Relaxing in the Paddock

Green grass is so yummy.  After being in corrals for 15 months, or nearly half of her life, Siesta got to nibble on some grass today.  She could only reach a little bit under the fence, but she wasn't complaining.  She got to sniff a tree, too.  Not many tall trees where she comes from!

 

This was Siesta's first time out of the arena.  The fence is about 4'8" high, and the gate in the third picture below is 4'.  She never challenged them at all, and it doesn't seem like she's going to have any fence issues.  Pretty good, huh?

Fun in the Big Pen

Siesta got her first taste of free play time yesterday.  Her gentling pen is in a corner of a mostly-covered arena, and that's where she's spent her time for the last month.  She's been led from her pen to the round pen, which is under cover in the middle of the arena, but that's as far as she's gone.  She's doing so well with her training that I felt like it was time to let her a loose for a while.  I put her web halter on and opened the gate, and Siesta seemed to know what I was up to before I did it.  She made her cute little mustang-snorty sound then calmly stepped out.  There were three piles of River's poop right there, so sniffing them gave her something interesting to do.  For seven minutes she walked around with her nose on the ground sniffing every inch of everything.  She drank from puddles.  She tasted the footing (and spit it out).  She took in the view.  And then she decided to crank it up a few notches and cut loose with some really Western rodeo moves.  Her canter and gallop are awesome!  She had fun running into a corner then spinning out of it and charging in the other direction.  Her trot is fun to watch too; there is lots of knee and hock action.  After two whole minutes of hard play she decided to go back to walking, sniffing, and puddle drinking.

I was very impressed.  Had any of our other horses been cooped up for five weeks, they would have blown off way more steam.  I cleaned Siesta's pen and a couple of other stalls while Siesta cooled herself down.  When I came in with an armload of straw for her bed, she followed me in and munched on it a bit.  Next thing I knew she was standing in her favorite corner with her head down and her eyes closed.  Having fun is so much work!

Star Power

Earlier this week, my friend and mustang mentor Tracey Westbury, came to visit Siesta.  Tracey has multiple talents, including training mustangs, writing with style, and creating beautiful photography.  Her favorite subject is, of course, mustangs.  While she was here, Tracey took lots of great photos of Siesta.  We traded places for a while; she played with Siesta and I played with her camera.  What a treat!

Tracey made Siesta the star of her blog today.  You can check it out here.  Thanks Tracey!

River's Day Out

River, the big beautiful bay from McCullough Peaks HMA in Wyoming, and the supermodel at the top of the blog, got to go ponying out on the trail today.  The sun was out for the first time in a million years, and it was warm, so naturally we hit the trails.  I don't mean to imply that we only ride when the sun is shining, because, believe me, we ride in all kinds of weather, all year 'round.  But it sure does feel good to be horseback in the woods when the sun is pouring it's warmth down and making the earth all steamy and luscious.

This was River's second time being ponied, and each time has been behind a different horse, with different horses bringing up the rear as well.  She did great on both rides, with no spooky silliness, and we threw everything at her that we could.  We crossed the creek, went through huge mud bogs, up and down slippery clay slopes, across fat logs, through thick brush, across bridges, under the high-tensile power lines, and even past the scary horse-eating culvert and she never even blinked.  The only thing that got her attention was a pair of deer behind us as we were heading back to the trailer.  She let out a couple of big, loud snorts, which spooked the saddle horses, but it was nothing very eventful.

Next time we go out we'll saddle River and ride her.  She does great in the arena, so we don't anticipate any problems.  We happened to bump into her previous owner today, who was riding with a group of his pals.  He was happy to see River and said that she looks great.  Which of course she does!

Four Weeks

I can hardly believe it, but Siesta has been with me for exactly one whole month today.  One month of lessons taught and learned by both of us.  One month of steady progression for both of us, as we hit one milestone after another.  One month of happy tears for me, and I bet if horses could cry Siesta would've let a few fall herself.

This has been the most fascinating training experience of my horse life.  I've started colts.  I've restarted older horses.  I've worked with so-called problem horses and rescue horses.  But never in my life have I been handed an untouched horse and been charged with the task of making it a willing partner.  And that's what Siesta has become.  Everything I ask of her she does, and she does it with her own sense of style and grace.

I'm ready to advertise Siesta for adoption now.  No, she isn't quite ready to go, but she's close enough that prospective adopters can come and meet her, watch me play with her, and spend some time getting to know her.  As of right now, I can walk into her pen, put the halter and lead rope on her, brush her, pick up her front feet, lead her around in a willing, relaxed manner, back her up, and turn her on her forequarters and her haunches.  I can send her out in a circle around me and work with her either on a line or at liberty.  She'll turn both directions, will whoa and face up on request, and will approach me for a neck rub when invited.  Actually, she'll do anything for a neck rub.  She stretches her neck out impossibly far, then stretches her top lip even farther.  It's the cutest thing ever!

