100 Miles

Back at it

2010-05-09T15:31:00.005-05:00

After almost two years of inactivity, I'm bringing the blog back to life. The reason, of course, is that I've got a new mustang to make over.

Let's backtrack for a moment and review how this came about...Since the last EMM, I've moved to the Mojave Desert of California, gone back to work, and done relatively little with the two horses that I've got. We still have our 007 Mustang, now renamed "Katie Kaboom" after a cartoon character with a generally charming personality, but an unpredictably explosive temper. And of course, I still have Ranger, my original mustang. I take him for a leisurely trail ride now and then, but have had little time to do much more.

Then one day, I'm browsing the video catalog of mustangs for the new Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover competition, and a bay gelding catches my eye. Nothing spectacular about him, but he's built like a tank - the type of horse Jace is always saying he wants if he ever gets his own horse. I show him the video, and next thing I know, I'm driving to Reno to pick up another mustang.

So the journey begins again. Here he is...

First touches

Playing with the stick

Wear the rope

Wear the halter

First leading lesson

Pretty good for the first day! He still needs a name. Jace is supposed to be naming him but so far nothing is jumping out as the clear choice. Gotta get to know him a little better, I guess.

The Wrap-Up

2008-09-27T13:47:00.003-05:00

The Extreme Mustang Makeover '08 has been over now for almost a week, and I'm finally getting a chance to fill in "the rest of the story." So much happened so fast, and the weekend was so incredibly busy. I've spent much of this week just recovering from it all.

After our somewhat disappointing performance in our under saddle class, the pressure on Eli and I was off, and I spent a lot of time trying to ease some of his stress. Spending 24/7 in a stall with constant activity all around him was making Eli a little bonkers. He'd paw at his door as soon as he saw me, and was really pushy on the lead line when I'd take him for walks. On Saturday, I put his halter on, and we went hunting for a place where I could let him loose to blow off some steam. We found our quiet paradise in an empty show arena, and I sat on the gate for about a half an hour, watching Eli roll, buck and run in the darkened space. I could see the tension slowly leaving his body, and he was a new man on our walk back to the stall.

Saturday evening were the finals competitions for the Idols and Legends divisions and potential adopters were milling around the stall areas, scoping out the horses that they might bid on the next day. I sent the boys off for dinner with Jace and his parents and stayed near Eli's stall to answer questions from potential adopters. I spoke to one couple who was very interested in Eli, but it was hard to guage how many bidders would be out there the next day. And I was still having a hard time making a decision on whether or not to bid on him myself.

The finals for the Legends division were spectacular. It is truly mind-blowing what folks were able to do with their horses in 100 days - dressage and reining demos, flying changes, sidepassing, jumping through rings of fire, shooting balloons that exploded into fireballs, stepping onto platforms and pickup trucks, working cattle and roping displays...AMAZING!!!! There should be no doubt left in anyone's mind as to mustangs' trainability and versatility. I had goosebumps on several occasions throughout the evening.

I had a hard time sleeping that night. I knew that I had to make a decision on whether or not to keep Eli, and in my heart, I knew what I should do. It was time to let Eli go. A good endurance horse has a certain feel to them when they're out on a ride, like they can't wait to see what's down that next mile of trail. Eli is a good boy, and has the potential to be good at a lot of things, but he never gave me the vibe that he really WANTED to be an endurance horse. He was nice to ride on trail, and had great metabolics, but the motivation just wasn't there. He needed to find a home where someone would give him a job that was more suited to his personality. I just hoped that the right person would adopt him and understand what a special horse they were getting.

The auction was sort of a blur. Hurry up and wait outside the auction ring, then into the ring, where I showed off a somewhat more relaxed Eli under saddle, working him at the walk and trot. In the end, he sold for $750 to a man from LaGrange who will use him as a pleasure and family horse. I got a good feeling from this guy right away, that he'd adore Eli and treat him right, so loading Eli up to go to his new home was somewhat less painful than I'd feared. I'd cried all my tears earlier in the day, and I kept a smile as I said my goodbyes and wished Eli a wonderful life with his new owner.

