Measureable Progress

I've been waiting to turn that first corner with Capri; the one where she lets her guard down and opens up to me more.  I think tonight we got at least half-way around that corner, and the view from here is looking pretty good.  She round-penned really well tonight, both at liberty and with the rope.  She stepped out nicely, changed directions smoothly, and faced up to me readily.  She took steps towards me and touched my out-stretched hand with her nose.  The best part was that she seemed to be smiling the whole time.  Her mouth was relaxed, her eyes were soft and bright, and her body was fluid.  I like that so much better than the defensive, defeated, and depressed posture that an unhappy horse has.  She let me scratch all the way down her neck, too, while eating hay from my other hand.  For now, the hay is a reward for letting me pet her, but soon she'll decide that the petting and scratching is reward enough in itself.  That's when I'll know that I've really turned the corner.

Horrible Humans

Wild mustang that she is, Capri is naturally suspicious of me.  She takes it a step further, though, and expresses great horror when things happen between the two of us for the first time.  The first time I touched her neck while scratching her back with a lunge whip was horrible.  The first time she accidentally touched my hand with her lips while taking a bouquet of alfalfa from me was horrible.  When I picked up her rope and practiced pressure and release with her?  That wasn't so bad.  But when she saw me saddle River and climb on her back and ride her around the arena in front of her?  That was horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE!  Luckily, Capri is able to overcome her horror when these scary things happen for the second or third time.  She is actually coming along nicely, with new accomplishments every day.  Her wild days are numbered...

Happy Independence Day!

 Thank you, soldiers, both human and animal, who fought and died for our liberty.  Let freedom ring!

Capri's Arrival

Well, it's true, Capri is even more beautiful in person than she is in her photos.  When I first spotted her standing in a pen waiting her turn to load up and go home, I didn't realize that I was looking at my new horse.  She stood there so calmly, that I didn't even realize she was a wild mustang!

She is tall, with a long and lean build, and she looks like she could really gobble up the trails.  Her conformation and color remind me of a Tennessee Walking Horse.  She has flashy movement, with lots of hock and knee action, and should be really amazing in the arena too.  Her color is a dark liver chestnut, just like a Hershey bar.  She has a large, well-placed star, one hair whorl (that's good, it generally denotes an even temperament) and three white socks with the cutest brown freckles in them.  Thanks to the dark skin under the freckles, all four hooves are black.

Loading Capri in the trailer to come home took all of 57 seconds.  Not bad, huh?  The best part was that she didn't show any signs of aggression or defensiveness at all.  No kick, no buck, no ear-pinning.  She had already had a long day on the road and didn't really want to go for another ride, but with some encouragement she hopped in and rode quietly home.  She needed more encouragement to unload into her new pen, but once out was very calm and quiet.

I let Capri settle in for almost a whole day before working with her.  I really couldn't wait any longer to get in the pen and see what she could give me.  She gave quite a lot, actually.  I slapped my 15 foot rope against my thigh and got her moving in circles around me, first one direction and then the other.  She stepped on her rope and got herself stuck a lot, but with more encouragement she figured out how to get moving again.  That went well, so I picked up a long PVC pipe and set it gently on her withers.  She only shied a little bit, so I rubbed it back and forth, up and down, and she seemed to enjoy it.  I traced her butt and lower legs, then back up to her withers and along her neck.  She moved off in a circle around me and became animated, but not panicked.  I kept the pole on her withers until she stopped, and then I began scratching her with it again.  We did this routine for five minutes, and when she was looking at me happily I quit.

Next time, I'd really like to pick up that rope and see what happens...

Happy Birthday to Me, Her Name is Capri...

...and if you'd like to adopt her, there is just a small fee. And a BLM contract, of course. Isn't she cute? Yes, today is my birthday, and tomorrow this little doll will be in my gentling pen and we will begin getting to know one another. I can hardly wait! Capri is 5 years old, 15 hands, and has been in the corrals at Burns, Oregon for 18 months. She is from the Palomino Buttes Herd Management Area, same as Siesta, and was gathered at the same time.

Capri has a very refined look to her, with a nice long, smooth stride. I have it on good authority that she is significantly more beautiful in person than in her photos, as these were taken while she was still in her winter woollies. I have to wonder if Capri and Siesta are sisters. Capri is a darker color, and a little less Arab-looking, but they bear a lot of similarity to each other, and they both have the cutest little golden mustache on their upper lips. I'm thinking that it is a family trait, as it doesn't show up on all of the Palomino Buttes horses.

But whether the two mares are related or not, I know that they are two different horses with different personalities, likes, fears and reactions. I don't know what I'll do differently this time, but I have some experience now which will surely come in handy. I'm looking forward to enjoying all of the "firsts" again. First sight, first feeding, first sniff, first touch, first softening of her eye. Mustangs are so much fun to work with. There's a deep, emotional side to them, related to leaving their wildness behind, that makes gentling them very rewarding. Earning the mustang's trust, and then her respect, is an honor and a responsibility, and so is training them to be civilized, solid citizens. Siesta turned out great, and so will Capri!