So all that's left on my checklist of must-do's is being able to clean all four feet and load in a trailer.  But beyond the requirements, I'll keep working with Siesta until she's adopted to teach her to tie, go for walks outside the arena, and to carry a small saddle.  She has some growing and filling out to do before she'll be ready for real saddle training, but there is plenty of groundwork that can be done now.  I am excited for her future adopter.  What a lucky person that will be, to have a young, smart, sweet and beautiful red-headed mustang to love and call their own.

Siesta's Fiesta

                          Siesta had a party today.  We let her believe the party was in her honor, for being so sweet.

There were balloons.

And pony rides.

With little cowpokes.

And through it all, she was such a good girl.

WOW!

All I can say is WOW!  Wow, wow, wow wow wow!  What, more details?  Well, for starters, I can brush Siesta's entire body!  I'm talkin' nose to toes!  I untangled her mane and brushed it smooth, and even sprayed it with Laser Sheen for good measure.  Yes, I SPRAYED this beautiful mare and she acted like it had been done before.  I think she actually liked it!  I picked her tail up and brushed it.  I brushed all four legs and tapped on all four hooves.  I brushed her tummy!  I used a shedding blade and got gobs of fuzzy, faded winter hair off.  Her summer coat is dark and shiny, and her mane is so soft and unbelievably beautiful.  I finally took her number tag off, too, and when it came off she put her head in my arms and loved on me while I cooed at her and cried big, wet, happy tears.

Would you like a confession?  I did all of the above from outside the pen.  No cookies or carrots were harmed in tonight's exercise, for the simple reason that I had no intention of grooming Siesta tonight.  I was on my way in to clean her pen, but I stopped to pet her first.  One thing led to another, and before I knew it I had both of my hands in her mane working out the tangles.  I thought it would be interesting to see if I could brush her mane, and I did, with no problem.  Things went from there, and an hour later I had a much cleaner, shinier, and happier horse.  She loved being brushed so much that she turned her body this way and that way so that I could reach every last spot.  She still has green spots on her belly, but they look like they've been there for a while and I think it will take some warm soapy water to get them off.  I didn't get her forelock brushed very well, either, and her tail needs more work, but overall I got her looking pretty good.

When I finally did go in to clean her pen, I asked her to respect my space, and she did.  She approached me in a friendly way and stopped two feet away from me.  I gave her verbal praise, then invited her closer.  She scooted in, and I petted her from her face to her shoulders.  What a sweetheart.  Wow!

Rope on, Rope off

Mr. Miyagi would be proud.  Remember the movie "The Karate Kid"?  Yes, I'm talking about the original one.  Yes, I'm that old.  Remember the part where the kid had to wax the old car out in the lot in the fading dusk and he was required to rub the wax on one way, then rub it off the other way?  "Wax on, wax off.  Wax on, wax off."  What does this have to do with training a mustang, or with anything, for that matter?  Nothing.  It's just what came to mind when I was playing with Siesta yesterday and today.  Why?  Because I was able to put the 15-foot-long rope on her halter, play with her a bit, then take the rope off, then put it back on, then take it off again, as many times as I pleased.  Rope on, rope off.  Rope on, rope off.  Neato, huh?

Know what else is neato?  I can play pressure and release games with the rope on, too.  She'll back straight away from me, then come straight back to me when I ask with my posture and my voice.  I can ask her to move around the perimeter of the pen with me, too.  Not perfectly, but we're working on it.

One more thing.  Siesta discovered that being petted, scratched, rubbed and massaged on one's neck is a good thing.  Tonight, while feeding her carrots, she let me touch her from her poll to her shoulder on both sides.  At first she was offended that I would dare be so bold, but, female that she is, soon figured out that being touched in new places is actually a good thing.  It didn't take her long to give me the green light, and I was able to get some of that loose hair off with my gloved hands.  I'm really looking forward to being able to groom her.  If she's pretty now, I bet she'll be stunning with a slick, shiny coat.

When the carrots were all gone, we were still in the mood for each other, so I asked her if I could pet her star.  Apparently she has a good grasp of the English language, because she lowered her head and let me have at it.  I rubbed the heck out of her forehead and she responded by rubbing her face very hard on my extended forearm.  We went on and on like that until there was loose hair all over her face and my sleeve.  What a cutie!  Siesta has a fun, playful personality and I think she's going to be quite a character when she loosens up all the way.  Did anyone warn me that mustangs have a way of worming themselves into your heart?  Yes, they did.  Did I understand what they meant?  No, I did not.  Until now.

