Capricious Capri

Two years ago, when I named Capri, I chose the name because she reminded me of a little brown goat: nimble, quick, smart, sweet and irresistible.  She is all of that and more: beautiful, mellow, hug-able and trainable.  Darned if she doesn't have a flip-side though.  In fact, she can be downright capricious.  According to the Free Dictionary, the definition of capricious is "Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior."  Synonyms include whimsical, wayward, fickle, freakish and crotchety.  Yup.  Capricious Capri.  Why am I down on our chocolate colored darling?  Because six weeks ago she came down on me.  Hard.  Hard enough to keep me out of the barn for six to eight weeks, and hard enough for me to say "Enough."

More than a year ago, Capri bucked Rick off in the biggest bucking spectacle I had ever seen.  We gave her the benefit of the doubt and figured she must have had some pain.  We gave her a year of pasture rest, with lots of tender loving care.  This spring, she began to show interest in working, so I started the process of restarting her under saddle.  Saddle, bridle, ground-driving, ponying, the works.  All done cheerfully and without a hint of unsoundness.  Our farrier felt like she was almost ready to ride.

Rick loves to go on pack trips with his other horses, and so do a lot of other folks in our area, so we decided to teach Capri to pack.  Packing a horse for a season before riding it can teach it to be willing and tractable, as well as get in it shape and teach it to balance a load.  Generally, when a rider climbs on at the end of a packing season, the horse is relieved to have live weight on board and is ready to get to work.

With our humble goal in mind, Rick and I began the process of training Capri to accept a pack saddle and the myriad collection of assorted straps, buckles and what-nots that are part of the mountain-horse's getup.  A pack saddle really is much, much different than a riding saddle, and we were very pleased and proud when Capri accepted it without so much as a flick of her tail.  She ponied beautifully behind Rick's good saddle horse, and figured out how to go around stacked barrels (make-believe trees) without knocking them down.  The second session started out just as well as the first.  We decided to add hard-sided panniers to the saddle, which Capri accepted with no problem.  Then we decided to add weight to the panniers.  A forty-pound sack of grain was placed inside each pannier, and up they went on Capri.  Still no problem.

We're not strangers to the pack-training process, having taught each of Rick's other horses to pack in the last couple of years.  We know full well that a horse can throw a hissy fit when it first feels those loaded panniers on its sides, and we were prepared for Capri to spin away from us and show us a few tricks.  What we weren't prepared for was for Capri to come forward, into me, in a full-blown bucking, snorting, farting explosion that simply wouldn't quit.

Near-death experiences are nothing new to mustang people, and can provide an exhilarating rush of adrenaline and a powerful sense of immortality.  Heady stuff for a middle-aged gal whose second-most exciting activity in life is shoveling manure.  My previous experiences, however, left me unscathed.  This one didn't.  I am recovering from a broken collarbone, six broken ribs, whiplash and two sprains to my shoulders.  Fortunately, recovering is the operative word and I will be perfectly fine, but I've decided that thumbing my nose at the grave isn't the wisest thing for a mother of four to be doing.

Capri is fine and dandy, out standing in her field, without a care in the world.  I'd prefer not to work with her again, knowing her capricious nature, but perhaps someone else is up for the challenge?  Or perhaps someone has a field for her to be out standing in?  Capri needs a new home, one where she can just be a mustang.  She is good company for other horses, gets along with everyone, doesn't have any special needs and is lovely to look at.  Could you be Capri's special new person?

The Devil Needed His Chocolate Fix

On a blustery Wednesday evening six weeks ago, Rick had the shortest, wildest ride of his life.  Capri, the sweet chocolate-coated mustang mare, had been twiddling her thumbs for a couple of weeks and needed to be ridden.  As her trainer, I had been Capri's primary rider.  Rick had only ridden her twice before, and on each of those occasions I rode her first.  On this particular evening, I wasn't feeling well, so I groomed Capri but Rick did her groundwork, then saddled her up.  She seemed a little sassy, and maybe a little nervous, but she hadn't had much work lately and it was a very windy evening.  In fact, if the wind hadn't died down at the last minute, Rick wouldn't have ridden her at all, as it was a very noisy, somewhat creepy storm.

With the saddle and bridle snug in their places on our sweet Capri, Rick put his left foot in the stirrup.  Capri side-stepped away, and Rick repositioned her and told her to hold still.  She did, but she still looked sassy and nervous.  It was unusual behavior for Capri, but we thought she would be okay once Rick was up and he got her busy.

Get up and get busy doesn't begin to describe it.

