Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Wheelbarrow Method

Okay, most of us have heard of the bamboo pole method of gentling mustangs, right?  Lay the pole on the horse's withers, wait until it stops having a hissy fit, then gently see-saw the pole back and forth to offer feel-good scratches, then touch the horse all over with the pole, then scoot yourself closer and touch the horse with your fingers.  Pretty soon you have a gentle mustang.  Or at least it's supposed to work like that.

Personally, I haven't had much luck with the pole.  I don't feel like it facilitates trust-building between me and the horse, but rather escalates fear responses.  Or maybe I just don't do it right.  In any case, Belle and I came up with our own method this evening.  I'd like to call it The Wheelbarrow Method.  Do I give the wild mustang a ride in my wheelbarrow?  No, I do not.  Do I hitch the wild mustang to my wheelbarrow and ask it to give me a ride?  No, of course not.  Do I push the wheelbarrow at a reasonable distance behind the wild mustang and ask it to walk in a lovely circle ahead of me?  Yes, I do!  And guess which direction I asked Belle to walk in?  Yes, to the right!  And she did!  Without blowing up!  We must've looked rather silly walking laps around the pen, but nobody was looking, so that's alright.

After a couple of easy laps, she wanted to stop and check me out, so I stepped out from between the handlebars, stood in the middle of the pen, and invited her to come to me.  She didn't come to me, but she looked at me with both eyes and held my gaze for several seconds.  This was a big improvement over the usual quick, one-eyed glance that she has been giving me.  When she lost interest in me and looked away, I put her back to work walking and trotting laps to the right, then when she was ready to check me out again I repeated my invitation for her to come to me.  Twice, she took tiny steps towards me.  That's the most I've gotten from her without holding the rope, so I was quite pleased.

Belle's eye was softer tonight, compared to the glassy-eyed stare that she usually has.  She made happy, relaxed, nose-blowing snorts, which was the first I've heard from her.  And, she let me stand very close to her outside of her pen while she ate her dinner, which was also a first.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get her in the round pen and put her to work.  I think if I can work her to the left and right, with lots of changes of direction, then I can get her mind engaged and really make some progress.  She's had two and a half weeks to get acclimated, and I think I've convinced her that I don't like the taste of horse meat, so let's get that girl busy, by golly.

Friday, November 25, 2011

A Very Nice Ride

With Belle's arrival, the finger-numbing cold, the soaking rains, and the Thanksgiving holiday, I've put Capri on the back burner in the last week.  Tonight, however, I carved out enough time to do more that just brush her and play with her; I saddled her up and hopped on for her fourth ride.  I started in the round pen, and she was great.  We went round and round at the walk, changed directions many times, enjoyed her huge, springy trot to the left and the right, backed up, and turned on the forehand both ways.  That could have been enough, but I knew she could do more, so we exited the round pen and I rode in the arena.  I didn't ask for anything too challenging, but she stepped out nicely and walked a straight line for two laps in each direction.  I kept her motivated to go past Belle's pen, and past the gate to her own paddock, and past the tie-up area, all with no problem.  I turned her around the barrels for a minute or two, then quit while I was ahead. 

Riding green horses is a lot of fun.  I use the lightest aids possible, and give Capri a chance to interpret my cues.  She gets it right most of the time, but on the occasion that I have to give a heavier aid and make my intent clear, I feel perfectly safe doing so.  Using lots of leg, bending her head around, tickling her butt with the end of my reins; none of that bothers her a bit.  Mounting and dismounting are effortless, and tonight I mounted without the block for the first time.  What a treat!

Belle continues to make small bits of progress.  Yesterday, I spent some quiet time with her in her pen, just slowly moving her around and talking to her.  When I left her, and was about 50 feet away from her, she whinnied to me.  I was surprised!  That was the first time she'd done that, so I approached her pen again and spent more time talking to her from outside, being careful to keep my posture non-threatening.  Today, she seriously considered taking alfalfa from my hand.  She's not quite brave enough yet, but perhaps soon she will be.  Perhaps tomorrow? 