The auction overall was interesting to me. I was curious to see how much the horses would sell for. On one hand, a lot of this year's horses were quite far along in their training, and might command some good prices. On the other hand, the economy is in a slump, the market for horses in general is way down, and it was unknown to me how much interest there was in purchasing these horses. Well, lemme tell ya, there were some bargains to be had! Some really well trained horses were having trouble selling. There were some high bids, especially on the competition winners, but the overall selling prices were quite low. Good for those trainers who wanted to buy their horses, but somewhat disappointing, considering the quality of horses for sale.

The 200 yearlings that had competed in in-hand classes were having an even tougher time selling. Many went home with their trainers, and many others found homes, but as the day went on, there were still quite a few yearlings left over. There was talk that some of these horses would end up going back to a holding facility. So here's where the rest of my story unfolds...

I am a sucker...I'm the first to admit this, and it is a quality that will likely never change. I have found somewhat of a calling with these mustangs, and hope that my skills can be put to good work in helping their cause from here on out. Jace and I discussed things and decided that we were in a good position to be able to take one of the yearlings home. We had the trailer on site, empty, and Ranger could really use a buddy on our new 5 acres when we move to California. So we went shopping. The result - Cleopatra - a tall, leggy, bay (with a little roaning) filly, with enough attitude to hold her own with the herd here in Tx and to steal Ranger's heart. He's in love, and she's my new project. I will let her grow, start her under saddle and teach her to be a good riding horse, then see if I can find her a good home. By the way, in the end, all of the EMM yearlings and 3-4 year olds were adopted.

So this is the end of my EMM '08 story, but not the end of my mustang saga. I'll post more pictures when I have access to a computer that lets me upload them faster than one per hour. I had such an amazing time, and met so many incredible people. I saw some stunning displays of generosity, including a donation that covered the adoption fee for anyone who would take home one of the unadopted yearlings, and a couple who paid the auction price for a mustang whose trainer wanted to take him home but couldn't afford to bid that high. It was evident that the trainers in this event were truly committed to doing their best for these horses, and I saw some incredible bonds between human and horse. Seeing so many people with such compassion and respect for mustangs gives me high hopes for their future, even with all the controversy that surrounds their management right now. I am so proud to have been a small part of this effort, and I hope to return next year.

Character Building

2008-09-19T14:27:00.002-05:00

Wow, where to start?! I have been so busy since I hit the grounds at Will Rogers that I haven't had a minute to sit down at a computer until now. So for those of you anxiously awaiting updates, I'll try to fill in some of the details of our last 48 hours.

Got to Ft. Worth midday on Wed. Checked in and unloaded Eli from the trailer. It didn't take him long to realize he wasn't in his element! The first spook was sideways away from a giant blue manure cart and onto my right foot. Ouch! But he seemed to be ok with his stall, so I let him chill out and eat while I unpacked everything. Took him for a walk, more spooking...even at stuff that normally wouldn't bother him. But there was significantly more action around us - horses everywhere, stalls decorated with all sorts of flair, people, also decorated with lots of flair, and a definite ENERGY about the place. I hand walked him into the arena where we'd be showing about the time many riders were practicing shooting .45 blanks, cracking whips, laying their horses down, and banners on the rails...I think both Eli and I were put into sensory overload! He was jumpy, but didn't totally lose it, so I figured it was time to ride. Our ride was just ok - Eli was hesitant to move forward amongst all of the action in the arenas, but I never felt unsafe.

Thurs. was our in hand class and body condition scoring. We got a walk thru of the course - trot inside and outside circles around barrels, 360 pivot in a box, load in the trailer, pick up feet, back thru an L, trot over poles. Eli made me proud! It was obvious that he was terrified in that arena, but he gave it a good shot. I had some trouble getting him in the trailer - sort of surprising, since he's been particularly good at that recently, but he finally followed me in. We scored well, and got a great body condition score too. I even got that crazy mane to lay down! Our placing was in the upper middle part of the group, right where I expected to be, and I was super pleased with how we'd done.

Today was our under saddle class. I was the second person to go in our division, but I'd learned from the day before that things moved slower than predicted in the arena, so I had planned to warm up, then just let Eli chill a bit before hopping back on for a quick refresher right before our course. The course itself didn't worry me - lead the horse in, mount up, canter left lead to a cone, turn around canter a circle on the right lead, trot to an L, back thru, work a gate, cross a bridge, trot some poles. I knew our cantering may or may not happen, but we'd done everything else a million times before.