Rick set his seat in the saddle, slipped his second foot in the stirrup, and picked up the reins.  And that is when Capri cut loose.  I've never been so close to such ferocious bucking in my life.  She gave him the ol' one-two punch with a fancy combination of bucking and crow-hopping, and to his credit, Rick stayed on for three big bucks before he came flying off and landed on his back in the soft arena footing.  Capri wasn't done, though.  She felt the need to stick around and buck some more, right over the top of Rick while he was still on his back.  Darn if it wasn't the scariest thing I've ever seen!  Rick literally reached up with both feet to kick and push Capri off of him.  She kept bucking--hard--while galloping two laps around the arena.  Rick was okay, thank heaven, except for some general soreness.

Once Capri stopped, she came to me and put her head at my shoulder and acted like nothing at all had happened.  She looked fine, and I was convinced that she simply preferred me, which really had me worried, because training horses that only respond to me is not what I'm here to do.  Creating a Jekyll and Hyde monster is not my idea of successful horse training!

I let a day go by, a day spent agonizing over Capri's future.  Who would want a devil horse?  Rick doesn't, and I don't either, but it was impossible to believe that our sweet Capri had actually gone to the other side.  I needed to spend some time with Capri to find out what was really going on.  So I groomed her and got the saddle out.  Saddling Capri has always been a simple task, and she has never shown the slightest bit fear or discomfort regarding it.  Until this time.  She let me put the saddle pad on her back without too much concern, but when I lifted the saddle up her eyes about popped out of her head and she snorted with fear.  I set it gently on her back, but it was clear that she was terrified of me putting the right stirrup and cinch down, so I left them up.  I cooed to her and soothed her fear, then asked her to take a few steps.  She did, and gradually calmed down.  I put the saddle away and spent some quiet time with her before putting her away too.

I let another day go by, then decided to get to the heart of the matter.  When all else fails go back to square one, right?  I got the teeny-tiny pony saddle out and plopped it on Capri with no problem.  Dropped the stirrup and cinched her up, and still no problem.  I took it off, and replaced it with the big saddle, which I cinched up without too much trouble.  I put the bridle on too, and made it clear to Capri with my posture that I had no intention of riding her, but we were going to do some groundwork.  I picked up the left rein and asked her to give to the pressure.  She did, with no problem, so I did the same with the right rein, which caused her to absolutely explode.  I was standing at her head, and she was nice enough to explode in reverse, so I was fine.  So, now I knew where the problem was.  Capri had some serious pain in her right shoulder or elbow and her girth area.  It explained why the bucking started the instant Rick put weight in the right stirrup and picked up the right rein.  Capri and the other horses had been doing some crazy running and bucking in the pastures the very afternoon of Rick's eventful ride, so there is a good chance that she hurt herself at that time.  Poor Capri.  Why didn't we listen when she tried to tell us she didn't want a rider?  Perhaps she could have spoken a little more clearly?  A nice, obvious limp would've been a good clue!  What does she think I am, anyway, a horse whisperer?

So now six weeks have passed, and in that time Capri has had a mixed bag of treatments, including bute, rest, light turnout, light exercise, and massage.  Tonight, she had some vigorous exercise and a massage that she enjoyed very much.  She is feeling good and looking bright and beautiful, so the plan is to get her gradually back in training.  I don't know exactly what the future holds for Capri, but she is staying on the sweet side, and the Devil can get his fix somewhere else.

Capri's Day Out

It was March of last year that Rick and I started ponying River on the trails.  She has become a very solid riding horse, both in the arena and on the trails, and we're very happy with her.  Here we are looking at spring again, and now it's Capri's turn to learn to be a trail horse.  The weatherman promised us a nice day, and while he wasn't entirely correct (hey, what else is new?), it was a decent day for riding, so we loaded Capri in the trailer with April and Buddy.

Our usual trail-riding place surprised us with snow on the ground, but it wasn't very cold out, and the snow just added to the fun.

Capri was terrific for the entire two-hour ride, and Rick and I were very proud of her.  We've had a lot of wet weather recently, so the trails that weren't snowy were very muddy.

We sloshed through puddles and ponds, forded the high, raging stream, stepped over big logs, pushed through tight brush, stopped to cut branches and fallen trees, went up and down steep hillsides, and crossed four bridges without so much as a blink from Capri.

Capri was so good, you'd think she'd been out in the wilderness before...oh, wait, she's a mustang!  She has been out in the wilderness before!  Except, where Capri is from, the terrain is sagebrush, scrub pine and sand.  Here in western Washington State, we have fir and cedars, fern, moss, and mud, so for her to be happy and comfortable in the deep woods made us very happy too.

