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!

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!

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?

River Saves the Day

My neighbor, Rick, whom I work for and ride with, and I took River on her second trail ride last Saturday.  It was a gorgeous day, with beautiful clear skies and real summer-like heat.  Our favorite place to ride in the summer has amazing views of Mt. Rainier, the Olympic Mountains, and the North Cascades.  The trails are fun but not too challenging, and are enjoyed by as many mountain bikers as horseback riders.  There is a huge, glorious, grassy meadow that we love to canter the horses through.  The meadow is on a gradual slope, so when we get to the top the horses are too tired to be silly.  Rick and River followed me on Buddy through the meadow, and she did really well.  Cantering under saddle is still kind of new to her, so having a big space to practice in was perfect.  For most of the rest of the ride, River led while Buddy followed.  She took each new trail eagerly, and really enjoyed all of the ups and downs and twisty turns.

It was a three-hour ride, and our plan was to make a big loop and return to the parking lot via a trail that we fondly refer to as "Bear Boulevard," because last year we encountered a bear there (no harm done, funny story, tell ya another time) and we often see fresh, steamy bear sign.  Just before Bear Boulevard there are a couple of itty-bitty bridges to cross.  River is not afraid of bridges.  Not big ones, not medium sized ones, and certainly not teensy ones.  But on this day there was no way, and I mean NO WAY, that River was going to cross that first little bridge.  We even tried to bypass the bridge and ford the itty-bitty creek.  Nope.  The obvious conclusion was that there was a big, nasty mama bear up ahead and River was saving our silly hides.  Or maybe I'm being generous and she really is afraid of itty-bitty bridges.  I guess we'll find out next time!

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!