TIP, and Spare Tires

I've been contacted by our local fair and asked to return with wild horses once again. Last year we brought three mustangs in and did gentling demos all week with them, taking them from fearful, shaking creatures to halter broke ponies looking for a leader. It was great fun, and the crowds loved what we were doing.

The horses I bring are part of TIP (trainer incentive program), which was created by the Mustang Heritage Foundation to help trainers cover costs while the horses are in their care. If the horse is adopted within 90 days, they'll send you a check to help cover expenses. If you don't find an adopter, you're out the money you've put into the horse, unfortunately, so it's good if you can get a good minded, easily adopted animal in your hands.

Of course, people all want pretty, colorful ponies, especially if they're getting mustangs. And who can blame them? But a lot of nice bays such as Sandy and Steve Holt! get overlooked because of that, so the horses who come through TIP are typically the bays and browns and blacks. But a couple of weeks ago I got a call to tell me there was a dun in the TIP corral in Oregon, and would I like him? Oh, boy, yes! He'd be perfect for the fair. I don't mind having the bays there, but one horse with a bit of flash will catch the eyes of onlookers, and that's very important. So this past weekend Darling and I drove to Longview WA where we met the pretty dun gelding you see above.

At 4 1/2, he's very aloof and leery of people; he stuck to the back of the pen and wouldn't come forward, not even to eat. People were mesmerized by him, but his age had them discussing whether or not he could be gentled. This was exactly the reason the folks at Burns put him in the TIP program. Most people were intimidated by his age, so why not give him a chance with a bit of training?

I plunked a sign up on his pen telling folks to find me if they were interested in adopting, and I had a number of inquiries, but even with 30 days gentling offered they were still hesitant. It didn't take more than a couple of hours, however, to find someone who desperately wanted him, so before we even left for home, Dakota had an adopter. Of course, this means I haven't got anything with flash to bring to the fair as Dakota will be in his new home by then. Guess I'd better go mustang shopping, eh?

By the end of the day on Saturday I'd adopted out Dakota, found someone else who wanted their new mustang in training, and picked out another TIP mare as we were closing up. She may not be flashy, but she was a big four year old with a very pleasing attitude. Only problem was that Dakota's adopter showed up with her sister...and the sister adopted the mare! So two TIP horses were now adopted, and I had a full trailer coming home. So yes, I really DO need to go mustang shopping!

Everyone loaded easily and Darling and I waved goodbye as we headed for home. Just as we hit the pavement, however, I began to hear a little click click click. A rock, I thought...but it didn't come loose so I pulled over at the stop sign a block from the fairgrounds and climbed out to look. Oh, no! A huge nail was buried in my front tire. So back to the fairgrounds I went, where I begged and pleaded and tried my best to look like a damsel in distress in an effort to get the gruff and tough BLM men to help me out.

It looks like I ran him over, right?

Give that government man a shovel...he's having to lean on his knees!

Once the spare was on the truck we headed for home. Traffic on the way down had been horrific; a parking lot from Everett to beyond Olympia. If you know anything about WA state, you'll know that's over half the state in one big traffic jam. Thankfully that was not the case on the way home, although Seattle traffic never sleeps. With the late start, and the tire change, it was after seven by the time we hit the road and midnight before the horses were unloaded into their dark new home. I'm sure they slept as well as we did that night. I'm kind of wishing I was still sleeping!

Seattle at dusk. No, it's not blurred; that's the way it really looks!
All the Starbucks caffeine, don'cha know!

Photos in this blog post by Darling.
Go visit her at Mustang Desire.