Rick and I always ride in big loops, never riding the same trail twice in the same day, and we finished today's ride by riding on a short stretch of road.

There weren't any cars, but one of the neighborhood horses decided to play a little prank on us by galloping towards his fence, then spinning and galloping away.  The sight of this blanketed beast bearing down on us nearly gave us all heart failure, but Capri pleased us again by cozying up to Rick and April for comfort, instead of trying to bolt away or do something foolish.

Isn't she just amazing?  We'll pony Capri a few more times, and keep riding her in the arena until she's rock-solid, and then she'll get to make her big trail debut under saddle.  We have a hunch she's going to be awesome!

Blink Once For Yes

I made a new friend last weekend, a city girl whose only pet is a small dog, and I had the opportunity to show her the barn and let her meet the mustangs.  She admired each of them, and relished being able to spend time in the presence of horses.  While she was petting Capri, and we were talking about mustangs and horses in general, she asked a question that I wasn't sure I could answer.  You know how when you're talking to your cat, and you're looking deep into his eyes, and he gives a slow, sure blink in response?

 My friend was wondering if horses do that, and I said I wasn't sure, but maybe, but if they do it seems less deliberate than when a cat does it.  I think dogs do it sometimes, but a horse?  It seems like they blink if I'm petting them, but when I'm talking to them they tend to stare.  What do you think?  Blink once for yes...

A Little Bit Braver

Sweet, beautiful Belle is still making little bits of progress.  Nothing monumental, and each little thing would hardly be worth writing about individually, but together the little bits add up to a smidgen of hope that one day Belle will be ready to join up with me and learn to enjoy domesticity.

Our good friend Capri is back for more training, and the two mares are enjoying hanging out together during the day.  Capri is the boss, and Belle will follow her, which surprised and charmed me the first time I put them together.  Part of the day, Capri gets to go out in the pasture to nibble on what's left of the grass.  Belle gets as close as she can to Capri's pasture and keeps an eye on her.

It makes me happy to see Belle care about somebody, even if it isn't me.  She needs to get engaged with life, to learn to embrace the challenges, and show some emotion.  It's a funny thing about her, really; she shows very little emotion about anything.  She doesn't seem depressed, but she's just a little too disinterested.  An emotional flat-liner, I suppose you could say.  No head-tossing or kicking up her heels, no nickering or bickering with other horses, not even a glare to spare for her ever-persistent trainer.

She is mighty cute, though, isn't she?  She lets me love her from a distance, and for now that is good enough.  Through patience and faith, trust will surely come.  Right?

Happy New Year!

It's been a wonderful year for me, full of blessings and lessons learned from these wonderful, beautiful, amazing mustangs.  I hope that your year was wonderful, too, and that the year ahead is even better.  All the best--Tricia & The Gentle Mustangs

A Horse For Rachel

A few weeks ago, we had some visitors from the Southwestern corner of our state.  They are in love with wild mustangs, and wanted to meet a few gentle ones.  They were looking to add a horse to their life, and eagerly made the eight hour round trip drive from their home to Rick's barn.  Rachel and her husband, Matt, are newlyweds.  Rachel owned an Icelandic gelding for many years, but recently made the decision to donate him to a therapeutic riding center.  Her dilemma was, should she replace her gelding with another Icelandic, or should she follow her heart and adopt a mustang?  Well, since she asked me, I gave her some input....mustangs are the stuff dreams are made of.

Rachel wasn't sure if she was looking to buy a titled, well-broke mustang, or adopt a newly-gentled and just-started under saddle one.  A friend of mine, a fellow mustang trainer, had a gelding for sale, so she hauled him here and Rachel rode enjoyed a ride on him.  She also rode River, my big McCullough Peaks mustang mare.  Rachel liked both of them, even though they are very different types of horses.  Rachel and Matt also wanted to meet Capri, to get a feel for what a horse at her training level was like, so they brushed her and Rachel played with her a bit in the round pen.

Rick and I enjoyed the visit very much, and were excited to have met wonderful people who were considering joining the mustang community.  We chatted for a long time about Rachel's wants and needs in a horse, and what kind of home she would provide.  It was clear to us that any horse who went home with them would be lucky indeed.

Rachel and I stayed in touch, and pretty soon she decided that adopting a TIP horse gentled by me was the way to go.  She was ready to choose a fresh one from the corrals in Oregon, but I had to be honest and tell her that having two wild ones at the same time in addition to the other horses that I train and care for would be too much for me right now.  I like to be able to really focus on a wild horse, so that I can put my whole heart into gentling it and giving it a firm foundation.

