A Goal in Mind

It became very clear to me today that I might actually have a chance to go to Mustang Days in Spokane after all. I was having a hard time finding a ride, I had placed an add on Craigslist looking for fellow Mustang lovers heading to the show and I can't count how many offers I got to haul my mustang to the show....then they all asked what year she was......ridiculous.

This evening I think I talked a trainer friend and mentor into hauling us. She has taken on a "problem" mustang for me and needs to find his market to insure a great understanding home for him after he is out of training. If she heads over, there is a spot for Henry and I.

Then I got nervous. There is so much work to do before June to make sure that we are both ready. LOTS of work. So much work that I twitch at the thought. Then it hit me. This could be our little Mustang Makeover. Not starting from scratch, but considering my stupid fears, we mine as well be. I could do this......

Here's the short list.

1. Ride everyday!
2. Fix his mane. He looks like he needs a tupae. He looks like a cancer patient, all because he ALWAYS thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and rubs it off. He's gonna look like a goof ball with no mane, but I am hoping it will look better than it does now.
3. Practice loading in trailer and make mini trips away from home.
4. Ride in the arena up at the barn. That will freak him out for sure the first few times.
5. Learn how to behave in a stall.
6. Become proficient in walk/trot, both directions.
7. Get a goat for my mare so she has some company when we are gone. She's a freak by herself.

There's more, but my mind is warped by those few things. Can we do it? I think it's great goal to shoot for. And hey, if the ride falls through all this training can't hurt either of us right?

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Henry and I had another great day today. Here's the proof.



We started out with a quick review of the tarp. This is him saying "You're being ridiculous Mom"


After the tarp review we went on another walk. Not to the junk yard like most days, but to things up and around the house.

Henry, meet the basketball hoop, BBall hoop, Meet Henry.

Holy Canoly, we're in the garage!!! ( FYI, this camera adds 50 lbs LOL)

"Is this hose suppose to bother me?"

"Hum, A dog a wheel barrow and a strange Man all at once, nothing spooky here Mom!"

"Yum, birdseed! Lets come back here soon!"

"So this is where you go when you leave me outside. Tonight I'll sleep right in there please. Don't forget to fluff the pillows"

Seriously, he went right up this ramp. He hesitated just a bit, but just barely. He backed off of it nicely too.

On a side note, I had my second riding lesson on the "problem horse" up at the farriers place today. I'm learning how to sit a horsey tantrum and the different ways to push them through it while remaining in control. The first lesson was last week and we worked on a horrible cantering mess including bucking and a surprise rear in the end. We also worked on my skills at predicting a tantrum and how to prevent it.

The lesson today was more about my skills. Legs back, breathe, relax, sit on your pockets, etc. Pearl, the horse, had a few hiccups for me to work out, but nothing major. This is all suppose to help me in my riding skills should Henry become a twitt.

I can't wait to ride my horse!!!

HUGE progress today!

There is no way possible to describe the HUGE progress Henry and I made today. I am just so blessed to have a horse that can teach me things while I am out trying to teach him things. It's just an amazing feeling!

It's gorgeous day here today, thankfully. I have been very very stressed lately and a good horse day was much needed. I re introduced the big blue monster, which we have tried to master several times. Today, I thought I would walk out all confident and he would see that there was nothing to be afraid of. I laid it on the ground and tried to lead him over it. AHAHAHA. That was not something Henry thought was going to happen. So we worked on it, he trotted some circles in an attempt to get him to see that what I was asking was the easy way. (Note to self: Lunging Henry backfires everytime!!) All he was doing was working himself up more and gaining more control of the situation. So we stopped doing that. I got him all calmed down and to a place where he would be still and just brought the tarp to him instead. I stood in front of him, facing him like we had to do back in the very beginning and I asked for a step onto the tarp. I was releasing pressure with each step, but he would refuse to place his hind legs on it.

