on the horse they wanted. Well, there were LOTS of adopters and the phone lines went crazy! Mary called in to bid on a horse before me and the line was busy for the longest time, she finally got through only to hear that her selected Mustang sold well over $1000...well over her price range. Luckily the man on the phone taking her bid was kind and let Mary stay on the line to hear the next few horses go through. She bid on a few more, again they sky rocketed in price. Mary was beginning to feel like she was never going to be able to afford a Mustang and my number rolled around. #34 Mary heard it and remembered really liking me, but she didn'y even try to bid this time, she was certain my price would jump like the rest. My bid climbed to $750..then it stuck...the man on the line said will you go $800?...She's staying at $750...will you go $800? Mary's heart jumped as she realized she needed to speak up, "BID" she said and the man on the phone said "$800" and it stuck. Sold to Mary Jordan lot #34 for $800! Mary was Thrilled! I was minding my business eating Alfalfa hay and wasn't to concerned then, but it wouldn't be long I would meet my new found friend and partner, Mary.

PART 3

So Mary was the winning bidder and apparently that meant I was headed to NC! Well, as I said I was raised in Wyoming, but was rounded up by the BLM and taken to Canon City, Colorado where I lived for 2 years in holding. I now needed to get to Miss to meet up with Mary so we could head home to NC. I was loaded in a big semi tractor trailer along with many of my friends and we headed East. It was a long ride, 22 hrs on the road. We were tired when we unloaded in MS, but we thankfully had a few days to rest and had plenty of water and hay to replenish our body and spirits. Well, Mary and her husband Mike were headed west as I was headed East! They arrived in Miss a few days after I did in the middle of the night. We were all sleeping as their trailer entered the pasture. When I saw Mary for the first time she was walking slowly looking in at all my friends with great curiosity. It was night time, but the moon was out and I could make out her silhouette. She was a small girl, short, only a hair over five feet and small framed. I sensed something familiar about her. Something I had felt before. Yes, I felt it, I knew it...she was with child. She was pregnant with a child of her own. Oh how I remembered those feelings. I take great pride in Motherhood and did everything in my power to raise my daughter well. I am thankful that the BLM allowed her to stay with me for so long and then helped find her a home. Most domestic horses have their babies taken away by at least 6 months, so having my daughter with me for a full year was wonderful. Had she been born in the wild she may have stayed at my side longer, but I would have likely become in foal yet again and given birth to a new foal while my yearling daughter was still nursing, that would have meant I had two babies nursing at once and would have likely gotten in foal yet again! Yes, being a Mother in the wild is quite the job...I am thankful the BLM let my daughter stay with me a year, but also thankful they found her a good home when she was ready....and kept all those wild stallions at bay! But I did love being a Mother and I just could sense this Mary was experiencing what I knew so well. I watched her exploring each of us, she was looking for me..... I began to realize that as she approached closer. It did not take her long and I heard her say, "Mike!, Mike I found her!..She is Awesome!...come See!" Well, Mike answered back that he wasn't sure they were supposed to be peeping in on the Mustangs, they might get in trouble, but after some coaxing by Mary he walked over. They did not come in the fence with me...they just watched me from the other side. Mary seemed in awe. She stared at me for quite some time. Many of the other Mustangs scurried about, afraid of her human frame walking around us, but I didn't scurry, I watched. I stared back at her, as she did me. I knew something was about to happen and I knew it involved all of us, it involved myself...the small girl that couldn't take her eyes of me...the man that seemed to be watching over us both...and the tiny sprinkle that was rapidly growing in the tummy of my soon to be partner and confidant. I wasn't sure what it would be, but I felt it would be something big.

PART 4

The next morning rolled around and just on the edge of day break there she was again. That small girl that had stared at me half the night was watching me as the sun came up over the horizon. My bay roan coat took on new colors as the sun peered through the trees on the horizon. It lite everything up in a blanket of soft glowing light. The dew began to dry and the other Mustangs rested quietly. They had grown accustomed to this girl as she had stood by their corral for so long the night before. Not long after the sun was up some other humans started to arrive. The other Mustangs started to move around as they saw the new humans approach. One human brought a pick up truck loaded with hay. Mary stood by my paddock as the other Mustangs were fed, she watched as the human tossed an entire bale in for me and the two mares by my side. One of the mares I was with was very dominant, she was the boss and that was ok. She was kind about it, it was just understood and as long as she was there she was in control. It was ok with me to let her be the boss, but the other mare...well that was a different story. She was kind of like that kid that wants to pick on you in school, but only does it when the teacher is not looking. And always seems to know how to pick on you, but yet not get in trouble for it. Well that mare was really getting on my last nerve. She kept pushing me away from my hay and with the top boss mare in the paddock with us, there was little I could do but stand back. So I did, I waited patiently to the side as the other two ate. I knew Mary wanted to toss some hay closer to me, she said she wanted to, but could not reach, but it was ok. I knew how to handle these situations, this sure was not the first time I had shared a meal, well waited my turn to share a meal.

As the sun grew higher in the sky folks started loading up Mustangs in trailers. They would back up their box trailer to a shoot type set up where the Mustang was herded into by a few humans with a plastic bag tied to the end of a stick. They would shake the bag loudly at the Mustangs as they approached the trailer. This made the outside of the trailer much scarier than the inside, so the Mustang would jump inside...Before long they came and got the boss mare out of my pen. Well, it dawned on me rather quickly that little miss aggravating "Pick on me" Bully of a mare that had been driving me crazy for days was now alone, just me and her...no boss mare anymore to tell us what to do. Well, I could not resist, I had to do it....I flattened my ears and charged after that bully of a mare. Ran her right into the fence I did! Didn't hurt her, but I want you to know I was the one eating hay after that and little Miss Bully stood her tail in the corner. She sure didn't try to bully me anymore after that!

Before long it was my turn to load up. The man walked in with the long stick with the bag tied on the end and walked behind me, quietly herding me into a shoot where I would find myself locked in for about 15 minutes. The Mustang ahead of me was not wanting to get on her trailer and was holding us all up, I bet you anything it was that little Miss Bully that had been picking on me all night...well, as I was waiting in the chutes I over-heard the humans talking. They were asking Mary if she had a halter for me. Apparently they put halters on some of us Mustangs while we are in the squeeze chutes and can not get away. Well, I heard Mary decline, she also asked if they'd leave my neck tag on...she said she thought it "Looked cool" Well, I chuckled to myself about that, but I was happy not to have any strangers grabbing at my face to put that halter thing on my head...before I knew it my gate swung open and I was sent through the chute towards my trailer. I did not miss a beat. I am no fool and after hauling from Wyoming to Colorado and Colorado to Miss, you do learn a thing or two about loading. I know the drill, they shake the little baggy at my rump and in I go.

I must admit, I was scared, before I always had other Mustangs with me. This time I was alone. I kept my head low, my body was tight and braced. I never whinnied or called to the other Mustangs. I knew there was nothing they could do. And even though I was afraid, I did have a good feeling about this small girl. She seemed kind and she sure seemed to like me...and that baby growing in her...it drew me to her. I knew how to be a Mother, I felt like this little human needed me...and maybe I needed her too. So with my tub of water, my soaked TC Safe Starch (from Triple Crown..Thank You Triple Crown Feed! The TC Safe Starch was perfect b/c it is fortified with added calories and nutrients onto long stem hay, which I was already used to eating...at that point I had no clue what concentrated grain was...sure do now though!) and my bedded up box stall off we went to the east coast. It was a journey no doubt...and it had just begun

PART 5

I watched through the slats of the trailer as we headed down the dirt road. I could see the holding pens grow smaller behind us. We soon were on the highway. It was loud, the roaring of the trucks remained steady as we drove. I was used to this part though, actually the bouncing of the trailer and roaring of the traffic was almost comforting. I had listened to it for 22 hours on the way here, it was familiar...familiar is comforting, even if familiar is frightening. I was alone this time. I hung my head low in the trailer and backed up so that my hip was pushed against the wall. I faced the rear gate, it made it easier when the truck & trailer stopped abruptly to shift my weight back, rather than fall forward. So with my back to the wall, braced securely I held my head low and rode.

They stopped every few hours and Mary would crack open my door to check on my water. She would dump out the old water and get me fresh, even when I had not drank any of it. It was nice to rest my legs every few hours, the vibrations of the trailer were tiring.

We must have driven at least 12 hours or more. At one point we stopped on the side of the highway, we were just barely out of the road and I listened as Mary and Mike talked. A tire had blown and Mike was changing it. It was a very busy area and tractor trailer trucks whizzed by me. They seemed even louder when we were sitting still. Mike must be pretty handy, because we were back on the highway pretty quickly. The vibrations began again and I braced for the last leg.

We finally arrived in NC in the middle of the night. It was pitch black dark and man was I tired. My legs felt like rubber and my ears rung from the constant noise. It was silent, finally silent. I heard Mary talking with Mike, she said she was afraid to let me off the trailer in the dark. Of course she knew I could see just fine, my equine eyes are superb in the dark, but she very well knew of her limitations as a two legged and that frightened her. She wanted to be certain my pen was secure for me and that there were no gaps between it and the horse trailer before I stepped off. She decided to let me stay on the trailer until day break. She replenished my water once again and brought my more hay (that tasty TC Safe Starch) I was so tired, it felt good just to be able to stand in the still quiet and rest my legs. I heard Mary open the dressing room trailer door and crawl up inside. She told me she was going to sleep up in the bed of the trailer so she could be close to me. She said she was afraid if she slept in the house she would sleep past day-break and she did not want me to have to stay in the trailer any longer than necessary. So both of us closed our eyes and quickly drifted off in the beautiful quiet the night offered.

The sun peaked up through the trees and I began to awake. I peered through the slats of the horse trailer in the fresh morning light and saw a brand new world. I was surrounded by horses! They were everywhere I could see. Oh how this excited me, I began to spin circles in the trailer, pawing after each circle or two. I rocked the trailer back and forth and before long Mary rounded the corner and peered in at me. She said, "So you are ready to get out of there huh? I would be too" She then backed the trailer up adjacent to the round pen. She pushed the panels up flush, so there was a clear path out, but no room for me to slip between the cracks. She then swung open the rear gate and stood off to the side, inviting me to step out on my own free will. I wasted no time, I briskly walked to the rear of the trailer and stepped down into the soft round pen floor. Once out of the trailer I walked more carefully. Taking slow, deliberate steps, gradually exploring my new surroundings. I smelled the ground, letting my nose drag the dirt as I walked circles in the sand. With in minutes I dropped to the ground and rolled. I rolled from one side to the other, oh how it felt so good to scratch my back and letl my muscles stretch. Mary watched from the rail and laughed. She told me, "You know my Granddaddy Burgess always said that a horse is worth another $100 dollars for every time she flips over when she rolls" Mary laughed as she said it and her eyes seem to brighten as she watched me roll. I thought to myself, that was a silly thing to say. Here we just meet and she is going to put a price on me, one determined by how many times I can roll over. Well, that's a two legged for ya. I have learned their thinking doesn't always make the most sense. But I have also learned that what Mary said was meant as a compliment to me. It wasn't that she really thought I was only worth $600 bucks for my 6 rolls over, she meant that it was a testament to me athletic ability that I could roll back and forth with such ease. She admired it, and she admired Me.

After I had satisfied myself by thoroughly embedding this new black Kelly dirt and sand deep in my coat I stepped back up on all fours and shook from head to toe. The dirt lifted in a cloud of smoke all around me and Mary laughed again. After a few more walks around the pen to smell the ground I laid down in the center and went to sleep. Mary said she was shocked to see me lay down and sleep so soon in such a strange place, but I am no fool. I am a Mustang, I didn't survive on my own in the wild all those years without learning something. When you are tired, you sleep, so I slept.

Later in the day, after my nap I spotted Mary walking towards me from across the field. It was a small comfort having her presence around. She was always quiet and spoke kindly to me. As she approached I saw something that frightened me greatly. There were 5 small critters surrounding her. They ranged in size from that of a prairie dog to one as big as a wolf! They scattered and bounced around Mary as she approached me. My eyes grew wide as they neared and I brought my head up high and let out a loud blow through my nostrils, a snort that would alert my fellow herd mates that danger was approaching. I watched intently as they approached and out of the corners of my eyes I took note of the surrounding horses reactions. Would they bolt in a flurry in fear of these strange creatures? There was stillness, silence as they all continued to munch on their hay, heads down and relaxed. I waited a moment and snorted, once again. Still nothing. These horses that surrounded me were either a bunch of fools and we were all about to get eaten or maybe they knew something I didn't. I hoped for the latter and relaxed a wee bit as they continued to draw closer. Mary walked all the way to the fence and leaned against. The critters continued to bounce around growling, barking and rolling atop one another. After a bit they quieted and started to lay down, scattered about Mary's feet. I began to relax, still not certain what these creatures were, but beginning to think maybe I had been wrong to blow such a loud alarm to the others. Not that it did any good anyway, they all pretty much ignored my clear warning of danger. Maybe they were right, maybe these other horses did know something I didn't. After a bit Mary walked off, I noticed her walk by one of the horses that was eating hay and run her hand down his side. He watched her quietly, following her with his ear, but never even lifted his head. It seemed so odd to me that a horse would allow a two legged to do such a thing. I would have shot away in an instant had she tried that number on me. Odd, it was very odd. But it was also peaceful, quiet, calm and peaceful. I dropped my head to eat some more of my hay.

Part 6

I liked that there were other horses all around me. They were in paddocks sprinkled about surrounding my round pen. There were even horses off in the distance, they seemed to be in larger pastures and it appeared green out there. Oh how I thought of the fun I would have eating all that grass. It looked like a never ending buffet. Back in Wyoming we would have to stay on the move all the time to find enough to eat. The forage was dry and rough, but it was all I knew back then and my body was used to it. We would walk for miles and when we found an area with grass to eat we would stop and keep our heads to the ground, grazing until it was gone. Then we would move on once again.

The horses in the paddocks around me were eating hay. Those critters that had followed Mary over to see me yesterday were still around. They were always around. They would scatter about the yard and sleep, stretched out on their sides in the sun. Mary told me they were called dogs and that they were kind to horses. I figured I had better keep an eye on them and make that decision for myself.

One of these so called harmless "dogs" came waddling all the way over to my pen. This one smelled differently than the others and looked a bit different as well. I backed off to the far side of the pen and watched her nudge her head into my water bucket. She was short, but very round. I would say as wide as she was tall. I thought of snorting as I had done before, but I decided against it. The other horses ignored me when I did it the first time anyway. I stayed as far away as I could though and watched intently.

She managed to get her head into my water trough and began to drink. She didn't look like she had a neck at all and she made odd "grunting" noises. I was certain this one was not a "dog". After she drank a bit she started tossing the water around, splashing it over the sides and onto the dirt. She kept on until my tub was dry and there was a puddle of mud in my pen instead. How rude and well, weird was that! She then started rolling around in the new puddle, scratching her side in the mud. I noticed that she never managed to flip over as I did when I rolled. I thought to myself that she must not be worth much in the eyes of the two leggeds, you've got to be able to flip over for every $100 bucks you are worth around here. After she got good and muddy, she stood back up. Her legs were only a few inches long and her belly just about drug the ground. She waddled away, looking rather silly with mud caked to only one side of her.

As the odd looking dog waddled off I saw Mary approach. She said, "Oh, so I see you've meet Samantha P". She informed me that Samantha P was not a dog after all, but a pot bellied Pig. The "P" in Samantha P is apparently for "Pig" How original, huh? I wondered to myself how many other strange critters I would meet in this new place. I was still very cautious of them, but so far they had seemed harmless. I wasn't about to let my guard down anytime soon though. I am no fool , I am a Mustang and I sure didn't survive in the wild of Wyoming all those years just assuming every new funny looking critter was harmless. I would make my own decisions regarding who I trusted around here. So far it was no one.

Part 7

Mary approached the gate to my pen. This time instead of leaning against it and watching me, she opened it and came inside. I watched her intently from the far side, wondering what would happen next. Any other time a two legged had approached me it was to push me away, to herd me to another location. Usually they would have a long stick in hand with a bag attached to the end. They would shake the bag towards my hip and I would take off away from them. They didn't hit me with it, didn't have to. I was more than willing to get out of the way of the scary noise and once I moved away from them they would stop shaking the bag.

Mary did not have a bag though, as a matter of fact she had nothing in her hands, but a soft rope coiled up in a small, loose bundle. Her hands just hung by her side relaxed and open. Once she closed the gate behind her she walked quietly to the middle of the pen. I drew back, as close to the paneled wall as I could get and watched her intently. From the center of the pen she looked at my hip and stepped a hair closer to me. I shot forward, away from her. The pen I was in was round, so instead of being able to shoot away entirely the rails sent me into a curve, a circle that surrounded Mary in the center. At first I ran, a hard canter, as fast as I could around the circular pen. Mary walked a small circle in the middle, she moved her body so that she remained behind my shoulder and towards my hip. After a few laps around I realized that Mary was remaining quiet and slowly walking her circle, but not approaching me any closer. She remained the same distance from me as I ran. Her gaze drifted away from my hip and down to the ground. I relaxed a bit and slowed to a forward extended trot. Mary dropped her head deeper as she gazed at the ground behind me. She continued to walk her small circle in order to remain behind my shoulder, but her energy become softer and softer as she let her arms hang limply at her sides and gazed down at the ground. I took a small comfort in her passive demeanor and I gradually slowed my gaits. I settled all the way to a relaxed trot, beginning to feel comfortable with her presence in the center of the pen. She was consistent, as long as I moved forward and followed the rail in the circle around her, she consistently moved to keep herself at the same place in relationship to my body. This consistency gave me a small comfort.

Just as I thought I had begun to figure out what to expect out of this new two-legged, she threw me for a loop! She steps forward, not closer to me, but parallel with me, until she was just in front of the point of my shoulder. It was only the difference in two steps forward, but I knew exactly what it meant. I immediately slammed on the brakes and wheeled around towards the fence, taking off in the opposite direction. I threw dirt in Mary's face as I began running quickly again, around the circled parameter. Again she walked her small circle in the center, staying behind my shoulder, remaining the same distance from my body as I ran. She then melted her body and sent her gaze to the round pen floor. The release my body felt as her pressure eased off me was immense and welcomed. I began to relax a bit and slow to a trot. I was now tracking right, which put Mary on my right side. I liked her there better than when she was on my left side as she was before. Because of this, I relaxed to a slower trot quicker this time. Not because we had done it before to the left, of course my right side did not recall that experience my left side had just had. No, I liked her better on the right side of me because I had few experiences in my past of two leggeds over there. Mary was new to me on my right side and so far she was making sense.

When I was rounded up in Wyoming and brought to Colorado to live I was freeze branded by a two legged. I was herded into a squeeze shoot and shut in tight so that I could not escape. The hair on the left side of my neck was shaved and a freeze brand was applied to my skin for a few seconds. It froze my hair follicles to the point that it would not grow back and I now have a permanent marking on the left of my neck. It is a way the two leggeds can keep track of me. There are so many Mustangs to be cared for. We are all given vaccinations and branded when we are herded up from the wild. It is for our own good, but just ask any screaming 6 month old 2 legged baby as they are getting their vaccines how much they like it! Shots are never fun and being branded isn't either. Honestly it wasn't the pain that frightened me so, the pain was not that bad. Shoot, compared to a hard kick from the boss mare when I accidentally invaded her space to much, compared to that it was nothing. But being trapped in the chute and having that two legged invade my space as they did, when before I had been expected to run away from them. Well, it just did not make sense, and what didn't make sense scared me. I did not realize it then, but those two leggeds back at the holding pens were only trying to help me. Vaccinating and branding me and my fellow herd mates was the best thing for us. I am very thankful to them that I never have had to experience any horrible illness that I would have, had I been left un-vaccinated. But it still did not lesson the trauma of the experience in having it done and as an intelligent Mustang, we never forget.

So, naturally, I was a bit more cautious of the two leggeds on my left side. That is where those experiences occurred. On my right side however I really had very few experiences with them. Other than moving away from the bag on the end of a stick I really had not been around them much. At the holding facilities we were in large herds and the two leggeds would come fill our feeders with Alfalfa hay, but they never tried to approach us or touch us as we intermingled together. So having Mary on my right wasn't so bad. She continued to walk her small circles to keep herself behind my shoulder and I continued to trot around the perimeter of the pen. As I began to settle she once again stepped forward, in front of my shoulder. Again, I whipped around into the rail changing direction yet again.

We continued this for quite some time. Mary would walk behind my shoulder and look at my hip. I would move forward and around the pen. Her walking, remaining behind my shoulder kept me moving forward. When I raced around quickly, she would then melt her body and gaze to the ground. The release of her pressure calmed me and I would slow a bit. Sometimes she would step in towards me and look at my hip again, this would send me forward faster as I felt her adding pressure to me. Then she would shift her eyes back to the ground and I would sigh and lick and chew as I slowed my speed. She continued to step in front of my shoulder to change my direction and I would spin around taking off the other way. We continued this and with each step I took I began to become a bit more confident in this two legged, Mary. As we moved around the pen things began to make sense to me, I understood what she was asking of me and it seemed she understood my reaction to her. I took great comfort in each time she backed her pressure off and allowed me to slow. I began to take comfort in the times she added pressure as well and I sped up. Rather than jetting off in fear, I would increase my speed, but remain more relaxed. Moving around this little pen was making sense to me.

When I was in Wyoming I ran by my Mother's side for an entire year. She watched over me, but she was firm. I respected her and I mirrored her actions. When we were grazing and the boss mare approached us, my mother and I would move out of the boss mare's way. It was understood amongst our herd that the boss mare was our leader and she never had to step out of our way, we always would step out of hers. I remember other times when my friends would run and play with me. Sometimes they would get carried away and get to close to my Mother where she was grazing. If they moved into her space she would shoot a forceful stare at them and step towards them to push them away. If they did not respect her request, she would spin around and kick out at them, kicking them hard if they did not move. It rarely took much and they got the hint. The next time the played near my Mother they were careful to respect her space, she was the boss mare to them and to me as well. I learned so much from her. I learned from all of my herd mates and tried to do my best to teach my daughter well too.

I found comfort in this two legged using the same communication that I used. It was all that I knew. Had she not used my language I would have had no idea what she way saying. Not knowing, being uncertain and confused scared me. I was thankful to begin to understand her, to communicate with her. I understood what she said and understanding gave me comfort.

Feedback PLEASE =)

2011-02-10T14:13:00.002-05:00

I really would like to do weekly clinics with our new Supreme Mustang. I have been debating on how to organize them, how often, location, fees etc etc... As most of you know horses are expensive and taking on a venture like this Mustang challenge is very costly. Building funds is a necessity...no $$$ trees out here, that is for sure ;)

Last year I had many folks interested in coming to see Lindsay during training, but it was difficult to have people just pop in and visit. We keep the farm locked up for our safety as well as our horse's safety, so just having folks drop by was not feasible. (I used to leave the farm open until we began to have visitors showing up, unannounced with empty horse trailers! ... The gate and lock came quickly thereafter!)...But I would love this year to work out a way that folks could come to the farm to see the new Mustang's progress. It would also be immensely helpful for the Mustang to earn his or her keep as well. So I am in the process of brainstorming ideas of how to best make this happen and I welcome your input.

One thought I have is hosting weekly Clinics here at our farm in Kelly, NC. They would consist of a lesson with me and the new Mustang, beginning in the beginning with the first human touch...all the way through to the last session before we head to Texas. They would be on a weekday...the same set day each week. It would be late enough in the afternoon to let things cool off as well as give folks time to get home from work. Say around 7:00 pm. I could also do a clinic on Sunday afternoons. Maybe 3 Sundays out of the month. So there would be ample opportunity for individuals to come out and see the process of gentling and training this new Mustang. I am thinking of having a small audit fee...Something reasonable, maybe $20 or so and could offer discounts for family's. I would need a way of tracking how many folks wanted to attend if I had it at my farm here at home. So I would need folks to sign up ahead of time. I would need to have a cut-off number if I did it here, probably no more than 20 people per clinic. If individuals knew in advance that they wanted to attend more clinics I could offer a discount for them.

Would you have interest in this? My thoughts are to start at the very beginning and continue throughout the entire process. There would sure be a lot to see going Wild to {hopefully..hehehe} Mild in only a few months =) Things from the very first human touch....to putting the halter on the first time..loading the first time (willingly) de-sensitizing, saddling, ground-driving, riding, turns on the forehand, backing, side-passing, spins, slides, lead changes, two-tracking, jumping, working cattle..crossing bridges..walking through curtains..navigating obstacles....there is so much for these horses to take in, yet they take it in so well....Lindsay's transition was surely amazing and I was thrilled to be able to share it on here, but it would be nice if a select number of participants could witness it this time around as well!

For those that could not attend in person, I thought of videoing each Clinic and offering DVD's at a small fee to interested individuals as well. They would be mailed out weekly in order to keep everyone up to speed.

I also could offer internet downloads of the videos. These would likely be edited a good bit and only show high-lights, but this would be another option.

This way anyone interested can have a more intimate view of this gentling process this time around!

Our farm is ~30 minutes from Wilmington, NC and 40 minutes from Elizabethtown, NC. The clinics would begin in May and run through Sept. Each session would be around an hour. My thoughts are $20 per person. Clinics offered one day each week and 3 Sundays out of the month.

Please email me at high.cotton.horse.farm@gmail.com if you would have any interest in attending something like this. I honestly would LOVE your input!!! Thank you so very much!

~Mary

Wooly Wyoming Haircoat!

2011-01-15T22:23:00.002-05:00

Well Miss Lindsay had her first ride today in quite some time. She has about 3 inches of hair coat and I think is ready for a Wyoming winter! It actually has been pretty cold here..dropping in the 20's every night, so I think she's been enjoying herself.

We just played around today..what fun to be back on her..especially to have something so exciting to prepare for. It brings me back to the days before the SEMM. We did some spins and some lead changes...soooo much fun. I am going to try and work on getting Lindsay's canter super collected. It just comes so natural for her to collect up, she is so uphill. I just think it would be so much fun to learn canter pirouettes with her. I really think she could do them easily, she is just built for it.

We practiced side passing up to scary stuff too. She is still cautious of things...she is no fool and doesn't just assume something is ok because I say so. But if I ask nicely she will muster the courage to approach just about anything...it almost makes it even more of an accomplishment for us than if she was just a bombproof horse that was not afraid of anything. She is quiet by nature, but very cautious...I guess that's how she made it in the Wild for so long. For her to overcome her fears time and again for me it is very special. They are real fears and she puts such faith in me to not steer her wrong. I really appreciate that in her.

We started working on learning to lay down today as well. She bows really well and the lay down comes from the bow. If I was to hobble her leg I know she would have laid down already, but there is no rush and honestly I'd like to see if we can do it without a hobble. I taught our Norwegian Fjord to lay down with no ropes, but of course he hasn't a fear in the world, that makes a big difference. She did come really close 3 times today. I mean all fours were buckled and she was right there...but hopped back up. I really feel if I ask a few more times she'll be there. It takes such trust for her to put herself in such a vulnerable position, I do not blame her for taking her time. It is coming though and it is going to be so exciting when she figures it out.