Rachel understood that, and wondered if maybe Capri would be available for reassignment.  Hmmm...well...I suppose we could consider that.  After all, it was the original intention to find her a wonderful home where she would receive continued training and be treasured forever, right?  Rick was critical to the decision-making process, since at this point he was her official adopter.  Reassignment can take place in the first year of adoption, before the title is issued, and is subject to the same paperwork and process as other BLM adoptions.

Our initial response was yes, contingent on more visits here with Capri, to be sure that they were a good fit.  At this point, I hadn't put the first ride on Capri yet, so we set an open-ended timetable for reassignment, thinking that sometime early next spring would work well for everyone.  Obviously, we didn't know Rachel very well yet.  She's a go-getter, and tenacious, and she wanted a certain chocolate pony.  One with three white socks, a star, and a melt-your-heart expression on her perfectly chiseled face.  Who am I to stand in the way of a woman on a mustang mission?

By the time I had put three rides on Capri, Rachel was wondering if we could shoot for the first of January for a reassignment date.  After the fourth ride, she was wondering if the first week of December would work.  Her previous trainer and good friend, a wonderful gal from Iceland, had a rare opening in her barn, and would we please consider letting Capri go now?  Well, we'd consider it, but Rachel still needed to have a second visit with Capri.  So, the newlyweds made the long trek again.  We had another good visit, and Rachel rode Capri.  She felt calm and relaxed on her, even though it was only Capri's fifth ride and Rachel hasn't had much experience on barely-green-broke horses.  They even enjoyed a nice trot together.

So, Rick and I agreed it would work out fine, and Rachel put her paperwork into the Oregon BLM.  She was approved, and she made arrangements for her trainer to pick up Capri on Sunday, December fourth.  Rachel and Matt would be out of state on a family vacation, and Capri would have a week to bond with her new trainer before Rachel returned.

What could be harder than saying goodbye to Capri?  Having to say goodbye to her twice.  That sweet, beautiful mare found a special place in my heart and soul.  I guess the flip side is that I got to say hello to her twice, too.  What a blessing it was to first gentle her, then train her to ride.  I am very proud of her accomplishments, and I'll be excited to hear news of her future progress.

Capri handled the four hour drive to her new home with no problem.  She is settling in happily, and her new trainer is already impressed with her calm demeanor, her beauty, her curious nature, and her kind eye.  One day soon, when Capri is ready, Rick and I will haul a couple of horses down there and we can all go for a trail ride together.

Capri is the horse of new beginnings.  She's had a handful of them this year, and she's taken each one in stride.  Cheers to Rachel and Capri.  May all of Rachel's dreams come true, with a lifetime of mustang love and adventures.

Clockwise

Moving Belle into the round pen today was a step in the right direction.  Literally, the right direction.  Her phobia of moving to the right, or clockwise, disappeared in the large, round space.  Rick and I set the round pen up just outside of the gentling pen, with two panels left wide open to form a chute, and with the help of a new friend who was visiting the mustangs today, it was easy to move Belle into it and close the panels behind her.

I gave Belle a few minutes to enjoy the view from her new position, then went in with her and put her to work.  Belle is still wearing her drag rope, but I haven't felt compelled to pick it up lately, since working at liberty is more rewarding at this stage of training.  Belle is very responsive to body language, so directing her movement was easy and a lot of fun.  Just slapping my arm against my thigh gets her going; no rope swinging or whip snapping is necessary for this girl.  For a full thirty minutes, Belle went round and round at a snappy, robust trot.  She's built like a hot rod, and watching that amazing body move was a real treat.  When changing directions, she hunkers down on her hindquarters and rolls the other way.  She's got some moves, that's for sure.  To the left, to the right, to the left again, back to the right, then whoa.  Look at me, Belle.  Good girl.  Look she did, but she could only muster the courage to take a couple of steps towards me.  I'm working hard to get a connection, to have her "hook up" or "join up" or whatever you want to call it.  She needs to want to be with me, to acknowledge me as her leader, so that I have her trust and respect.  Each time she looked away and withdrew into herself, I put her back to work doing circles.  The exercise gets tedious after a while, so I found a good note to quit on and stepped out of the round pen.

Belle watched me as I exited, and I noticed that she was tracking me with her whole body as I walked outside the pen, so I walked a couple of laps around it.  She stood in the middle, turned on her forehand, and kept her full face towards me as I moved.  It was a role-reversal, with her in the middle and me doing circles.  Not a good thing, but it was interesting.  After two laps, she figured out that she could just bend her neck around to keep one eye at a time on me.  I turned my back on her then and left her.

