This day was all about one thing - regression. It didn't help that it rained all day today so I couldn't sit outside with my work computer as I didn't want it to get waterlogged. Merry would NOT go back into the barn when it started raining. All of the other horses were tucked in nice and dry and she refused to leave the round pen. I guess running wild in Nevada made her used to a little drizzle, but I still felt bad for her. She also did not want me to come near her in the pen today for some reason. Yesterday she was all about being brushed and loved on, and today I could barely get my hands on her for a few seconds/brush swipes before she would walk or trot away. She's also discovered that if she pulls away really quickly that the drag rope will go sliding through my hands, especially when it's caked in mud! I didn't push her too much at lunch today, and just decided to fix everything after I got off work at 4pm.
At 4:30 I went outside and was determined to at least catch up to yesterdays progress, but Merry had other ideas. I wish I could have gotten into her head to hear what she was thinking, but she just wasn't having any of anything to do with me. At 5pm I decided to try to wear her out a bit and longed her on a timer for 30 minutes. When I asked her to whoa, she definitely parked it, but as soon as I would try to catch her to rub or brush on her, she would move away. I then asked her to stop every five minutes (again, timed) for another thirty minutes, and she STILL wouldn't let me mess with her!
By this point I was completely frustrated so decided that I should put her back into her stall to be able to have her in closer quarters where I could catch and hold onto that drag rope. Again though, Merry had other ideas. Even with the gate wide open, she would NOT leave the round pen. I tried shooing her through the gate, shaking bags, hanging a tarp, having my mom hold the other end of a rope and pushing her through the gate... nothing would work. In frustration I finally walked away and was just sitting at the opening to the barn, talking on the phone. Maria and the girls said they would come over and help, even though it's an almost 30 minute drive! They are so sweet!
While I was waiting, I put a big pile of hay in the aisleway of the barn, and then proceeded to ignore Merry and clean stalls. About 10 minutes before Maria and the girls got there, Merry just up and decided to walk on in and eat some hay! My mom was still outside so she snuck behind her and closed the barn door so she couldn't regress into the round pen. Then came challenge number two... getting her into the stall. In the barn aisle, I was able to grab her drag rope and hang on, and even got her head and neck sticking inside the stall. But that was the extent of it. No pulling, pushing, or dragging was going to convince this mustang to go back into her house! Maria and the girls got there and we decided to improvise a new strategy.
Introduce Mr. Tarp. Now - don't feel bad for Merry. I had already determined earlier that this horse is scared of NOTHING. Including tarps. We used it as a wall and then just surrounded her until she ran right in! WAHOO! At this point it was about 8pm, and I was hungry and exhausted!
The frustrating thing is that as soon as Merry was in her stall, she let me walk right up to her and pet, brush, and love on her like usual. I really think she was just having a "mare day" and feeling stubborn. Now I just hope tomorrow is better!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Day Four - Tuesday
Today when I ran her outside I had my fingers, toes, and anything else I could think of crossed that last night wouldn't turn out to be just a fluke. I worked her in the round pen before approaching her to take the edge off, and to my amazement she stood quietly while I pet her in the larger area! YES! It seems like I have gotten through to her! I even busted out the brush today which it turns out she LOVES! She was very shy and hesitant when I approached her right side, but by the end of the day she
was standing quietly for that too! She even allowed me to cinch her up with the bareback riding pad! A monumental day! I no longer think that she is scared of me as she doesn't even flinch when I touch her!
The only bad thing that she did today is she has decided that she would rather live in the round pen than her stall. It took me about 20 minutes running up and down the aisle to get her back into the stall last night. She eventually did go in, and I petted and praised her and gave her fresh hay. Merry still wants nothing to do with grain!
And now for pictures galore!
was standing quietly for that too! She even allowed me to cinch her up with the bareback riding pad! A monumental day! I no longer think that she is scared of me as she doesn't even flinch when I touch her!
The only bad thing that she did today is she has decided that she would rather live in the round pen than her stall. It took me about 20 minutes running up and down the aisle to get her back into the stall last night. She eventually did go in, and I petted and praised her and gave her fresh hay. Merry still wants nothing to do with grain!
And now for pictures galore!