So we are back to riding pretty regular now. We are going through the ACTHA obstacles to try and be sure we are comfortable with them all before time for auditions. I am really enjoying having a new goal with her, she has so much to offer. Hopefully we will make it to filming and you can see her on TV. How neat would that be ?!?

Well, so long for now...Happy Trails to you =)

Reality TV Series "America's Favorite Trail Horse"

2011-01-14T18:30:00.004-05:00

We are THRILLED to announce Lindsay's Faith and Mary Jordan and family have a new adventure ahead! We will audition for the new Reality TV Series put on by ACTHA for America's Favorite Trail Horse! It will be aired on RFD TV in at least 10 episodes and YOU the viewer will vote on your favorite!

The audition is in April and Filming will be in May. The timing could not be more perfect as we can pick up our Supreme Mustang from the MS holding facility on the way home from the filming in TX! We could not help but jump on board when we learned of the fabulous adventure!

So excited to have a New challenge for Lindsay. 2011 will be a wonderful year!

Please join us on Face book in Lindsay's next adventure by going to this link http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1299163981#!/pages/Lindsays-Faith-Mustang-for-Americas-Favorite-Trail-Horse/178750158831398

Also if you have the itch to try your hand at this audition as well, we encourage you to enter! It will be great fun....go to www.actha.us to enter..the more the merrier!

Happy Trails to you!

Supreme Extreme 2011 is approaching!

2011-01-11T02:57:00.002-05:00

Lindsay is doing fabulous these days. She competed in an ACTHA competition last November and won her division and a super nice Classic Equine saddle pad that she ever so kindly lets Rox borrow every now and then. Mike has been enjoying riding her as well and I was happy to see that she seems to enjoy his company as well as mine. It's been snowing here in the South this winter and I think she loves it. She has a hair coat every bit of 3 inches long!

Check out the new MHF site when you can. www.mustangheritagefoundation.org Lindsay is in 2 of the 3 rotating images up top! If it is not her when you first visit hit refresh or F5 a few times and you will see her. So honored and humbled to help represent these amazing horses!

We welcomed the birth of our healthy baby girl Oct 3rd, 2010 Filleigh Kay Jordan is every bit as perfect as we imagined. We are so excited to have her come along with us for this year's Supreme.

Speaking of the Supreme..the horses are on line for viewing! We have picked out our favorite and are saving our pennies in hopes of bringing her/him home. If you would like to make a small donation to help us bring this special Mustang to NC please visit our site www.highcottonhorsefarm.com and go to the Mustang page for a donate link. We promise to put it to good use....and I PROMISE if we get the Mustang we want you will be thrilled you helped make it happen! Just watching this horse gives me goosebumps.

We plan to offer weekly demos and clinics this year in hopes of giving the equine community more of an up close opportunity to see this gentling process unfold. A good reason to help us get this special Mustang...YOU will be able to see him/her in the flesh each week if you would like!

2011 is going to be an exciting one! We will keep you up to speed on our happenings! Happy trails to you until next time!

Updates have been made to www.highcottonhorsefarm.com if you'd like to check them out.

~mmj

Videos...Pasture Time & Barrels

2010-09-01T10:47:00.002-04:00

Well Lindsay is now turned out in her big green pasture. I am personally a nervous wreck when it comes to getting horses adjusted to hot-wire and as much as I wanted to get Lindsay turned out, I really dreaded that aspect of it. We have the hot-cote fencing, which I really do like, it is white coated electric fence so it's very visible, but still holds current. I started by putting a strand up in the round pen for her to test out...I feel like such an awful person when she walked right up to it out of the curiousity that we had both worked so hard to cultivate over the last 100 days...and got zapped! Ughhhh hated that...but she has to know what it is if she is going to be in the field, so life goes on. It didn't take much of a zap for her to decide that every type of fence must be hot...including the round pen! She was even nervous to walk through the gate at first...she has adjusted now though and is currently out in a 3 acre field surrounded by other horses in pastures beside her. I can tell she wants a buddy, I will work on that next...must do one thing at a time to try and keep things as safe as possible. It is so very nice to see her eating grass out in the field. I know she must enjoy it...I've never seen a horse crave grass like she does...I guess she was used to eating everything she could all day long out in WY to maintain enough calories.

I have still been riding her..not twice a day as before! lol ...but at least every other day. I am actually pregnant and honestly Lindsay is one of my best mounts to sit on! My body feels so much better when I ride, it's just what I am wired to do..no telling what would go on inside of me if I stopped...mentally and physically I'd be a wreck!...It's sure not for everyone..(riding while in foal )..it is a personal decision whether it is right for you, but I know without a shadow of a doubt it is right for me and I am so thankful to have Lindsay to help my mind and body stay in a good place during this 9 months of excitement!

We actually have started slow loping the barrel pattern and man is she a natural. Turning the barrels comes very, very easy to her. My husband, Mike, has not run barrels before, but I'm hoping maybe he and Lindsay will be a team in the future. Mike is so incredible to go with me to barrel races and is always so supportive...I think it would be really neat if he could participate too. Lindsay is so balanced and collected naturally, I think she will be a smooth running horse when she's finished. She may even end up being "Filleigh Kay's" ride too (that's our little girl currently swimming around in my belly :) I am so very thankful that with the Supreme we were able to adopt up front...I have all ideas I would not have been able to afford her had they auctioned them off after the 100 days....I even had folks coming up to me at the Supreme asking me how much I wanted for her..trying to buy her! Well, maybe the next one..sure can not keep them all, but thankful she's not going anywhere!

I posted a few videos from the Supreme on youtube ... here are some links to them ... you should be able to cut and paste them to view or visit www.youtube.com and our channel is highcottonhorsefarm, you can find them that way too.

Reining----->>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcrP9RznN-w
RailWork---->>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkSIxqh4xd4
Trail------->>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc07LlcYpnM

Thanks again for everyone's support!

THANK YOU!!!!!!

2010-08-24T16:20:00.006-04:00

The Demo went fabulous! We were so honored that so many folks showed up even with such short notice!

We did our freestyle for everyone and Lindsay was such a good girl. She was very relaxed...so relaxed we even drug that back lead a few strides for our flying change...oooooppss! She rarely does that..I think she was still asleep lol .....not sure who all noticed, maybe I shouldn't have said anything hehehe...she was great though..I pulled off her bridle and then jumped her fences..three bounce outs from both directions, then did a few spins and climbed aboard the pedestal again...she was great...she didn't want to get off the pedestal! hehe..She just kept trying to step back on, I think she likes it up there!...Folks clapped and it startled her at first, but after a bit of getting adjusted to it she was soooo good. By the time it was all over she let me ride her up to the rail and let folks hang over the railing rubbing her face neck and ears...she just went to sleep!

THANK YOU again to all that have supported us throughout this process.....

Alex Hartner's family...Dr Marcy...Dr Sandy and Heidi...R'Assta Tyme Farm and The Whiteheads...The CCHA...Sue King...Magnolia Farms...(a special anonymous person :) My Parents and Family...Lindsay and Judy Miller, Barbara Arntsen, Dr Sybil Burgess...The Browns for feeding...Tracy Murray for packing us awesome travel food..Mike's Grandmother for creating such an awesome Costume...Golden Gaits Farm for letting us layover twice!... Triple Crown for providing Lindsay with such fabulous nutrition...Soft Ride for taking care of her feet and legs..the HACC for letting us buy a day insurance policy for the demo..the Boys Home for letting us have the Demo at their awesome facility...the MHF and Patti Colbert for putting on such an awesome Show... Jim Thomas and Chapin for their help in Texas..my BF Kim and her significant other Billy for there support (they flew all the way to TX to support us!!!) ...Filleigh Kay for being along for the ride but not coming out to visit to soon....My AMAZING HUSBAND Mike for being truly one in a million and being my better half enabling me to be ME.....and allllllll of you that have sent us kinds words of encouragement..positive vibes... and thoughtful prayers...We have felt each and every one of you and feel so very blessed to know there are such amazing people in this world!

God is Good All of the Time!!!!

I can not wait to do this again next year..I am ready to see the videos of next yrs prospects right now!!!

Loving having Lindsay here at home. I'm been dying to turn a barrel, so slow loped her through yesterday and she acted as if she'd done it a million times! It's like she reads my mind...better be careful what I think of next huh!???!!!!

I may keep posting on here as time goes on..it's kind of addictive..and I've got a feeling I'm not going to run out of things to talk about anytime soon!

~Listen to what the voices inside your head tell you...and do what they say (assuming they are positive thoughts!)...it's an awful lot of fun and very rewarding...Promise!

Demo @ Lake Waccamaw Expo Center

2010-08-18T22:29:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know we'll be doing a demo at the Lake Waccamaw Boys and Girls Home exposition Center THIS Sat Aug 21st at 6 pm. Everyone is welcome *Free admission* We are accepting donations to the Boys and Girls Homes Horseback Riding Program.

We will be re-enacting our Freestyle that we preformed in Texas for our local horse community to see. We will also do some demonstrations on how we went about developing out relationship and learning together over the past 100 days. We will be answering questions as well.

This is a special THANK YOU for all the incredible support our horse community has offered us as well as a Thank you to Triple Crown Feed and Soft Ride Boots, our "Product" Sponsors. They were both a huge asset to Lindsay's comfort and success.

We look forward to seeing everyone! Please contact me at high.cotton.horse.farm@gmail.com for further information.

WOW...

2010-08-15T10:59:00.004-04:00

What a jam packed day... Sat. after the Reining/Maneuvers class we did the Cow work... This was our first time in the Coliseum where the Freestyle would be. Lindsay was definitely a bit out of her comfort zone in there. It is a HUGE building with seating that goes way up to the ceiling and a big round top to it. She was nervous walking in, but still did exactly as I asked... When I called for our cow he came flying out of the gate. She certainly wasn't afraid of him, but wasn't really sure what to do with him either. We were supposed to keep him "boxed" down at the end of the pen..well he shot past us...just caught us off guard he came out so quick, but we caught up with him and turned him back down the fence...once we did that the first time Lindsay started to get a feel for what was going on...We ran him up and down the fence a few more times and turned him back. Then pushed him up the other side of the fence through the cones and into the holding pen. That part actually went quite well. I did see our score card on that class and we scored really well on the cones and holding pen part..pretty good on the turn backs too. Unfortunately all that flying around chasing cows got Lindsay quite excited...plus that Stadium seating had her really uneasy. I really got to thinking that if we make the freestyle I'm going to need to really get her mind back quiet...she got rather worked up running all over the place.

Well at that point it was around 2pm and they weren't going to post the freestyle finalists till 4pm...I was able to ride her in the coliseum again and she was pretty tense, but she really settled good after 45 minutes or so. We took off to grab a bit to eat and as soon as we came back I hear that all trainers are called into the arena... Well, I wasn't expecting any formal announcement..I figured they'd just post results....but I guess with this being a "Show"... not just a horse show it's quite different. they called out the top 20 randomly and #48 was on the list! Everyone had their hats on and looked like they should have been in the line up...I had no hat on .. just stuffed a cheeseburger down my throat and was tucking my shirt in as I was walking across the pen to the line up... oooops...just glad to have made it in though.

I was thrilled to be in there, but really saddened for the folks that weren't. Every single one of these trainers and Mustangs have accomplished so very much and put so much heart and soul into this. ..and believe me there were some super nice, super well trained talented Mustangs that did not make it. This competition is the first of it's caliber...the best of the best showed up for this deal. Just about every Trainer in the Finals has competed and won or placed really high at multiple Mustang Makeovers in the past..These folks not only know horses, they know how this deal works...and believe me it's a type of competition all to its own. I've never been a part of anything like it! Just amazing and a huge learning experience. To have made the finals was such an honor in itself for us.

We drew numbers and I drew up fifth, we then had a meeting to discuss music and props and then at a little after 5 they turned us loose to get ready for the Freestyle at 6 pm!.. Talk about over load! I just did my best to stay calm and not rush. Lindsay and I were going to do a Native American theme, so I went in her stall and tied her feathers in her mane and tail, painted her Indian Symbols on and attempted to get ready...I do best in high stress competitions just to focus on my horse and the task at hand..small talk is extremely distracting for me...that's a bit tough when you've got spectators swarming the barns, but I somewhat stayed hidden as we got ready...had one guy with a foot long camera want to come in the stall with us to take photos!...he was not with the folks filming for the TV series either...I nicely offered to him to take photos from the outside of the stall..goodness, not used to this kind of stuff.

Mike was SOOOO incredible he got all our props and set them up for us to practice over. We had 3 jumps set up as bounce outs and a pedestal. We schooled over them a bit and she was perfect so we headed to the Coliseum.

It was so loud as we approached. This is a huge production, they turn a bunch of Mustangs loose in the arena as part of the show...they drove the 6 Judges in on Ford Mustangs...they had a "Extreme Mutt Makeover" going on at the same time and the dogs did demos too...I was supposed to go in to do a dance on our horses where we side passed and backed and turned to the music then picked folks from the crowd to join in...I missed that, hope it wasn't to big a deal..I just didn't realize it was starting already, it all happened so fast. When I got up there they were on horse #2 and I was #5. I rode around in the little warm up area and Lindsay really stayed very relaxed. The trainer before us was shooting a pistol and she was great with that. You could sure here it. As he finished up they sent us in..and sent us in quickly.. these spectators paid $30 a pop and their $ is much of the reason this is happening...the MHF was serious about putting on a serious show. That was way different for me...I am used to "Horse" shows being all about the horse and what is ideal for them...the NBHA barrels races go to great lengths to keep the ground perfect and conditions ideal for the horse..this was more like a huge Rodeo..it was designed for the audience. Of course it all comes back to the betterment of the Mustangs, but somebodies got to foot the bill..that somebody is sitting high in the stands screaming and snapping pictures and wanting a SHOW...

So they quickly open the gate and Mike drives the truck in the arena to set up our props..a section of the crowd starts "booing" because apparently it was taking a little longer than they wanted and some management folks ran out to help saying the crowd was getting impatient. Mike is out there doing his best to measure these jumps so they are the correct distance apart (a VERY important thing!) and having to hear that...he held his own though and got it done (Much thanks to Mr. Thomas and his son Chapin for their help!) Mike has been unbelievable this whole time, there is No way it would have happened without him...

Then out comes the truck and they start our music as I enter the gate.

We walked in and there are people in the audience all the way to the ceiling..the roof was dome shaped and the arena was decent size, but not huge...the stands took up most of the space. I could feel Lindsay's tension, but even with the crowd she followed my lead. We half passed at the walk back and forth until we reached our pedestal. We stopped and I stepped her up on it. She willingly stepped up, but once she was on the crowd screamed and she scooted to the side stepping off...I asked her to step on again and she did..I then asked for a 180 pivot on the forehand with her front feet on the pedestal and she was perfect. By all means nervous, but relieved that I was giving her something to focus on. We backed off, did a 180 pivot on the haunches and stepped into a trot to the center of the ring. We then halted as the music gradually picked up into a native American drumming beat..as the drums started, we started our spins...two each way, which she did very well (actually better than in the previous maneuvers class that morning @ 8am) After the spins we stepped into a right lead canter where we cantered a 20 meter circle. She was so very good about letting me help her along. She was so nervous, but did not become tense, she really would relax the more she realized what I was asking her to do. It really seemed to give her comfort to have something to focus on in the midst of such a frightening place..We circled to the right once more, then did a clean flying change to the left..proceeding to circle twice in that direction. As we came out of our second left circle we cantered up the long side gaining a little speed, then sat down to stop. She gave me a nice stop, we then backed which she was pleased to do and at that point we were done with the "required" movements...we went on to our next step which was jumping through 3 cross rails set up for her to land once between each one. She was perfect with that and stopped on the other side promptly when I asked. (At this point my plan had been to drop the bridle and jump back through with the neck rope, we've done it at home a bunch, but I felt she needed my help to much, she was so worried over the crowd..they really screamed as we jumped and I could so feel her anxiety) So I jumped back through with the bridle. On the other side I picked up the neck rope at turned her a bit to be sure I had her attention. Even though she was anxious over the crowd, so was as in tune to me as ever. So in the midst of the cameras flashing and crowd roaring off went the bridle. I walked her forward and stepped into a spin..starting slow and speeding up gradually. She really did well with it, but the crowd Loved it..the more we spun the more they screamed .. when I brought her down she was definitely still anxious, but still desperately looking to me for guidance. My plan had been to walk her back to the pedestal and step her up on it without the bridle (again she knows how to do this well) ..as I asked her to walk straight forward and it was as if she just got lost. The crowd was still loud as she seemed to desperately want me to ask her to do something, spin...back...something, but simply walking forward just was not "direct" enough to comfort her, she was just stuck and it really showed, it was obvious she was very tense at that point...obvious to the judges I mean..she kind of danced around as she tried to understand what I wanted..just grabbing at straws for me to give her a clear request and the more I simply asked for forward the more she danced.. before I knew it time was up...so we started off great, even through her anxiety she performed so well, but when we reached a moment where she felt like she had lost my direction her anxiety just become painted all over us. I stepped of and even though we were not being judged I still asked her to bow...which she did very quickly..almost with a sigh of relief as if to say.."Thank goodness this is familiar, finally" The judges hold their scores up on cards for everyone to see. .. Her maneuvers scores were incredible, mostly 10's a 9.5 I think and an 8...I knew it wouldn't stay that high though...it couldn't with our ending...and it didn't, the overall presentation and horsemanship scores were way low..6 and 7's...hind sight I wish I had hopped off after the spins and bowed and been done, she would have understood every bit of that and her anxiety would have been more hidden...but that simple forward walk was , just that..simple..it did not give her enough clear direction.. and she just got lost. of course I'd really have rather had her more prepared for the crowd, but honestly I do not think anything could have prepared us more than simply doing it...I certainly know now. .. and I'll have the next one prepared better :)

So after our scores we exited the arena and prepared to wait until the end for the awards presentation. I started to put her in a stall for a moment, but she was to anxious (Stalls do not typically bother her, she been amazingly quiet everywhere we go, but the tension in the air was to much) I went back in and she just stood with her head at my chest and relaxed again. She started to come back to how she had been all weekend and went to sleep as we waited. We had been interviewed many times during this process and she had the camera man an inch from her ears more times than I can count..they interviewed us again and of course I had nothing but good things to say...how could I not, I have never had a horse that put the degree of trust in me that she does...the only reason her anxiety even showed was because she felt like she had lost my direction. As soon as she had it again she was fine....I just wish I had realized that in two seconds rather then 15 seconds, but at least I realized it. To have such an amazing individual put that degree of faith in you is a very humbling experience. It makes you put even more pressure on yourself to do right by her, I felt like I let her down a bit by dropping her scores from a mistake I could have prevented, but I realize that there are certain things we can not always prepare for. Sometimes we simply have to experience them to know...

We had to wait for what felt like eternity for the other horses to go and the dogs to do their freestyles as well..(There were Extreme Mutt Makeover champions crowned that night too...all from a Euthanasia Fort Worth shelter and adopted out at the competition...what a wonderful program!!!)..we finally all entered the ring and accepted our awards. We received custom trophy halters for making the freestyle which was really nice. I knew she'd be super nervous with the clapping and noise, and she was..especially because she was having to stand...I just backed her when she got to restless and after a while she really started to relax. She ended up 17th over all...her presentation scores were some of the lowest, but her maneuver scores were well on the top. Again, made me a bit sad I did not give her a better shot...if I had realized she was leaning on my help so much I would have continued to ask her to do deliberate things during the end of the performance when she was the most tense from the now roaring crown, spin, back, side pass..she needed something like that, but I didn't know until it was to late. That doesn't change one bit how amazing she is..and her maneuver scores prove she was right up there with the best of the best. I could not be prouder of that. This competition was only ~80 horses, but just about every trainer that had made the finals in previous makeovers was here...some didn't make the Supreme Finals (even though they were incredible trainers with very talented Mustangs)...most of the folks in the Freestyle were previous winners...it was amazing to be in a line-up with the Top Mustang trainers in the Country! What an honor...and to score right there in the top with the maneuvers was icing on the cake. I feel like I know so much more about what to expect for next time. I would approach the training the same way...some trainers push their horses faster and many of these Mustangs can take it, but I would use the same approach as I did before. Lindsay proved to me she had the know how to get the job done .. it was simply the noise of the crowd that stood in our way. I will be sure to give our next Mustang a proper chance to adjust to that better before the competition. After standing 30 minutes under the crowd for the awards I think Lindsay was ready for the Freestyle we had practiced!

Speaking of next year...there will be another Supreme Makeover! It really was a huge success. More horses will be available and more $ will likely be on the table (of course I am no MHF employee, so do not know details or definite plans, but that is what I was told)

My plan for next year is to incorporate a partner in this next adventure. I want to continue this each year, but I can not keep every horse. My plan is to partner with an individual that wants a Mustang that will be trained similar to Lindsay, but training tweaked to the needs of that horse of course. This individual would basically pay the costs involved, but would not be charged actual training. The Mustang would be theirs after the competition and I would definitely work out a transition time to help horse and new partner to develop a relationship before the Mustang went to his/her forever home. If you have interest in this please contact me.

I am planning to do a demo very soon, maybe this coming Saturday .. I am working on details now. I want to have a public opportunity to thank EVERYONE! The support has been so amazing...Thanks to Triple Crown Lindsay has been drinking wonderful on the road. I have soaked a small amount of Senior with her water at each stop and she sucks it down each time..even when she turns her nose up to regular water. She has not been tucked up or looked dehydrated once this entire trip...which considering we traveled 2200 miles in 100 plus degree heat...riding 3 or 4 times every day..hard..it's just unbelievable how good she looks. She was by far one of the best looking Mustangs..that was a factor in her scoring and it showed. I can not count the compliments she received from other Trainers and individuals on how fabulous her condition was.....And her Soft-Ride boots could not have been a better asset. Her stall was literally concrete. Those boots were her only relief..I kept them on her religiously.

As for Lindsay's future..I have many plans. We are going to become very active in the NCTHA (Competitive Trail) Proceeds from NCTHA will benefit Mustang adoptions, it is a wonderful group. We also plan to do some Extreme Cowboy Races and some Reined Cow Horse events. The inaugural "Project Cowboy" is this year in Oct... I will be a bit tied up then :) ...but I have all ideas they will have another next year and if so Lindsay will be my partner in that for sure!

I can not thank everyone enough for the support...everyone of you have made a difference for us, your prayers have been felt. My Daddy and step-Mom Judy came to Texas as well as friend Kim and Billy...we were so appreciative of their support. Jim Thomas and his son Chapin helped set props for us. The Mortons of Golden Gaits Farm have let us lay over for both legs of the trip. My Mom has stayed at the farm and Deanna and the rest of the Brown family have feed critters while we were away. We simply could not do it without each of you...and so many friends, family and even acquaintances have supported us..emotionally and some monetarily..it is simply over whelming the support the horse community has offered. We are so appreciative and humbled by everyone. There are many amazing souls out there with warm hearts...that goes for people and horses...

I will let you know as soon as a Demo date/time is confirmed. ....and will get photos and videos up as soon as I can. :)

Friday~ First 2 Prelim

2010-08-14T12:15:00.002-04:00

Not sure how long I'll have to write... I am fixing to do our cow class in a bit...but yesterday was amazing!

Lindsay was an angel for trail...ground tied for me to pick feet up, stood dead still for me to bridle/unbridle...she handled the poles, the gate, the pole drag, the serpentine, the back through and lope off and halt like a perfect pro..I just sat there and let her work :) She ended up 4th in that class...tied for 1st under BF Yeates (the Cowboy Hall Of Fame and AQHA Judge!!!) ...

The riding rail class was almost perfect as well..we showed in Hunter Tack and I braided her up..she looks so good like that!... Our only hiccup was when we did a rollback to change directions then were asked to trot off she started to grab a canter...typically rollback then move forward means lope off....so she was simply doing what she thought I wanted.... She let me pick her up quick and smooth though...ended up 8th overall there...was 2nd under one judge and 5 or 6 under another...then the 3rd tagged us pretty low...guess he cared about that canter depart a bit more than the others...so over all in Riding it set her 8th...

I tallied everyone above us in both classes and she's sitting 4th over all as of last night...we did reining this am ... we were the first one! ... She did her 2 tracks great, stop and back was great...canter depart quick and smooth and she got both flying lead changes :) ... She stopped good on the rail (when she went to slide my hat sailed off lol) ...but we had to side pass to get off the rail to rollback...which she did...then another stop and roll back and into the center...at that point she was pretty hyped up and I should have dropped her into a spin, but asked her to stand a bit and she kinda anticipated a leg yield...anyway I went ahead and asked for the spin anyway b/c I knew it was time and she did it, but it wasn't as clean as it could have been...the second way was better though... She just really got into that class and had a good time... I'm sure I could have ridden her better, but I was so pleased at how she handled everything and she did everything I asked...what more could I want??...

Now waiting on the Cow Class... it's running at the same time as the Maneuvers/Reining class...I am super excited about the cow class with her, i think she'll love it!

They will announce the top 20 horses by 4 pm then freestyle at 6 pm! The people here are amazing as well as the Mustangs....What a ride! LOVE IT!!!!!

Wed & Thursday ~The Time has Come!

2010-08-13T06:04:00.002-04:00

Well it's been an eventful few days....as of yesterday morning when I pulled Lindsay out of the stall to tack up and ride I noticed a huge swelling just behind her left elbow....RIGHT were the Cinch Must Go!!! Ahhhhhh.... and it was even more sensitive than it looks...when you would touch it she just winced like it was pins and needles... Oh my lordy, what to do what to do....

We went ahead and checked in to Will Rogers that morning. Got her settled in her stall. She was an angel, unloaded in the parking lot perfectly..walked into the big loud barn and waited quietly in line like an angel for the MHF to read her brand and get her number painted on her.... She was a bit wiggly for the guy to paint the number...she is so much better about strangers, but not so much if they start to do something to her, but she held her own. After she settled in for a bit I figured I'd try to put the saddle on her easy and leave the cinch loose, we had to figure out how we were going to get through this. well, i sat the saddle on and lightly cinched her up... she BLEW! Went straight up like a hyper-reactive baby that's never been cinched!.. Well...as all of you know this was NOT her, Totally out of character!..She had to of hurt so badly... She did settle and might would have pushed through the pain, but we were not doing that. So once she stopped for a moment I pulled the saddle off, I was Not about to ask her to work through that...she has given me to much for me to do that to her.

Well, at that point all I knew were two things... I was NOT asking her to do anything that made her be in pain...and we WERE NOT DRAWING OUT of this deal...so how to make both of those things happen???? I decided I'd try her bareback... I sat on her bareback in the stall a couple months back, but have not been on her bareback much. When I went to crawl up yesterday she was pretty tense at first... She has so many "buttons" and "cues" along her sides with my leg laid across her bareback she just felt everything...it was like an over load, she just was doing her best to figure out what I wanted...to back, to spin, to lope off???... I just stayed quite and reminded myself of how quickly she learns things if I explain them correctly. I just sat on her and gradually started to move around, letting her know that she did not have to jump off my leg at any movement...surprisingly, after only 15 minutes or so it seemed she was catching on and had relaxed into this new riding style. So we took off to the Show Arena.

