Took Awhile

Couldn't watch it for awhile. Darling scolded me.
"I had to edit it...the least you could do is watch it."

Saying Goodbye

Goodbyes are never easy. It doesn't matter what the relationship status...it's hard to say goodbye when you know that it means you may never see the one you've poured your heart and soul into again.

I'd love to have photos and video of Beamer and Darling's last day together for you. In fact, she's been working all week on her video, but youtube refuses to allow it to upload. And so we are without that goodbye...which may be a good thing in the long run, though it would have been nice to be able to share the competition with you.

Darling and her filly did quite well, finishing fifth out of ten. Beamer, not having learned to trot until 2 days before the competition, did not hesitate to pick up the pace each time she was asked. She trotted over poles and did her best to trot a serpentine around trees in the trail class. Despite never having worked on sidepassing, she did her very best to try to figure out what Darling was asking for. We've never been asked to sidepass at any of the makeovers and I simply didn't make it a priority for either of the girls here to learn...but there was a LOT of sidepassing in the trail portion, as well as in showmanship.

The competition was stiff, to say the least, and I believe Darling was quite happy to place as well as she did. And I know she loved the trainer's belt buckle that she earned!

Beamer was not the only horse we parted with recently. Sandy left for his new home yesterday.

Darling took him out to groom him so he'd be beautiful when Dave and Valerie got here with their horse trailer.

Naturally, I had to go and make myself all sentimental by hauling out the camera and taking shots that showed a relationship...and by the time Dave and Valerie showed up and asked me (hesitantly) how I was doing, I got all weepy eyed on them. Thankfully, no one was taking photos of me yesterday!

After picking up Sandy, Valerie and Dave picked up her young gelding, Stetson, and the two horses went together to their new home. Valerie emailed to say they'd settled in together just fine. The new barn has two stalls and separate paddocks so that they can be buddies without anyone picking on anyone else (you hear that, Sandy? No picking on poor baby Stetson!)

For some reason, I've got Roy and Dale singing Happy Trails running through my head. I'll miss my boy...but Dave has fallen in love with him. Happy Trails, Dave and Sandy, till we meet again!

And We're Back!

Tired, exhausted, dragging our hiney's across the ground. The Cascade Horse Fair was three long, weary days. Amazingly, my toe and knee held up through the entire thing.

Local trainer, Roger Saur, gets ready for his practice go while
Emily Diaz enters the ring with her paint gelding.

I wasn't able to get many photos during the event since I was running about like a chicken without a head. A few photos snapped on Friday evening of some of the cutters as they got ready to warm up, but then I was off on Sandy and cameras were the last thing on my mind.

Curt's daughter, Janel, sits atop Buddy as she waits her turn.

Some decent checks were given out at the cutting, along with pretty buckles for the winners of the three cutting classes as well as a couple of rail to trail trophy buckles. The arena was packed on Saturday as folks came to see what the HydraBull cutting was all about.

Sandy got a bee in his bonnet on Saturday about halfway through the clinic. We rode fine in the first half, took a break, and when we returned he was so wired I couldn't get him to settle down. No clue what the problem was. Later in the day when we finally got to cut..for real and for points...he had his head up and we missed an opportunity to work (that's what the score sheet said), when he didn't get a turn. But it was a blast, either way. By Sunday he was too tired from all the stopping he'd done with the bull, and when I asked him to stop in the ranch pleasure and reining classes it was more on the forehand than he usually does. He was pooped, and had nothing left to give. But it didn't matter. I had a good time with him, gave him a couple days off, and may take a short trail ride a bit later today. I try not to dwell on the shortness of time that we have left, but rather our accomplishments and the fact that Dave is excited to get his new horse.

Photo snapped by my mom

Back to the horse fair....I'd been quite concerned that I'd not have enough riders in the clinics, or in the Rail to Trail competition, or people there to watch the demos...but in the end it all turned out. Everyone was smiling and having a good time, and they want to come back next year.

Next year? Okay! Already working on the schedule of events. How about Cowboy Mounted Shooting?

We have one more weekend of craziness here, though, as Darling puts the finishing touches on Beamer and gets her ready for Saturday's competition and adoption at the Youth & Yearlings event. Beamer doesn't like to trot...better wish the kid some luck.

It's Complicated...

"You're a great warhorse, Sandy...believe in yourself!"