Two Weeks

Siesta has been with me for two whole weeks now.  It isn't a very long time, but it has been long enough to get to know each other's habits and preferences a little bit.  She is such a sweet filly, and so pretty too.  She's met the whole herd through the panel rails, and not once has there been any squealing, striking, or ear-pinning.  I feel confident that one day soon she'll be a gentle horse with a lot to offer her adopter.

I played with Siesta tonight in the same way that I did yesterday.  My plan was to repeat the first success and not ask for any more from her.  I just wanted the lesson to sink in a couple more times before I pushed her any harder.  The session started out the same, but tonight she challenged me a bit.  I had her going around the pen in a nice, easy trot without getting stuck in the corners, but her eyes didn't look as soft as they did last night.  After a few laps in each direction she decided that she didn't want to play anymore and hid her face in a corner with her hiney pointed right at me.  I was at a safe distance (well, relatively safe) and she wasn't doing the bucking and kicking thing that she used to do, but was just standing with her ears pinned and the rear hoof nearest to me cocked.  It was clearly a belligerent posture.  I held my ground and used the lunge whip to ask her to move.  Watching her body language closely, I kept it up until she gave in and resumed forward motion.  This happened several times, and once or twice she tapped her cocked hoof on the ground in warning, but never did she try to back up to me or kick.

After two good laps in each direction, she was ready to join me.  I relaxed, exhaled audibly, put the whip in my hand farthest from her, turned my body at an angle to her, and invited her into my space.  She approached, while licking and chewing, and touched my hand that was extended to her.  I wanted to see if she would come closer, so I turned my body a little bit more and she took another step towards me while touching my hand.  I was feeling greedy (and a little bit giddy) so I turned just a little bit more and she took one more step closer.  Her head was almost beside me now, so I offered lots of verbal praise and decided to quit.  When I was out of the pen, she gave me a "Hey, we were having fun here" kind of look, so I kept talking to her and letting her touch my hand through the rails.  I tickled her chin and touched her halter, then said goodnight.  I wonder what she'll give me tomorrow?

First Nicker

I believe we turned a corner today.  The last couple of days I've felt stuck, stymied, and seriously plateaued in my efforts with Siesta.  Not that she'd done anything too naughty or scary lately, but it just felt like kicking things up a notch was the wrong thing to do. I've been making small progress with her.  Yesterday I could touch most of her face and halter with one hand while she munched on carrots from the other hand.  I could even touch the bottom ring of her halter, where the lead rope is supposed to be, and give it a little jiggle and tug.  But that's all she would let me do, and it felt like she was still protecting herself from me.

Today, however, was different.  Siesta nickered at me for the first time today.  She wasn't hungry, not for food, but I believe she was hungry for interaction.  What a sweet sound!  I noticed her watching me closely while I cleaned the other horses' stalls, which isn't unusual for her, but today she did it with softer eyes, as if she was wishing for me to come to her.

I didn't use any treats at all today, no carrots, no cookies, and no hay fed from my hands.  My interactions with her were focused on pressure and release, or approach and retreat, as it's also called.  While cleaning her pen, my focus was on keeping her moving on her side of the pen, while I held my feet still and quietly cleaned with efficient, deliberate movements.  Whenever she approached my space, I flapped my elbows like chicken wings and asked her to back up.  And she did!

Later, when I returned to Siesta's pen to have a training session with her, the pen was completely devoid of any food or bedding (she counts straw as food--go figure).  Before entering the pen, I held a lunge whip in front of her and asked her to "touch it".  She loves touching objects, so this was no problem.  I offered verbal praise only; no cookies today.  I entered the pen and used the lunge whip to direct Siesta into forward motion.  She responded willingly, but stopped in her favorite corner the first two times around.  With only a little encouragement, she resumed forward motion and I was able to ask her to change directions several times successfully.  Some of her turns were away from me, and some were towards me.  At no time did she buck, threaten me with her hiney and hooves, or get worked into a tizzy.  She was good.  Really, seriously good.  After just a couple of minutes I allowed Siesta to stop, and I watched her eyes soften, and she licked and chewed.  I offered verbal praise, then turned my body at an angle to hers, and invited her to join me.  And she did!

Never has it been so hard to quit on a good note.  I was overjoyed, wanting to throw my arms around her neck and cry, but I settled for blowing her a kiss, telling her thank you, and politely leaving her to herself.  I feel like I have more to build on now, and I'm guessing that one day very soon she'll be ready to be touched with a bamboo pole, and then she'll learn to enjoy being petted and scratched by hand.  From there I believe that progress will snowball, and I'll soon have a gentle mustang.  Thank you Siesta!