You wind down this long deep tunnel to go from the stalls to the arena. This facility is practically in the city, so the barns are connected by tunnels to the arenas. She walked past the huge fans in the aisle ways and psst the stalls filled with other Mustangs and people and down the ramp to the arena. The arena has banners all along the rail to advertise sponsors and had quite a few Mustangs working and folks in the stand watching. Well, she was an angel...took everything like a Pro! They pulled some trail type obstacles out for us to work and she did everything I asked...Honestly after I'd been on her for a bit I started to like riding her bareback more than with a saddle. I am able to communicate with her so much more clearly. I can totally see why Stacy Westfall does her bridle-less demo bareback...yes it looks good and I'm sure that's part of it, but I bet she prefers it... at this point I started to feel better, because I figured I could do the whole deal bareback if need be, I asked management and they said it would be ok, but she the judges would Not be giving me "Extra credit" for it...which of course was not my motive, but I guess other competitors may have assumed so....

The only issue that arrised with the bareback option was we Had to drag a log in the trail course! Well, there was no way I could drag that thing without the saddle horn... It would snatch me right off her if I tried to hold it! The only other option was a neck rope, but lordy I've been explaining to her for weeks that the neck rope means whoa! The last thing I wanted to do was teach her to push on it ...argh, back to square one.

Well, I failed to mention I did call the vet that am and they were coming to see her, just took a long time for them to arrive. (In the meantime I spoke with Dr. Marcy and she was a huge help!)..They finally rolled in at 4 pm. They gave her some medication for it...and notified show management so all is well there...then it was wait and see. Well, I am no good at waiting...on anything!...but I did. I also borrowed a fleece girth cover from a new Mustang friend. At around 9 pm the swelling did seem better, it was still sore, but majorly improved. I figured I could give it another shot...I cinched her real slow and stretched her front legs really good to try and pull any bunched up skin out from under there.. I hand walked her and trotted her...and she seemed fine! ..So aboard I climbed.

Well after spending all day telling her to be less reactive, I had to ask her to be more reactive again seeing as we had layers of saddle pad and leather between us again... It's a good thing she is so brilliant...she figured it out. She I think we are back on track..when I checked on her this am it seemed like it hardly hurt at all...and where she is still a bit sensitive is far up in the crease of her elbow, I think I can keep the cinch off of that.

We had a meeting yesterday and met the judges. They are filming some sort of tv series this weekend..I don't know details yet, but will keep everyone posted. There are camera guys all over!

Trail is first tomorrow, the pattern consists of a gate, elevated trot overs, drag log, serpentine, halt in box, back through L type deal, lope of from halt...We walk through w/ judges at 7:30 then it starts at 8 am..we are the 55th horse up.

I was a bit frazzled yesterday with the cinch deal, but the more I do with this mare the more she proves to me just how truly spectacular she is!... Onward and forward we go...

Day 93 ~ Home on the Road

2010-08-10T22:41:00.002-04:00

Well we did make it to Fort Worth last night. Traffic wasn't to bad and we ended up pulling in to the facility at around 11:45 pm. It was a nice place, HUGE indoor arena (Cover-all..my dream indoor :)We met with the barn manager and she promptly takes us on a walk to our barn... She didn't seem to thrilled at the late hour, but at least she did let us in!... As we approached our "stall" my stomach dropped. It was a shelter with a run... all that sounds fine and good...and it would have been, BUT there were horses on both sides of us! ...NOT double fenced off as the Stallions were at Golden Gaits Farm, but right there...and there was only a two row, very thin metal pipe fence separating them from each side of her paddock. Now that may not seem like an issue for some, but I personally become Very protective of any horse in my care and all I could see was "eking" and pawing as Lindsay (a Dominant Boss Mare) informed her two companions of how the totem pole works out on the range. Any time you have horses getting to know each other for the first time there is a chance of injury and throw in a pipe fence between them...I just think it would have been asking for it. It was just not going to happen...even if Mike and I had just hauled 12 hours and we really ready to settle in.

I asked the barn manager if there was a place where she would not be over the fence with another horse and she said no, this was the only option. I informed her (very politely :) that I had spoken with a lady about a month back in regards to setting up this layover and she had told me I could have a stall for Lindsay...well the "new" barn manager's eyes are now glazed over as she tells me that "She is no longer with us anymore" ... I had to chuckle inside, because it made me think to myself..."I guess there is horse drama everywhere you go." It seems many of the boarding barns in Wilmington were always changing managers when I used to travel around training and there was always a bit of drama in the midst, guess it's the same way half way across the country! But after my brief silent chuckle I did get a bit perturbed at the realization that I had set this up a month in advance to ensure Lindsay with a safe resting spot and now it is almost midnight and this "barn manager" whom looks all of 18 yrs old is telling me there is no other option other than the one I simply was not doing.

I quickly scanned the property and spotted a round pen. I asked if we could use it for the night.... well she did not like that idea at all, but after a big sigh she said, "Fine" ... So at least we had a safe spot for Lindsay for the night .. and she settled in quickly and quietly as usual. I figured we'd crash and come up with a new game plan in the morning.

The morning rolled around, rather quickly I must say.. I immediately got on line and found another stable that took layovers near Fort Worth. Called them up and there was room..and it was a stall to ourselves! Sweet relief, we packed up asap and got the heck outta dodge..after I left cash for our nights stay in the round pen...The other facility has an indoor arena too, but it is steel and not insulated and HOT... I mean really HOT, but that's ok, she has a very safe box stall that is as cool as any stall is going to get in 100 degree plus weather. She seems very content in there. She has really been drinking and eating great, she is not tucked up in the least! So excited about that! I have continued soaking her TC Senior, just because it doesn't hurt to get extra fluids in her and she seems to enjoy that mushy stuff.

After she ate her breakfast, she layed down and took a good nap..she has been so quick to settle at these new places..I am really loving that! Mike and I then did a bit of running around in Fort Worth. There were a few things I needed to get for the competition, so we got that done and headed back to the barn in the afternoon.

After it finally started to cool down I took Lindsay for an easy ride. This stable borders a park..which is crazy to me being right in Fort Worth, but it does..so we took off on a little trail ride. She is so funny when we go ride somewhere new, she really gets into it checking stuff out and walks forward and free.. like she is excited to see what is around the next corner. It was pretty hilly and we winded up and down little trail trough the trees. We even came across a stream! Of course I jumped at the opportunity to ask Lindsay to go in...and she did :) We walked up and down it a bit and she kept wanting to drop her nose down all the way under water and toss the water everywhere! She was having a blast...I do think a Pilot Mountain Yadkin River trip is in this gal's future!...After we played in the stream we started making our way back to the barn. When we got up to the main road we came upon a family taking a walk ..Mother, Father, little kid walking and a baby in a stroller. Lindsay was slightly unsure at first, but was very willing when I asked her to walk on by. She does still look at new things...it's not like she is oblivious to the world, but she is so quick to follow my lead if I simply ask her to..even if it involves approaching something she is uncertain about. We spent some time riding around the barn and in the indoor ring...she was curious and wanted to check stuff out, but willingly went everywhere I pointed her. She has become such an enjoyable ride!

Oh, and another Mustang arrived today at our barn! I remember him and his adopter from pick-up. They are all the way from Wisconson! He's a pretty little guy, super flashy. A sorrel with a snow white flaxen mane and tail, 4 stockings and a wide blaze. He seemed pretty quite in his stall too and didn't flinch when I walked by. It's really neat to see these guys again after meeting them as wild, untouched Mustangs. I am So excited to see all the others and the progress I know they have made.

Of to bed for tonight, Lindsay is tucked in her stall and we are in the horse trailer, literally 6 feet from her :)

Day 91 & 92 ~ On The Road Again

2010-08-09T11:47:00.003-04:00

We got all packed up and headed out Sunday around 11 am. It was pretty smooth sailing other than some stand still traffic in the Mountains of Tennessee. Lindsay was all comfy in her Soft Ride boots (Thanks to www.soft-ride.com ) ...she had (has) the entire front box stall to herself so she can turn around and ride however she pleases. She has hay and water at all times and every few hours we stop and I give her some water that has a bit of Triple Crown Senior soaked in it...if she's not feeling like regular H2O, some Senior flavored H2O does the trick :) ..and it soaked up so fast that once she drinks the flavored water the senior is mushy and water packed too. Dehydration is about the toughest thing to fight on a long trip so I try to do everything in my power to keep her super hydrated! She rides like a dream. We packed her hay in the back of the trailer which leaves only a narrow space for her to load, she steps right in like she knows it's her house :)

...oh before we left I had almost forgotten I wanted to shoot a gun near her b/c I'm sure she'll here it in Fort Worth...so after a ride Mike pulled out the pistol and shot towards the woods about 30 feet from us...She jumped a tad bit, but not much...all my other guys scattered like chickens!..He shot one more time and Lindsay jumped less, her body just barely "hiccuped" in place ..and everyone else seemed to flea more...I figured we better stop before they got to carried away, but I was thrilled to see Lindsay was so relaxed with it. I know she is going to see and hear so much that I could not have possibly prepared her for, but I do believe once given a chance to see it's no big deal she'll be fine...

We got in to Golden Gaits Farm in middle Tennessee at ~11 pm last night. Lindsay walked off the trailer and into the stall like she was right at home. The Mortons' two prize Stallions were stalled on either side of Lindsay. (There was a stall in between each one and her) It was quite funny, they both seemed to think she had arrived especially for them....Bandit (the older Stallion) settled quicker, but RJ was determined time the night was over he'd have her sweet talked into sneaking off behind the grape vines. Well, she totally ignored him...didn't even reply and I tell you it was if she said "Been there, Done that, Got the Tee-shirt"...she just didn't pay him any mind...toooo funny. I really was pleased and still amazed at how well she settled, she was totally quiet and relaxed. She drank good through-out the night and ate her dinner and breakfast.

We went on a morning ride today just after the sun peaked over the hills. What Beautiful country middle Tennessee is! Especially at Golden Gaits Farm..Wow it was just amazing. There were Friesian mares and foals romping in the pastures and the hills were dotted with colorful Spotted Saddle horses. Grape vines line the property and critters are happily lounging around everywhere you look. It is truly God's Country and it could not be occupied by a more deserving family. Drs. Wendy and Bryant Morton started up Elizabethtown Vet Hospital in Bladen County, NC years ago. They are not only wonderful vets, but also two of the most sincere, caring folks you'll meet...towards people and animals. They have 2 sons, Alex and Bart and the 4 of them occupy this piece of heaven in middle Tennessee. We feel so blessed to consider them friends! www.goldengaitsfarm.net

We are now back on the trail, headed to Fort Worth, Texas! We should get in around 10 pm tonight.

If you would like to see more photos I have quite a few posted on Lindsay's Facebook page, you do not have to be a Facebook member to view...just click this link (or cut and paste) if you want to check it out :)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lindsay-Roan-Mustang-Mare-competing-in-the-Supreme-Extreme-Makeover/105660732810287?ref=ts

Day 89 & 90 ~ Getting packed up!

2010-08-07T03:02:00.002-04:00

We are close to being ready to pull out and soooo excited! Things have been coming together all week, new tires on the truck, Mike has changed the oil and all the filters...gonna re-pack trailer bearing tomorrow and I think our rig shall be Texas bound. We've been getting other stuff together too, props for the freestyle (thanks to the help of quite a few friends and family) and all of Lindsay's traveling gear in order.

She threw a shoe a few days back, it needed to be re-set anyway, it was one I had glued on and only put two nails in...well, she was just a star for me to re-set it. No glue this time, just nails and I could not have asked for her to stand better. Didn't even have Mike hold her, I pulled a "Billy Murray" and put her lead rope in the belt of my chaps and had her basically ground tie and she didn't budge. So proud of her.

We've been riding lots still, morning and night some days and she is holding her own well. She is a pretty fit gal these days and will need to be to go through this next week. 22 hours of hauling is hard on any horse, then competing in 4 different preliminaries, plus warming up...and (Lord willing) the freestyle..all over only 2 days is a lot. Her weight is really really good too, I am so thankful to Triple Crown for sponsoring her. She has gone through quite a bit of feed, I've had her on the TC Senior for quite some time now @ 4 pounds twice a day! Plus hay of course...that's a lot and it's not that she's a hard keeper, but with all the hauling she did to get here, then the consistent work she been doing non-stop, she really did need the calories. If anything she is a little on the thicker side, but she is certainly fit and it seems they all drop a little when you haul that hard, so it will be good for her to have a little buffer.

Mike picked up some round bales yesterday and put tarps over them...Lindsay eye-balled them a little at first, so I took the opportunity to ride her over and check them out...it didn't take much encouraging at all and she let me shake the tarp all around beside her...once she figured out hay was underneath she was especially interested!...At one point Mike was burning feed bags and I asked him to hand me one while I was on her. She didn't even flinch...it's amazing how educated she has become and a lot of it, especially that type thing..new people and inanimate objects....has evolved almost on it's own. I mean, yes of course I have tried to desensitize her as much as possible to things, however we did hit that rut at one point where we just got stuck, the more I pushed to get her desensitized the more she thought she really should be afraid of the scary object...especially me picking things up from her back, that was a biggy. I did do quite a few things like hanging everything imaginable in her stall to spending hours in her stall tossing a plastic bag filled with cans all around until she stopped jumping out of her skin each time they hit the ground...but that said, I also just got to a point where I stopped worrying about it so much and just road her, it seemed like in hindsight that was the best thing to do, because the things she is accepting of now are so drastically different from the things she would accept before. I think many times we need to explain things and then just give those things time to sit in their minds...they keep thinking and remembering long after we do...just giving her time for it all to soak in can make all the difference. 100 days seems like not much time, and it's not, but it's amazing how much they are capable of learning within that time frame. She amazes me everyday.

We will load everything up Sat. and pull out Sun as soon as we can. The Brown family as well as my Mom will be staying here on the farm, feeding and watching over everyone. I can not thank them all enough...there is no way we could do it without them. We have to many critters that need an eye on them at all times to be sure they stay safe and sound to take off without someone here all the time. We are so thankful that they will be in such good hands.

We plan to layover with the Mortons of Golden Gaits Farm Sunday night. Please check out their site if you are ever in the market for a Friesian, a Spotted Saddle horse or a gaited Curly..they have some incredible horses and a gorgeous farm. www.goldengaitsfarm.net

Then Monday we plan to arrive in Texas and stay at a boarding facility about 20 minutes out from Fort Worth until Thursday morning when we can check in to the Will Rogers center where we'll compete. I am excited to have a little time to let Lindsay settle and re-coup from the haul, plus maybe have a moment for Mike and I to check out Fort Worth! Lots to see...but I am certain my focus will stay on her the majority of the time! We'll compete Friday and Saturday then head home Sunday.

I will do my best to keep everyone posted along the way. We are so very thankful for everyone's encouragement and support, without each one of you this would not be possible! THANK YOU!

***A special thank you the the Carolina Classic Horseman's Association for becoming a recent sponsor. The CCHA is a wonderful open horse show association based out of Wilmington, NC. The have classes for all types of riding including Western Pleasure, Hunter Jumpers and Gaming. Check out www.theccha.net to see what they are all about.***

Day 87 & 88 ~ Dragging Stuff

2010-08-04T21:08:00.002-04:00

Well I had asked the Mustang Makeover folks a while back if we would need to drag anything..I just received a reply that yes we would! I wasn't really thinking we would need to, b/c it wasn't in the description of required tasks so I really hadn't thought much of it. Goodness, there are so many things to do as it is...well, after I received that email you know what was next on my to do list :) So to the round pen we went...

I had previously let the lounge line drag behind us and had done some ground driving initially. It's hard to even remember those days it feels like so long ago..but I do remember that Lindsay sure was not crazy about anything around her back legs at first, she has some bucking talent no doubt... but she has adjusted to that thankfully. So we started off just dragging the rope...that went well, so we added a fly mask to the end of it...hehehe...I know, not very inventive I guess, but it was close and I figured it was light, soft and would be a good step up from just the rope. She sure has taught me that it really pays to cover my bases and do everything in small steps, it's amazing how quickly she'll figure things out if you explain it clearly and in a gradual process. So I wanted to take baby steps, she did notice the fly mask be-bopping around behind us, but was ok with it, so I then tied our rope to her feed tub...again she was a little more aware, but still pretty much ok, she had a few moments of scooting forward when she felt like the tub was chasing her, but that didn't last long. We then moved out of the round pen and into the arena where we could move around better. I started with a tire...man that was heavier that I thought, I had to wrap the lounge line around the horn in order for her to pull it, but she did amazingly well...(I did not tie the rope to the saddle horn, just wrapped it so I could quickly un-wrap if need be)..After the tire we drug a pole, which I think is the most likely thing we'll drag in TX, but do not really know. She was great with it. Glad I did that before we went, something that she can be so confident with if done in stages can go to the other extreme had I just went right to dragging the pole.

Lindsay's news story aired today on the 5 pm evening news! WECT channel 6. I was really pleased with how they pieced the footage together. You can see the video on their site... here is a link... http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=12924477 It will air again tomorrow morning. I still can't believe how good she was for the camera man, he was really getting some funky angles to get the shots he wanted and she was just an angel!

We are getting all our stuff ready to head to Texas soon, I am so very excited!...So thankful to my Mom as well as Deanna, Kenny and family for feeding and farm sitting for us. It is such piece of mind to know someone is always here keeping a watchful eye on all our critters :)

Day 85&86 ~ Falling into Place

2010-08-02T00:14:00.002-04:00

Sat and Sun went great. We didn't haul off the farm, but we rode in the morning and afternoon both days. I am continuing to do lots of slow work, keeping both of our minds settled and relaxed. It's amazing how beneficial slow work really is..in any discipline...when I do slip in moments of asking her to pick it up a bit...ie spin a little faster or step up her speed to prepare to stop and slide a bit....it's as if she's more mentally prepared from the slow work and the moments of asking for a bit more become so much smoother. Even that left to right lead change seems to be benefiting from me scaling back a bit!

We have been popping over little fences and she is such a natural at that, I am certain she could jump much bigger stuff down the road, probably could now. I have never had her refuse..a fence or anything else for that matter. I've been trying to ride her around as many unfamiliar, possibly scary objects as possible and she is not oblivious to them, but she is very cooperative and brave when we meet scary friends. We ventured into the woods today and walked over lots of logs on the ground...she really really seemed to enjoy that, she loves going new places. She has a tremendous work ethic and will hold her own with me as long as I ask her to, but she really enjoys work outside of the arena. I think she would LOVE doing Craig Cameron's Extreme Cowboy Races. That is on the list to do for sure!

I just about have our freestyle routine planned out...and as much as I'd love to talk about it in every detail I feel like I must leave something up for surprise!...I do not plan on loading her in the back of our pick-up truck though if anyone is wondering..hehehe...even though to be totally honest, I do not think at this point it would be hard to teach her. When I ride her up to something new she typically assumes I am going to ask her to step on it...I've had to catch her from stepping up on some things that really would not be safe, she just seems to assume this is another trail bridge I've concocted....hopefully when we see the competition trail bridge she will feel the same way!

Wed. pm and Thurs. am she'll be on the news! Channel 6 in Wilmington, NC. I am hoping they do a video on the WECT site so I can link to it for those of you who might not be able to see it broad-casted.

So very excited about this entire process, it is a wonderful life to live and I am soaking up every aspect of this journey we are on. It's not the destination, it's the ride that builds memories and character. I hope to always appreciate and continue creating journeys my entire life. There are trainers in this competition that are 60 plus years old...70 plus too I think...what an inspiration they are! I plan to never stop living, it is never to early and never to late to start following your heart and living your dreams. I truly believe God intended us to follow those strong feelings we have inside...the voices in our head. Those feelings are individual to each one of us. It is our job to listen to them and follow their lead. Who's to say 70 yrs is to old to train a wild Mustang? Who's to say that 10 yrs old is to young to know you will always live and breathe horses?...I haven't hit 70 yet, but I'm sure people will question my motives then as they did when I was 10. I can not tell you how many people would say..."You just wait 'till you are a teenager, you'll start liking boys and cars before long and you'll forget about those horses" Sounds like a minor comment, but it infuriated me. How dare someone tell me what I felt in my heart.. they had no clue of this desire and dedication that has burned inside of me since before I can remember. On my 13th birthday I made sure I was sitting on a horse at the very moment in time I "officially" became a teenager and took a photo of the horse's ears as proof! HAHA.. It brought a smile to my face when I stumbled across that photo the other day. I have always known horses were my passion, when I was in school I would draw them..all day.. when I should have been taking notes. I wore Cowboy boots EVERYWHERE...even to the beach as a little kid...and I did not grow up in Texas, I feel sure I was the only one wearing boots on the beach and at school. I have been horse obsessed my entire life and I do not see it stopping when I'm 70 plus...I am so blessed to have family and friends that have helped my passion become reality, but it can happen for anyone if you just follow when you hear in your heart. I think the happiest people are those true to themselves, living the dreams they have created...living for themselves, which to me is the same as living for God. The only way we can support, inspire and lift up others is by being true to ourselves and following our dreams. I can not think of a single positive role model who did nothing with their owns lives and had no aspirations. It is not selfish to follow your heart, it is selfless, because you are following God's guidance by doing so and therefore fulfilling the aspirations God has for you.

I have always been a fan of listening to the voices in my head, they have never steered me wrong :) Try it, if you never have before just give it a shot..it is easier than you think.

Day 80-84 ~ Getting there

2010-07-31T04:10:00.003-04:00

Well this week we have been trying to mainly re-iterate things in Lindsay's mind and my own so that hopefully all will go smoothly in Texas. She is such an intelligent girl and is packed with all this new knowledge now. I am just trying to keep her happy and quiet as we put this new knowledge to work. She can get a little "up" when we do a lot of lead changes, stops and spins..so I try to still remember to work in a lot of low and low work in between. That really settles her, the stretching seems to relax her mind and body.

We have continued to practice stepping on our pedestal and..other than taking a too large step and stepping over it from time to time..she's got it pretty much figured out. When she does step to far though, it does not seem to frighten her to slip off it. I am hoping that will be a plus when we cross the trail bridge in the preliminary course, hopefully she'll be pretty confident stepping up onto whatever I ask her to. They tell us there will be 2 bridges, one typical to a trail pattern and one that has multiple elevations for more points..I'd love to do the later, but we'll have to see what it looks like I guess.

They have posted our judges and wow what a panel! There are six..they include Craig Cameron (Extreme Cowboy Race entrepreneur), BF Yates(AQHA Hall of Fame), Richard Winters (Won Road to the Horse), Barbra Schulte(Cutting horse trainer and motivational writer/speaker), Tom Saunders(Director of Ft Worth Stock Show) and Tommy Garland (Arab Trainer and Clinician) We will actually have the opportunity to meet and speak with all the judges! What an experience in itself!

For those of you that do not know, there will be 4 prelim rounds beginning with the trail on Friday. Trail will consist of backing through cones and a "L" opening/shutting a gate, crossing a bridge, crossing elevated poles, crossing a bridge, removing bridle, picking up feet and jumping. Then Friday afternoon we will have a riding class that is on the rail with other Mustangs, walk, trot canter both ways of the ring. Sat. morning we have a maneuvers class, which will include slides, spins and lead changes. We will also have a cow class where we track a cow into a pen as well as turn them back on the fence. Our lowest score of the 4 rounds will be dropped and the top 20 Mustangs will get to ride a freestyle that night at 6 pm central time.

I think I counted 83 horses on the list of entries submitted to compete, so 20 horses of those 83 will make it. I am excited and feel like I have done everything in my power to prepare Lindsay and I, but this is my first competition of this sort so I am certain there will be surprises for me. It will be an amazing experience to meet and get to see some of these Mustang trainers compete. Many of these trainers have competed and won at the previous Extreme Makeovers and I have watched some videos on line...Wow what an amazing job they have done. It is awesome to witness what these horses are capable of in only 100 days, I just can not wait.

I have to give a very very special thank you to Sue King, Sandy and Heidi Ergas and Magnolia Farms for Sponsoring us recently!!! It is going to cost quite a bit to get half way across the country and we just could not do it without the wonderful support of our friends and horse community! Also, Dr. Marcy came out this week to draw up Lindsay's health certificate and donated her services as part of her Sponsorship! We were not expecting that and it was a wonderful surprise!!! Thank you all so very much! If anyone has an interest in Sponsoring Lindsay feel free to call 910-471-2658 or email high.cotton.horse.farm@gmail.com

I have had many folks want to come visit Lindsay and I wish I could have had everyone out, but we have stayed so busy it just has not been possible. I do plan on doing a demo with her sometime after the competition, I will be sure to let everyone know when and where so hopefully you can attend. I have all intentions of keeping her and continuing to compete in various disciplines in the future. I feel like I have been blessed with a tremendous gift of having this amazing partner willing to do so much for me..I owe it to her and all the other Mustangs to represent the breed well and show the public what amazing partners, companions and competitors these horses can be!

As for now I am anxiously awaiting Fort Worth!!!

Day 79 ~ Play Day

2010-07-25T22:47:00.002-04:00

Well Lindsay had a day off from riding today. I know she needed it...sure deserved it as hard as she's been working! Instead we played a bit in the round pen with our new "Toy" I begged my husband to make... It's a pedestal :) It's every bit of a foot and a half tall and only 2 by 2 foot wide. It is actually much taller in person that I was expecting it to be! When I first asked Lindsay to step up on it she willingly sailed over...over the whole thing! Did not miss a beat just cleared it from a stand still, well I asked a few more times and I believe all I was doing was re-iterating to her that I wanted her to sail over this new object versus step on it. hummmm what to do what to do. I tried picking a foot up and setting it on the stool..when she would start pawing I would really praise her, because she was trying to figure out what I wanted...just like when a baby is figuring out how to load on a trailer they will paw it first...I always encourage that because typically it's a sign they are thinking and exploring and before long they step on up. Well, she'd paw, but each time I asked her to step up she'd sail over again. I was happy to see how easy it was for her to do so, but that still wasn't what I wanted. It kinda had me stumped for a bit, she was doing exactly as I asked...I said go forward over this new object and she did just that, getting her to realize just "HOW" I wanted her to cross it was a different story. We started this last night and I stopped once she was pawing and being inquisitive, but had not yet stepped up. So today when we tried it I managed to build the dirt up just a hair on one side so that it was not such a huge leap up. I picked her foot up again and set it on the stool then at the same time I asked her to shift her weight forward by pushing the lead forward...just as I would do to load her into the trailer or ask her to go anywhere in hand...Well she lifted right up and before I knew it she was standing with her front feet up high on that stool. And high it is!...she looks like she is looking down on the world up there! I think she kind of liked the view once she was up there, she was very comfortable just gazing around. I asked a few more times and each time she figured it out quicker and quicker. I then asked from the other side that was flush with the ground, thus a bigger step. It took a little while to figure that out..and she did jump it once again...but then she put the two and two together and stepped up once again! We practiced it a few more times on that side to be sure she had the idea and I do think she's got it. It's amazing how much reasoning skills she has, she really can figure things out quite well when given the proper opportunity.