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Enjoy your holiday weekend, and remember to count your blessings!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

It's The Little Things

Belle is starting to relax a bit, finally.  Last night, for the first time, she got brave enough to eat her hay while I was watching, and let me get within twelve feet of her before she stopped eating and took a couple of steps away from me.  I know it seems trivial, but it was really a huge indication that she is beginning to feel comfortable around me.  Until then, she wouldn't go near her feed if I was watching at all, even from a great distance.  In fact, most of the time she would stand with her right side against the wall and only give me the merest glance if I was talking to her.  Tonight, though, she willingly faced up to me with her ears forward and her eyes were soft and bright.  She let me see her right side...I was beginning to wonder if she had one!  Mustangs typically protect their right side, and when they loosen up and show it (and later let me touch it) it is a sure sign of letting down their guard.
When I was holding the end of the rope, Belle took side steps towards me when I asked her to, as long as I was moving too, so that she wasn't actually getting closer to me, but was moving with me.  Kind of like leading sideways.  I'll take what ever she'll give me right now, so that was just fine.  She also let me move towards her with my arm outstretched.  I played Pressure and Release with her, which helps her learn that she gets rewarded (the release is the reward) when she looks at me or moves towards me.  She has a strong flight instinct, but no fight, so as long as I stay out of her way when she bolts forward, I'm fine.  She's bolting less often now, and she's learned to settle down and listen when I ask her to stop.  She is a smart girl, and she is so Stinking pretty!

Working through the challenges is what makes training mustangs so rewarding.  We like to think of them as blank slates, but really they are less than blank, if there is such a thing.  They know nothing of us, but they do know how to survive and protect themselves.  They don't speak our language, so it is up to us to communicate with body language that makes sense to them.  It really is remarkable that we're able to not only convince them that we're not going to have them for dinner, but to forge a deep and lasting bond with them.  A bond that once earned, will never be revoked.  I feel like I'm firmly on the path now that will lead me to having a bond with Belle.  I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Eye of the Storm

Most, if not all, horses prefer going to the left.  There are explanations for this, mostly having to do with horses being right "handed". Without going to go into the nitty-gritty details of it, the simple fact is that we can usually ask a horse to go in a circle to the left, and they will.  When we ask them to change directions and go to the right, they usually put up a bit of resistance, so we push a little harder, and they go.  With consistent encouragement, they eventually learn to go willingly.  I enjoy pushing a horse and encouraging it to do it's best.  I also enjoy being alive.  Have you ever been in a twenty-four by twenty-four foot square pen with a fresh, wild mustang who has decided that going to the right is impossible?  Well, I have, just a couple of hours ago.  Who knew that a full-sized horse could gallop in such a tight space?  It looks something like this:

The mere thought of going to the right sends Belle into a tizzy.  She spins to the left and does several laps at top speed.  What do I do?  Well, I'm in the center, so I can make a mad dash for the rails and climb out, or I can just stay put and enjoy the show.  Belle has a strong flight instinct, but no fight that I've seen yet, so I actually feel pretty safe (although a bit dizzy) standing in the center and waiting for the storm to pass.

Every training issue needs to be addressed, but there is a time for everything, and this issue can wait until I've earned more trust with Belle.  She is making other progress that I am happy with, and she is usually  perfectly calm and willing to try her best.  In the meantime, it's good to know that she is an athlete who can really dig down and boogie!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Uh Oh...

...Not again.  Oh, dear.  Not so soon.  That funny feeling is back.  The one where my stomach knots up and feels all tingly.  Could I possibly be...falling in love...again?  I've already fallen in love three times this year.  First with River, then Siesta, followed by Capri, and now Belle.  Won't I ever learn?  Falling in love is suposed to be a rare event.  What's wrong with me?  I guess I'm just the lovin' type.  Or maybe these mustangs are just so darn lovable, and impossible to resist.  Yes, I think that's it.  It's not me, it's them!


I went in the pen with Belle this evening and picked up the drag rope.  Her rope is a nice long one, so it's very simple to get close enough to bend over and pick up the end.  The only trick there is to make sure that I'm staring at the end of the rope, not the horse, so that she doesn't feel threatened by my intent.  While holding the rope lightly in my left hand, I encouraged her to move in a circle to the left, and she calmly did.  She went 'round and 'round, with only a slight hesitation in her favorite corners, which I could easily push her through.  When I asked her to stop, she did, and she gave me her full attention.  I gave a gentle, steady pull on the rope, while angling my body away from her, and she freely took two steps towards me by moving her front end sideways, with her outside foot crossing in front of her inside foot.  This made me very happy.  She followed up by moving her hind feet too, and completed a side pass toward me.  I really wasn't  expecting this, but to my surprise I could ask her for it again and again, and she would deliver.  When she quit giving it to me, I sent her back in a circle, then stopped her and asked again.  She seemed to like this game.  I changed the rules by asking her to come straight to me, and again she surprised me by taking a couple of forward steps.  What a smart, brave girl!  I was only in there with her for twenty minutes, but I feel like she made huge progress in that short time.  I have a feeling she's going to be a really nice horse.  No wonder I'm falling in love...