Had you asked me last week, after my trail ride with the Girls, or the lesson down at Curt's, that this week I'd have sold Sandy, I'd have laughed at you. Truly. Laughed. Out. Loud.

I don't know what made me post to my facebook profile: "Considering selling my boy" that evening. No clue. Just did it, with a heavy, downtrodden heart. A lack of space to do what I want...what I need...to do. My goal all along has been to transform hearts, not only of mustangs, but of the people who see them as worthless. Be honest with me. How many of you would have ever considered a mustang as a horse of value until you met Sandy and the others here?

Sky Bar's Chance, the pretty pinto

Last year, Val and her husband Dave stopped by to look at Sky Bar, the pinto gelding that I'd recently brought home from the corrals. Nice...but not what they needed. Dave was looking for a nice, mellow gelding to ride, and of course Sky Bar had yet to be started under saddle. Val's parting words had been, "If you ever decide to sell Sandy..." I think I laughed.

The moment I posted, the inquiries began. Selling Sandy? Really? Tell us more! Such an eruption of emails and messages...I'd never expected it. Sure, he's a great horse. A terrific horse! But I really hadn't anticipated such a quick response. I'd thought I'd have a few days to think it out...prepare myself...change my mind...

Darling and Sandy looking out over Lake Whatcom

After all, Sandy had been here through thick and thin. He'd gotten me over fears I didn't know I had. He taught Darling to ride. And transformed hearts...not just of those who'd thought mustangs couldn't accomplish what he had, but hearts of my young autistic friend, John, who over came his fears and reached out and touched Sandy when he met us out on the trail.

What the he!! had I been thinking?

It was 5:00...Val and Dave were due, but not here. Changed their minds! Yes? No. Just five minutes late. They were all smiles when they arrived. Val had seen my post on facebook, and I seriously don't think it had taken more than two minutes before she was writing to me. Anyone else? I'd have put off. But here was Val, telling me Dave was still, a full year later, looking for that perfect gelding.
We walked out into the pasture together. Sandy looked at us out of the corner of his eye. He'd just returned from over 2 hours of dragging that yellow colt around the trails, yet aside from that sideways look, he didn't give any indication of not being willing to go back to work.

The view from between brown ears; Sandy's first ride up above the valley.

I saddled my boy up as we chatted about his strengths and weaknesses. Dave is a farrier...a good hand on the ground, and a great admirer of Sandy's feet. I climbed on, rode a couple of small circles in the driveway, then offered to let Dave climb on board. His hands were soft and light, Sandy's nose was tucked into a horizontal position, and they walked and jogged back and forth. "He's so responsive," Dave said with admiration. Yes...yes, he is.
My mind had been racing since setting up this appointment. I had a cutting clinic coming up in September...followed by our first competition. It's what I'd been working toward, showing the cutting horse people that my little mustang could hold his own. But if he was sold? I pushed the thought from my head. If I was ever going to sell Sandy, this was the couple I wanted to have him. Hands down. They're thoughtful, understanding, and appreciative of the work I have into my boy.
So many people backed down the moment I told them the price I'd set. "I'm not asking a poor economy, half broke grade horse price," I told a couple of them. "You may be looking for a trail horse, but Sandy has training beyond that. Don't let his lack of pedigree fool you." That changed a lot of minds. There were honestly only two people I'd have considered letting Sandy go with...Val & Dave, or Canadian Cowgirl (yes, she did contact me!)

Sandy balking as Jay attempted to lead him into Curt's round pen in 2008.

Still...I found I was asking myself, "Did I really accomplish what I needed to with Sandy? He could go further...if I wanted to."

"We never really would have considered a mustang if we hadn't seen you with Sandy," Val was saying. Well...that answers that question then, doesn't it? Mission accomplished. Perhaps not my personal goals for glory in the cutting arena, but certainly Sandy had changed minds across the globe, as well as here close to home.

"We'd love to leave him with you until the clinic in September...if you wanted us to."

Really?

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...

There is a purpose to everything in God's world...and a season. As difficult as it is for me to say goodbye, I believe my season with Sandy has come to an end, and I can't think of a better family to send him to...where he can be loved and appreciated just as much as he is here. It doesn't matter to Sandy if he's cutting cows, though Dave said it may be fun to learn how to do some sorting or team penning, and Sandy would certainly be good at it. Most important to both Sandy & I is that he's cared for and loved, which he will be with Val & Dave. Plus...they're close, and I can see him when I need a fix. And they're leaving him with me for the summer...I'll have a few more weeks to love on my boy and prepare my heart to say goodbye.