Also, tonight when we went out to the round pen to work on our new toy I turned her loose first in the round pen and I went to nail a non slip rug on top of the stool to be sure there was plenty of traction. So there I am in the dark...lite up pretty well by the moon...nailing a rug on top of this pedestal and what does the wild Mustang do? Well she is determining to see exactly what I am doing...she watches over my shoulder the entire time ..and I mean right over my shoulder..and then decides to try and sniff the hammer...as I am swinging it to drive the nails in! ...and if that wasn't enough she drops her head in the container of nails and tries to have a taste!!..Well I managed not to whack her in the nose with the hammer and also managed to keep her from eating any nails, but oh my what a personality this gal has! I know it has been there all along, but she is really showing it now, she is such a character.

After playing with our new toy I decided I'd better try the bull whip out around her. I do not personally plan to incorporate one when I ride at the competition, but I know many folks will so I figured I better give her a chance to see what it was first. Well, that went great...she stood perfectly still and did not seem the least bit afraid that the crack the whip made was at all intended to land on her. I do think I'll be leaving our bull whip at home though, I bought it off of E-bay just to use to desensitize her and I think if any cowboy saw it they would laugh at me big time. It is shiny black leather with some sort of metal rivets on it...it looks like it should have been packaged w/ handcuffs hehehe...it really doesn't look at all like the real deal, but it does crack and got the job done...I bet Lindsay was laughing at me big time cracking this toy of a whip around her. I imagine she laughs at me lots these days...hopefully she'll laugh again when I shoot some blanks around her, that's another thing on the list I want to do, we'll see!

Day 78 ~ COWS

2010-07-24T00:54:00.002-04:00

Fun night with the cows! Ed Lewis Sr and Ed Lewis Jr are two of the kindest folks you'll ever meet. They had some folks out for to rope at their "Roping Hole" pen in Currie, NC. We brought Lindsay over and what a fabulous experience it was. She was excited at first...I think more from a horse running laps close-by in her pen than the cows, but she settled quickly. We spent some time just pushing some cows around. They had a good 30 head or so and these were very much awake so it was a bit more of a challenge, but Lindsay was a star. She doesn't really get that it is about following the cow on her own, but she is very willing to put herself where-ever I ask her to be and she's not scared of them at all..so as long as I do my part, she'll do hers...that's the way it always seems to be.

After they started roping we stood at the shoot at the other end of the pen and opened and closed the gate and pushed the cows through that had just been roped. I really still have not made a big deal about shaking metal panels or picking things up that make lots of noise when I'm on her back because it just seemed to be setting her back if I made to big a deal out of that stuff. My backing off seems to have helped her realize that there really is nothing to worry about after all. She let me open and shut the metal gate while I was on her back! We did it numerous times to let cows in and out and she really got the hang of it. We even got to push the whole herd up the long side of the fence b/t the panels to move them back down to be roped again...one was laying down and we just about had to step on him to get him up...when he finally sprung up Lindsay tossed her head up a bit in surprise, but that was it. She is so incredibly confident I just love it.

We loped some circles as well and I was so pleased that she was not bothered by the rope horses and the riders swinging their ropes. She honestly seems to enjoy going places, she loves to watch what's going on. It's as if she is taking it all in and processing every little move that everyone makes....probably wondering if I'm going to ask her to do that next!

A big step was made for us when we first arrived. Mr. Ed Lewis Jr. walked up to us while I was sitting on Lindsay and went to shake my hand. She started to shy away from him, but held her own! I shook his hand then he rubbed her neck and she was totally fine! That may seem like a minor thing, but it has been one of the biggest hurdles to get over, she is just not sure about someone she doesn't know approaching her. It was so awesome to see how she has begun to broaden her comfort zone. Before it was barely big enough for me to fit in and no room whatsoever for anyone else...or any plastic bottle friends for that matter...but for her to open up the comfort zone to include so much more of her surrounding..including a strange tall man, that was just huge for us! It was such a productive night, that she really seemed to enjoy.

I don't know if they'll see this, but a HUGE Thank you to the Lewis' for letting us out. They have such an awesome facility and are truly wonderful people!

Day 74-77 ~ On the News

2010-07-22T14:22:00.002-04:00

Well we have been doing quite a bit of bridle-less practice lately and Lindsay is taking to it so well. We can turn, stop and back at the walk really well...she is good at the trot and canter too, but maintaining our speed can be a little tough at the faster gates...Lindsay is no plug so it's not like she is a horse I have to push every stride..she likes to go forward , so we are working on getting our speed more and more steady without me using my hands, just my seat. She has gotten really comfortable with her bridge though and lets me ride her across it using just my legs and neck rope, no bridle.

WECT TV 6 came out today and videoed us. Lindsay was so good! Bob Townsend and the camera man both got really close to her and she really did not seem to be phased by them. The camera man even was doing some fancy camera work and shooting at funny angles from the ground and almost up underneath her and she was ok with it..ignored him really! We even did some of our bridle-less work crossing the bridge, stopping, backing, a few spins....At one point the camera guy was crouched down at the very edge of the bridge right beside (with in a foot) of where I was asking Lindsay to go...she did widen her eye at him a bit, but never veered off track and calmly went right where I pointed her ... without the bridle! I just could not have been more proud of her...no matter how talented and smart I think she is, she does something to out-do herself again....Now if I can just keep up my end of the deal we'll be set, she sure has her part figured out!

It will air August 4th and 5th, so two weeks from now...on channel 6 out of Wilmington, NC. I'll post a link closer to the time. Mr. Townsend wants to call us after the competition to see how it goes...hopefully I can tell him good news! If it was all up to Lindsay I am certain the news would be good...but I will have to do my part too...and I am no where near as good as her...I'm working on it though :)

Days 69-73 ~ Getting Excited!

2010-07-18T21:34:00.004-04:00

Well, Lindsay actually got a day off Wed.. It was my husband's birthday and we had family in town. It drives me crazy not to be on her, but I know she appreciated the rest. I did still take her for a little hand walk to check out our visitor's and she was a brave girl.

Thursday it was back to work.. must practice, practice practice...She had thrown a shoe in her stall, so I had to reset it before we worked. She was good, even though she does still get a little tired of waiting on me...I do not drive nails in as quickly as some, but she hung in there and I got her re-set. No glue this time, just clips and nails.

We've still been working lots on our changes and we have times were we are super consistent with them...then lapse into little spells where we are not. When she gets tired it's a little tougher to get them each time and I have a tendency to want to just keep on and keep pushing. She's plenty tough and hangs with me, but I'm trying to be good and limit the amount of times I ask for her changes now. If she gets them a couple times each way I am good with that. She is getting that flying change left to right now which really excites me. Sometimes the hind lead will still lag, but she's gotten it clean quite a bit. Just the fact she is able to do flying changes clean at all at this stage still amazes me..it is a true testament not only to her "try" but also her physical talent, it just doesn't come that easy for many horses.

We've been popping over fences too here and there and she is very good at that. Very round and tight knees, that has certainly been an easy task for her.

We hauled out to a friends Sat and worked in a really nice, huge arena with incredible ground. We have been working on our stops and our dirt at home is just too deep. She stops great, willingly and with her hind end, but once she plants her hind feet she slides ~ 3 feet then sinks in the dirt and has to pop back up with her back end to finish the stop. We have tried to get our ground to pack, but it's simply to soft to really hold a slide, it's perfect for pretty much everything else I do...especially barrels which is wonderful, but the same dirt just can not always do it all. It was fabulous to have the opportunity to work on some better sliding dirt and I think it will help Lindsay learn she can float across this ground better. She still had a tendency to pop up after a few feet, but got better the more she got the feel of the new dirt. It's amazing how much ground really does affect a horse. It is very apparent in running barrels, but other disciplines as well. We can not expect them to give us the same ride in beach sand vs. packed dirt. They have to use their bodies differently to accomplish the same task. It's really amazing how well some horses can adjust to the feel of different ground, but they still have to be given a proper chance to feel it to be able to make that adjustment. I think working on this dirt will help her a lot, we'll see after a few more rides on it.

We had a low key ride tonight under English tack, lots of long and low...really practicing rhythm and consistency. We popped over a few jumped throughout our ride and she was hardly even sweaty when I stepped off. She was very relaxed the whole ride. I am trying to make a point to help her understand when I want her long and low and steady, versus when I want her more elevated and "reactive" so to speak for her stops and spins...and when we are going to be a little less reactive and work on slower maneuvers of her body, like turns on the forehand..backing through poles...opening gates etc. She is catching on to the different types of "feel" and degree of responsiveness I am asking for. It is very easy to wake her up and get her more responsive, so I have to be sure to not forget to continue to remind her that it is ok for her to be less reactive too.

We are getting so very excited about Texas in August! It is coming up so fast! We still welcome anyone interested in Sponsorships...no matter how small, anything and everything helps. It is going to be quite the expensive venture to get ourselves halfway across the country and back. I am so very thankful for those that have Sponsored Lindsay in the beginning... Ms. Jane in memory of Alex, Dr. Marcy, Dr. Burgess, Lindsay and Judy Miller....Triple Crown has provided Lindsay's feed and Soft-Ride has outfitted her with a fabulous set of boots. We are so thankful for each and every one of you. Without the support of our wonderful horse community and friends this would not be possible. We are just thrilled to have to opportunity to show folks how special and unique these wild Mustangs truly are.

They truly are an integral part of our history, not one of us would be here, living the life we are blessed to live without them. Their direct ancestors carried our ancestors across this great country..they fought battles and died for us, simply because we asked them to...they ran across the nation carrying our mail, many times running almost non-stop as the "Pony Express"...they carried heavy loads to build our rail-roads and were the primary means of transportation for all for many years. They worked our fields growing our food and herded the cattle we ate...the list of what the wild Mustang has given to us is infinite. They have shaped our heritage and history in every way imaginable. Now that they are seemingly not as prominent in our survival it seems some have forgotten what all they have given to us. There are now many more wild Mustangs roaming the west than the land can support. The Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) is such a blessing to us and to the Mustangs. They work constantly to create programs like this Makeover to promote the diversity and magnificence of these incredible horses and the aid in their adoption and support. By supporting these programs we are all supporting the wild Mustangs. The MHF and the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) work to support the adoption of these amazing beings as well as support them in the wild. Without the MHF and BLM these horses would be extremely over populated and be forced to fight for survival and face starvation for lack of grazing land. I am so proud to be a small part of it all...I want to do anything I can to help the public become aware and give credit to these wonderful beings that truly shaped every aspect of our life....hopefully in turn we can make their life better, by giving them loving homes and by supporting them in the wild on the range.

If you would like to offer any help in Lindsay's upcoming travels this coming month please feel free to give us a call or drop an email. 910-471-2658 or high.cotton.horse.farm@gmail.com

We appreciate every one's kind words and support in this process. It truly is an amazing ride....also if you are interested in adopting or training a wild Mustang feel free to contact us as well. There are many really wonderful programs the MHF offers to help these horses find good homes. If you ever have one you will see what I mean. They form a bond with their partners like no other. It is as if they have a capability to trust that runs deeper than most. It is a true blessing to have the opportunity to develop such a relationship with such a majestic being.

Day 66, 67, 68 ~ Air-time to Ground-time

2010-07-13T21:48:00.003-04:00

Well Sunday we tracked the steers again. It went well...Lindsay isn't the least bit concerned about them. I'd love to find another place to haul with some new cow faces for her to see. I think it would help us to track some new faces...or tails, but these have been just perfect to get her used to them.

Monday we worked at home and all went well. Worked lots on stops, changes and spins.

This morning I decided I better start jumping her if I am going to...keep forgetting that! I put her in the round pen to let her free jump a time or two and get used to how to carry herself over a fence. It was absolutely hilarious! I have not done any round pen work in a very long time, seems like ages ago! Lindsay was a different horse in there...way more confident in me than before and she wanted to play big time. It was such a trip..I would send her out to the rail to work then bring her in to me to "join up" and she got soooo into it she'd bounce all the way to me...rearing, dancing on her hind legs, bouncing all up in the air...now don't get me wrong, she was not being aggressive or disrespectful of me at all, she was just having a blast while still doing as I asked. She was having so much fun, it was awesome...I really am in awe that this is the same horse that seemed to have no interest in any type of "play" activities before..she was always so proper and to the point...now it's like the little kid in her has emerged and the personality has exploded out :) I love it! ...One might thing she would appear "broken" from this "domestication" process, but it's quite the opposite...she's more full of personality and charisma now than ever before!

I did send her over the jump, amidst her leaps and bounces on her own, she poped over the fence easily and willingly, no hesitation. So after a bit more playing we tacked up english and set out to pop over a jump in the arena. She was a star, very quiet and just hopped right over, lift has sure never been an issue for her so it makes perfect since jumping would be a breeze.

We also practiced our rope gate as well as the wooden bridge Mike so kindly built for us. I tried to make the bridge scarier by putting fake flowers on it on both sides, but it didn't phase her. Here over the past week she's really become much better about the whole inanimate object thing. She still gets tense at some things, but way better than before. That night I spent tossing the feed bag filled w/ cans over her back a trillion times really helped I believe....not sure if I remembered to write about that...I was probably so tired of thinking about that bag of cans I didn't even want to write about them! It took a loooong time for her to stop jumping each and every time I'd drop the bag or toss it, but eventually she did...and ever since other "friends" have become less terrifying....I sure hope her new friends will not be to scary for her in Texas!

We also worked more on holding our bow. Sometimes, she'll want to pop back up out of it sooner than I asked for, so we worked lots on holding it...poor thing, I think I wore her out...she finally just laid down!!! I guess that was easier than holding that bow forever and she knew she wasn't supposed to get up. I'd love to teach her to lay down as well as bow, but we'll just take our time with that... even though I was tickled to see she was willing to today. I do not plan to use any ropes or hobbles to do it, and have not thus far...so she will need to be very comfortable with what I am asking to figure it out consistently.

So between cows, jumping, bowing, stops, spins, changes, gates and bridges we've had quite the diverse few days. Anyone that ever thought horses were "stupid" is truly an ignorant person. Her level of intelligence and ability to have a diverse dialogue with me through simple body language is simply astounding. It really is like she is excited she has found these new things she can do. I know of course she always could do them w/o me, but just watching her play in the round pen I can tell her body is so much more educated and in control than it was before. She was doing this little uphill canter just about in one spot in the most beautiful self carriage, w/o me or a saddle on her back...it was like she was showing off all her new tricks for everyone :) It makes my heart smile to see her seem to really enjoy life and her new lifestyle...watching her in the round pen today I tell you she seemed much more of a "free spirit" than she even did when she arrived...it's like she's just now really been able to start to be her true self and her true self is Full of PERSONALITY!!!!! I just Love it!!!

Day 65 ~ Short n Sweet

2010-07-10T21:46:00.002-04:00

This horse just amazes me more each day. I can hardly imagine how she was 65 days ago...no interest in her grain what-so-ever...terrified for my finger to simply rest on her neck...no interest in anything at all, but doing her best to keep a safe distance from everything...especially that Pig they call "Samantha P" ... now she calls for her dinner as soon as she sees me arrive, She has decided she not only doesn't mind the touch of my hand, but it actually makes quite the good scratching post...she is intrigued by everything and when uncertain typically wants to explore the new object rather than flee...and Samantha P ..well it's hard to be afraid of a pig that takes a bath in your bath water underneath you every day :) ... She just amazes me, it really is hard to imagine her the horse she used to be. Which of course she is the same confident, strong willed mare she is today, she's just allowed many new doors to open in order to share her talent with me and it is a truly indescribable feeling when she really lets me into who she is. It is not to my credit that she is seemingly becoming "Domesticated" ... I have done nothing but listened to her and done my best to be as clear in my requests as she is in hers...and offer her the same patience she offers me in answering the questions correctly. She is a fabulous teacher and I am still learning more each day...and as far as being "Domesticated" it is hard for me to really see it that way, she is as much a free, unique spirit as any horse I've ever met..I just can not imagine her ever being "broken" She is much to confident in her own skin to allow anyone to do that.

We had a short ride tonight after the storm rolled through. Her flying changes are really developing. Her right to left is almost solid and the left to right is developing steadily. I find the best thing to do is simply ask nicely and wait patiently...it may take her a few strides, but she figures it out on her own. She does not need me to add pressure if she does not get it right at first. She puts enough pressure on herself, if I add more, it's to much. I am so thankful she is so physically capable. I have been on horses with plenty of try, but lack the physical ability. I always commend the try, but there is typically a plateau with those that is difficult to surpass. Her abilities seem infinite. It's as if she can do anything with her body she wants and will willing do so for me if I can simply explain my request. If only I was so perfect in my explanations every time :( But I strive to be and she is thankfully forgiving of my mistakes.

We also worked on opening and closing the rope gate and thankfully that went well. We still have moments where she gets tense when I begin to pick something up, but she is much more comfortable than before. I just do not think it makes much sense to her why we should be grabbing inanimate objects and carrying them around. She is still much more comfortable with anything alive, like a tree branch, than she is a water bottle. It's like she can feel the difference, even when things look very similar to the eye. I think there is a lot to be said for that. For example; there is a "feel" you get from leather or horse hair that is simply impossible to simulate with man-made products. It seems she already has this figured out....She has lots figured out that I have yet to...thankfully she's still willing to teach me as long as I am willing to listen and learn.

Day 63 & 64 ~ Kids n' Cows

2010-07-09T22:08:00.003-04:00

Fun field trips over the last two days :)

Yesterday we hauled to the
Boys and Girls home and rode with some super fun kids and amazing
horses. We practiced riding around with the group of horses and Lindsay
was really a good girl with the horse "Traffic" and She even warmed up
to Julie enough to let her rub her neck! She actually really enjoyed it
once Julie started rubbing and leaned into her and stretched her neck out for Julie to get the perfect spot. Lindsay had met Julie a time or two before and I am certain she remembers her.I think she found a new friend!

Today
we hauled out to a friends house to play with some steers. (A HUGE
Thank You to Brandy and Jonathon!!!) I was pleased to see that Lindsay
was not to worried over them at all. She was intrigued, but not afraid.
We practiced walking and tracking them up and down the fence line a
bit. They were not to afraid of us and I kinda felt like I had to get
right up on them to get them to move. Lindsay didn't mind, but I was a
bit to close to efficiently change direction when need be. I'm going to
have to work on my cow skills, but I think Lindsay has her part figured
out...so long as I can do mine.

When we were warming up we even got some flying changes right to left!!! I was so excited :) Our left to right transition isn't quite as smooth yet and we lag that back lead sometimes, but she gets it if I just wait on her a
bit. I am super excited she seems to be figuring out what I'm asking
for though. I can not wait to see what she remembers tomorrow!

Day 61 & 62 ~Slidin', Spinnin' & Stoppin'

2010-07-07T21:48:00.002-04:00

Well I do not consider myself a reining trainer, even though after my experience w/ Lindsay I might have a new discipline to explore :) She really is a fabulous teacher. We've been practicing lots of lead changes, she's got her simple changes down pat and has become pretty consistent with getting the lead I ask for...we are working on flying changes and we get them sometimes...sometimes not, but with her natural "uphill" canter I do believe she is fully capable. It's just a matter of time for her to figure out where to put her feet at all times. We have done some flying changes over poles and she gets those well, but I do not want to become dependent on that so I ask for them just on the flat as well. She is so smart and athletic, I just have to do my best to stay consistent and let her learn and figure things out in her own time.

We've worked on our stops too, out of a decent forward canter. She is still stronger on her left lead, but the right lead stop is coming along to. When she gets a good slide it is just an amazing experience! What a feeling..it's like you're floating across the ground...I can see why so many people love to show reiners!

We worked on speeding up our spins by me kissing once I asked her to step over. That went well, but we got a little ahead of ourselves and started loosing some of our cross over in the front...especially turning left. So today we backed up a bit (Figuratively) and went back to 90 degree and 180 degree turns really encouraging forward motion. She remembered well and started crossing over again. I imagine we'll do a lot of that as well as full spins to try and hold that cross over. She is very capable of it, but when we spin a full 360 sometimes we get a little stuck and loose our forward. When that happens I try to go back to getting that forward motion and cross over again.

Today it was soooooo incredibly hot, I was not in the best mood when I went to ride and I really anticipated a not so perfect ride. I mean Lindsay can only be as good as I allow her to be, if my moods and emotions get in her way it can not help but hold her back. It was odd though, it was if she took the wheel for me tonight. She was very relaxed and did not anticipate as she sometimes does. I actually felt much better after stepping off her..she really gave me a nice ride. I wonder if she'll take the wheel in Texas if need be? I sure hope so, I am certain I will not be the most relaxed person there!

Day 58, 59 &60 ~ New Nikes

2010-07-06T10:02:00.002-04:00

Well Ms. Lindsay now has a new pair of hind shoes on. Still barefoot in the front and plan to stay that way. Her feet are as solid as can be with very thick hoof walls and an incredible toe callous that makes for a very sound horse even over gravel. However, due to her ability and desire to really drop her back end and sit in her halts (thus slide) I was really concerned about burning up her bulbs and hurting her, so I knew we needed protection on the back. My plan was to glue her shoes on the first time, just because she has never had them nailed on and I wanted it to be a gradual process for her to adjust to. She has done so well with me picking her feet up, I did not want to push my luck by asking for to much to soon. Seeing as I was planning to glue I needed clips pulled to help stabilize her shoes. Thanks to Greg Roach and Mr. Paul her shoes now have beautiful quarter clips. (Thank you Both!!!) After the clips were pulled Sat AM I went home to put these new kicks on our girl.

Mike held her for me most of the time and that in itself was very good for her. By the time we were done she was practically sleeping in his lap. I've been trying to convince her he really is a good guy, but I think she's a bit like me..she has to make up her own mind. I do think now she agrees though :)

I had already trimmed her hind feet pretty well and just needed to shape her shoes a bit to have them ready. I curved the heels slightly, just behind her bulbs to offer her plenty of heel and bulb protection (as Mr. Paul recommended) I had to clean her soles out really well to remove any dirt so that the glue would hopefully stick. I layered her shoes with glue and set them on. It was quite time consuming due to the fact that the glue takes a while to set up, but she was very tolerant. As a matter of fact she did so well I thought I'd try to get a nail or two in as well. I did manage to get a nail in both sides of her feet, so with the clips, glue and nail on each side they feel quite secure. I believe when I re-set I will use a minimal amount of glue and leave the nail holes open to nail through. She really was a very good girl.

So of course I could not wait to ask her to stop with her new protection. I had previously been afraid to ask for a whoa out of anything more than a slow lope. She naturally wants to drop her hind end and I was afraid she would go to slide and burn her bulbs, not only hurting herself, but also discouraging herself from wanting to to slide the next time. I was thankful to see that she adjusted well and seemed to have plenty of confidence sliding on her new shoes. I certainly had more confidence asking for a good stop out of a forward canter now as well. Her stop is exceptionally good on her left lead...it is not quite as strong on her right, but she is figuring it out. It really is a huge benefit for her to have this protection.

I am an advocate of shoeing as well as barefoot trimming and I believe there is a time and place for both. This is a good example of a horse that has exceptional feet and can continue to benefit from a good "barefoot trim" as she will on her front feet, but did need the added protection only a shoe can provide due to the high degree of abrasion in the maneuvers she is capable of doing. It is not typical that out on the range a wild mustang would run at a pretty good canter then chose to slide to a full stop as a reining horse does. Of course they are obviously capable and the fact they naturally work off their hind end is a testament to their durability that has been a necessity to their survival, but there is a difference in a horse sitting down and working of their hind end in necessity...versus the slide we so love to see in a reining pattern. That slide requires not only the ability of the equine athlete to work off their hind end, it also requires protection of the soft heel bulb from us as care-takers. I was pleased to be able to offer Lindsay that protection and to see that she was so quick to adjust to the new feel.

We worked Sun and Mon as well. We have been practicing lots of lead changes, mostly simple, but some flying here and there :) We have also continued work on our stops and our spins. I have started to ask for a little more quickness in our spins and Lindsay has done quite well. She is extremely athletic and the more she learns she is capable of the more she can get a little hyped up when doing certain maneuvers. I try to be sure to always encourage her to settle after wards and she is figuring things out. If it wasn't for her degree of sensitivity and lightness there is no way she would be capable of doing the things I ask of her...so a "Busy mind" kind of comes with the territory. I personally love a horse that is always thinking and trying to guess your next move, but I do have to be cautious she does not anticipate the next move...there is a fine line between light responsiveness and to much anticipation.

Day 54-57 ~ Simple Lead Changes & Pecan Orchards

2010-07-02T20:53:00.002-04:00

Well I must say I have dug up my half chaps and breeches and that makes for a much more enjoyable ride in my hunt seat saddle. There is a reason those things were invented. I still feel the burn every now and then, but it is way better than that first day in slippery jeans! We have ridden english a few times and I really enjoy it. I can feel so much and stay really connected to her. We have been working lots on a rhythmic medium trot and still our canter departure..we even started some simple changes of leads too! Lindsay is so light on the forehand it comes quite natural for her. It is as it's always been...if I can explain it she will do her best to do it...I am loving the feel of her canter more and more each day. I still have to be careful of letting it get to "up" so to speak..when she is feeling good she can bounce like a bunny rabbit just about in one spot at the canter! So we still incorporate lots of long and low.

We trailered to Lake Waccamaw today and yesterday for the NBHA barrel race. What a fabulous facility to ride this time of year. The entire place is sheltered by huge pecan trees, it was a cool day anyway, but with the added shade it was just perfect!

Yesterday it was really quiet, not many horses there and Lindsay was really good. We rode in the indoor and she was a bit looky as they were unloading the panels and barrels and setting up, but she held her own and really seems to enjoy just watching everything.

We even walked over and meet a donkey that lives on the grounds. Lindsay Loved him! She perked her ears up straighter than I've seen them yet! She would have jumped in the pasture with him had I let her I think. Wonder if any burros ran with her in the wild? She sure appeared to recognize him...she didn't snort and try to run off, she wanted to go see him!

We crossed a bridge too...a real one... she was a star with that, no hesitation at all. I am always seatrching for things to walk her over and this was perfect, it had rails and was ~20 long crossing a deep ditch. I've had many colts at this facility and they typically do not cross this bridge as well as she did...it's amazing to me how much confidence she has.

We trailered back out today and there was a much bigger crowd..Lindsay could feel it. She was really on edge at first and was even antsy to mount. I still remained consistent with my plan of always having her stand after I mount, so we did..even though she was way ready to go see the sights. At first in the warm up pen she was quite jumpy at everything...the horse trailers..the stalls...it's the people coming in and out of nowhere that bothers her. It's like she thinks they are all a bunch of little gremlins creeping out of every corner to personally attack her! We moved over to a quieter pen and I really put her to work...trotted lots and loped lots. She was so fresh she even tossed her head at the lope and soooo wanted to play and bounce around, but we worked through it and soon enough she was loping great..we practiced some simple changes with a trot stride or two in between the leads and she did wonderful. We miss a lead every now and then, but for the most part she's getting it..and is by all means good at it when we get it right..it is quite the fun ride!After she had settled and was more focused we went back in the warm up pen and trotted and loped around. She was still very aware of the surroundings and the opening and closing stall doors and people sitting under their horse trailer awnings, but she let me work her through it much better and once we stepped up to the canter she really became more focused on her job. She was far from being oblivious of her surrounding when we finished up, but we were at a much better place than before.