Heidi :)
Day Three - Monday
Today would be a day of frustration and joy. Luckily my job approved that I could work from home this week, so I set up shop via a table directly outside of the round pen. I put a big pole of fresh hay directly in front of my desk, which Merry was definitely not about to touch at first. Since I didn't accomplish my goal yesterday, today I was determined that Merry was going to allow me to touch her! Inside the round pen, I worked her on and off all day. When we worked, I would only allow her to rest if I was standing in a close proximity. She had her drag rope on, so she would get the feeling of pressure whenever she happened to step on it. It was today that I discovered that Merry is one stubborn beast! She just would NOT let me in to her world!
At 5pm, the 4-H kids that I teach free riding lessons to two days a week came over to ride. I needed a break from this mare who just would not cave! We had our jumping lesson, the whole time which Merry was watching from her pen, following each of the horses. I know she had to be thinking, "why do they allow her to do that?" as the kids and I sailed over jump after jump in the lighted arena.
After the broke horses were cooled out and put away, and Merry back in her stall, the kids mother (Maria - who lent me the trailer to pick up the horse) said that they could stay while I tried to grab her rope in the stall and see if I could get close. At this point I was feeling very pessimistic, and with only 70 days to train this horse was starting to think that I had a dud who just could not be gentled! But to my amazement, when I got ahold of the rope, it was like a switch flicked to the on position, and she stood there quietly while I stroked her neck and shoulder! Utter SHOCK would best explain my reaction to this behavior! I quickly dropped the rope and left the stall, singing her praises. Maria gave me a BIG hug and a high five!
I then decided to push the envelope and re-enter to see if it was a fluke or if my horse would let me approach her again. Once again (and a third time after that), Merry stood quietly while I pet her! I was thrilled! We decided to end on a good note and call it a night. Maybe there is hope for this wild mustang after all?
Heidi :)
At 5pm, the 4-H kids that I teach free riding lessons to two days a week came over to ride. I needed a break from this mare who just would not cave! We had our jumping lesson, the whole time which Merry was watching from her pen, following each of the horses. I know she had to be thinking, "why do they allow her to do that?" as the kids and I sailed over jump after jump in the lighted arena.
After the broke horses were cooled out and put away, and Merry back in her stall, the kids mother (Maria - who lent me the trailer to pick up the horse) said that they could stay while I tried to grab her rope in the stall and see if I could get close. At this point I was feeling very pessimistic, and with only 70 days to train this horse was starting to think that I had a dud who just could not be gentled! But to my amazement, when I got ahold of the rope, it was like a switch flicked to the on position, and she stood there quietly while I stroked her neck and shoulder! Utter SHOCK would best explain my reaction to this behavior! I quickly dropped the rope and left the stall, singing her praises. Maria gave me a BIG hug and a high five!
I then decided to push the envelope and re-enter to see if it was a fluke or if my horse would let me approach her again. Once again (and a third time after that), Merry stood quietly while I pet her! I was thrilled! We decided to end on a good note and call it a night. Maybe there is hope for this wild mustang after all?
Heidi :)
Day Two - Sunday
I approached day two with a zeal that only one who has no clue what to expect would. I just knew that Merry would break down and allow me into her pack today. It was a Sunday, so with no work, I dedicated to the whole day to my wild mustang. Unfortunately, Merry had other ideas! It seems like every time I could even get halfway close to her, she would pin her ears and try to bite at me. Luckily it was never anything overly agressive, but still she insisted on acting ugly towards me. My reaction to this was to just shush at her and make a few steps toward her which seemed to make her back off. I didn't want to do anything over the top which would make her frightened of me, but I also didn't want her thinking that biting was in any way shape or form the correct behavior.
Since yesterdays work in the round pen didn't bode very well, I decided to park it at the door of her stall with a book. Here I sat all day, with a pile of hay laying at my feet. By the end of the day, Merry would come over, grab a bite, and leave. While I never did get much more than a very fleeting touch on her this day, I feel like it was worthwhile as she discovered on her own terms that I was not going to to hurt her. I did somehow manage to hook a drag rope on her halter though, which she did not appreciate at first (aka she leaped so high I thought she would touch the very high ceilings - lol), but soon got used to it and discovered that it would not eat her.
Heidi :)
Since yesterdays work in the round pen didn't bode very well, I decided to park it at the door of her stall with a book. Here I sat all day, with a pile of hay laying at my feet. By the end of the day, Merry would come over, grab a bite, and leave. While I never did get much more than a very fleeting touch on her this day, I feel like it was worthwhile as she discovered on her own terms that I was not going to to hurt her. I did somehow manage to hook a drag rope on her halter though, which she did not appreciate at first (aka she leaped so high I thought she would touch the very high ceilings - lol), but soon got used to it and discovered that it would not eat her.