And maybe? Maybe kick some quarter horse butt at the cutting in September!

Another Lesson Learned

I'm sitting here waiting MOST impatiently for my video to upload.



Why is it taking so long?



I swear it was quicker to drive down, ride, and come home that it is to load that video!
Which leaves me with even more time to ask myself...

Why did I invite other people to come down with me when I ride?
Their horses are starting to look better than mine!

Take, for instance, Bess. This was her first time working the bull, and her horse was stopping and turning on it's own, I swear!

And I've got to say this was the biggest lesson learned this past week...

Don't invite your friends. They may show you up!

I thought maybe I'd make myself look a little better in video. But then YT disabled my music. I looked better when my ears were distracted by Dwight Yokum. Sigh...such is life!

Mah Baby's Got Cow!

Just another day in a dusty arena...chasing some fiberglass bull back and forth in the dark!

Thanks to Darling, who is finally out of school, I was able to get some still shots of Sandy as he dropped himself down to get after the cow. I know...y'all are looking and going, "Huh?", but to me? It's nearly pee your pants exciting. (I know...dork. Yes, I am.)

The End...

Ride when the Sun Shines!

Poor Sandy. I can't even tell you when his last day off was! Luckily for him, some of our rides have been on the soft and lazy side, such as today. I loaded him up, along with Wadatika, and went to the nearby tree farm for a lazy day 25 minute ride. I gotta say, that little pony of mine is turning into one heck of a wonderful horse. Not only can he cut cows & carry Darling over 2' jumps, but he's a pony horse supreme! What do I mean?

Well, we got ten minutes into our ride and Tika decided she'd gone far enough. And she stopped. Eeeek. Brakes. Stop. No go no more. Now, I typically give a horse a moment to change their minds at times like these, and the first time Tika did just that. She thought about it, I tugged a bit, and she came forward. But only for another 20', at which point she stopped again.

This simply was not going to make the rest of our short journey very pleasurable, so I turned Sandy around to face her, pushed her around in a 180 degree turn so that she was now facing the direction we'd just come from, and had Sandy march right into her face. And backward Tika went, a good ten paces, before I asked Sandy to step around and continued down the trail. The diva didn't give it another thought...forward motion is better than backward motion any day, and the rest of the ride went without a hitch.

Sandy and Tika were not the only ones getting extra attention in the good weather. Red has had a few extra moments of me pestering him as well! Current goal for this boy is allowing me to touch him in a tight space, and getting a lead clipped on and off his halter without a knock down, drag out fight.

As you can see in the photo, there are two leads hanging from Red's halter. One is short, about 30" long. This he has on all the time. It's short enough not to be stepping on all the time, but long enough that I can reach out with the end of a stick and pick it up. These horses just crack me up, to be honest. They don't want your hand reaching in to grab the rope, but they allow a stick to lift it, and once they see it moving, they're caught! Kid you not, they'll follow that stick and lead like they can't get away. Red is no exception.

Anyway, once I've got that little rope in hand, I've been working on getting him to relax enough for me to get the long rope attached. Not that we do anything that requires a long rope most days, it's simply the motion of getting a hand that close to his ever elusive head. He reminds me so much of Steve Holt! it's not even funny, except that Steve Holt! progressed much quicker. Red needs more time, but all of his actions are similar. Neither could stand still to be touched and I'd stand in the middle while they made tight circles around me, wondering if I'd lose a toe in the process. Actually...Red is still doing this, but he's relaxing and slowing down. Steve Holt! was extremely protective of his head and face, just like Red, too. But Red is progressing, even if slowly, and the snapping of the lead is happening quicker each time.

Oh...in the pic of Red? We practiced some make believe tying today. As long as he wasn't feeling pressured, he stood there and respected the short rope draped over the stall while I moved around, taking photos of Momma horse and cleaning the paddock. Yup...he's coming around.

Forward Motion

Forward motion is always good. Unless you're asking your pony to back up, of course. Then moving forward isn't so good.

Nearly 2 years ago...we were so slow!

Sandy had a lot of forward motion today. Almost too much. Curt is out of town at a cutting and I'm the Barn Chore Lady for the weekend. This morning I hauled Sandy along so I'd be able to sneak in a ride while there. In between feeding and turning out and cleaning stalls, I saddled my pony up and found myself on the back of a mustang who definitely wanted to show me what forward motion was all about.