We then went in and stood in the holding pen while they were running exhibitions, she was exceptionally good at that and seemed happy to get to rest and watch some other horses work. One horse loped circles around her passing her face with in a few feet each time and she did not even flinch...it's never been the horses that she's worried about anyway, but it was still good for her and I was thrilled to see her be so mature.

We headed home and hoping to do it again tomorrow!

Day 53 ~AM ride, Burn Baby Burn

2010-06-29T08:32:00.003-04:00

Just got off Ms. Lindsay..rode her in my hunt seat saddle for the first time and I am embarrassed to say my calves are on FIRE! lol ..

I used to ride hunt seat and Dressage alllll the time...all day long, but over the past couple of years it's been more barrel racing and starting colts..w/ a little English here and there. I do usually ride Rox (my barrel mare) Dressage at least once a week, but been off her for well over a month and man do I feel it today! I tell you it seems you use different muscles for every type of riding. I am sure some are the same, but some are sure different...my calves are proof! Many times my abs and inner thighs burn after I've made lots of runs on Rox.. but this is a whole new set of muscles that have been on the back burners lately. My hunt seat saddle is a slick seat, plain flap, no knee roll, no knee pad or anything! ha! Used to jump in it all day... well, at least I know what to do. For me it helps to jack my leathers up high like I'm schooling cross country and really let my weight sink deep in my heels and ride that way a bit. (thanks Liz Salas for that suggestion years ago :) It burns like crazy, but gets the job done and gets it done pretty quick.

Riding in my English tack is a huge asset right now though for Lindsay and I . It really enables me to feel her so well, thus ride much more of the "Grey" area so to speak..and not just the black and white. We just did lots more trotting and she is the queen of long and low when you ask for it..she LOVES to stretch. I think she'd prefer if I just let her stretch her topline the whole ride and let her muzzle reach down almost to the dirt... but we can't do quite that, even though I do give her many opportunities to stretch. I love a horse that willingly uses their back and can lift and create that round bascule that is such a joy to sit aboard. Her canter transitions are getting better to, asking for them out of a connected, stretchy medium trot is helping their smoothness. We had gotten into a habit of jumping up into our canter a bit to much...it is just so easy for her to elevate, it takes nothing to get her over-elevated! Much rather that than her plow the ground with her forehand...I can not stand to ride that! I do love and appreciate all horses, but I must say I have gotten spoiled by being blessed with some talented mounts. Rox, Mesquite & Lindsay (my most recent athletes)are dreams to ride and just make some of the others feel like pogo sticks! .... But every horse is talented in their own right, and one person's "ideal" mount can be the total opposite from anothers.

I plan on walking off the pain today and hopping back on this afternoon...gives me a deeper appreciation for Lindsay's poor muscles! As hard as she has been working for me you know she's in knots sometimes...need to give her a banana...think I'm gonna go get one right now ..hehehe...

Day 51 & 52 ~ Spanish Blood and Fancy Footwork

2010-06-28T22:37:00.003-04:00

Well yesterday I hauled Lindsay over to a friends house to ride. She has a Dressage arena and good footing, so it was a nice place to work...and make a new friend, the human kind this time. (Thanks Kim!!!) Kim is a horse person and has a very soft hand, so she was a perfect "Stranger" to introduce to Lindsay. Lindsay was quite receptive and let Kim rub her neck rather quickly.. we then thought it would be a good idea for Kim to lead Lindsay seeing as no one but me has done so. Kim asked her to step off and at first Lindsay seemed quite confused..just stood there...then kinda jumped forward abruptly..but after a few tries they were walking around. It was quite interesting though..after about 15 steps or so Lindsay would toss her ears back a bit...as if she was not sure this new person should really be the head horse or not...maybe she needed to step up to the plate! Kim did not "correct" her so to speak... but she did in a sense.. she started asking her for a halt after about 10 steps...before Lindsay would pin her ears..this worked well and it was if that added cue made it clear to Lindsay that she could trust this new "head horse" as well and she then willingly lead just perfectly. I've never seen quite that display before..and fortunately have not had her toss her ears back at me ever...but I feel like she is likely a boss mare in a herd environment (she sure was at the holding facility!) and she needed Kim to explain to her that Kim was the "Boss mare" or head horse so to speak in this relationship. Lindsay understood very quickly simply by the added cue, so it was a success...thanks to Kim's gentle, but clear approach.

After-wards we rode a good bit. Kim has some shade trees that have branches hanging down a bit into the ring..we took advantage of that and I pulled at branches and leaves as we rode by. At first it was quite the scary experience, but she really figured out quickly that it was all ok...this was a huge relief to me, because here lately it seems as if we were going to have to hardest time w/ me picking up stuff..or grabbing things while on Lindsay. I think I mentioned before I had a time where I tried to pick a water bottle up off the rail and it spooked her, she shot to the side and I unfortunately dropped the bottle..which of course reiterated to her that she should have been afraid in the first place...that plus the tick treatment has just made picking up inanimate objects a bit of a challenge. So grabbing the tree limbs was a good exercise and I was thrilled she took to it well...even though I suppose a tree is not really inanimate..that's probably why she took to it quicker! She's seen those in Oklahoma!...But it was still progress.

Even though the canopy of shade trees is nice..it does have it's disadvantages...primarily multiple little stinging yellow flies! Yuck! They really were aggravating Lindsay and I can not say as I blame her, but we still worked through it to be sure we ended on a positive note. Now that I have done so much canter work focusing her on letting me rate her speed and collect her up at the canter Lindsay has developing this new found (well new to me...not her) amazing ability to lift her front end and rib cage with each canter stride. This is a fabulous talent that I love, but it is something I need to be very aware of so that I do not allow the canter to become larger than I ask for it to be. When she gets agitated, as she was by the wonderful yellow flies, that lift becomes higher, if I request that her speed remain the same...it's like she wants to rush off, but knows she is not allowed so she sends her energy upward rather than forward...not as in a rear, but just very "airy" "scopey" canter strides. Well these strides continued to gain "air-time" until we were doing quite the fancy acrobats! I tell you I could so see her preforming those leaps the Andalusians do on the long lines! She is fully capable. There is no doubt in my mind that she has Spanish blood...especially after that canter. She looks like a cutting horse to just look at her stand...but her movement is so unique! I knew after feeling that continued upward movement that the next thing on our agenda needed to be back to long a low work...so onward to today....

We did just that..long and low..lots of stretching down, reaching for the bit. We did quite a bit of trot work, mostly a medium trot and working on rhythm and relaxation. I began counting strides to help her find her rhythm..and myself as well and she responded so well. I am going to continue to remember to use my voice to steady her as it helps both of us so. I only asked for a canter out of a very relaxed medium trot and that went smoothly. We rode in the big open ring and did lots of diagonals and changes of direction at the trot. I was very pleased at her willingness to work long and low again and stretch her topline. She did so in a soft manner and still remained her steady speed at the canter on the long sides. I do thing the collection has helped us with that, but it is almost to easy for her to collect..we can only do it so much without becoming to "bound up" at such an early stage in her training. Goodness to even be asking this type of thing of her and her understanding at just over 30 days riding amazes me.... It was a very productive ride that built on the previous ride well. I was so proud of her for working with me and changing her train of thought so well just by me changing mine...and I was thankful she showed me that huge air canter so that I knew to go back to long and low. She is teaching me well.

We also worked on meeting our new friends as well in the round pen. (Friends being my hat and a rope today)..I practiced taking my hat off and hanging it on the rail. The hanging it on the rail part did bother her at first, but she relaxed quickly...where-as had I tried to do the opposite and take it off the rail from the start she would have immediately spooked and I would not have had the opportunity to explain to her the hat is our friend. By having it in my hand first I could sack her out with it, then set it on the rail. She had the opportunity to see it was not scary..and if she had tried to shoot away I could have kept the scary object close so that she understood that when she stopped the scary object would stop bothering her. Also, I was able to move the scary object away from her towards the fence, as if she was chasing it away, rather than it coming at her. This seemed to work well and it made since to her. I think I will continue with the same idea of hanging our friends on rails from Lindsay's back before I attempt to take them off the rail and bring them in towards her. I am glad we still have a while to make this adjustment and for her to fully digest this. It is not something that can be rushed, but it did start to really click today, so I feel good that we are traveling in the right direction.

I have started braiding her mane on the right side of her neck too. It shows her brand on the left and I just like the way it looks better hanging to her right. It seems "bluer" on that side. The process of doing that has been good too b/c it takes forever to braid it all and I have to do tiny braids to get it to stay, so she has plenty of time with me up close behind that right ear. She is already getting so much better with that. I Pray to Never have to treat her again!! I am really in awe of her ability to forgive me. She certainly does not forget..she remembers everything, so it's not like she's erased it from her mind, but she is so willing to be open to my attempts to prove to her I do not plan on doing anything that provides her with discomfort at all...not to her ears or anywhere else.

So it was a great 2 days. I am so thrilled with the riding horse she is developing into and even more thrilled with her consistent degree of try and heart. She puts her all into every step she takes and is as smart as any horse I've dealt with. A different kind of smart almost. If I can simply do my job to explain things clearly she willingly obliges to every request. It can be a challenge to always know the best way to ask the question I need to ask, but I've said from the beginning she will teach me so much. There is no doubt she is teaching me more than I am her and I am trying to listen and learn! I do my best to remain a willing student and partner...and also try not to forget to enjoy the ride :) Life is a journey for all of us, it is these baby steps that make it all worth while, it is not the big achievement at the end of the game...or lack of achievement for that matter, it is the journey, the process...To ignore it and belittle it's value is to slap life in the face..and that will certainly NOT win any type of challenge. I am striving to remind myself to enjoy every step, every connection, every moment of clarity. Learn from the steps back so that one step in reverse will equal two steps forward and simply appreciate the gift of the entire process. Things are not always easy or even smooth, but there is always the ability in every situation to turn a right into a right and a wrong into a right. Appreciating the moment helps me remain centered and focused, thus more able to discover the right way to ask a question and to recognize when I am wrong. Lindsay is a master of communication. She is entirely centered in who she is and lives in nothing but the moment, appreciating everything given to her. She takes nothing for granted and wastes no time enjoying her journey of life by thinking about nothing but the future..or the past. I think a forward thinking mind is important, we all need goals, but I think so much can be learned from horses like Lindsay. If you want to learn "the Secret of Life" Just ask your horse, I promise she'll know the answer!

Day 49 & 50 ~ Loping..Stopping..more Loping..More Stopping..and more "New Friends"

2010-06-27T14:50:00.003-04:00

Well I bit the bullet 2 nights ago (just after last post) and treated Lindsay again for her ticks. Goodness I hope those suckers are gone! I hate treating them as much as she hates having it done. I actually clipped her up first, cleaned her ears out all slick and pretty :) She was a very good girl...not crazy about the clippers, but was still very good...no twitch :)... I soooo hated to have to squirt that Frontline in her ears after she'd been so good for me with the clippers, but it's in her best interest so I had to... as soon as I squirt it in she wheels around and shakes her head like crazy (even sedated!) It must aggravate her so bad :( Just hate it..anyway, it's done now and hopefully I won't ever have to do it again. As I expected she was not crazy about me back at her ears the following day. It is so frustrating when certain things have been going so well and then we regress over having to treat something like this, but there was no way around it...anyway...I did lots of desensitizing starting over again and she is fine so long as it's just me and my hand (or halter or bridle thank goodness) but the water hose or spray bottle, not so much...reminds her to much of the treatment I suppose. We took our time with that and she will get better I know, just have to give her time to see I'm not going to be squirting stuff deep in her ears anymore. At least she is still good to halter and bridle! that would have been a mess if not.

We have continued to work lots on our canter transitions, loping in a straight line and now our halts again. At first yesterday I felt like we has lost a bit of our "in sink" halt..thus slide. We have spent so much time collecting up at the canter that she knows now every time I start to relax my seat it does not necessarily mean halt as it did before...sometimes it just means rate to a slower speed. So I started really consciously being sure to melt in the saddle as much as possible and then give her 2 strides before I followed with my hand if she did not respond...the first few times I did have to follow with my hand and we were not as engaged behind as we had been, but after a while of consciously sitting then giving her those two strides to think about it she started to sit again! Oh it felt so good and I was so excited to feel that coming back. We still don't get it perfect every time..especially if there were lots of distractions, but I think she is catching on well now and the sitting deep and really relaxing...plus giving her 2 strides to think really helps her use her hind end to stop rather than her front :)

We also worked lots on me picking up different objects..that is something we have struggled with...me picking up a foreign object while on her back, but we are making progress...even though I believe this tick ordeal has made us regress with that a bit unfortunately. It all goes back to "There is more than one way to ask the same question" It can be frustrating when she spokes at something that she used to be totally ok with, but it is just part of the process. There is just so much I am asking of her in such a short period of time...I mean I expect her to be super responsive and move away from certain aids..like my leg in a turn...but yet ignore others like a bottle rubbed on her neck. It is a lot for her to always know the correct response...especially after her new partner that she has grown to trust (me) does something to cause her such discomfort (ie the tick treatment :(...But she is so quick to trust me and is already coming back around...we did lots of me sitting up on the rail of the round pen and tossing these scary friends around her...she never reached the point of being oblivious to them, but did get much better. We are going to keep on with the new friends (bottles, bags etc) as consistently as I can... we could have the best lope and slide in the world, but blow it all by spooking at a raincoat! Oh how that would be just be awful! I am going to do my best to prevent that from happening!

So much to do and she is becoming such a good ride and feels so "Educated" under me that I have to remind myself this is only the 50th time I've asked anything of her!!!..and stepped aboard day 18...so I guess that's around 33 rides...minus the day or two she had off..so just over 30 actual rides...she has just gone above and beyond.... I can not let the fact that she has come so far and done so well distract me from the fact that she still has a lot to learn...and the things she has learned are still fresh in her mind. She needs constant reassurance from me that she has made the right decision and answered my questions correctly.

She is continuing to do her part every step of the way...I must continue to do mine.

Day 47&48 ~Hot n Sticky

2010-06-25T19:36:00.002-04:00

Summer has sure arrived! We are hangin' in there...riding late and early. Lindsay is Loving her stall fan.

She now has quite a few new friends in her stall... Judy the spray bottle, Kim the water bottle, Nancy the water jug, along with quite a few of Nancy's kin folk..as well as Frank the feed bag, Sally and Sara the saddlebags and finally Andrea the shavings bag...non of which I do believe have really hit it off w/ Lindsay thus far, but she deals with their constant presence. I actually pulled everyone down today except Nancy the water jug..she was hanging in the middle of the stall. I stepped aboard Ms. Lindsay and just swatted Nancy around while sitting on her back, even untied Nancy and rubbed her up and down Lindsay's neck. That went very well, so I am thinking our new friends are making progress...I keep telling them to keep up the good work.

We've ridden in the little ring that has a rail quite a bit, really working on smooth steady, slow canter work on the straight aways. Lindsay has gotten pretty comfortable loping circles, but on the straights she still gets a little carried away at times...especially when we were at the horse show and there was sooo much to go check out. So lots of collected cantering on the rail...she seems to be catching on..I actually asked for a canter out in the big ring today and she did quite well on the straight aways, respecting my aids, especially outside, and maintaining a soft canter. She still has her moments of wobbly-ness, which usually transfers into her bouncing up w/ her front end like some Lipizzaner when I go to ask her to come back together!..She has got some lift, there is no doubt about that. She is most definitely sensitive, which I truly love in a horse, but I am having to be careful these days not to get her to sensitive and "Anticipate" to much..the more she learns what all she is capable of w/ me on her back, the more she wants to "ad-lib" every now and then and throw in her own moves..like "Hey, betcha' didn't know I could do this too" hehehe.. She is sure a fun ride. I am trying to be conscious to spend plenty of down time though, so I remind her mind it's ok to settle and just do nothing for a bit.

We had gone through a stage of her wanting to move a bit when I mounted, she never did that at first, but of course at first she didn't know she could move with me up there..now she does. I always just sit on a horse when I first mount to teach them to stand, but her sitting time has gotten much longer... we now sit 60 seconds before moving..and they have to be 60 seconds of total still, if we take a step at 55 seconds we start over...at first this did bug her, but I think she's catching on now..we'll see if she remembers the next time we haul off the farm to ride, that will be more of a test.

We have ridden in the Bosal as well as her snaffle, I like her in both, but I have spent so much time in the snaffle she just understands it better at this point. I think I'll still go back and forth for a while..the more she understands the better.

So all is well, just trying to stay cool, lope in a straight line and make friends with the bottle family right now :)

Day 40-46 Williamston Horse Show

2010-06-23T22:08:00.002-04:00

Goodness, did not intend to get behind on this! Lindsay has been great, we have been so very busy.

Went to Williamson, NC to the East Coast Open Horse Show Friday. I was judging Sat, so I figured what a wonderful opportunity to get Lindsay some horse show exposure. We reserved her a stall and arrived Fri. night. When I found her stall I was a bit concerned b/c it was in a very very busy area. Horses and horse show stuff spread all through the aisle way.. tables, chairs, fans, curtains and more! I was not sure about leading her through all that the first time and thought it would be better for me to ride. The Williamston facility is so nice, there are arenas everywhere so I unloaded her and tacked up in one of the round pens and we went to work. She was curious about her surroundings, but really seemed to enjoy checking things out. We rode around all over the facility..in the covered ring..in the indoor arena. The other horses do not seem to bother her, but strange objects along the rail certainly get her attention. We did lots of walking around soaking it all in. After our ride we walked up to our barn. It took some gentle encouraging, but after a few tries Lindsay built up the courage to walk on in among all the scary chairs and tables and to her stall. The next day she had much to watch as I was busy judging. As I said, she was in a busy area, so she saw many horses go by and prepare to show. She seemed to be pretty settled by the end of the day and was standing in front of her fan not to concerned about the commotion outside when I went to check on her.

We rode again Sat night, it was dark and we wandered around into the different arenas. I tried to ask her to walk over everything I could and she did quite well with that, crossing over a cone on it's side and a few drain grills. We even ventured into the jump ring and stepped over a few cross rails, she did not even hesitate at that, just stepped right on over. I rode her back in the barn Sat night and untacked and lead her to the wash rack for a rinse off. She was very brave walking through the dark, crowded aisle of the barns.

Sunday morning we rode again and continued to explore the facility. I spent lots of time walking around on the rail to try and get her as comfortable as possible being close to it. She got better and better...until I decided it was a good plan to pick up a water bottle off the rail, that frightened her and we regressed a bit, but she gradually gained her confidence back. Ever since I had to treat her for the ticks she has been a bit afraid of bottles..I can not really blame her for it, but it is something we need to work through.

After our Sunday ride I hand walked her to her stall and she followed me bravely past the now loading up horse trailers and various objects still sitting around. We loaded up and headed home.

We used our Soft Ride boots this weekend too! Oh how I am so pleased with them. Lindsay does not seem to mind them one bit. The stalls are that hard clay, so I was so happy to have her cushioned boots for her to stand in. We used them on the trailer too and they worked wonderful. www.soft-ride.com These boots are really a must have for any show horse!

I think I forgot to mention we have been starting to learn to bow a bit. I asked her Thursday and within about 20 minutes she had it figured out! I could not believe it!! She does not know to "hold" the position yet, but she will willingly drop to one knee for me very well now. She is just brilliant!

I started riding Lindsay in a Bosal Tuesday. I love her in the snaffle, but I wanted to try her in the Bosal too. She likes to "work" the snaffle so much that her mouth never stops going..it's not as if she is chewing on it aggressively, or appears tense, it just like she "works" it all the time. It's not a problem, and really keeps her face soft and supple, but I thought I'd try a Bosal and just see her reaction. So far she is doing really well in it. It works off different parts of her face of course, so it's an adjustment, but she is taking to it rather quickly.

Our canter transitions are getting much better and she gives me her left lead very well now. She is actually a bit more collected to the left now than the right..go figure..we started the other way around. Now we are really working on cantering at a steady speed in a straight line. Our big ring has no fencing around it and she has a tendency to want to drift to the outside at the canter when I ask her to track straight. We worked in the small ring today that has a rail and that seemed to help her understand she could canter straight w/o drifting off laterally. I just have to remind myself that she Always is quick to learn if I explain things clearly. So when we run into things she does not understand I have to step back and think of a better, more clear way to explain to her what I want.

As far as the bottles, I have given her quite a few "Friends" in her stall. We started w/ one, but now she has about 6 various bottles tied with hay string all around her stall as well as a feed bag and an empty shavings bag. She seems to think they are silly and rather irritating at times, but she is starting to ignore them and not be frightened anymore. It's so funny how they are all so different...many horses would be playing with those bottles and ripping them off the hay string in a heart beat. Not Lindsay, that's never been her style...it's like she is "above" that silly behavior. I believe tolerating the bottles is about all she is going to offer and that is just fine, that's all we need.

I'm not looking forward to it, but I think I'll treat her again for the ticks in another few days. I can not see any in there, but I want to be sure I got them all.

For now it's lots of hosing down and standing in front of the fan during the day and riding late at night...or the sporadic morning ride every now and then.

Day 36, 37, 38 and 39 ~ Bugs, Bugs and more Bugs

2010-06-16T07:30:00.003-04:00

Well Sunday, Day 36 we rode pretty late in the day, around dusk. It is about the only time we can ride in this heat wave we've recently been blessed with...but man I must say it is Not the time to be riding due to the bugs...or maybe it is ideal for the bugs, but not us! I think we got bitten, slapped and tortured by every flying insect known to man...and a few not yet discovered. Lindsay actually tolerated it rather well, better than I did really, but after that last bug flew right into my eye and set it on fire I was done! There is nothing more aggravating than a tiny insect biting and attacking you... I spend all this energy and effort to attack the little speck back and end up doing more flailing around aimlessly beating on myself while the little bug flys off laughing only analyzing when to come back for more. I do think I entertained quite a few bugs that night, hope they had a good time...

It the midst of our personal bug cloud we did get a decent ride in. Lots of work on canter transitions and maintaining a steady rhythm at the canter. Lindsay has so much natural lift she has a way of "leaping" into her transitions sometimes. I am trying to use her innate ability to lift and stay so light in the forehand to encourage her to drive behind, but yet slow her tempo and relax into a softer, steadier canter. We are getting there....but many more leaps were made that night, than level soft canter strides. It was funny because, I guess w/ it being the edge of dark, the dark areas of the riding ring where we had traveled a lot were grabbing Lindsay's attention. She wasn't scared of them, just jumped over them to be sure we did not dive into that deep hole she thought she saw...that was just a dark area in the dirt! She has no issues with lift, that is for certain. I really do need to start her over fences, I imagine she is going to take to that really quickly!

Day 37, Monday I learned something about Lindsay that I had been dying to find out ever since we picked her up in MS. That night we arrived at the holding facility and I spotted her for the first time, she was resting and had her right ear dropped out to the side like a donkey does! It really concerned me that something was wrong, that is simply not a typical horse type of behavior to tilt that ear out to the side if nothing was wrong. But at that point she was far from even being halter trained, so I put it in the back of my mind. Well, over the last couple of weeks I have noticed her beginning this "head shaking" tendency. Of course with the flies it was hard to tell if there was really any issue other than that. They can be aggravating enough to cause any horse ..or human.. to head shake like crazy. But, it just seemed off to me. She did it at odd times..it did not seem to correlate with the flys and she seemed to do it most when I was bridling or doing things that involved pushing on her poll. And once she'd start it was like she just could not stop... different than I've seen in any other horse. So I began to worry over ear problems once again. I researched it and found that ear mites and ticks are a common cause of head shaking and ivermectin wormer will typically take care of them. So I wormed her with Ivermectin and after a few days still no better. I also saw that allergies, including allergies to the sun can cause this. I started her on local honey, which is really supposed to help allergies for horses and humans, but it made no difference either. I checked her teeth and she has not been floated yet, so they are not totally smooth, but there was nothing there that caused me any concern. No wolf teeth...and she is so incredibly soft in the bridle I have a hard time imagining teeth were the issue...plus she did this with or w/o the bridle on.

Well, Monday afternoon I had her in the barn aisle peering into her ears just as the sun came down just perfect and shined way down deep into her ear...as if someone was trying to help me see exactly what the issue was. It was clear as day. There were bubbly, pea sized, blueish/gray bumps clustered down deep in her ear canal. I went to researching and found that these were the spitting image of Spinose Ear Ticks. She sure had them...I was disgusted, yet relieved to know what the issue had been...and amazed that she had allowed me to do so much with her all this time having such a painful nuisance festering....So now to determine how to solve this problem.

I researched that spinose ear ticks are difficult to kill w/ oral Ivermection wormer alone. It is difficult to get the blood level of ivermectin to reach a high enough concentration to do any harm. The insecticide must be applied directly. I saw many remedies including mineral oil, Vaseline, cattle ivermection and Frontline treatment. The Frontline or cattle ivermection seemed to be the best..and when I consulted with Dr. Marcy she recommended Frontline..so off to the vet I went. Once home w/ the treatment it took quite a while to determine the best way to get the treatment in her ears. It was a very uncomfortable process for her I am certain, even under heavy sedation. I ended up drawing the Frontline up in a syringe and squirting it deep in her ears. After I saturated her ears she shook her head like crazy!! I looked in to see what the ticks looked like and they were all gone! She shook every one of those suckers right out. Oh what a relief! I am going to keep a close watch and treat her again in a few days, but it is amazing how much better her ears look already!

I did manage to get a ride in Monday night, even though at that point I knew about the ticks, but could not get the treatment until the following day. I took it somewhat easy with her, because the whole time I felt guilty for not having found these sooner. Even though had it been much sooner I doubt I could have treated them anyway...So it was Tuesday I got the treatment and ended up not riding Tuesday night b/c it took her so long to wake up from her sleepy meds :) She deserved a day off anyway.

This morning I woke up at 5 am and drove the truck for my husband to pick up hay we had baled in the field. Anyone that knows me at all knows I am NOT a morning person, never have been..but I was up and it felt so nice out so I went ahead and hoped aboard Lindsay. We had a fabulous ride. Her canter work was as soft and rhythmic as it has even been. I do think when all is said and done her canter will be her strongest gait. I really felt like she was more realized at the canter in her face as well..I hope she is getting relief from those ticks already. I am certain it will be a while before she is totally recuperated though. No head shaking under saddle, but it was more when I was doing things with her face, so we'll see as time goes on how quickly she recovers. Just so thankful to have them gone!