Adios, Siesta

They say all good things come to an end.  My time with Siesta has ended, but her leisurely life of domesticity is just beginning.  You may have read an earlier post that mentioned a plan to send Siesta home on June 11th, via a BLM adoption event in Ellensburg, Washington.  That plan was foiled by the outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus-1, a nasty illness that was responsible for the cancellation of nearly every horse event in the Western United Stated for a period of several weeks.  Thanks to the helpful people in Burns and a very cooperative mustang trainer here in my town, we were able to arrange a ride home for Siesta yesterday.  

The trip was a long one.  It usually takes 10 hours, but do to a snafu it took almost 16 hours.  Siesta, bless her, was a very good girl and is now in her forever home.  Her adopter, Barb, is very happy with her and reports that she is settling in gradually, in typical horse fashion.  She'll have a couple of days to recover from the trip and get acquainted with her new people, then it will be time to advance her training and begin to earn her keep.  I was able to say goodbye knowing that I had given Siesta my whole heart while she was here.  I feel proud of her and proud of the accomplishments she made while she was with me.  I have to confess that the tears I shed yesterday on her behalf were not happy ones.  I felt like a chunk of my heart had been torn out and fed to wolves, but today my emotions have moved toward happiness and the wonderful memories of Siesta are keeping me company.  Soon Barb and Siesta will have a hard and fast bond between them, and nothing could make me happier.

This is my last view of Siesta.  As you can see, she's terribly upset about being left behind!  The gentleman that hauled her for us let me put her in one of his grassy pastures the night before the trip.  Siesta had very limited grass while with me, so this was a huge treat for her.  Adios, Siesta, and happy trails.

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!

Warmer Weather

I love my Carhartt jacket.  It's purple, with a soft, fuzzy lining, deep pockets and a hood.  It was a gift from my husband and kids this last Christmas, and was very much desired by me.  My last Carhartt was the standard-issue baby-poop brown, and a men's style.  I loved it, too, but this new one is wonderful.  

Today I'm going to wash my beloved jacket and hang it up with my other winter woollies, because today, if our local weatherman is right, marks the first day of a real, lasting, warming trend.  We are kissing La Nina goodbye! 

The grass is growing, the chickens are fat and sassy, and the garden is beginning to flourish.  My youngest daughter and I each enjoyed a fat, juicy, pea pod yesterday, a sure sign of spring.  Now if the horses would finish shedding, that would be a sure sign of summer!

Hot Stuff

Siesta was waiting very impatiently for me to finish my chores yesterday so that I could play with her.  She would trot to whichever end of the arena I was working outside of and holler at me to hurry up, and she tossed a couple of good bucks my way to emphasize her point. 

She is quite the little princess and knows when it should be her turn for fun.  She loves to hang her head over the rail and watch me clean stalls.  Peek-a-boo is her favorite game!

There's something about Siesta that puts all of the other mares into heat when they are around her, even this gorgeous Nokota mustang yearling filly.  The two of them enjoyed some "necking" yesterday.  They checked each other's udder out, too, as if to ask, "Got milk"?  "Nope, I don't.  Do you"?  "Nope."  Two silly fillies!

Adopted!

It's official!  The paperwork is in, the check has been cashed, and the travel plans have been made.  Siesta has a new mom and dad, and you'll never guess where they live.  In Oregon!  Not just anywhere in Oregon, either, but in Burns, right where Siesta came from!  How about that?

So here's Siesta's life story so far:  Born wild in the Palomino Butte Herd Management Area, which is just 15 miles from Burns; gathered at a year and a half of age; brought to the corrals in Burns to stand around and look pretty for fifteen months; hauled to Northwest Washington State to be gentled, trained, and fussed over by a crazy mustang trainer; and now she's going right back where she started from.  Except this time around, she'll be part of a horse-loving family that logs up to 1200 miles on horseback each summer.  Can you imagine such a life?  I can only dream about it.  Siesta has got to be one of the luckiest dang horses out there, don't you think?

Siesta isn't going home until June 12th, so I have four more weeks to play with her and advance her training.  Yes, I'll miss her.  Siesta is one of those horses that will linger in my heart for a long, long time, but I am so happy for her that she gets to go home, the only tears I'm crying are happy ones.  Mustangs and happy tears seem to go hand in hand, don't they?

By the way, if any of you folks here in Washington would like to meet Siesta before she goes home, she and I will be at the BLM mustang adoption in Ellensburg June 11th for a little bit of Show and Tell.  I'll be choosing my next TIP horse from the ones at the adoption, so if anyone is interested in adopting a mustang gentled by me, contact me and we can work out the details.