Wow...the boy simply would not slow down. That pretty little circle trotting shuffle of a jog was just a tad fast. And lope? What lope? Talk about a rush!

I'm pretty certain I know the problem. The hydra bull was no-where in sight, and Sandy was certain it was going to jump out at him from around a corner at any given moment. But despite his rushing about, I was able to direct him with only one hand on the reins, circles to the left, then the right, and even nice, tidy little (ever so slow) spins. It was kind of fun, to tell ya the truth.

Red ponders a treat.

A forward motion of a slower variety is taking place in Red's paddock. He had some time off while I was feeling a bit puny last weekend, so our training consisted of things that wouldn't aggravate my lungs. He discovered it was okay to eat grain from my hand, as well as began to go after treats (that's something totally foreign to a mustang; the eating of something solid like that.) I backed the horse trailer up to the paddock and he followed me into it. This is big for such a claustrophobic boy. And today I brought the western saddle blanket back out for a re-introduction. He's worn the English pad with no problem, but the western one is heavy and hard to handle for me while he's in his whirl wind of motion around me. But I did manage to convince him to slow down and stick close enough for the blanket to get popped onto his back, after which he totally relaxed.

Six Boring Minutes

Pony Girl requested a video of me riding the big red mare. Yesterday I was down for a lesson and since there was a bit of time on the camera before the battery ran out of juice, I did just that.

On Tuesday when I went down to ride her, she was pretty excited. Moreso than she'd been the past couple of rides, and since time was limited for me I simply walked and stopped and walked and stopped. Okay...so I threw in a little jog in a figure 8, but since she immediately went to crow hopping and wanting to lope, it was back to the walk.

I wasn't sure what to expect from her yesterday, but since there weren't horses tied to the wall waiting their turn at the bull (which had been running outdoors the previous ride), she was a much quieter horse.

So I give you six and a half minutes of boredom. Wasn't boring while I was on, but if you can make it through this without falling asleep, then kudos to you! I did keep in a little bit of her pulling and pushing so you can see us working at simply standing and relaxing. Take note of how massive this mare is when she's coming toward the camera...I swear my hips hurt when I sit on her! And maybe I ought to have dropped the stirrups on Curt's saddle before riding? May have felt a little better!

Of course, I have to share Sandy's latest accomplishments, too! We picked the pace back up a bit, so I'm needing to get him to think about stopping a bit faster at his ends, but that stuff in the middle? When he's nose to nose with the hydra bull? That's my boy! Far more exciting than the big red mare...

Sunday Potluck

Over at Sunday Stills, the theme is Potluck. At first I was confused...was I supposed to host a potluck and take photos? But no, it was simply meant that we could post an array of photos of our choice. Basically, bring to the table whatever photos we wanted to share. Now, does life get any easier than that? I dun think so!

Naturally, my potluck involves horseflesh. First up, we've got a nice walk along the creek with City Boy and Sandy. We'd been on our way down to the pasture for some grazing time, and it was just too pretty with the cherry blossoms over top, wouldn't you agree?

Oh! And I've got to tell you, because this is exciting (at least to me)...Tika got her feet done! All four! And she only tried to kick out once. Sadly it was with gusto, and the farrier was not too happy about it. He took the lead and got on her case big time, which was really good for her because, you know...I don't seem to have those same issues with her and she needs to know she can get into trouble and still be friends with someone. She got over the punishment and stood nicely for him after that, and he complimented her ability to come back around and be such a good girl. He's very impressed with my wild child. Of course, she kept doing her funky lip thing through the entire process...

( I know...this potluck photo is leftovers!)

One last tidbit (okay, it reads more like a novel) that I'll leave you with is this: I've decided to stop thinking about what Red and I have not accomplished. It's far too easy to dwell on the negatives and as slow as he's moving, they tend to overshadow the positives. But a snail's pace is still progress, right? And progress he's making. The lead is back on, though in a shortened state so that it no longer drags the ground under his feet. When it first began to swing around beneath his face, he was startled and confused. But rather than running in a blind panic (which he'd have done a couple months ago) he simply bobbed his head and tried to figure it out. Yeah! Progress! And proof that he's a thinker.