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Dreams Do Come True

Belle met her soon-to-be adopter today.  Pastor Dave lives more than two hours from me, but such a short amount of time was nothing compared to the wait that he has endured for his dream of owning a mustang to come true.  Dave is a life-long horseman who rode in a drill team for many years.  He also enjoys getting out in the back-country on horseback, and after giving his last horse to a 4-H family, he decided this year to pursue his mustang dream. 
 Dave was searching Dreamhorse.com this September when he spotted the ad I had posted for Capri.  He immediately fell for her, and contacted me for more information.  As luck would have it, Capri had just become unavailable that day.  I felt bad for Dave, so I pointed out that there were lots more mustangs where Capri came from, and I would be happy to gentle and train one just for him.  I sent him the link to the BLM's Oregon mustang page, and his eye went straight to the beautiful mare that he has named Belle.  I was very pleased with his choice, because I'd had my eye on her all year.

I am very, very happy that Belle is in my pen, but not nearly as happy as Dave is.  Have you ever seen the look on a little boy's face when he gets just the gift he wanted?  One that he's been hoping and praying for, for a long, long time?  Well, picture that look on the face of a six-foot-four cowboy in boots and a hat, and you've got Pastor Dave looking at Belle for the first time.  He is tickled!  Dave loves her conformation and her color.  He asked for my first impressions of her, and I assured him that Belle is calm, curious, smart, playful, and quite possibly mischievous.  She seems like the kind of horse, that, once broke, a person could just climb on and go without a worry in the world.  It's quite a journey that Dave is embarking on, and I am blessed to be his guide.  Thank you, Dave!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Patience...

...is a virtue.  It's one of my favorite sayings, one that I grew up hearing over and over, and one that I may have repeated to my children a time or two.  Patience is the number one lesson that we learn with mustangs.  The gentling process requires lots of patience, as well as faith, respect, and trust.  We patiently wait for the first touch, but even before then we have to be patient and wait for the mustang to arrive.


Do you remember when I was excited because I was getting a fresh mustang in my gentling pen, and I said it would be here in a few days?  Well, days turned into weeks, while I patiently endured one delay after another in the delivery arrangements.  Finally, more than a month after I expected her, the new mare arrived tonight.  Her name is Belle, and she is a four-year-old from the Stinkingwater Herd Management Area of Oregon.  Her color is listed as sorrel, but she looks more like a chocolate palomino.  Her coat is a warm toasty brown, and her mane and tail are a lovely shade of golden.  She's built nice and sturdy, true to the draft heritage that her herd is known for.  She reminds me a bit of Malibu Barbie, with her dark tan, bleach blond hair and her big, curvy physique.


Belle has a sweet face, with a star shaped like the State of Texas, and a well-placed snip on her long Roman nose.  She stepped out of the trailer with aplomb, and looked around with a Winnie-the-Pooh expression that  read, "Oh, I'm here.  Well, of course I am.  Where else would I be?"  She gave herself a quick tour of the pen, then relaxed and posed while I took one hundred and twenty-seven photos of her.  Seriously!  Belle was curious about everything, and had fun splashing her muzzle in the water bucket before she settled in to her dinner.



Capri greeted her new friend very politely.  They got acquainted (re-acquainted?) through the rails, and spent some time just hanging out together.  I haltered Capri, tied her up, and brushed her, while Belle ogled the process.  Horses can learn a good bit just by watching other horses, so this was the beginning of her education.  Tomorrow I'll get started on the rest!


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Nice and Easy

Well, as I promised, Capri had yesterday off to relax in the field and do some thinking, or whatever horses do when they have nothing else to do.  The photo above is my view of Capri and the arena from my dining room.  I also promised that I would hop back on Capri tonight, and as you can see, I did just that.
Capri was a very good girl again, and we worked on basic forward motion.  Stepping straight forward is a tough thing for a horse to learn when they're concentrating on how to stay balanced under the rider's weight, so we go forward by first going to the left or right a little bit.  Call it moving the forequarters, or picking up the shoulder, or moving the rib cage over, but it boils down to taking the weight off the front end and transferring it to the hindquarters.  Once the horse does that, she can pick up and go.
I like to take things slow, so all we did was walk, turn, and walk some more.  Twice, Capri stopped at the mounting block to let me know she thought she was done, and each time I asked her to keep going.  She had no objection to that, so I guess she just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.  A sensible green horse is a lot of fun to ride, because each time we ride them they learn something new.  It's my favorite part of training, because the milestones really start to pile up.  Once they learn all of the basics, we can ask for the more advanced stuff, and that is fun too, but in a different way.  Capri is a good student; she listens well and gives everything she can, and she feels really safe to be on.  Just the way I like it!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Me on Capri


What?  Not the pictures you expected?  You mean you want to see pictures of me on the mustang named Capri?  The beautiful Italian isle in the Mediterranean doesn't excite you?  Well, it is a wonderful, incredible place that my husband and I visited on our honeymoon eleven years ago, and it is part of the inspiration behind Capri's name.