Heidi :)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Day One
Sorry this is a little late as far as updating, but the past few days have been such a whirlwind! I've been spending all of my waking hours hanging out with Merry and trying to socialize with her, as well as enforce that I AM the herd boss! But I'll start at the beginning. My good friend Maria, and her two daughters Madisson and MacKennzie arrived promptly at my house on Saturday morning (Jan 24th) to start the 4.5 hour trek down to Marianna, Florida to the Jackson County Ag Center where my mystery mustang was waiting. Also in the car was my mom and also my 8 week old great dane puppy, Diesel.
We arrive at the holding center and anxiously get out of the car and rush over to the pens to do a quick survey. I was surprised to see there was an adoption going on at the same time as the Makeover folks were picking up. And I thought it was pretty scary that you could take a mustang home for just $25!!! They asked me if I would like to adopt one today as well, but I told them that one would be plenty! This one guy pulled up in what looked like a modifyed car trailer with bars that went all the way up and loaded up two yearlings… I wish I had gotten a picture of the thing - it did NOT look safe. They must be pretty desperate to move those horses since a lot of folks took notice and said something, but they let them go anyway.
Anyway… they told me Merry was in pen 8 with number 0071 hanging on her neck tag. I almost ran around to the holding area to get my first glimpse at the horse that was going ot be joined to my hip for the next 70 days. The kids saw her first… a pretty four year old bay mare with solid legs and big white star/stripe/snip that bordered on a blaze! I absolutely adore white faces so I was thrilled! She seemed calm enough hanging out with her buddies, and definitely wasn't the herd boss which was good!
After heading back to the office to finish the paperwork, I headed to the loading area with "receipt" in hand. I admit I was a bit nervous when watching some of the other horses being loaded. Some of them were having royal fits… banging their heads into the sides of the chute, rearing, bucking, kicking, trying to bite! Miss Merry though just walked calmly in and even stood there while the handler put my halter on her in the chute (which later I was very thankful for!). She walked right into the trailer, and we were ready to head home!
I had to borrow Maria's trailer (and her van, which was awesome to travel in!) to make the trip since all I have is the four horse with LQ and the BLM requires you to have a stock trailer. It is with great joy that I can say that Merry hauled like a lady and didn't do any damage to my borrowed trailer (yippee!). I remember when watching some of the other horses load, I whispered to Maria that I wanted to re-emphasize that if she did any damage that I would pay for it! LOL.
She hauled the whole way relatively quiety, and we arrived home in one piece. We unloaded her into the round pen, where I proceeded to take LOTS of pictures. She didn't want me in her space but she wasn't being mean or ugly so I called it a day after a couple hours. I was originally going to leave her in the pen that first night, but she started throwing a FIT when the other horses were brought into the barn… so - I decided what the heck and ran her into her stall. She almost dove into it and really took to it right off the bat! I think she knew she was home. I pulled out my book and just sat by the door on a stool and read for a while, then called it a night and went to bed. One interesting thing is that she does not seem to know what grain is or have any interest in learning, even now.
Well enough for the moment… will update on day two and three later! Enjoy the pictures!
We arrive at the holding center and anxiously get out of the car and rush over to the pens to do a quick survey. I was surprised to see there was an adoption going on at the same time as the Makeover folks were picking up. And I thought it was pretty scary that you could take a mustang home for just $25!!! They asked me if I would like to adopt one today as well, but I told them that one would be plenty! This one guy pulled up in what looked like a modifyed car trailer with bars that went all the way up and loaded up two yearlings… I wish I had gotten a picture of the thing - it did NOT look safe. They must be pretty desperate to move those horses since a lot of folks took notice and said something, but they let them go anyway.
Anyway… they told me Merry was in pen 8 with number 0071 hanging on her neck tag. I almost ran around to the holding area to get my first glimpse at the horse that was going ot be joined to my hip for the next 70 days. The kids saw her first… a pretty four year old bay mare with solid legs and big white star/stripe/snip that bordered on a blaze! I absolutely adore white faces so I was thrilled! She seemed calm enough hanging out with her buddies, and definitely wasn't the herd boss which was good!