Red is able to tolerate being touched on the left and the right. I can now touch him up near his poll, just behind his ears, when on his left. I ran my hand halfway to his knee yesterday. I rubbed down onto his ticklish flank. He leads nicely. When we come to a stop, I can now walk towards him, right past his face and stop alongside his neck without him turning his hip to me. He allows me into his 'head space' on the right side, too! While eating grain from a pan on my lap, he'll let me rub on his cheeks, and he's even eaten a mouthful from my hands.

Gone are the days when he used to kick out like a bronc and not stop until I feared for his well being. He's not broken into a white lather in weeks. I tied a piece of sheet to the end of my lunge whip and can drop it over his back and neck, and let it bump on his hind legs. I can throw the end of my long rope towards him and he doesn't go cuckoo; it can even bounce around his front legs without any reaction, and limited reaction when I toss it over his hindquarters to fall down his back legs (he's destined to be a roping horse, so rope training is essential!)

But Red's biggest accomplishment this weekend was the placing of the saddle blanket into his back. He allowed me to rub his left side with in, and I could even pull it off from the right side with little trouble. In fact, I put it on him, laid the rope over his back and came in to get my camera and found him standing where I'd left him, no worries, just waiting for my return.

So there you have it. A little bit of almost everything. And just so Steve Holt! doesn't feel left out...here he is. He needs a shave.

Okay, I Officially Don't Get It

What's all this blogger talk about moving from FPT? When I sign in under my Desperate Horsewife account, it tells me I need to act fast. But sign in under my other account, and there's no reference at all to needing to make changes. What gives? Do any of my fellow bloggers wish to help out this slightly confused horsewife?

Yesterday I woke to the sound of pounding rain. Imagine my surprise when I actually climbed from my bed and looked outside to see snow! By afternoon the skies were clear and the wind was blowing a bone chilling breeze through the valley. Dusk came early with more rain spitting clouds. Truly the nuttiest weather we've seen in a very long time.

Last week Red had both a breakthrough, and a set back. A breakthrough in the fact that I was able to rub and scratch him on both sides of his body. The set back came when over the weekend he managed to get the snap undone on his lead, which then disconnected it from his halter. Since he's not once willingly come up to me, and since he's beyond sensitive about having my hand anywhere ahead of his shoulder (meaning...no touchie the facie, please), getting the lead back on would be a daunting task.

Red is no longer the muddy mess you see here!

Despite his lack of willingness to give up on some of his fears, Red is a far sight better than Sunny ever was her first few months here with me. He's decided he likes the taste of grain, so while I wasn't doing much physically with the horses last weekend, I did make the physical appearance with the tasty treat, and he began to associate me with something good and non-pressuring.

More on Red later (like...when Darling gets the photos uploaded!)

Sandy & I headed down to Curt's on Wednesday for our lesson. Wanted to see just how much Sandy could do on his own this time, so we dropped the reins and Curt went slow, working on the basics such as the stop and turns. I was pretty pleased. His turns to the right are sharper than to the left, but he's got it pretty much figured out. I still need to work on getting my timing a bit more on target when it comes to encouraging him to look at the bull when we stop, and checking him once we get the turn (so he doesn't race to the other end before the bull gets there!)

Watching the video put a smile on my face. Thought I was pretty hot stuff...till Darling came along on Rose and upstaged me...

Crazy Weather

If you live in the northwest, you're undoubtedly wondering what the heck is going on with this weather! Beautiful and sunny one moment, hailing golf balls the next, snow falling on the hills and rainbows forming during showers. And then there's the wind...

The view from my computer

This does not stop the activity here, however! Wishing I'd had my video camera with me the other day when Tika was showing off to a couple of Arabs at the riding club. She was snorting and blowing and absolutely floating...or was it flying?...around the round pen! This girl is a total Diva.

Red is now allowing me to touch the right side of his body. He's not thrilled about it, but no longer trying to drag me through the mud (which he doesn't do, because I'm a wimp and let go of the rope before getting that mudnure facial.) I was even able to let fingers slip up to his poll and onto his cheeks. And he sniffed me...of course on accident. He would never admit to actually moving his nose over to my arm on purpose.

Sandy and I have been working on our cutting skills on a regular basis, and I'm seeing the fruits of our labor beginning to bud. Would like to see his head down a bit lower...cutters like low heads. But will we ever make it to a show? Probably not. So I'll take what I can get on this boy, learn all I can, and maybe by summer Tika will be ready???