So we moved on to wearing the tarp instead. Now, this is where the guy confuses me. I had that tarp over his back, moved it to his head, blocked his vision with it, rustled with it to make more noise and pulled it off over his head. Henry didn't so much as flinch. Not even a lip quiver. I put it back on and we walked, still it was not a concern for him.

I decided to retry the tarp on the ground, and we were able to make some progress. But here is the best part. Something told me to try something new. I don't even think it was a conscious decision until it hit me what I had changed. I had always tried to talk Henry through things, lots of verbal encouragement and praise. I used the pressure and release method and was nearly tugging on him for every step. And then I quit doing that. I went silent. I stood next to him and simply took a step onto the tarp. No pressure was applied to the lead at all, and what do ya know. He took a step to join me. We had both front feet on the tarp. So I waited. No praise or voice from me. Then I took another step, and he followed. Soon enough he had all 4 on the tarp and was standing there as calm as could be. I was amazed! All I have to do is think it in my head, and ask with quiet body language. Eureka! I gave him a pat, and we turned for the gate.

Henry has always loved his walks. We walk through the neighbors junk yard and find spooky things to smell. He loves it. So today after the tarp and my Aha moment we took another walk and went to meet the cows. You should have seen my boys ears perk up. WOW, they smelled each other and the cows ran off bucking soon to return for round two. I was still keeping my body quiet, no voice or loud movements. I finally figured the quiet body language thing!! Yay me! Anyway, we finished our walk and returned to the big blue monster one more time. We had to renegotiate it again, but in no time flat he was all the way on it! I gave him another pat and told him what a good buy he was and walked away.

I of course never have the camera when something huge like this happens, but I did get this picture from my front door right after we finished.

He stood like this for about 4 to 5 minutes before he decided to resume his lazy Saturday ways.
( Now of course Blogger refuses to upload my pictures! Darn it!)
What a super day!

Death by tarp

I never have the camera when I need it the most. Such a bummer! Today I have fantastic news to share....

Some of you know that my Hub has been bed ridden with a bum leg that required surgery. Therefore, I have been on post in the house taking care of everyone and doing everything to insure we all survived the havoc. It got a little nasty, so I called in the backups, meaning my Mom, and I think I have recovered.

Thanks to my Horse. (And my mom, but we'll just talk about the horse)

Mom was able to watch the kids so I could go out and relieve some stress, and by that I mean play with my horses. Henry had developed a bit of a bad attitude, he is definately one of those horses that requires lots of face time to stay in line. I ventured out to lunge him a bit and just have some meaningful conversation with a horse that can't argue back. Ahhh, anyway....it turned into a lesson with the tarp which was marvelous!! I had it draped over his body, wrapped around his legs, the wind was blowing so that was cool, and at the end I covered his face with it and he just stood there like "Seriously Mom, this is silly" His guy will trust me with anything from the ground....nothing seems to get to him.

Until you get in the saddle.

I did have an A ha moment while working with the tarp and with a separate incident with him getting stuck in the fence. When Henry gets nervous or scared he plants his feet. This is a good thing when it involves being stuck in the fencing, but a bad thing when you want him to move while in the saddle. So, this all tells me that right before he bolts on the trainer, he is scared, scared still so to speak, and bolts as a fear for his life thing. That's manageable, I think, so we will be more creative from the ground or on lead line for a few lessons and see if that makes a difference.

After working with Henry and Sara, (who is deathly afraid of tarps) I came back inside so relieved. I had relieved stress and actually taught my horses something. It's such a great feeling!!

The borning life

Well friends, (LOL, like anyone is reading this, lol) Henry bolted on the trainer the other day. Actually about 2 weeks ago. It was very scary, well it was for me from the ground but the trainer handled it beautifully! Unfortunately the weather has been so bad that we, meaning her, hasn't had a chance to give it another go until yesterday.

If I can back up a bit I can tell you that he was handling every thing so well, but just wasn't sure about what we were asking of him. He will go anywhere you would like as long as he can get there via reverse or sideways. On that particular day, I'm afraid that he got so confused that he decided to bolt in order to gain some control over what was happening. Like I said before, scary!