After our ring work we rode all over the farm, through the hay fields, around the pastures..we even met a monster made out of a few square bales, but we come to our sinces pretty quick on that :) I was off her by 7:30 am and felt like I was having and out of body experience to have ridden that early and be done!!!..just not my style! But it may become that before long..it's either dusk and bugs or early am riding. Time will tell.

So thankful for that special ray of sunlight that answered our head shaking delima. It's amazing how much guidance we are offered, if we just do our best to open our eyes and see the light.

Day 35 ~ Horse Show Bound

2010-06-13T13:17:00.003-04:00

We competed in our first horse show Sat, June 12th. It was a small open show and a perfect next step for us. Talk about HOT, but we made it! I was afraid we'd be late b/c we got off later than I wanted, but ended up just in time. I entered two trail classes and 2 walk jog classes. Just as I stepped onto Lindsay after pulling her off the trailer and tacking up they called our name to enter for Trail! No warm up for us.

She was a bit hesitant at first entering the ring through the narrow gate with a strange person holding it open, but she bravely gathered up the courage and walked on in. We first walked to the rope gate we were to open and shut. The gate consisted of 2 pvc poles stuck in concrete coffee cans...much resembled poles for a pole bending class...they were set only 5 feet or so apart with a rope snapped between them. Well, we had worked on the rope gate at home the day before and did quite well, but this one was different and Lindsay was very uncertain of my request to move her body all the way adjacent to this weird object. I side-passed her as close as she was comfortable and let her stand a moment to re-assure her and then walked off to the next object. In her mind she had done as I requested and moved in closer to the scary object...no one told her the ultimate goal was to actually open and shut the gate..so as long as I didn't tell her that, she never realized she did not accomplish the full goal..She did accomplish the goal I set for her which was to side pass close to the gate.

The next task was to walk over 4 poles. We have done this many times at home, but these were different so she did hesitate a moment, but not long. She then walked nicely through, careful not to touch any poles. Then we picked up a jog and serpentined through 4 cones. This she was a pro at and was very fluid and soft. From the cones we walked into a box made of 4 poles on the ground. As soon as we stepped in the box I reminded her what a fabulous job she was doing and that this was no rush before I asked for her 360 turn. She did it very well, keeping all legs in the box and touching no poles! Again I praised her before walking out of the box to the poles for our back through. The back through was adjacent to the announcers stand which was a bit of a scary object to Lindsay, but she still managed to focus and backed through her poles well, even letting me steer her hind end to keep her straight and bumped no poles. After another pat we were off to the bridge. The bridge was VERY narrow and long and we opted to cross it from approaching the wide side first..she was hesitant, but crossed on over and finished our class. We did the same pattern once more and she did very well...and the end of that class we stayed at the bridge as they disassembled the rest of the pattern and we practiced crossing it. After a few attempts we crossed it perfectly from the skinny side! I think a skinny bridge is on the list of props we need at home!

After our trail class we rode in 2 walk/jog classes and they went very well. With each trip around the ring she became more comfortable with the activity on the rail. They asked us for a back in the line-up and that went very smooth. They were small classes, only 3 in the first one, but Lindsay won a Blue ribbon in it all the same! She was very good. Out second walk jog consisted of us plus 3 other riders. The other 3 riders were moving a good bit faster than us and traveling all together...as they came to approach us from behind Lindsay remained calm, even though I could tell she was aware...I wanted to let her hold her spot on the rail and allow them to pass, it would have been good for her and I really think she would have been fine, but 2 of the riders were very small and I was afraid if she did jump at their approach it might unseat them, so as I saw them approaching I veered off the rail and circled in behind them so as to be sure I did not mess up their class. There are times in my opinion where you are trying to show your horse in the best light to win that individual class and other times when you do only what is best for your horse's mind during the class and let it be, and the riders surrounding us in our situation...this was by far a time for the latter, it was much more important to keep Lindsay in sound mind and the fellow riders safe than chance an accident. Lindsay was a star and went exactly where I pointed her. I think another thing soon on our list is to trailer to a busy show barn and ride in a ring full of experienced riders that are schooling. We do need to be comfortable with "Horse Traffic" and it is so quiet at our farm "Traffic" of any kind is hard to come by..unless you count "Dog Traffic" we have plenty of that! LOL

I was Very pleased with our first Horse Show and Lindsay's ability to focus, even though we went straight off the trailer to work!

After we got home I let her cool down by her fan and pulled her out later for a ride to work on a few things I noted at the horse show. I really wanted to establish to her that even when uncertain of an object that if I say it's ok, then it's ok...The way I say it's ok is not by going over and checking it out...that turns it into something scarier...actually I ignore it continue working. The next, more difficult step is being able to move Lindsay's body towards the scary object even though she is uncertain of it herself. So I tied all kinds of things to the panels of the round pen and I draped a raincoat over a jump standard and we set off to side pass up to scary objects. It did take some convincing, but after a while she seemed to understand that if I asked her to side pass it was easier to oblige and forget about the scary stuff than to create more work for herself by arguing. As soon as she would take a willing step towards the object I would release pressure and reassure her what a fabulous girl she was. After a while she would willingly allow me to slide her all the way up to the rail and right up on the gremlins hanging off of it! We even tossed some of those gremlins...ie bags and raincoats...over our head and she was quite tolerate of the silly behavior I was doing on her back:) We worked again on some transitions, especially our left lead and that went very well. Her left lead transition is starting to become her strong one now!

It was a very productive day with much learned by both of us.

Day 32, 33 & 34 ~ More than one way to Ask the Same Question.

2010-06-11T23:23:00.004-04:00

Well I am pure whipped, but feel like I really should post since it's been 3 days now. All is well. Day 32 consisted of a late night ride in the dark in the arena. Working on lots of driving from the outside aids. Lindsay is really picking up well and is developing quite the "handle" on her. She is super catty under me and it is just awesome to feel when she whips her shoulders around at the slightest cue!

Our left lead has been a little tough to get consistently, but being able to hold her shoulder in really helps. We got it the first few times, but after a while I think she just got tired and I could not seem to get that lead again. One of those times when you've got to think of another way to ask the same question. The way I asked worked at first, but then we got in a rut and it didn't any more..so thinking cap back on :)

The next day (yesterday) I decided to try canter transitions in the round pen...just to build our confidence up and let her see what it is I was asking for. She Always is super quick to learn and understand as long as I do my part and explain properly. Well we started with a soft jog, I shaped her a bit asking her to move her shoulder over and up and after setting her up I asked with a little outside leg and a kiss...off she went onto the correct lead! We did it quite a few times and she consistently got it, each time stepping into it with more lift and balance. I really feel that the quality of gait that you are in before you transition to the next makes all the difference, especially in trot to canter transitions. I would only ask for a canter out of a nice soft, fluid and engaged trot and the canter was incredibly uphill for it! Very excited to see her understand what I was attempting to explain.

That brings us to today. We worked in the round pen again and did a few canter transitions. We also did lots of trail type stuff. I put the Big horse ball in the round pen that a friend has so graciously loaned us..(Thank You Ginger!!!) I hung rope to a jump standard to use as a rope gate. I set a few poles up side by side and laid tarps and plywood all around. Well the ball she is not afraid of, but also shows little interest in it lol...maybe we'll try to kick it around next time...The tarps and plywood she is very comfortable stepping over. The rope on the standard caught her eye at first, but I kind of sacked her out w/ it from her back and she relaxed. We even practiced opening and shutting our rope gate! Did it 3 times, each successfully.. very excited w/ that. Then we drug a long rope a good bit and practiced changing direction and the rope following us. She was careful to keep a watchful eye on the rope that was following us, but remained very mature the whole time. We backed trough our poles and trotted over them. She was just fabulous with it all, the things that did bother her she took time to think about and decided they were ok after all!

Afterwards I gave her a good bath with that blue shampoo for her white hairs. Mike sat w/ us and Lindsay was ok with him being there..just cocked her leg to rest it and took a nap :) It was a good 3 days, I love how comfortable she is becoming...Samantha P rolled around in her bath water and Lindsay didn't bat an eye...I still think she is convinced I'm nuts to have a pig loose on her farm lol, but she doesn't seem to mind so all is good!

Day 30 & 31 ~ Both Sides of the Ride

2010-06-08T22:42:00.003-04:00

Well yesterday was probably the first time I've felt like Lindsay was a bit perturbed with me. It happens though, it's hard to feel in love every moment, even with those we are madly in love with.

We rode really late, edge of dark and the bugs were thick..one even flew in my eye..that joker stung like crazy! No telling how much they were driving her nuts :( But we plowed through the thick haze of bugs and still got in a productive ride.

I started for the first time really riding both sides of her...Up until now I'd ask her to follow her nose and leg yield and move her shoulders, rib cage and hips over, but always off my inside aids more so....never giving her a stopping point, just letting that energy leak out. In the beginning I like to give them a chance to get really supple and bendy and I don't mind that energy leaking out, it seems to help them really understand what I want....and I Love a limber, bendy horse..do not want to discourage that at all :) But now she pretty well understood how to move off my inside aids and it was time to add some outside, to give her a stopping point, a wall to be pushed into. We worked lots on riding perfectly straight...or as perfect as possible and riding off my outside aids more than inside. For quite some time it seemed as if it was not going to sink in, but towards the end..even in the midst of the thick bugs and the now pitch black dark it did. We managed to ride some really straight lines down the center line and diagonals. It was good to see that even in times where most horses would have pitched a major temper tantrum..especially at her level of training.. Lindsay held her own..and even though frustrated, she pushed through and we ended on a very good note....still in love :)

Today we rode again and started w/ the same concept of riding more off my outside aids and riding both sides of her. We practiced octagonal circles at the walk and trot using mostly my outside aids to turn and only guiding with my inside rein if absolutely necessary. That was a fabulous exercise for her and she really seemed to understand the concept. She also seemed to have digested last nights lesson and was much more understanding in general regarding the outside aids. Man did it make a difference when we stepped into the canter. Having more control of that shoulder enabled me to set her body up much better for her canter depart and we started getting much nicer, quicker transitions up..and on the correct lead :) She also was much better about not popping her shoulder out at the canter and drifting wider, she really let me hold that shoulder in w/ my outside leg and rein. I was so pleased with her! She is really starting to feel like an educated horse underneath me when we ride...and I believe we are at ride #14 today...she amazes me more each day! Every time we add a new "Tool" to our toolbox of cues she gets so much more athletic feeling and coordinated under me. She is becoming quite the mount :)

Day 29 ~ In The Sticks

2010-06-06T22:11:00.003-04:00

Trail Ride Today :) My husband rode his Walker and I took off on Lindsay. We rode off the back of our property and our little Fiest, Betty, came along as well. We had a blast. Met up w/ some friends and the 4 of us rode for about an hour or so. Lindsay was great in the back of the group or the front..We started in the back and she seemed very comfortable there, but once we moved up front oh she got excited! She seemed to love leading the pack and really picked up the pace as if she couldn't wait to see what was around the next corner! We walked over some big logs and through some relatively dense area of woods with the limbs rubbing our sides and my face! She was so good, just blazed right on through and honestly seemed excited to be out there. Her walk is so strong and forward I just love it. You can tell you covering ground and getting somewhere. Everything she does has a purpose, even when she's simply going from point A to point B, she is determined to go from A to B the best way she can..I love that about her.

She's pretty good with the other horses around her too, certainly not afraid of them...she seems to assume they should be afraid of her! She reminds me of a boss mare when she looks at them, it's like she simply knows she's the top of the totem pole and doesn't even discuss it with the others... they should simply know to, it's just the way it is..and I believe they do. I have a feeling she was a lead mare out in the wild, I bet she was a protective Mother too...and a very good one at that.

After we got back I let her rest in front of her fan for a bit then pulled her back out to work in the ring. We worked lots and moving off my leg and rein on her neck and it really started to click today. She was doing some fabulous leg yields and half passes. I even started to ask her to cross over a bit in the front and come on around with her front end a little quicker. She picked up on that pretty well and a few times I felt her shoulders lift and swing around pretty snappy! Oh I am Sooooo excited for the day when she's ready to spin!! I really think she's going to be a natural.

We finished up and when I untacked her in the barn Mike came up and rubbed her face. She was much better about him approaching her, she's still not 100% certain about it, but Way better than before.

Excited about tomorrow, we are going to start jumping this week :)

Day ~ 28 First Public Outing

2010-06-06T00:02:00.003-04:00

What a day, What a Mustang :) We loaded up early and hauled to Equine Country USA, a farm ~an hour up the road where they were having an open horse show. I first gave Lindsay a quick bath before we left home and was so pleased to see she was oblivious to Samantha P (our pig) Sharing her bath water...under her feet LOL Her relationship with Samantha P has come a long way since May 8th! After our bath she loaded in the trailer and on the road we went. She hauled pretty quiet and after a bit of confusion explaining to the show staff why her coggins looked so funny we were on the grounds.

Fortunately for use it was really a small show, really perfect facility w/ multiple arenas to ride in. I unloaded and tacked her up beside the trailer, hopped on and off we walked to the ring. She really seemed excited and walked through the dark, shady path from the parking to the ring with more forward than I expected...she seemed ready to check out the scene. We first rode over and into their 60 foot round pen and trotted and loped a few circles..we then headed to the big warm up pen and walked round and round soaking up all the sights. There was an announcers stand that stood tall beside us that was our primary focus of attention, but it became less interesting w/ each passing. We trotted lots of large circles, did some serpentines and even trotted all the way around on the rail. They had some poles on the ground so we took advantage and trotted over those...we even picked up a canter and made quite a few laps around the arena..we included some poles in the canter as well. I asked Lindsay for a stop out of a pretty forward canter and man did she tuck her hind end deep. She even slide a little and walked with her front in remaining forward in her stop. What a natural she is, I was so impressed! Her talent, try and responsiveness makes her so much fun to sit on no matter what we do.

Once they finished up the hunters we went in the main ring during open arena and checked it out. She looked at a few things like the mailbox on the rail and ribbons at the in gate, but after one or two looks she was over it. She really was not to phased by the other horses, but there weren't many of them..she is mostly preoccupied with strangers. She really did much better with that too though, she got rather close to the rail even w/ people leaning on it towards the end.

A friend offered us her horse ball to take home and play with! I am so excited!!! Not sure that Lindsay is, but I think she will be. She has developed much more of a curiosity for things now that we ride out of the round pen so often. She loves the great outdoors no doubt!

After we finished up I sponged her off and she drank lots from her water tub!! That is way exciting and a huge asset to her safety on the road! She loaded up well and homeward bound we went.

I let her stay in front of her fan the rest of the day and she really seemed much more content there than yesterday. I turned her out tonight and she seemed thrilled to get to roll really good in her black Kelly dirt!

She continues to amaze me...I am going to have to get a thesaurus to keep from being so repetitive when bragging on her, but I simply can't say enough. I love each and every little thing about her. Can not wait 'till tomorrow!

Day 27 ~ Oh Domesticated Life

2010-06-05T05:25:00.002-04:00

Well we spent our first day in the barn today. Lindsay has been staying outside in her paddock, but I've been wanting to get her adjusted to being in a stall as well. Not that she'll spend the majority of her time there..and in the long run will be out on pasture, which I know will make her very happy :).. but I wanted her to realize the stall is a safe place to be. She was a bit nervous walking into the barn, but she was brave and over came her fears walking on in the barn and then into her freshly bedded stall. I turned her fan on high b/c it was a hot day and gave her some hay and let her settle. She was a bit anxious at first, but much quieter than many babies I've stalled for the first time. After about 30 minutes I came out to find her standing square in front of her fan with that salt n pepper mane blowing in the breeze! So happy to see that :)She stayed in her stall in front of her fan during the heat of the day then around 7 pm once it was cooled down I pulled her out.

This time we groomed in the barn aisle...we have been doing all this in the round pen...She wanted to be fidgety a little initially, just wasn't sure what was going on, but I encouraged her to ground tie and stand in the middle of the ally way and she obliged quickly. I curried her well and picked her feet out. I also went ahead and gave her a trim today. I did not touch her w/ the nippers, didn't need to..just used the rasp. I rounded her front toes a good bit as they were getting a little long. I had balanced out that high inside wall on her front right the other day. It appears there is an old abscess growing out and that side just took off growing w/ that abscess. She does not conformationally load the inside of that foot and really watching her travel does not make me feel like she has any reason to have a higher wall on the inside, it was like her body knew it needed to get that old abscess grown out asap so it just speed up growing! So, I rounded her walls up and rolled her front toes. On her back feet she needed a little balancing on her right as well, so I leveled it and rounded the wall softly, but did not back or roll the hind toes as much. I really like the way her hind feet are naturally shaped (as well as the front for that matter) and I felt like if I backed her toe up it would cause her to knuckle over to much when she stops. She is Really liking putting on the brakes and using her hind end gears, do not want to discourage that!

We then fly sprayed and tacked up and off we went. I hopped on her cold turkey this time, no round pen work, and she stepped off like a pro :) We did some flexing in the small ring first and started to initiate some shoulder yielding. She has been a bit more flexible and malleable tracking right from the start..this was apparent at liberty in the round pen, but she is becoming much looser tracking left as well. We worked a lot on moving her shoulders away from my rein and leg. We then worked in the big arena and cantered some big circles both ways. She was a very good girl. Once we finished up we cooled down by walking all around the barn yard and where Mike's tractor implements are to see some new things. We even worked on picking up a rope off of the post it was hanging on. That did scare her at first. So far I have always introduced new objects to her from the ground, never have I picked up something while sitting on her... but after she thought for a moment she really seemed to realize all way ok and settled back down. We picked the rope up and hung it back up numerous times and finished our ride by riding up and into the barn. (Our aisle has quite good clearance to do so)

I rinsed her off and we loaded on and off the trailer a few times, practicing having her wait for me to unload and she was quite the good girl so we called it a day. It's amazing to me we haven't even hit the 30 day mark and she is already reminding me of a domestic horse in many ways..she even likes to try and get a scratch as I am pulling off her sweaty bridle LOL She still remains more sensitive and "in tune" to me than most domestic horses though and she is maturing into quite the fabulous ride :)Love her more every day!

Day 26 ~ Field Trip!!!

2010-06-03T21:27:00.002-04:00

We went on our first off the farm "Field Trip" today! We loaded up, very nicely, and hauled 30 miles up the road to a friend's farm (Thank you Joy!) Lindsay unloaded great and we hand walked around Joy's farm soaking up the sights. Lindsay was a bit afraid to walk into the barn, but it didn't take to much convincing and she was in! We rode a little in the round pen first and then the barn yard...even over another puddle :) When we finished up I used Joys "Official measuring stick"...(with the little air bubble to level it and all!)... to see just how tall our girl is. She thought that thing was a new scary monster at first, but realized pretty quick it was not... She sticks dead on 14.2 inches and a half an inch! Glad we don't have future plans of being a hunter pony! We'd be outta luck! I think she's gonna like the western events a bit more in the long run anyway.. the way she wants to stick her butt in the dirt!...Anyway, then it was back on the trailer and home. I was very pleased at how well she did. She was Very excited to be home though and jumped off the trailer a wee bit quicker than I wanted, we'll work on that, but I was happy to see her excited.

We rode again at the house and loped lots of circles, LOVING the feel of her lope! She is really following her nose nice and stays soft and round at the lope, just as she does at the trot and jog. Her "Whoa" from that lope is something else too...this girl loves to sit down deep and I'm loving it! Talk about fun!! Can't wait for tomorrow and the weekend..we will have to haul somewhere for sure :)

Day 25 ~ 4 Wheel Hoovin' It :)

2010-06-02T23:42:00.004-04:00

What a wonderful day! we got much needed rain and you could almost witness the grass jump higher. It raining steady until about 7 pm and as soon as it slacked Lindsay and I were off on our ride! She was feeling her "Triple Crown" today LOL But didn't buck at all, just feeling good and even tossed her head around a bit when I sent her off around the round pen a time or two. I hopped on and we went out in the big, open ring. It has by far the best ground, even though it was sloppy wet it still holds. We practiced some light leg yielding and turns on the forehand and then Cantered!!! In the open arena, first time ever!!! It felt fabulous! I was thrilled to feel her canter is so naturally balanced. In the round pen it's a bit rigid, but it's a 40 foot round pen, really tough to lope in their unless you are a finished western pleasure horse. Well, I had nothing to be concerned about, her canter is simply amazing! Very free and forward, yet not rushed, very coordinated and she travels with this naturally level top-line all the time. The more I sit on her the more she reminds me of a reiner...I could have fun with that!

I have been fortunate enough to sit on quite a few horses and I must say when I sit on one that just feels good underneath me I know it from the start. She is every bit one of those. Very supple and soft, forward, relaxed in body and mind and covers ground. I know I go on and on about how much I adore her, but honestly I just Love to sit on her...feel like I could do it all day. She is one of those horses that gives you a good place to sit so to speak...she is so naturally balanced it is easy to be balanced on top of her. Oh it is simply heaven on board! After we cantered circles in the muddy ring we tromped through our now even larger mud puddles in the road and then we went over and watched Mike change the hubs on the truck. I think Lindsay liked him squatting on the ground, she seemed to enjoy that! We then hand grazed and back to her paddock she went.

Plus...our Soft-Ride boots arrived today! So excited to wear them when we haul long distances. They are amazing boots, really a necessity for any horse that hauls to horse shows or trail rides. Makes that rough trailer ride so much more comfortable! Check out www.soft-ride.com If you try them you will not know how you ever lived without them. Rox, my barrel mare loves hers and I can honestly tell a difference in her when she hauls in them, she is much more limber and "free" just stepping off the trailer. It's truly a must have product!

Hopefully if the rain holds out we will go an a little road trip tomorrow! Excited!!!

Day 23 & 24 ~ All Aboard

2010-06-01T22:05:00.003-04:00

Well yesterday, day 23 we worked on trailer loading. Lindsay was not even comfortable approaching it at first, but we had done lots of work on our "Showmanship" routine, which is my favorite way to teach a horse to load. She understood that when I pushed my hand forward she was expected to catch up to my hand. So we walked as close to the trailer as she was comfortable and I would ask for one more step than she was totally comfortable with. Her "Try" is just huge and even though she was afraid she took that one step into that scary zone closer to the trailer! Once she was there I rubbed on her lots and talked to her reiterating this was a happy place to be. I would then ask her to back and then walk forward again, each time our step into the scary zone became closer to the base of the trailer. After a while we were all the way at the base and her front legs were almost touching the bumper! As she become comfortable in that spot I encouraged her to sniff in the trailer all she wanted. As long as she was exploring on her own I did not get in her way. She actually did that for quite a while before she become pretty comfortable with her head stretched all the way inside the trailer. I then asked for yet another step. Of course this time her leg bumped the trailer and it rattled. This startled her and she went to shoot away, but when I asked, she came all the way back quickly and tried again....Again her degree of "Try" really does amaze me... She continued for quite a while bumping her legs on the trailer and was doing a bit of a dance with all fours in just about the same spot all shifting up and down as she desperately tried to analyze how in the world she would do what I was requesting. It was clear she understood I wanted her to go forward into the trailer, but up until this point she had never had to pick her feet a foot off the ground to go where I wanted her to go. So she danced and as long as it was obvious she was trying I let her try and did not push harder. She was pushing herself plenty :) Before long she jumped up and both front feet were in! She stood there wide eyed and looked around, rather tense, but taking it all in. I just praised her and let her make the decision if she wanted to go further or back out...either way was totally ok at this point. She opted to back and as she came to the ground she jumped back a little at the rattling of the trailer. She re-grouped quickly and I asked her to approach yet again, and again after a bit of a dance she jumped in with both front feet...and backed out again...The third time when both front feet were on and after she had relaxed I asked for another step forward. She obliged and stepped all the way on and we were in! She was relatively calm inside and we practiced walking forward to the front of the trailer as well as backing up to the back, but not off. I prefer to encourage horses to come off front ways, at least at first so that when they are tied they are not anticipating backing off. She stepped very quietly down and we loaded a couple more times with no hesitation :)

We then rode and even trotted circles in the open large arena. After we finished up we followed Mike around the pen some more and Lindsay let him touch her a few times with less apprehension than the night before.

On to today, number 24 day and number 7 ride I believe...need to go back and count. We did lots of ground work walking over a trap as well as kicking our trusty noodles around. She was really good crossing the tarp, but when I picked it up it became monstrous. I did lots of tossing it around, then throwing it on the ground and encouraging her to walk over it...She really seemed to enjoy the walking over it part and even pawed it and grabbed it with her teeth towards the end. It was as if she was being certain that big scary thing was good and dead... unfortunately I kept picking it up and bringing it back to life, but each time she seemed more confident and thoroughly enjoyed stomping the "life" out of it yet again LOL

We also practiced backing through cones, ended up going really well...but we sure need to be practicing that stuff. Lindsay does her best to figure out what I want and sometimes I'd ask a little and she'd give way more than I expected. After a while we were backing through them well though.

We rode out in the big arena trotted lots of circles, began to introduce a little leg yielding and trotted over poles. We even did some turns on the forehand :) After we worked quite a while we took advantage of all the rain and crossed some good ole mud puddles in the drive way. She was hesitant at first, but it didn't take long and she was splashing her way right on through.

It has been a great couple of days..excited to start taking her out to see the world! I think the time is nearing...

Day 22... Freedom :)

2010-05-30T22:44:00.003-04:00

Well, we started off in the round pen as usual. I did add sports medicine boots to Lindsay's front legs today. She was fine for me to put them on, but she thought they were awful funny looking...it was like she said "My legs are not supposed to be purple!" She stretched way back with both front legs sticking out in front of her and checked them out real good before deciding purple legs were ok.

We ground drove a little and sacked out w/ the noodle and flexed and up I went. We cantered again, she was great. No buck :) So out of the round pen we went.

She gets so happy when she realizes we are going out, I just love to see her enjoying herself. I rode her from the pen to the arena...which does have some fencing around it, but is not enclosed. We walked and trotted circles, doing lots of following our nose..especially tracking right...that was the way we were a little less soft at first. Lindsay's really "mouthy" w/ the bit (plays with it a lot) but she responds to it well and I'm going to let her keep playing with it for a while. I have all ideas she'll quite her mouth on her own in time. She loves being out in the open, especially in the tall weeds and really seems to enjoy every minute. I sure do.

After we rode I hopped of a let her hand graze a bit. I pulled her bridle off and just had her halter with a lead on it. I had attached the lead to a snap with a zip tie and the snap was hooked to the halter. She grazed for a bit and my husband Mike walked up. Well, she has been very cautious of him...as well as Anyone else for that matter. She picked her head up and was noticeably apprehensive at his arrival, but stood her ground. He quietly reached his hand out to touch her neck and she bolted away!!! Well, my trusty zip tie was not as strong as I thought. As soon as she reached the end of the line it popped!!! She did shy away hard, but she did not pull hard when she got to the end of the line. I honestly think had the zip tie not broken so easily she would have let me hold her. I've had many things frighten her in the round pen and she has not pulled away from me. Anyway, the zip tie popped and off she went! ...keep in mind this arena does have some fencing, but is NOT fenced in entirely, there are open spots in it all over! I remembered a FB friend whom also has a new Mustang talk of hers jumping the fence and how nervous she was that she would never catch him. But he came right to her!!! So I just said a prayer and reached out my hand and snapped my fingers like I have so many times. She stopped and turned to face me! I began to approach her and I could tell she was aware she was not in the round pen and was really loving this open space. She started to walk away and I snapped again and began to walk around her to encourage her to follow suit. Thankfully she did just that and I was able to walk right up to her and put the lead back on! Thank the good lord! I let her hand graze quite a while longer and basked in the thought that my "Wild" partner had actually made a conscious, willing decision to allow me back in..even though she was no doubtedly "Free" at that moment! What a wonderful feeling and what an Amazing Horse!