Curt got the better of me when he turned the bull around the opposite direction. I thought we were done! Way to confuse me...so easily done. I'm going to have to keep a sharper eye on that sneaky devil...

Watch Your Bull

It's an early morning. Darling & I are heading south to Oregon for the Northwest Horse Expo down in Albany. We'll be working the Mustang U booth, which is shared with Equiscience. If you're in the area, look us up! We're in the Santiam building, same as the Mustang Heritage Foundation and BLM booth.


Darling has been folding brochures all night while I supervised City Boy's framing of photos. I won't have many there, but a few of Honor and the old buckskin stallion, plus a few posters and some notecards. I've been slowly adding to my stash of goodies, and now it's time to make them all go away. Hope someone shows up to buy them!

Of course, there will be more than just booth time and photo sales at the Expo, as the Northwest Extreme Mustang Makeover is happening! And you know I'll be out getting a few shots of the activities for those of you who won't be there.

In other news...Sandy's cutting skills are coming along nicely. We started the lesson without the camera on, which was a shame as Sandy was fresh and full of life as Curt worked the bull. Doc rode Rose on the opposite side, and as Rose is a finished cutting horse, Curt made sure he was giving the two of them a good workout. Sandy did well...and Curt wasn't happy to hear I hadn't turned the camera on before the ride, hollering over the roar of the bull, "That was a good one!"

Typically there are two workouts during a lesson, and we give the horses a chance to relax and catch their breath between them. Since Sandy's first go had been a very good workout (and longer than usual), his second work, the one in the video, focused on our weaker areas. Curt slowed things down so I could figure out my timing.

"Get your nose, get your rib cage, get your hand out towards me...," this is the sort of thing I hear. And the sort of thing you hear in this video since I didn't dub it with music this time around!

Oh, Sunny Day

As you know, the Olympics have been playing out up in Oh, Canada, Eh this past couple of weeks. What you may not have realized is that this is happening practically in my back yard. Since Sandy and I hadn't been out for a ride in over a week, we decided to see what kind of seating was available and perhaps take in a bit of snow boarding or skiing. Sandy really prefers ice dancing, but that was sold out.

Turns out we ought to have purchased our tickets a bit earlier as we had super nose bleed seating...

Sandy wants to know where this Flying Tomato he's heard so much about is?

Not even a zoomiezoomie lens on the camera could help, I'm afraid. We did get a good view of Squalicum Lake down in the valley, though. Too bad there were no Olympic events down there for us to see, eh?

Sandy and I headed on down the road without any excitement. That is, until he noticed a blade of grass over at the edge of the road and made a mad dash to get it before it escaped. For a moment I thought we were going to be part of some new Olympic event called 'Fling your rider over the embankment as far and fast as you can while grabbing the green blade of grass gracefully between your teeth.'

And while I am not a big fan of snow? I think in this case it may have been appropriate for a winter sport. Not to mention a softer, log free landing.

Color Fest!

The Wild Horse Corrals in Burns is kicking off the 2010 adoption season in 10 days! They are hosting an event at the corrals called Color Fest. With nearly 1000 horses there, they've got a plethora of color simply begging to find homes. From pintos to appaloosas to duns and roans...you want it? They've got it!

And thanks to my good friends at Equiscience, I'm getting a free ride to the event! Hope a few of you can clear the weekend on your calendars and join me.

Among those available for adoption is Dibs

Meanwhile...back at the ranch...Tika and Sandy went to Equine A Rama in Snohomish County last weekend. Sandy, naturally, won friends right and left...as well as below the knees.

Mustang U attended the event in an effort to promote wild horse adoption and our efforts to find homes for 'older' horses and those in the Sale Authority program. Tika was brought along as an example of a horse who is often overlooked simply because of their age. She was on her best behavior, watching intently the crowd of children who stood ten feet away from her. Strollers were a bit of a concern, but she managed to keep it together. She even let MU secretary, Deb Prather, hold the lead while I wandered out of sight for a moment to grab the camera! Deb said she turned to look for me, but quiet talk and a little walking put her mind right back to where it needed to be. Hooray for Tika! I can breath easy knowing that she will adjust to life in captivity and not need to be with me till her dying days.

Of course, I can't leave you without this little video of Darling riding Buddy, one of Curt's cutters. We were there to get some video of a horse who's going to be placed up for sale, and Curt wanted a little of Buddy, too. So Darling got the job of cooling him out...but not until Curt had her go for a little ride!