Well, I have news.  There will be pictures of me on the Capri that we all know and love very soon.  I had my first ride on her tonight, but Rick was busy helping me and wasn't able to play photographer at the same time.  The ride was perfect.  Capri was perfect.  I am flying high right now, just like I was on my honeymoon.  The best part was that Capri enjoyed it as much as I did.  Her expression and her posture were soft the whole time.  I know she's been wanting to be ridden as much as I've been wanting to ride her.  I felt like she was ready for it two months ago, before she left for six weeks.  She watches me ride the other horses, and seems to be taking notes; it really is the cutest thing.  I remember Siesta used to do that, too.  They get that "pick me, ride me!" expression on their face, and I know I won't have any trouble doing just that.

The ride lasted about 15 minutes, which is plenty long for a first ride.  We walked both directions, with lots of turns, stops, and starts, and pretty soon she was stepping out in a free, rhythmic walk that felt very comfortable.  I gave her cues with my legs and my hands, and looked in the direction that I wanted to go, and she did everything just right.  I got off, gave her a big hug with lots of praise, and got back on.  At first, Rick had the rope on the halter that she was wearing under her bridle, but the second time up he took it off and just walked beside her head.  Capri was calm and happy the whole time, and was giving what we call the "green light."  When we were done, she seemed very proud and all grown up, just like the other horses.

Capri will have tomorrow off, to process what she learned tonight.  I'll let her out to munch on what's left of the grass, then in the evening she can come in and watch me ride River or one of the other mares.  The next night it will be her turn again, and I'll be asking for a lot more from her.  Rick can stand in the center of the round pen and tell me how I'm doing, and hopefully his hands will be free enough to take some pictures.

So, let's hear it for everything beautiful named Capri, and may this honeymoon, like the one my husband and I shared, never end.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Capri's Tale

Some of my loyal readers (you know who you are...and I appreciate you very much) might be wondering what is going on with Capri.  She was gentled and found a home, right?  Well, right.  And then not.  The family that adopted her experienced a couple of major life changes, and then the discovery was made that the final adoption paperwork was never processed.  So, it turned out that Capri was never officially adopted by that family, and she was returned to me.

In the six weeks that she was gone, Capri was turned out with other mares and found herself at the bottom of the pecking order.  In the horse world, each horse in a group falls into a certain order of hierarchy.  The horse at the top controls the hay pile, and the ones who fall lower in the order may not get enough to eat, and will probably get picked on.  Unfortunately, that was the case with Capri.  She lost a significant amount of weight, which, after two weeks of being back here, she is still trying to put back on.  She also had obvious hoof marks on her hindquarters from being kicked by the other mares.  She was dirty and dull-looking, with a build-up of loose hair in her coat.  The sparkle was gone from her eyes, her head hung low, and her hip bones were showing.  When she stepped out of the trailer, I really wasn't sure it was Capri.  I honestly had to look at her markings several times to be certain.  Where was the proud mustang?  The outgoing, the-world-is-my-oyster-and-I-am-the-queen mare?  Had she vanished?  No.  Thankfully, after an hour of grooming, cooing, petting, playing, and feeding her treats, the old Capri was reappearing.  There was a glimmer of sparkle in her eyes.  She knew she was home with the people who love her, in a comfortable place where she never experienced fear or pain.




Within a couple of days, the shine was starting to return to Capri's coat.  She has been home for two weeks now, and she is her same old sweet self.  She even has a new stall with a paddock, which she thinks is just peachy.  I've saddled her a couple of times, and put weight in the stirrups, and trotted her around the barrels on a line.  She seems to be nearly ready for her first ride, and I'm hoping to accomplish that soon.  You all will be the first to know how that goes!

I've saved the best news for last.  You remember Rick, right?  He's my neighbor, my friend, my employer, and the owner of the barn where I am blessed enough to be able to train mustangs.  Well, he and his wife love Capri as much as I do, and they were deeply disturbed by the condition she was in when she returned here.  They decided that perhaps it would be best if they adopted Capri.  So, the check has been written and the paperwork has been mailed, and very soon Rick will have the final adoption papers in hand.  How's that for a good deal?  I get to keep training Capri, and Rick and his wife get to enjoy her.  That's what I call a happy ending.  Or is it a happy new beginning?