After heading back to the office to finish the paperwork, I headed to the loading area with "receipt" in hand. I admit I was a bit nervous when watching some of the other horses being loaded. Some of them were having royal fits… banging their heads into the sides of the chute, rearing, bucking, kicking, trying to bite! Miss Merry though just walked calmly in and even stood there while the handler put my halter on her in the chute (which later I was very thankful for!). She walked right into the trailer, and we were ready to head home!
I had to borrow Maria's trailer (and her van, which was awesome to travel in!) to make the trip since all I have is the four horse with LQ and the BLM requires you to have a stock trailer. It is with great joy that I can say that Merry hauled like a lady and didn't do any damage to my borrowed trailer (yippee!). I remember when watching some of the other horses load, I whispered to Maria that I wanted to re-emphasize that if she did any damage that I would pay for it! LOL.
She hauled the whole way relatively quiety, and we arrived home in one piece. We unloaded her into the round pen, where I proceeded to take LOTS of pictures. She didn't want me in her space but she wasn't being mean or ugly so I called it a day after a couple hours. I was originally going to leave her in the pen that first night, but she started throwing a FIT when the other horses were brought into the barn… so - I decided what the heck and ran her into her stall. She almost dove into it and really took to it right off the bat! I think she knew she was home. I pulled out my book and just sat by the door on a stool and read for a while, then called it a night and went to bed. One interesting thing is that she does not seem to know what grain is or have any interest in learning, even now.
Well enough for the moment… will update on day two and three later! Enjoy the pictures!
Heidi
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Gah!
Mustang will be here in 2 DAYS! I can hardly believe it... start the count down! The kids that ride with me helped me move the round pen on Monday so everything is now officially ready to go, with the exception of Louie the mini-donk needs to get moved to his new pen to free up mustangs stall. I've also been watching last years DVD's that I bought from www.extrememustangmakeover.com - very informative and I've definitely gotten some good ideas for my own freestyle (as well as what NOT to do!). Suggestions are always welcome though!
It has been brought to my attention that seeing as this is a competition, I don't want to reveal ALL of my tricks, so I will be probably be a bit brief as far as documenting progress in some of my upcoming posts so I don't give everything away. Got to have some surprises for the finals! Don't worry though - I'll have plenty of stuff on here, especially in the beginning.
No new updates on Ziggy for now as it has been too COLD to ride!
Heidi (who is ready for the 80 degree weather!)
It has been brought to my attention that seeing as this is a competition, I don't want to reveal ALL of my tricks, so I will be probably be a bit brief as far as documenting progress in some of my upcoming posts so I don't give everything away. Got to have some surprises for the finals! Don't worry though - I'll have plenty of stuff on here, especially in the beginning.
No new updates on Ziggy for now as it has been too COLD to ride!
Heidi (who is ready for the 80 degree weather!)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
I'm Officially the Crazy Dane Lady!
So I caved this weekend and bought Pony, my 12 week old merle Great Dane puppy, a puppy of her own. Meet "Diesel", 7 weeks old, looking handsome for the camera!
For those of you that don't know Pony as well, here is my beautiful girl (pre ear cropping)!:
Diesel isn't too sure what to think of Pony right now, but I know they're going to be best buds! And just in case anyone is wondering, I'm NOT planning to breed the two, although I'm sure they would make beautiful babies!
It's been so cold the past few days that I haven't been riding, but I do want to give a shout out/congratulations to our 2009 Horse Quiz Bowl Junior Team One for placing 3rd out of 39 teams in the state competition on January 10th! Go team go!
Heidi :)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Ziggy The Super Horse!
I've had six total rides on Ziggy now and he has been an absolute doll! All of my rides have been incredibly short (under 10 minutes) with mostly walking and a little jogging. However the last two we attempted the canter - more successfully on the sixth than the fifth. Ride number five he just didn't understand what I wanted so we did a lot of trotting around with his legs going 100 miles per hour. Last night was MUCH improved, which was a shock since on ride five I only got about 5 strides total (although I didn't try too hard.. the night consisted of getting my 5 strides, lots of petting, and then quitting). Last night we made it all the way around my (pretty large) arena before quitting for the night!
Anyway - here are some pictures from last night!
Anyway - here are some pictures from last night!
Warming up in the roundpen:
And finally, goodbye from Truceskie the barn cat!
Heidi :)
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