{You may be thinking... "What in the world was she thinking using a zip tie???" Well, I am now thinking that as well...but my reason was I wanted to be able to use my long cotton rope as reins hooked to her halter...It was to thick to slid through the halter lope, and I wanted to be able to remove it..so I thought.."I'll attach a snap to it, then I can snap it on and off" ... Well, my snap ring was also to small for my thick rope, so that's where my brilliant zip tie idea came into play... Thought those suckers were stronger than that!...Anyway..that was my not so brilliant reasoning... Thankfully my partner is much more intelligent!}

After we went back in the round pen we practiced walking over a piece of plywood, she hesitated at first, but before long was willingly crossing it from all angles. I then thought I really should see if she would let Mike touch her. It is inevitable that "people" will be around us at events..this is something we need to work on no doubt! So Mike walked in beside me, she immediately become tense and reminded me of when I tried to touch her the first time. Those big brown eyes got as large as they could and she stood rigid! Mike just stood there, very calm and non-invasive..she never really seemed to relax even with me rubbing her and comforting her, if he even started to reach out she tried to bolt away. So I thought of another plan. I had Mike walk away from us and Lindsay and I followed behind him. To show Lindsay that he was not trying to be aggressive, actually it was as if she was pushing him away, which considering her fear was helping her relax. We walked about 5 laps and she went from staying a good 8 foot behind him to being only a foot and even stretching her nose out a bit towards his back. Once he turned his head and that startled her again, but he kept walking and we kept walking and she gained some confidence back. I do believe we shall start adding this in to every lesson. Mike is a very calm, quite hand with a horse..I am certain if there is any man she would learn to trust it would be him. Hopefully as time progresses she will see that anyone I say is ok, is really ok. We are certainly going to need to be a bit more accustomed to other people though before we take of to a horse show! As intelligent as she is, I am certain if I explain it to her correctly she will understand quickly :)

She continues to teach me so much. I am so thankful for each moment of her time. It really is a gift the way she offers herself so openly. I treasure each connection.

Day 21 ...and we're off!

2010-05-29T19:17:00.003-04:00

We cantered today!!! Both ways, both leads and not even a "hump" in our back!!! We started w/ our normal process...ground driving first, sacking out, flexing..then up I went and after some practicing turning at the trot I thought I'd see if she was ready for a canter. At first she just kind of ran off her feet a bit, but she did not get tense like yesterday..so I egged her on a little more, swinging my body to the rhythm of the canter I hoped to get and off we went! She stepped into it beautifully. We cantered ~3 times each way and she grabbed her correct lead (front and back :) each time. I was sooo excited that there was not even a little hump in her back at all. Most green horses at this stage resist going forward at some point, but she has remained to be super responsive to my leg no matter what.

Well after our canter, I was thrilled, but felt like she was ready for more. However.."More" in the round pen was pushing it..there is only so much I can do in 40 foot diameter without asking for her to get bored and inevitably start answering questions with the wrong answer...even questions she had right before...ask them to many times and she's gonna answer differently to try and figure out what I want..so I hoped off and led her out of the round pen for the first time!

I wasn't sure if she'd be overly nervous or what, but honestly she seemed thrilled. She walked more forward beside me as we made our way to our small arena. It is the size of a small Dressage Show Arena, so bigger than the round pen, but not huge. I led her around it a few times and she seemed quite content..she didn't even spook at things on the rail that I thought she would. So up aboard I went. I rode her the same as I did in the round pen..lots of circles and stopping and backing to be sure I had her attention. She certainly was a bit preoccupied w/ her new surroundings and quite a few times wanted to go her way instead of mine. But each and every time she still let me help her and followed ended up following her nose where I pointed it. We even trotted a few 20 meter circles both ways. We then rode out of the small ring into our large, open arena. This is where my barrels are set and it's a show ring size pen w/ great footing (thanks to my husband!) But no fence at all surrounding it..totally open. We walked around out there a bit and Lindsay even walked over to a barrel on her own free will and sniffed it!! That was huge, she really had not taken interest in much of anything in the round pen on her own free will..I was Thrilled to see her have some curiosity to her. We walked a bit more until she felt like she was thinking of rolling in that good dirt LOL..I figured I better get out or put her to work..seeing as she'd really worked enough, getting out was next option.

I walked her out of the arena and through some tall grass. I remember thinking how interesting it was that she did not even flinch at the weeds rattling against her legs. Every green horse I've sat on at ride #4 would have been a bit startled. But she really seemed to take comfort in it. It just made me think about all of the previous experiences she has had and things she knows that I don't. She really is such an intelligent being with a spirit and mind all to herself.

I then hoped off and let her hand graze for quite a while admiring her serenity. She is gradually allowing me in this world of hers and it is simply amazing....these moments I get to share with her in her world.

Day 19 and 20 ~ Forward & Impulsion Arrives :)

2010-05-28T21:49:00.003-04:00

Oh how I am loving this :) We rode again yesterday. After we ground drove first and went through all the same preparatory things so that Lindsay was ready. We actually ground drove off the bit this time, before we'd used the halter..which she responds well to and seems to really like, but I really felt we needed to understand what the snaffle meant as well. There is a degree of lateral flexion that is so hard to attain with a halter and a snaffle really can make that cue more clear. She did exceptionally well with it. It is new and she understands the pressure points from her halter better, but she really transferred the information really quickly to the smooth snaffle.

So after driving and sacking out with the ole faithful "Noodle" up aboard I went :) She was a star! We mounted in the little paddock first and practiced forward and turning, as well as her giving me her face all the way to my foot. She was a bit confused at first, but figured it out quickly as well. This is the start of the "One Rein Stop" a useful tool to have in your toolbox when at this stage of the game. That went so well we ventured out into the round pen and rode like a dream. We even stepped into a little soft jog a time or two and it was super SOFT, she just floats along. She did so very well and really did not seem frightened when we jogged off. What a wonderful day!

So today we started back at square one, we ground drove w/ the snaffle...she was perfect this time, so I rather quickly moved on to mounting up. I mounted in the round pen and we flexed a bit a walked around the pen practicing changing direction and stopping and backing. Mike sat up on the rail about 12 feet from the round pen and Lindsay was certain he was a Tiger at first...she did not want to go anywhere near that side of the pen. But I was THRILLED to see that she really let me "help" her and with each passing we got closer. I made no big deal of it...ignored it really...just kept her focused on what I was asking of her and before long she was not as concerned about the half Tiger half man on the rail :)

We did LOTS of trotting today and it was much more forward and "free" Still very soft and relaxed, but I asked for a bit more today and she had no issues moving on off my leg. I even pushed her to almost the break of canter! At that point I did feel her tense just a hair so I let her remain there for a bit then come back down, rather than pushing harder. It is much more important to me for each day to offer progress, consistency and relaxation...that is much more important than rushing to the next step. We will be at it again tomorrow and I simply can not wait!

I was able to measure Lindsay's hooves for her soft ride boots and they are in the mail to us! I can not wait! It will be so comforting to have them when we start hauling...which at the rate she is going will be rather soon :)...

Day 17 & 18 ~ Just Magical :)

2010-05-26T21:52:00.003-04:00

Well yesterday was wonderful. We ground drove more, much more of the same...but Lindsay was even more responsive.

We added some "Showmanship" style leading...not just her following me, but walking beside me as if in a Showmanship class. I first tapped her with the dressage whip behind the stirrup (where my leg would go) and clucked...at first she didn't respond, but I just continued the same degree of tapping and as soon as she took a step I stopped... She caught on really quickly after that first move and we practiced a bit on both sides till she had it down pat. I figured this not only would be beneficial in her "Showmanship" practice, but also when I go to put my leg on her the first time. She would have some association with my leg meaning forward.

After she understood that the tap of the dressage whip at her side and my cluck meant forward I positioned myself between her shoulder and throat-latch. I had the lead line in my hand and I pushed my hand forward about 6 inches in front of her muzzle to ask her to "Catch up" to my hand...of course she didn't because she did not understand, so I tapped with the dressage whip lightly and clucked...she quickly moved forward and off we went. We practiced this cue for forward motion quite a while and she caught on well, even though she is a bit unsure of moving with me behind her eye a bit. She is much more comfortable with me out in front of her or well behind her shoulder sending her off, but she is becoming comfortable with me at her neck. It is amazing to me how sensitive she is and reactive to everything I do.

I also pulled out the good ole noodle again yesterday and "sacked" her out with it a bit more. She's really still not crazy about it, but tolerates it now. I even let it kind of "Slap" the saddle and she was fabulous with that. I leaned over her from standing on a tall step stool and swung my lead around over her head, she was just perfect and quiet. I tied my "Noodle" to her saddle making it stand up high like a rider and lounged her a bit. She did quite well, but my 16 yr old broodmare retired show horse started freaking out big time at that crazy noodle growing out of the back of Lindsay. I figured I probably had desensitized Lindsay enough for now if she, the wild Mustang, was not afraid of the scary noodle and the old show mare was! LOL So we called it a night.

Today was more of the same, she was great..took everything in stride. She was so quite with me leaning over the saddle, I really felt like she was ready for me to climb aboard. She was even starting to get a little bored with the same stuff we had been doing for a few days, so I knew it was time. I set up a 12 by 24 corral so that we were a bit more confined. (I usually mount for the first time in a 12 by 12 box stall, I have found it to be the safest way for me, but Lindsay is not accustomed to actually being stalled and I wanted her where she was comfortable, so the panels worked well) I did lots of leaning on her from both sides and asked her to soften her face each direction. She was just a doll, very relaxed..so I softly climbed aboard. I was thrilled to find that she was pretty relaxed with me up there. After sitting and rubbing her quite a while I softly asked for her to flex her face to each side. She did quite well and even sniffed my right toe a bit. Fortunately the sniff did not enlist a jump as I would have expected, she really did not seem to surprised at all by my foot hanging at her side :) I picked up both lines to ask for a step back and she shifted her weight immediately. I then lightly closed my legs on her sides and clucked softly. I felt her body tense at first, but I remained the pressure (Not actually total steady pressure, it had a "pulse" to it as I do, I would rhythmically squeeze and release, just as I tapped with the whip..) After a few tries she stepped forward! We did this quite a few times and were able to walk circles in both directions up and down our little area. Her step feels as amazing as it looked like it would. Very soft and fluid. I was ecstatic. She didn't jump when I dismounted and seemed totally relaxed about the whole deal :)

I will continue to go very slow and maintain the ground work. I can tell she is a horse that does not want to be caught off guard. She likes for things to make sense to her and when she understands my requests her response is as soft and fluid as I've ever felt. I am so thrilled she is allowing me so close into her space, she is truly an amazing individual. She has made me a forever Mustang fan!

...oh also, I have finally discovered what her unique color is...She is of course Bay and she does in fact have the Roan gene (She has "Corning" that on the actual Roan gene creates)But she also it a maximal Rabicano! She has an extensive "Coon Tail" as well as all the white throughout her mane. So, she is bay plus Roan plus Rabicano! Really unique combination, for any horse to have two separate white hair producing modifiers! This is an amazing girl, inside and out :)

Day 16 ~ Love the Days that just "Click"!

2010-05-24T23:00:00.004-04:00

What an awesome day! Lindsay has most definitely proved herself to be incredibly responsive and super smart. She really digested what we did yesterday and was ready for today. She was awesome joining up...awesome with the saddle...no buck at all :)

I even put a bridle on her today. She did think that was odd at first...can't blame her, It's not really natural to carry metal in your mouth. Honestly I'm not sure how much I'll even use a bit, I love how responsive she is over cues on her nose and jaw...we will see. But we do need to be accustomed to the bit. I used a smooth french link snaffle...my favorite bit because it curves around their mouth and does not pinch at all :) I started by sliding my fingers in the sides of her mouth which she thought tasted really nasty...they probably did..hehehe, but she dealt with it. After a few times she was opening her mouth easily and I quietly slid the snaffle in her mouth. She of course did her best to spit it out, but it wasn't going anywhere. She actually dropped a good bit of her Senior feed out of her mouth which just made me cringe...I've been desperately trying to get her to eat these concentrates and now she finally has and I go and make her drop it out of her mouth! Oh well, at least she is eating it now :) She really only chewed on the bit for a little while, maybe 15 minutes. I never touched it or pulled on it at all, just want her to be comfortable with it being there...and she appears to be!

We then ground drove a bit and Wow it was Awesome!!! She is so incredibly light and responsive as soon as she understand what I'm asking for. No kicks out at the line by her hocks at all today! I really was expecting at least a little kick, but she was perfect! She was even much more relaxed about me changing direction behind her, still got a bit tense as I would "Disappear" momentarily, but she seemed to now realize that as soon as I disappeared from one side I would quickly emerge on the other :) She even started turning her head to look for me to show up on the new side! We practiced stopping and changing speed and turning a bit. She has the most beautiful self carriage. She carries her body so round and "connected" Just looking at her stand there you'd think she looked a bit down hill, like a classic stock type QH, but as soon as she takes a step it is like her feet are magically lifted and her front end becomes very light. Goodness I'm so excited to sit on her!!!

After ground driving we worked on backing a bit more, she is picking up on that wonderfully. It is not something I've stressed thus far to much because most of the time I'm talking her into approaching me, not moving away from me. She is picking up on it really quickly though. I can tell she is going to have a very quality back to her, the way she naturally wants to round herself and drop her head...I love that kind of back in a horse, free and fluid...it's coming for sure.

I fly sprayed her today for the first time and she was a pro, a bit tense, but didn't move at all. She let me spray all under her belly and between her back legs...I had been dieing to do that, the sand gnats appear at dusk :( I then show sheened her tail and got it brushed out really really good. Up until now she's been nervous with me behind her like that, but the ground driving has really helped her with that a lot. That tail of hers is super thick! It really wasn't all that knotted up either...I don't know how, seeing as it's never been touched...must be good Mustang genes....

After all that primping I even picked up her feet! First time ever! I've been touching her legs, but not asked her to pick them up. She was exceptionally good. I didn't ask her to hold them up long. I did my best to pick them up and put them down before she tried to take a foot away from me. That is a Huge pet peeve of mine, when a horse just snatches their foot away when ever they feel like it...it's so hard, once they know they can, to ever convince them that they can't...because in all honesty...they can if they really want to. Their 1000 pounds can out "muscle" any human any day (be it a 100 or 300 pound human :) So I want to do my best to convince her that is not an option, so far so good. I even picked out her front feet and Wow is that neat to see how they looked untouched. Really Really Really good as a matter of fact! One thing that was definitely different is her toe callous. That portion of her sole between the point of frog and toe of her hoof wall was very thick and actually protrudes further than the rest of her hoof...ie it would make ground contact first if the foot was to land totally flat, which of course it lands heel first because she has such sound hooves :) I am sure all that added callous and thickness offers lots of protection that our domestic horses sometimes lack. I would love to see radiographs of her coffin bone, I bet there is plenty of sole depth there for sure. And hoof walls! Talk about THICK...all the way around too, her toe area all the way through her quarters and heel had relatively even thickness, a good 1/4" or more thick all the way around! Very rounded too, but not boxed off in the front. The only thing I plan to adjust ...when she's ready...is the lateral balance a bit. Her inside hoof wall is a hair taller than the outside... Similar to a sheared heel, but it is NOT sheared at all. The heels are even, just the hoof wall is a wee bit taller on the inside. I sure will not be doing anything drastic, I want to do all I can to retain the integrity of her fine tuned wheels! They have served her just fine as is, she is sound and even on her four corners as can be...she certainly doesn't need me making un-necessary modifications just to please my "eye" I'll just tweak a tiny bit :)

So it was just a good, good day...oh I even stood on the stool beside her and put weight in the saddle, again she was a star!!!

So thankful to be on this journey and so thankful Lindsay is not going anywhere! The first thing that drew me to this "Supreme Extreme" over the other Extreme Makeovers was that we adopted our horses up front. (The others are adopted after the 100 days) I just don't know how I would handle 100 days with one and have to let them go in the end :(

Excited to see what Lindsay tells me tomorrow!

Day 12, 13 & 15... Tigers Lions and Bears Oh My!

2010-05-23T20:39:00.002-04:00

The past few days have been spent doing some crazy amounts of desensitizing and poor Lindsay has been convinced that each and every new object is surely a Tiger or a Snake. We have used tons of leg wraps, long foam noodles, blow up beach balls, saddle pads, cotton ropes and anything and everything else I could come up with that was safe, but a good desensitiser. I put the surcingle on Lindsay on day 12 and after a good bit of bucking she was settled in and good to go. So I took full use of all my rings on the surcingle and tied soft leg wraps and even foam noodles to the sides for Lindsay to become accustomed to. She thought this was quite crazy at first and as I would send her off around the pen she would try to magnet in back to me for me to save her from all the crazy stuff attached to her!...Poor girl didn't realize I was the one attaching all the crazy stuff to her! She did adjust though. She remains to be very self conscious not to hurt herself...even when frightened she never does anything to put herself in danger. I moved the noodles to different places on her back and hanging off her sides. She was especially bothered by the noodle bouncing on her back, but after realizing it wasn't going anywhere and wasn't going to harm her she decided it was ok. Her biggest concern was the rope behind her back legs...talk about some big time strong kicks and bucks out at that rope! But after quite a few trips around the pen she realized that even the snake rope would not hurt her back legs.

So Day 12 and 13 was LOTS of Desensitizing. Lindsay just about lived in her crazy outfit for those days...between her noodles and leg wraps tied to her surcingle and her beach ball and many more noodles on the floor of the round pen it really looked like quite the circus in there! Lindsay never really has developed a curiosity for any of this wacky stuff, but has become ok with it being around her. It really is as if it is beneath her to "play" with a beach ball or pull the leg wraps off the rail...she is just much to mature for all that silly stuff. But as long as she is ok with all this stuff then that is good by me, she doesn't have to want to play with it...I've never been much on playing with beach balls myself! lol

Day 14 Lindsay had her first day off since she arrived. Mike and I went to the barrel race and let Lindsay take a break and recoup from her bouts with all the noodle lions and beach ball bears...even though they were...and still are...living with her in her paddock :) I do think she realizes now they are simply in-animent objects that will do her no harm. It just ate me up all day to not be able to work her, but I'm sure one day of rest was much needed and certainly well deserved!

So today, Day 15 we were at it again. I started with re-introducing some of the scary objects and, even though she is not totally convinced they are harmless, she was much much better than a few days ago. When I put the surcingle on she was just a star and did not even buck as I sent her off! So, now that I felt we were pretty well desensitized I wanted to introduce ground driving. This involves a rope going behind her hip just above her hock, which is her least favorite place for a rope to be. That took a bit more adjusting to, but she came around. I just hooked my ground lines to her halter, no bit yet.. and after she adjusted to the feel of the rope behind her we started working on slowing down from the pressure of the ground lines on the halter. At first she'd speed up, because when I would put pressure on the lines it would not only pull on her halter, but also added pressure to her hip. After a few tries she figured it out and was slowing her speed when I picked up the reins.

I actually am really loving her degree of sensitivity and responsiveness...she is just aware of Everything that I do...I just love that :) I feel like any extra time it may take to get her thoroughly desensitized will be well worth it in the end. Also, I would Much rather her be reactive and responsive than dull and sluggish. After she is desensitized to the things that she needs to be, her degree of sensitivity and responsiveness is going to make for a fabulous ride!

So after she was pretty comfortable with the ground lines and slowing her speed with pressure I wanted to practice changing direction. This involved me stepping behind her to move to her other side. Well, that was a task. Lindsay was not at all comfortable with me moving from one eye to another especially with this going on behind her back. She kept doing her best to wheel around a face me...which up until now I wanted her to. Poor girl, as soon as she figures out one thing I change it all up! Fortunately she seems to be quite brilliant and as long as I explain clearly she catches on well. So I continued working my way to her hip and crossing behind her. She would watch me like a hawk and as soon as she thought I was about to leave view of the eye I was in she would wheel around yet again. After quite a few tries, and much time just standing behind her...just as far as she'd let me before turning I was able to jump into the view of the other eye on the other side! She was so funny..as soon as I arrived in that eye it seemed as if she took a sigh of relief, like wow you disappeared, glad your back. So I spent some time changing sides...right to left came easier, left to right was a bit tougher, she really really wanted to keep me in her left eye today...when I was at her hip anyway. Kind of ironic seeing as she typically wants me in her right eye when I'm facing her. I did introduce the ground driving on her left, so that could have been it..I got her more comfortable with it on that side initially. By the time we were done I could change sides quite well :)

We also wore bell boots today! Lindsay's stride is so big she's grabbed her heels a few times, so I was anxious to get them on her. She was quite concerned over the velcro at first though, so I was taking my time. She looked like quite the professional today in her boots!

After we ground drove and were just about done I figured I'd give the good ole work saddle a shot. She had become pretty comfortable with most everything else, so up it went. She was a bit tense, but was a star! Stood like a perfect lady and did not even buck! I must say she looks even better under tack than I thought...I am more in awe of her every day! She is becoming really fit, but holding her weight well too...Thanks to her Triple Crown diet :) We started on TC Safe Starch Forage the other day and she Loves it! She's still not gobbling grain down, so I am thrilled to have a way to get extra calories in her. I know she needs them. The TC Safe Starch is fortified hay, so it has as much fat and protein as a quality concentrate. I am also introducing TC Senior to her and she is starting to develop a taste for it too. She still loves her soaked alfalfa, so I mix her electrolytes, daily wormer and TC Fish Oil in there. That seems to be going well...she cleans it up pretty good each feeding.

Can Not Wait to step on her, but I am going to be sure I have done Everything I can from the ground first. She would probably let me up there now, but she is doing so wonderful learning and growing to trust me that I do not want to chance stepping aboard to soon and possibly regressing. We have lots more to do on the ground that will all transfer to our saddle work. I tell you though, watching her movement and responsiveness really makes me excited to climb aboard...I can just tell she is going to be an Awesome ride!

Day 10 & 11 All Cleaned up :)

2010-05-19T22:43:00.003-04:00

Well after Lindsay became comfortable in her new hat (halter) we starting doing more fun things that are much easier with a halter and lead...like a Bath! Of course Lindsay wasn't crazy about it at first, but she adjusted really quickly and by the time we were done she stood perfectly still for me to scrub both sides of her down. Her white flecks through her coat and salt n pepper mane never shined so bright! She is just gorgeous! I am tempted to think she has some additional color gene going on, she is not doubt a roan, but the way her mane and tail is so salt and pepper colored just amazes me...I've personally never seen a roan like that. I love it though!

After Lindsay's bath we worked on leading and her following the pressure of the rope not only to turn, but also to follow me in a straight line. She caught on rather quickly to that so we went on to work on desensitizing around her legs. I tossed the rope all under and around her legs. She was upset at first, but never offered to kick and realized after a while the snake rope was not going to bite her around her legs either.

I went back in later and did some more joining up work. I was so pleased to see that now Lindsay was more comfortable with me all around her face she would join up coming much closer to me than ever...within 2 feet! She also allowed me to approach her from her face dead on, rather than at her shoulder as she did before. She let me rub all over her head and ears and body with the rope and even seemed to take a nap while I was doing so!

Today, Wednesday we did some more joining up which she again took to well, coming all the way to me a few times and consistently following me around the round pen.

I decided as good as she was progressing it was time for the surcingle! She was a bit nervous about me putting it on her so I sacked her out with it first. It's interesting how "aware" she is of everything. I can toss the rope all over her, but with a new object it's as if we have to start all over, but she relaxes quicker each time. After she relaxed a bit I gently snugged up the cinch. I sent her off to the rail and the rodeo was on for a few laps! That girl has got some moves! She only bucked a few laps around though and desperately asked me to come back in to the center. It's as if she has decided I'm the safe spot all of a sudden and she was certain I would save her from the crazy thing stuck to her back! Well I guess I kinda saved her, I comforted her, but then added some leg wraps and ropes to the rings of the surcingle and sent her off again. Not as much bucking this time...but even more begging to come back to me. Just to think only a few days ago I was desperate for her to come all the way to me...it seemed as if she never would...and now I have become such the safe spot that she wants to crawl in my lap when something frightens her LOL!... Well I had to remind her that even though I was flattered by her faith in me there are still some rules of mutual respect and boundaries we need to follow.

So far I have been desperately trying to convince her to come towards me into my space...we have had no opportunity to work on her moving out of my space. It wasn't an issue at first because all she wanted to do was get out of my space, but now that she is so comfortable with me it is time to add some more tools to my tool belt so to speak.

So we starting working on her moving out of my space. To explain this to her I stepped towards her to ask her to step back, out of my space I just created, but she didn't budge...I tossed my hand and the rope at her a bit to encourage her to step back...still didn't budge. She just looked at me like I was some fool, saying "lady you have lost it...for a week you've been convincing me Not to move when you toss that thing at me, what are you thinking now?" It kind of made me chuckle, but I continued a little more aggressively until she shifted her weight back...at that move I immediately backed of to reward her and then asked again. She caught on pretty well after the first try and we backed across the round pen a few times. I then sacked her out again w/ the rope to be certain I had not made her afraid of it and asked her to follow me to the gate. I was thrilled to see her follow me so willingly just after I had pushed her off of me. I do believe this is one smart cookie and I am just ecstatic at the confidence she is putting in me!

Day 7 8 & 9 "You can leave your hat on"

2010-05-17T21:50:00.000-04:00

Well through my crouching down and walking around looking like some hunched over turtle...Lindsay has begun to realize I am not so scary after all :)

Saturday night, late after the barrel race, I went in to rub on her and walk around her using my most non-invasive body language. For the first time she let me rub up the left side of her neck!... Now, she was by no means comfortable with me actually on her left side, but did allow me to touch her there. After some neck rubbing I was even able to rub on the side of her jaws, both at the same time! She has been extremely cautious of my hands anywhere near her face, so this step was huge in my book :) We left on that note and she followed me a few steps when I walked away.

The next day, Sunday, I went back in to do the same thing...and after a little while to work ourselves up to where we left off I was even able to let my hand pass over her muzzle and even over her right eye, how excited I was! I know from our babies that covering a horse's muzzle is a very uncomfortable request for any horse. Instinct tells them they need their muzzle and nostrils free to breath...and instinct is right, they certainly do. It even takes the babies a little while to become comfortable with my hand over their muzzles...of course I am careful not to restrict their breathing, but until they realize that, they are a bit tense...I am not the least bit surprised that a 6 year old Mustang whom has been surviving just fine without my new found TLC, much due to her perfectly good muzzle free from human hands, would have some reservations about my hands over such a vulnerable place. But she allowed them their! At first I would just lightly pass by that area with my hand and she would slightly pick her head up, but not flee entirely, after a few repetitions she was comfortable with the feel of my hand passing over the front of her face and muzzle! As I left her this time she followed me a bit closer to the gate.