Belle blew her nose a few times, cocked a hip, and seemed quite content with herself.  She watched my friend and I as we brushed Capri and chatted for a while, and she continued to watch while I did my chores.  Later, Rick came out to the arena and asked how it went with Belle.  I went back in with her and played with her again, so that Rick could see, then asked him if he wanted a turn with her.  Well, of course he did!  He did well too, and was impressed with the progress that was made.  Tomorrow can only be better!

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? 

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!

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!

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.

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?

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Capri, the not-so-scary mustang, wishes you a safe and happy Halloween.  Beware of witches disguised as horses!

 

The Boomerang Mustang

 Who is that hiding behind the Nokota filly?

 Something about that horse seems familiar.  I see a chocolate brown coat and three white socks...

 ...A cute little face with a star...

 Could it possibly be...?

CAPRI!!!

Adopted....Happy Trails, Capri!

Capri has a home!  She was adopted by a wonderful, experienced horsewoman named Kimberly who does her own training and was looking for just the right horse to be a fun project and a life-long companion.  She saw the ad that I posted on craigslist, and immediately called me to let me know that she and Capri belonged together.  Have you ever had one of those moments?  You know, when you first see your horse, and you know beyond any doubt that it is meant to be yours forever and ever?  I've felt that way, a couple of times now, and this lovely lady felt that way about Capri.  She faxed her paperwork to the BLM, got approved lickety-split, and high-tailed it up the interstate for two hours to meet her new friend. 

It was love at first sight for both of them.  They checked either out from a distance, then approached one another for a first touch, then shared some time just breathing together.  Kimberly brushed Capri, played with her in the roundpen, and asked all of the right questions.  She spent two hours here, and there was no doubt in my mind that the two of them were a match.

With final approval from the office in Burns, Kimberly loaded Capri in her trailer and headed back down the interstate through rush-hour traffic.  Capri settled into her new home easily, and has a cute appy gelding for a friend.  Kimberly tells me that she is fascinated by Capri's temperament--that she has a kind personality and yet she is open to learning, too.  That is very true, and it sums Capri up really well.  She is mellow and gentle, but not a plug; she is smart and funny and sweet and will show her snazzy side when asked.

Capri, my friend, I wish you the best in your new forever home.  Work hard, play hard, learn well, eat lots of cookies, and do what you do best...dish out your love and kindness and show the world how wonderful mustangs are.

Mustang Metrics

The tack room is cozy and filled with good stuff

There are saddles and bridles and more than enough
I'm looking for something special tonight
Maybe I'll step in here where the light is so bright

My trainer says, "Hey, what're ya doin'?"
When it should be plain I'm doin' some shoppin'
English or Western, I just can't decide
Which do you think looks best on my hide?

My trainer says, "Hey, you look great in either"
And just last week I wasn't wearin' neither
That's how slick I am, and how fast I learn
Now, hop on, let's go, there's trails to burn

"Whoa, there, Capri," my trainer does say
"Haven't we got some more groundwork to learn today?"
Oh, brother, not more circles to canter and trot
Oh, please, oh, please, say it's not

I'd rather you hop on and go for a ride
Western or English, whichever you decide
"Soon," says my trainer, I'll be ready to go
I can't hardly wait, so please don't say no

I'm a good girl, and a fun-lovin' partner
If I've done something amiss I'll try even harder
The next time to please you and earn my reward
'Cause all I really want is to be treasured

I'm up for "adoption," whatever that means
Something to do with a new home it seems
Someone to love me and tell me I'm theirs
Someplace that will be my place for all of my days

Come meet me and pet me and play with me too
I'm easy to be with and I'm sure to like you
My manners are good, I'm easy on the eyes
Take me home now, I'll be your best prize

This poem is kind of silly, but really what can I say
I'm a gentle mustang and I'd rather be eating hay
Than get all poetic about this simple stuff
I think I'll just quit rhyming now, it surely is enough

A Busy Mustang

Capri, the lovely lady mustang, has been busy lately.  Her world has been expanding, so that when she is adopted and goes to her new home, she will already know that the world is her oyster and she is the queen wearing the pearls.

 Capri, busy meeting a new friend

Capri, busy learning to play ball

Capri, busy learning to work with a saddle and bridle

Capri, busy learning to stuff her face with green grass while bouncing around the pasture and staying away from the horse-zapping fence.

Such a busy mustang deserves a treat.  Don't you agree?