Yesterday he was a statue, which is fine I suppose. He took a few baby steps sideways, and the lesson was over. I'd been really working on giving cues to him from the ground, that that hopefully from the saddle it's not so scary for him. From the ground he is a big puppy dog and digests all the new info so fast. From the saddle though it's a whole new world, and if there isn't someone on the ground for him to follow he is very unsure. luckily he isn't an EMM horse, cause we really need to take our time on this!

The one super thing that did happen between those to days was that the Vet was out to float his teeth. Henry stood like a champ and offered nothing in way of protest to the vet. I was so thrilled!! He is such a great guy, and I am thankful everyday that I got tricked into buying him! :)

A bad horse day

I guess they are allowed to have bad days too. Maybe he had a headache, or the extra annoying wind was bothering him. Maybe he had a belly ache. Or maybe, oh who knows.

Whatever it was, he bolted. He bolted with the trainer on him. Scary. It was like a rocket. Out of nowhere, off he went, fast. Thank God it wasn't me. THANK YOU GOD!!!

Anyway, the trainer got off and worked him on the ground again for a few minutes before leaving. Now I'm sitting here wondering if she plans on coming back.

After seeking the advice of horsey friends I have a better understanding of what might have been taking place. See, I wasn't listening to him. I wasn't in tune. He pulled a stunt with me in the morning that should have clicked with me that he was having an off day. I should have listened to him. I just thought it was fun to reuse those wild horse handling skills. Silly me thought it was a game. Obviously he was trying to tell me something.

Not today Mom, just not Today.

I also learned that he likely bolted because he didn't understand what was being asked of him. I hope that I didn't create that situation when I rode last week. I was the only one that did get him to go forward though, and we made a beautiful circle on the paddock rail. All of that could have been for not though as soon after that I was on the ground with a freaked out horse over in the corner hanging his head.

All in all I love this learning experience. I love my horse and don't think that this is something that will impact us sharing trail time down the road in late Spring. It just means we need to regroup and take a few steps backwards. And most of all I need to listen!

We did it!!!

I knew God created Half time for something!!! I managed to get my Hub and his friend to witness the big event during half time of the first football game of the day. I was more nervous that I expected to be, but I knew that he was ready, and I knew that I needed to work through my issues. It was amazing!

I tell ya, being up there was like being on top of the world! Through all our trials and tribulations in this journey we did it! We DID IT!! It's such a fantastic feeling.

Henry was perfect! Minus one semi nervous moment. He recovered quickly and was so calm like he had been ridden a million times before. If I wasn't smiling so wide right now I'd probably start crying! It is so nice to be at this point together! We make a great team!

Stay tuned for more riding time as this is sure to become more interesting. His treeless saddle will be here soon and then there isn't one single reason I won't be out there everyday!!

This is the best thing since birthing my kids. seriously!

He Did it!!!

Henry had his first official ride today. He was such a perfect gentleman! I knew that he was beyond ready to be ridden but it took a little tiny ultimatum to get his trainer to see things my way!!

I am still planning on riding, or sitting, on Sunday and am more excited than ever now.

I am just so proud of this guy!!!

Muuuuuuuuuuddddd

Mud sucks. My back is pissed. After all my efforts yesterday, I woke today to find more effin mud. Wasted efforts, and now no clue what to do. Pea gravel, or hog fuel I assume, but I don't understand how that stuff works. If the ground is saturated how does the gravel help? Seems it would just get misplaced or float away.

At least the shelter stays dry. That's a huge relief!

What?

What? You need pics of Henry? Well, humf, if I must then here you go.

My horse is cuter than your horse!! :) See, isn't he the handsomest Horse in the world?
This is him saying "Dinner Please" Yes, he uses manners!

And to prove he's the best in the west. My horse let me pull his tooth out. What will your horse let YOU do??

Seriously, the tooth pulling thing had me smiling for a week. If that's not a horse trusting you than I don't know what is!!!