Sunday night I could not help but ponder the possibility of haltering her soon. After all, being able to touch her over her muzzle and the front of her face was a necessity in even attempting the halter and she appeared comfortable with that. She still however was quite uncomfortable with anything hanging or swinging around her face, as any halter inevitably would, plus I was still only able to touch her on her right...most halters buckle on the left...so I thought and thought...

The next morning (today) I had a plan. I would put a halter on her in segments. First the section around her neck and throat latch area...then the part around her nose. I would tie them together and viola... makeshift halter is created. I had some sections of rope, similar to that in which a rope halter is made. I balled the section of rope up in my hand and put it around her neck, careful not to let it drop and startle her...I then put the other rope curled up in my hand around her nose and tied it back to the neck rope. It went quite well and she never really knew the rope was even there. I let her walk around a bit to adjust to the new feel of the rope over her nose and other than tossing her head up and down a bit she adjusting rather quickly.

Then to my next plan... hooking the lounge line to my new makeshift halter. Once it was snapped and I prepared to send her off to move around me I wasn't sure what to expect. I had all ideas she would bolt in fear of the snake attached to her, but she really did quite well and appeared to lounge like a pro. After a few times around I begin to introduce pressure to her. I simply would pull gently, but steadily on the lounge line towards my body as I also used my voice to bring her momentum down. She recognized my voice and began to settle, but when she felt the pressure of the rope on her nose she pulled back harder and sped back up. I did my best to maintain my cues, no stronger, but no lighter as well. I continued with my voice, using the same, rhythmic tone to encourage slower rhythm and maintained the same even pressure on the line. As soon as I felt the smallest hint of give I released the pressure on the line and continued my verbal encouragement. Lindsay quickly began to catch on and after some practice we were lounging and slowing speed by slight pressure on the line. As she become more confident I limited my verbal cues and asked Lindsay to rely on the cues from the pressure of the line. She learned quickly and continued to slow her speed and stop at pressure on the line alone.

I would have been pleased with simply the above, but her mind still seemed absorbent and ready for more so we continued. After her becoming much more comfortable with the pressure of the halter on her face and how to respond to it. I introduced a rope halter and began rubbing it over her face and her muzzle. She did try to shoot away a few times, but with our new tool of pressure and more importantly release of pressure, she realized the rope was not such a bad thing. Before long I was able to put the rope halter on her as well!...Still from the right, but still progress!

Now that the rope halter was on we continued to work on giving to pressure. As she became more and more at ease with my hands around her face and the rope around her face I began making my way into her left eye. I had to hold her face over at first in order to stay in her left eye, and she shoot away quite a few times, but I brought her right back in and asked again for her to allow me to stay there.

As if she had been thinking it over and came to the conclusion that I was not so bad she simply began to stand quietly. She let me not only rub her face and side with my hands on her left, but allowed me to toss the scary snake rope all over her as well. I practiced switching sides, and other than a little encouragement by my hand on her face to allow me to step over from her right to left, she simply stood there and let me toss the lounge rope all around including all over her ears and face! She even seemed to get into it a bit and encouraged me to scratch her around the ears and side of her head under the halter where her sweat was making her itchy.

What excitement to see her actually appearing to somewhat enjoy my company, not only begin to accept me into her "Safe place" but seem to enjoy that I was there! Each day and each session I witness her trust building, but today was truly a red letter day for me. So many pieces of the puzzle seemed to fall into place for her...and she seems to be very content with the way things are progressing. I am now even more thankful we opted to not have a halter put on her in the shoot and that we have done our joining up in the open round pen. I feel like it has really enabled us to develop a relationship before any "artificial aids" were involved. Her trust in me is the most important asset to our partnership. There is no doubt she is confident in herself, for her to gradually be allowing me within that circle of security is a wonderful feeling!

Day 6 ~ First Smells

2010-05-14T22:15:00.001-04:00

"You've got to give something you never gave to have something you never had" ~ Ray Hunt

I have pondered the above all day and I believe what you "Give" is unique to everyone...for me I think it is my "all". Every bit of my emotions and feel, I think I need to dig down deeper than ever before to connect the way I so desperately want to.. and will .. with this amazing individual. It is said that we humans give only 5% of ourselves whereas our horse counterparts make up for the other 95%. Horses many times learn and become successful in spite of us, not because of us. I want to give 100%.. not 5 % .. I want our Mustang to become successful Because of me .. not in spite of me. It was reading an article on the late, great Ray Hunt early this morning that these thoughts entered my mind. I shall do my best to use more than a grain of sand to at least attempt to equal her pea.

I approached today with a deeper attempt to really read Lindsay. She tells me everything I need to hear, it is right there in front of me.. it is my job to allow myself to read her.. listen and hear her before she reacts and it becomes obvious what she was trying to say. I must hear her when she whispers.

She has become so consistent in facing me and following me, no matter where I turn she is there...but she remains a good few feet behind. I can still approach her, but she is still not ready to walk directly to me. Most all babies and even older horses (problem horses included) would have walked right up to me by now...and reached out to smell me..but Lindsay remains reserved. I desperately want her to reach out on her own accord and smell me, I know it is a necessity in building her comfort level with me. I decided this morning that my focus would be on reading her body language as accurately and efficiently as possible. In return to her for always being so clear, I should do everything in my power to use my body language to speak to her as well. I know she will gladly read my body language, that is her primary form of communication and 6 years running with a herd has given her plenty of time to master it. So as I approached her this time I did even thing in my power to sink my body and energy down low. I did not squat, I just rounded my shoulders and lowered my head. Similar as you would when riding a horse and asking for full relaxation from the horse by using your body language. I also directed my eyes down low at her feet and attempted to melt beside her. I rested my hand on her side and even leaned my head into her a bit. To my surprise she curled her neck around me and finally took a sniff of my back! What a relief! I had wanted her to reach out to me so badly I could hardly stand it, but it is sure not something I could force, nor would want to. Her sniff of me was brief and it almost seemed to startle her as she brought her head back around quickly and became a little tense again, but she did not scoot away. She actually sniffed me quite a few times, each with a similar reaction, but I was still thrilled she was reaching a point where she actually felt comfortable checking me out a bit. As I walked away from her after her smelling me, she stayed closer behind me as she followed than ever before!

I am so thankful I did not opt to have the halter put on her in the shoot at the pick-up facility. I am taking longer than is probably necessary to get her "Started" so to speak, but it is so very worth it. Each step in this process leaves me in awe of her intelligence and "try" If it takes 30 days for her to become totally confident in me and ready to allow me on her back I will be entirely ok with that. The relationship we will have built along the way will carry through everything else we do.

As in everything worth doing in life.. Every step is worth it.

Day 5 ~ No More Mustang Dread Locks!

2010-05-14T05:59:00.000-04:00

It was a good day yesterday. Much more of the same, but Lindsay is gradually becoming more comfortable with me close to her. I was even able to curry her right side down her barrel and over her hip a bit. She is not crazy about me approaching her face quite yet, nor her left side at all...but I can tell she is trusting me more with each touch. She has become quite the pro at turning and facing me and we continue to work on her allowing me to remain in that left eye, she still much prefers the right, but is becoming more comfortable with the left. Each day she takes more steps towards me :) I was even able to pull her mane over her neck and work through her dreads with my fingers! I did cheat a bit and pull her mane to her right side...it hangs on her left naturally. She was not sure about the feel of me touching it at first, but relaxed the more I did. It is really interesting how it is not only how I approach her...or where I approach her, but also what I do with my fingers once they are on her that she is very reactive to. She is most comfortable with my hand simply resting on her... then I would say gently rubbing her with my fingers... actually stroking her bothers her much more...and any change in my actions she is aware of...even picking my hand up to scratch my ear (MY own ear lol) enlists a quick reaction. She is becoming less startled by those movements though.

Something I've really noticed about her is her level of self-sufficiency. I am a bit more accustomed to a horse that has a little more curiosity and inquisitive nature. It is not that she is not curious, but she is not going to explore something simply because it's there... ie me! I have to learn to make myself interesting and inviting yet secure and trustworthy. She just is much more "Mature" in disposition than most... especially a horse that has not been handled, you don't usually think of them being "Mature" .. but her maturity has nothing to do with me or people.. it has to do with her experiences and who she has been up until now ... I wonder if it has anything to do with her being a Mother. She was brought in of the range in 2007 and she was in foal! She had her baby in early summer of 2008. I do not know how long her foal stayed by her side, but her bags are huge and.. comparing her with others mares with one foal... they are much more sagged and stretched than usual. Maybe that is just her, or maybe the foal stayed by her a long time... or she very likely could have foaled another time before she was brought to the holding facilities. I am not certain that it has anything to do with that or not, but it seems likely... No doubt she is secure in her own skin and was a fabulous Mother! She is quite good at being the confident individual she is and was ... and me stepping in asking her to change who she is is not something she plans to just hand over. Fortunately, I do not want to change who she is, I would just like for the two of us to blend what we are together into an even more confident pair ... I feel that she will be ok with that, as she realizes what my true agenda is .... she gradually seems to understand I am by no means trying to change her, I am just trying to become a part of that world that she is so confident in. I look forward to the day when she lets me all the way into that secure world she inhabits, it appears to be a wonderful place to be...

Day 3 & 4

2010-05-12T21:50:00.000-04:00

Well Lindsay has taught me to lounge..I expected she'd teach me lots, but I wasn't really expecting her to teach me to run around in circles like a horse on the lounge line! I just know my other guys are Lovin' this :) They are probably all cheering Lindsay on from their pastures.... saying make her go faster, faster .. hehehe..

By the end of day 2 Lindsay was allowing me to approach her and touch her somewhat still, but she had not really joined all the way up with me. She had not walked all the way up to me with confidence. Now she would face me no matter what, I could send her off around the pen then ask her to come back in towards me and she would turn and face me stepping towards me a few steps, but come no closer than 6 feet or so of me on her own accord. She would tolerate me approaching her, but I really wanted her to come to me.. all the way...so that's how she began teaching me to lounge!

I decided instead of continually trying to touch her I would really focus on her following me everywhere around the pen and focus on seeing what all I could get her to do in the meantime. She seems to love this game and is quite good at it...she is determined to face me, so where-ever I put my body, she follows. If I run really fast in a circle around her she will even do gorgeous turns on the forehand super fast....if I run around her and move away a little at the same time pulling her a bit towards me she pivots on her hind end and crosses over in the front in doing a beautiful roll back! This is quite excited to watch, but hilarious as well because somehow our Mustang has me doing all the work! I am ok with that, if running in circles makes her more comfortable trusting me I'll gladly do it all day long.

It does seem to be making since to her and gradually she is becoming less cautious of me and as I step side to side in front of her she gradually begins to take steps closer and closer in. During our last session today I took the soft rope and coiled it up in my hand and as I was asking her to turn on the haunches (by stepping into her shoulder as you would in a Showmanship pattern) as she was turning I would gently touch her shoulder with the rope...at first she would speed up, but I would attempt to keep the rope on her shoulder until she began to slow, as soon as she did I would take the rope away and change direction which asked her to change direction as well and come back towards me. We did this quite a bit until she would actually stop and let me rub her shoulder and barrel with the rope. I was careful that each time I felt she was more accepting of the rope than the last I would step back away from her and have her walk towards me again. With each time her steps towards me became more confident.

She is still not totally comfortable walking all the way up to me, but is getting more confident each session and we are doing some fun dancing in the meantime! I even asked her to step over a pole as I asked her to come towards me and she wasn't bothered by it at all. I am so very ready for her to fully "Join up" and walk confidently all the way to me, but I am willing to let her take her time and do it as she truly trusts me. In my book there is no other way.

Day Two

2010-05-10T21:24:00.000-04:00

Well, I had to go to town today and could only work Lindsay this evening...wish I could be home all the time and have 2 to 3 sessions every day :) But there are other life duties that call, outside of my Mustang obsession!...

So today we starting talking around 5 pm. I started by assuming we would be where we were last night when we finished...I doubted we were, but thought it only fair I ask and let her tell me. ... Well, we weren't... She did turn and face me, but when I approached her to touch her again (in the same manner we did yesterday) she took off...That was ok though, no big deal. So I went back to the same techniques I was using before...changes of direction, asking her to come towards me and stand. Within ~20 minutes I felt like we were close to the point we were at last night and I approached her again. This time she was better, she reacted much like last night. She did back away, but slowly and allowed me to touch her for brief periods of time. Still primarily around the right neck and shoulder though, if I ventured much further she was very much out of her comfort zone. I attempted to gradually stroke closer to the edge of that comfort zone, but it just did not seem that I was going to be able to "broaden" it in the manner I was doing. So, back to the drawing board.

I had noticed yesterday that she was developing a very strong desire to keep me in her right eye. This was not apparent at first, but had built throughout the day yesterday. I really did not attempt to correct it at that point. I was so desperate to touch her, I felt like I would make the process take longer if I insisted she be equally adapt to me on both sides. They all have a preference and so far hers is right. That is actually very interesting to me, because most domesticated horses prefer their left. They tend to be more flexible that way and communicate better with us on that side. I've always felt we as humans are the culprit, we constantly do everything on the left. From the time they are born we are leading them on the left which not only makes them more accustomed to us there, but also more flexible and stronger when tracking in that direction. I love to barrel race and if you'll notice, most horses run to the right...meaning the first barrel is a right hand turn and the 2nd and 3rd are left...this is because these horses typically have stronger left hand turns thus it makes perfect since to give them 2 turns their good way. It is legal to run to the left, meaning the first barrel is a left hand turn, then 2nd and 3rd are 2 rights...and every so often you will see a horse that is stronger that way, but typically there is a reason. I also have always noticed that when I have dealt with so called "problem" horses, they typically become stronger to the right than the left. It's as if the left side contains all their negative human experiences and their right side is still a clean slate! The more I think about it, the more I feel like we create the horses "Strong" side as much as they do, if not more.

Back to Lindsay, I felt that it was ok yesterday to allow her to keep me in her right eye the majority of the time for the sake of being able to touch her, but I needed to now focus on her left as well. So I began practicing changes of direction asking her to turn towards me when she switched right to left, (this was when I was in her left eye). The first few times she did not understand and continued to turn into the fence, but after encouraging her to move towards me by moving my energy away inviting hers in, she quickly got the idea and began turning towards me, after she understood that request I began asking her to stop and face me either dead on or with me in a bit more of her left eye. .. Up until now when she would turn to face me she would automatically turn so as to keep me in her right eye. Well, it was a bit of a struggle at first...and I must say she still prefers me in her right eye, but she did begin to grasp the concept. There for a while I thought we had regressed a bit, because I had to send her away when she tried to put me in her right eye...I hated to, because I so appreciated her attempts to join up with me, but it's better to give her the chance now to become as trusting of me on both sides rather than ignoring the left. She did figure it out and was content facing me with her body square after about 30 minutes.

Another thing I noticed yesterday, but did not address was the fact that Lindsay was highly reactive to the rope...any movement of it what-so-ever sent her off around the pen. I decided it was time to begin some desensitizing today, so after we had accomplished the facing me dead on I began dropping the rope at my feet and picking it back up...the first 30 or so times it pure sent Lindsay up out of her skin! She would bounce straight up in the air and spin around...as she did, I quickly asked her to face me again, she would quickly oblige and stand at attention ready for the giant snake to strike yet again. Well, after #30 snake drop, her leaps become more like jumps in place..and after another 30 they became only slight twitches...I then began to toss the rope/snake up into the air letting it drop on either side of her. I thought this would surely set her off again, but to my surprise she seemed ok with it. Well, we went back to some more work turning and following my energy and I thought to myself... "I wonder how she differentiates between the rope that she is expected to ignore and the rope she is expected to move away from" The same rope I was tossing to desensitize her is the same rope I use to send her energy where I want it to go. So in one case she is to ignore it being throw at her, in the other she is to react. Well, apparently she is much smarter than myself, because she has already made this connection. After I used the rope to send her energy back and forth around the pen I asked her again to face me square and I tossed the rope up and let it fall. She held her ground as if she understood that I was not sending any energy through the rope directed at her. The energy was being sent through the rope and landing all around her, but not at her. When I went back to sending the energy through the rope back directly towards her to enlist the desired response of her moving her feet, she quickly obliged. So thankful her herd skills are so strong...she is teaching me so much about body language and "talking" through invisible energy sent in specific directions.

So after the facing me square and turning towards me right to left and accepting the snake/rope being tossed into the air I figured I should try to touch her again. I put her back in the position she is most comfortable with me as I know at this point it's the only way I can touch her. This is with me approaching her right shoulder and neck and fully in her right eye. At first approach she shot away, but after a few tries she seemed to remember the deal. But she continued to do as she did yesterday, she would slowly back up as I approached and even though she allowed me to touch her she was still pulling her space away from mine. I decided my last feat of the night was to approach her shoulder until she would stand still and not back as I approached her. Well, this took longer than expected...I must have walked up to her and away 50 times...each time she would back a step or two as I approached, but allow me to stroke her, then follow me a few steps forward as I walked away...just to back up again as I approached the next time. I just continued to do the exact same move over and over again...the same spot on her neck where she was most comfortable and the exact same angle of approach each time...after countless back and forth dances she began to plant her feet every so often, it wasn't every time. But every 3rd or 4th...then it become more consistent and I finally got about 3 approaches in where she remained relaxed and did not shift her space away from mine. I was so thankful for the seemingly small feat, that I feel most have been far from small considering it took so long to accomplish. The things that require the most patience seem to reward the biggest dividends in the end... I hope that she is thinking tonight about how it was not so scary to allow me so close into her personal space.

Our session ended up lasting quite a while, but I never seemed to loose her focus or reach a point where she stopped trying...She was willing to make every attempt to answer every question I asked, no matter how many and no matter for how long.

Anxious to see what her answers will be tomorrow after she has had a chance to digest today's questions.

~ there is more than one way to ask the same question

mmj

First Touch

2010-05-09T23:48:00.000-04:00

After we arrived Sat. morning I let Lindsay settle and made sure she was plenty hydrated and rejuvenated from our trip before we went to work...I must admit I did sit in the round pen and stare at her lots :) After her day of rest Sat. we started to work today, the 9th. My first session I went in the round pen with a soft rope and myself. I began to send her around the 40' pen at a trot and then at a canter. Her degree of strength, coordination and stride amazed me...I love a horse that covers ground and that she does. We practiced changing direction and even practiced turning into the rail as well as away from the rail (towards me) She picked up on that rather quickly. I then asked from her to stop mid-turn towards me, she obliged and licked and chewed which made me want to jump up and down...but I held back...After reiterating the turn towards me and stop I began to walk side to side requesting that her eyes follow mine, when they did not I would encourage them by a snap of my fingers....her first turn of the head to follow my energy made me want to jump again! Her intelligence astounded me. Before long her feet followed her gaze and she was actually mirroring my image with hers, turning her body to follow mine. Now, keep in mind this occurred in stages and when I would lose her focus I sent her back to the rail and ask her to face me again. She was very reactive in a positive way and she did everything in her power to understand my request. By the end of a 45 minute session she was rather consistently moving her feet with mine. As much as I craved to reach out and stroke her face I knew she was not ready, so I left her to digest our conversation.

After a few hours I went back in and asked her to turn to face me. I fully expected her to shot away and have to refresh her mind, but to my surprise she appeared to have analyzed my request and understood it even better as she not only turned to face me, but added a few steps in my direction! Again I wanted to jump up and down, but held in my joy and simply whispered "thank you" to her...after all, her real reward was the rest, the fact that when she sent her energy towards mine she was allowed to stop and relax....it is amazing how something as simple as that enlists such feats, if only people were so easy to reward...... After a bit more practice turning and facing and walking a bit towards me I felt Lindsay had become pretty relaxed with our dialog so I began to step further into her space closely watching her reaction and only going to the edge of her comfort zone. Once there I would remain until the edge moved continually closer in. After an hour or so I was literally 6 inches from her face, yet each time I actually stretched my fingers to make contact she wove tense and begin to flee...When she did I would quickly move my space back and invite her to face me again, which she would quickly. For quite a while we looked more like we were danced than training, with my step towards her, her step away, my step back, then her step towards me! We did this until I felt she was beginning to think I was a little boring and started to become less reactive, but still was not comfortable with me closer than 6 inches. I thought of giving her another break, but then thought if I could only make myself appear more interesting maybe she would explore me...so I stretched out on the ground in the round pen, like I would lay a saddle out for a baby to explore. ... I do also remember babies pawing and tumbling the play saddle around, so I was cautious as to continue to read Lindsay's body language. Well, apparently I was a bit more interesting, because she did make her way up to me and with an arched neck she stretched down to sniff me...I felt her muzzle make soft contact, then she shot away...I asked my husband if that counted as first touch and he said why not hehe.... After that I did give her another break...actually was planning to be finished till tomorrow.

After feeding and dusk was approached I stepped in one more time...I soooo wanted to touch her. I know I was asking a lot, but she seemed so close to being ready. So I stepped in and asked her to approach me again, she obliged getting pretty used to this routine now and I began moving into her space as close as she would allow. This time when she backed away I slowed walked with her...instead of me backing off when she backed away I continued to remain in her space until she stopped, then I stopped....This, of course, she would not have allowed earlier...at that point had I continued to push when she was backing she would have spun off, but again, it appeared she had studied our previous lesson and was now ready. I finally was able to let my fingers slide down a few inches of her neck. She initially jumped back at the touch, but as she jumped away I asked her to come back to me and face me. It was almost as if you could witness her energy being grabbed in mid-air from shying away to sending it back towards me. I am truly in awe that a 1000 pound animal with a brain the size of a pea can comprehend basically how to be lead, w/o any lead within one day...I am convinced they utilize every bit of their pea and we use about a sand-grain of ours...anyway, After the initial touch she still had the same reflex to jump away at the next and the next, but with each one the jump away became lessened and her magnet back to me became stronger...After 5 or 6 touches she allowed me to let my hand rest on her neck, then stroke her! (You said it...again I wanted to jump up and down, but did not) She allowed me to stroke her neck and barrel as well as the side of her face, but beyond those perimeters she lost comfort. That was more than fine by me, I was so thrilled to have made contact.

What a brilliant horse, she is truly unique from any other I have touched. It is as if her mind is wired differently, she has a degree of self-preservation and trust that is un-equaled. We certainly have a long way to go, but I must say I Know I will LOVE this ride :)

The Big Day

2010-05-09T23:09:00.000-04:00

Well, Thursday am we loaded up and took off to Jackson, MS! We arrived at 2 am Friday morning and the night watchman let us in the gate to the pasture right with the Mustangs! I of course had to stumble off in the dark to lay my eyes on this amazing girl before I could sleep. She was 4 paddocks down and was very quiet..just calmly eating her hay. I had been so worried about her getting hurt on her 22 hr haul in from Canon City, CO I was so very relieved to see she was sound and healthy. As a matter of fact All the Mustangs were in wonderful flesh, did not appear tucked up and dehydrated at all. Kudos to the BLM, they sure know what they are doing :)

My husband and I slept in our trailer and I awoke as soon as the sky began to lighten. I jumped out and went to see her in the light and I was simply awestruck. I was in love in the video, but now..I mean she is even nicer than I expected. She stands ~15 hh, I bet every bit of 1100 pounds, very clean legs, HUGE bone, a very nice big step and a level topline...and her eye is the kindest I think I have witnessed yet. She humbles me.

We met quite a few of the Supreme adopters and I must say, they were a fabulous group of positive, encourages folks. And very diverse as well. From Dressage enthusiasts to trick horse trainers and everything in between. One really nice gentleman's signature move was "Sitting" his horse on a bale of hay! It was so wonderful to meet such diverse, talented folks..I can not wait to see everyone's progress in August!

When it came time to load Lindsay the wrangler herded her into a small shoot, similar to a bucking shoot and shut her in there. I expected her to be upset, but no, she just dropped her head and stood her ground. They then opened the front gate and she trotted the most beautiful, ground covering extended trot right up into the trailer and off we went! She was as quiet and still on the entire ride as any horse I've hauled, quieter than most actually. We stopped often to offer her water, hay and soaked alfalfa, but otherwise drove straight through to NC...~13 hrs! We arrived home at 3 am Sat. morning. Well, I really was not comfortable letting her off the trailer in the dark and I was afraid if I went in the house to sleep I would over-sleep b/c I was so sleep deprived, so I sleep in the goose-neck again. Lindsay was very quiet all night and drank and ate well. But, as soon as the sun began to peak up she woke me by spinning circles and pawing as if to say "Alright, you told me at daybreak you'd let me out"...Well I stumbled my way out and backed the trailer to the round pen. She stepped of like an old pro and went to rolling side to side in our black Kelly dirt! She was nervous a bit at our pack of 7 dogs, but quickly realized they were ok...but our pot-bellied pig...we are still working on that! Lindsay is still not so sure why there is a free range pig on her farm that likes to share her water tub!

Welcome!!!

2010-05-03T21:35:00.000-04:00

We welcome you to our blog! My name is Mary Miller-Jordan and my husband and I run High Cotton Horse Farm in eastern NC. We have ventured on an amazing journey this year by entering the inaugural Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover! The competition is the Richest Wild Horse Competition in history and awarding $100,000 in prizes at the finals in Aug! Each trainer has roughly 120 days to gentle and train their own Wild Mustang and will all join together Aug 14th in TX to compete for the title and awards. We were able to see short videos of the Mustangs up for adoption and we bid through a live TV broadcast April 24th. We are so very excited to say that we adopted "Lindsay". Lindsay is lot # 34 and is a beautiful bay roan mare. She has QH type conformation with lots of substance and a very balanced build. In her video clip she quietly walks up and down her paddock leading her pasture-mate exuding confidence and security. I love a horse that is "Comfortable in their own skin" and Lindsay really seems to be just that. We will pick her up at the Miss BLM holding facility May 7th and I just can not wait to meet her in person!

We are currently accepting Sponsors from businesses and individuals to aid Lindsay and myself on this amazing journey. Soft Ride Equine boots was one of our first Sponsors and we are so very excited to say Lindsay will be riding in comfort, style and safety. Please visit www.soft-ride.com to view this amazing product. It's like tennis shoes for your horse! The family of Alex Hartner have also sponsored Lindsay in Alex's memory. Alex was an amazing equestrian whom truly lived every moment of life and this is a journey she would have loved! We would love for you to become a part of this unique adventure as well. If you are interested in Sponsoring Lindsay please contact us at 910-471-2658 or visit us at www.highcottonhorsefarm.com

Lindsay also has a Facebook page! We would love for you to become her friend on FB. Just search "Lindsay~ Roan Mustang Mare competing in the Supreme Extreme Makeover"

We will be adding updates very often as we begin this exciting journey!

mmj

~follow your heart, it knows what it's talking about :)