"That was fun! Can I do it again?"

Inspired to Ride...

Wow! What a tough decision that was. But in the end, Mustang Heritage inspired the winning title for this photo...'Inspired to Ride'. Pop me an email with your addy and I'll get your photo mailed out to you.

The other day I hauled down to Curt's with my new friend, Rod. Actually, her name is Roz, but when Curt asked her, he misunderstood. Then he asked her to spell it...well, Z rhymes with D, don'cha know, and he just shrugged and began calling her Rod. After that first lesson, he figured it out, but it was too late. Rod she was and Rod she will forever be...at least while at Curt's place.

Rod doesn't ride a mustang, but her cute little quarter horse mare is named Sandy, so we'll forgive her. She's a nice moving, hard stopping little mare, too, and they're catching on real well with the bull.

As for me and my Sandy...well, he's catching on so well that I swear there was light between me and the saddle on Wednesday. Better get me some velcro, or super glue, or something to help me stay in place! My boy can move, lemme tell you what! I was laughing so hard that even though I managed to stay on a couple of his hard turns, I nearly fell off simply because I was lost in euphoria.

Now I know what you're saying...where are the videos??? But my computer and my new camera are still not on speaking terms, so no video until this dinasaur of a desktop of mine can be updated. I could do it on the laptop, I suppose...but I don't want to waste laptop space with big video files. So you'll just need to be patient and take my word for it when I tell you this; it won't be long before my hiney needs dusting off...cuz at the rate Sandy is improving, I'll be visiting club dirt again, undoubtedly!

The Visitors

Yesterday Tika had a visitor. Two, actually!

I had the farrier out in the morning to do the boys. Steve Holt! was a total twirp, and that's putting it far too nicely. He's gotten into some bad habits...mainly taking advantage of new farriers by trying to walk away mid nip. Naturally, he stands beautifully for me, but when someone else is doing the work? Not so much. Sandy, of course, is an absolute dream. Like any good horse trainer, I knew I'd need to end on a good note, so planned to have Steve Holt! (my ADD child) first and Sandy (born an old man) second so that the farrier would leave with something pleasant in his mind.

Before he left I asked him to meet with Tika. She, of course, pulled her Tika-tude with a new person. Ears pinned, dirty looks, stepping backwards. The farrier is a good hand, however, and downplayed it all, simply reached up and scratched her between the ears and continued to talk to me. She stood there looking sideways at him like a teenager with a grudge. I asked if he'd be willing to work on her if we got the vet to drug her like we had Sunny, and he said sure. That was encouraging...it means Steve Holt! didn't scare him off!

A couple hours later we had another visitor, a new friend from Canada who's been bitten by the Tika bug. Oh...she'll never admit it, but we know that's what it is. One look into this girl's eyes and you're hard pressed not to fall under her spell. Kristen had come down to look at a saddle I had advertised a moth or so ago, and I asked what kind of horse she was trying to fit. You have to know what the answer is...don't you? That's right, a mustang! So of course we were immediate sisters, and I introduced her to Sandy & Steve Holt!, and Apple Pony was still here then, I believe...golly, it's been more than a month, hasn't it? Well, not that it matters. What matters is that she also met Tika.

So yesterday when she came back down to the states, she naturally had to come by for another visit. I slipped a halter on Tika and Kristen slid between the rails to say hello. Ears pinned, dirty look, that wasn't going to bother Kristen. She simply stood alongside the red devil mare and talked to me while stroking her face. Tika was unsure how to handle this...she loves to be loved on, and I watched her struggle for the correct response to this second stranger who'd invaded her bubble in such a quiet, confident manner. Before long Kristen was leading her between panels and through the paddocks out to the round pen. I picked up my manure fork and started cleaning while Tika was led away.

Kristen's touch was light as she stroked the mare's neck and face. She found the spots that Tika enjoyed, and the spots she'd rather not have a stranger touch. Tika wouldn't allow her to step onto her right side, but she was relaxing and softening up on the left. At one point when Kristen took a step back and stopped, Tika threw her a look and then leaned in for more rubs.

And me? I was happy as a lark. Tika has been so aggressive with people other than me that it was encouraging to see her give herself up for Kristen. It gives me hope that this mare will someday be able to transition into someone else's hands. Not that I want her to leave...not just yet, and she's far from ready. But I know that someday she'll be ready.

And where was my camera during all this interaction? Well, it certainly wasn't focused on snapping photos of the Beautiful Wadatika, that's for sure. But I did get a couple of these two bozos!

When the Wind Blows...

Forget about the cradle...around here, when the wind blows the mustangs will rock!

Tika watches with interest as the boys get to revving it up.




She lets the know she can fly just as high as they can!

We had some pretty good winds over the past couple of days and the horses were feeling mighty spunky. Despite high spirits, we accomplished a lot with our fiery little girl...and the boys, too! This weekend they all did something new, and they did it together, too. I put the second divider back into my horse trailer and hauled all three to the arena at the same time. I wasn't sure how any of them would take being squeezed into a narrow space, since they'd never done it before, but all took it in stride. I was especially pleased with Tika, who can still get a bit nervous over feeling pressured, but she's ridden in the front slot quite nicely.

Sandy and I also took Tika out on her first trail the other day. Just one simple loop around the tree farm, but that required her to walk over a few fallen branches, brush up against low hanging limbs, and walk a good 100' through 8" deep water that had flooded the trail. She's coming right along!

Now I need to run. Off to another bull session!

Sucker's Got COW

Moo!

Sandy & I hauled to Curt's this morning for a lesson. Darling still hasn't edited the lesson footage from last week, so I have nothing to show for our hard work, but this is what Curt had to say after our lesson today:

"Sucker's Got Cow!"

And this, for those of you who don't know, is a good thing! I've been watching others ride their horses and was beginning to wonder if it would ever be like that for Sandy & I, or if this was just a fun way to spend some time. After all, I do love spending time with Curt as he teases and jokes and strokes my horse riding ego. He seems to enjoy watching my mustangs come along, but there's always been that little part of me that thinks he's only humoring me. But not today. Today was good. Very, very good.

Sandy's stops are stronger and his turns crisper at the right end than the left. This is normal. It's like being able to write your name better with one hand than the other. One side is stronger. And by end, if you've watched any of the former videos you'll see what I mean. The bull works back and forth, teaching the horse to stop hard and drop their butt into the ground, turning a hard 180 and moving off in the other direction.

The goal with cutting is to be able to walk into your herd quietly and not scatter the cattle. Then you want to push one calf out while the others stay behind you. That's the cut, and where the term 'cutting' comes from. Then your horse stays between the calf and the herd. As the calf dashes and darts back and forth in an attempt to rejoin his buddies, your horse has to be able to 'read' it and turn head to head with it, preventing it from returning.

The hydra bull becomes an excellent tool with which to do this because the driver is able to work the horse at their own skill level. Not too fast, not too slow. You can work on your turns and stops and not have to worry about a calf dashing off faster than your horse is able to handle it. And the better your horse becomes at reading the calf, the less you need to do while in the saddle. When competing, the rider helps guide the horse while selecting the calf, and that's it. You then drop your hand down and let the horse do the work. Left, stop, right, stop, left, stop and so on.

Today, Sandy's turns to the right were strong enough that I was able to drop my reins at that end and let him stop and turn on his own. It was fantastic! And to hear that Old Man Storbakken thinks he's got cow? Priceless!

In other news, Curt recently sold Pepenary. I stopped in yesterday morning to wish him a Happy Birthday and he asked me to hop and and ride her a few minutes. They'll be picking her up later this week. So it was my last ride on the little 14 hand dynamo before she goes to a boy who's around 8 or 9. She'll still be working cows and should do real well for him. No new footage for her, either, but here's a video from a couple months ago. You may have already seen it, but hey, watch it again! And if you're new here to the Diaries, enjoy!

Technology Challenged Loser's, Raise Your Hand!

Darling is having fun with my new video camera.

What, you say? Did she steal my video camera???

I know. First my horse. Then my other horse. Then my still camera. Now my video camera! But in truth, my computer doesn't have the horse power to run the program that is needed to actually create videos from this camera, so I'm completely dependent, once again, on that teenage punkster of mine. Dang, how I hate being held hostage!

So the video you see is from the other day, and not of yesterday's super wonderful lovely ride of Sandy working the bull. I am forced to wait for Darling to 'feel like it' before I see an edited video. And to make matters worse, my memory stick is now full of videos from the past few days, and I have no clue how to remove them! I am such a technology challenged loser... I need to go ride.