My first indication that this was not going to be like our typical day was when Eli bucked in the warmup arena. He's never bucked with me under saddle! Oh well, he seemed to relax after that little incident. Got into the show arena, went to mount up...and Eli backed away from me. What?! Tried again, he moved away again. I was floored. Eli has always stood like a stone for me to mount. Finally got on, tried to ask for a lope and he just sucked back, so I decided to trot and try for the right lead on the circle...nope, no right lead either. Oh well, the rest of the course we got, no problem, right? WRONG! Started to back thru the L, and he just kept on backing, right toward the gate! He wanted out, NOW! Tried again, only slightly better. Attempted the gate, he wouldn't let me near it. After a few attempts, we were past our time limit. I decided to use my two minutes of freestyle time to try to complete the course. After all, I'm an endurance rider, and to finish is to win! :) Only halfway finished the gate, and coaxed him in a hesitant jog over the poles. Did a little sidepassing to show and a couple of serpentine loops at a trot to demonstrate that I had some control, and called it a day.

Needless to say, I was disappointed. The part that was so painful was that I knew what Eli was capable of under saddle, and wasn't able to show it in competition. And then, of course, I couldn't stop the tears from coming, and was embarrased that I'd let such a little thing reduce me to tears! But honestly, I can't blame Eli for anything. Considering what an overwhelming situation I'd put him into, the fact that he was even rideable was amazing! I know a lot of upper level dressage horses and endurance champions who would've been in the next county if they'd seen the things Eli's seen this week!

Despite our rough day today, I've gotta say, this has been such a fun environment to show in. I've met so many competitors who've been so positive, outgoing and helpful. You really get the feeling that the trainers want the best for these mustangs. I'm so grateful for everyone's words of encouragement, and I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with all the people I've made friends with this week.

I have photos to post, but naptime is almost over for the boys, so I'll try to get those up during my next break.

Twenty, twenty, twenty-four hours to go....I wanna be sedated!!

2008-09-16T13:05:00.002-05:00

I've had the lines from that Ramones song running through my head all day today! Certainly appropriate, considering that in twenty-four hours, we'll be at the Will Rogers complex for the big event, and my excitement level is pretty high! At this point, I'm not really nervous; I've had too much to keep me busy, but I'm anxious to get this thing started, to meet all the trainers, and to see how Eli will handle this new experience.

These last few days, I wasn't sure if we were gonna make it to Ft. Worth in one piece. On Friday, Eli came in with a big bite mark right where the saddle goes on the left side of his back. Great, that'll sure help his body conditioning score! Then, on Saturday, Ranger cornered Eli, and sent him over/through a gate and running all over part of the cow pasture surrounded by low strands of barbed wire. By some miracle, Eli escaped with only a couple of scratches, but I had visions of big vet bills and a very broken horse! That same night, Ranger choked on an alfalfa cube. Luckily, he managed to clear it himself pretty quickly, but I was beginning to think that all my horses were on a suicide mission! Must've been the change in barometric pressure from Hurricane Ike, or something. To add to the fun, I came down with a cold yesterday! Thankfully, I think the worst of my cold is over, and I should be pretty well recovered by tomorrow, although everyone will be able to recognize me by my nose, which is red from blowing it all day. Hopefully, all our rough luck has passed and we'll have nothing but smooth sailing from here on out.

We're as ready as we're going to get for this thing. We'll be doing nothing fancy, just the basics, and I will be happy to simply be there with a sound horse. There are so many that, for one reason or another, did not make it to Ft. Worth. I feel really fortunate for so much over these last few months - for being chosen as a trainer, for Eli and all he's taught me, and for my family and friends who have been so supportive. This has been an incredible experience, and I am now only left to wonder...how will it all end?

I'll try my best to post daily from the competition if our hotel has internet access.

Oh, and if you want to hear a really fun Rockabilly style cover of "I Wanna Be Sedated," look up the one by Two Tons of Steel.

Tick-tock, tick-tock...

2008-09-08T12:36:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that in just over a week, we'll be in Ft. Worth. Where has the time gone?! The butterflies are trying to set up permanent residence in my stomach, despite my best efforts to chase them away. I realized the other day that this will be the first time in over ten years that I've been to any kind of real horse show, and I'm sure I've never been in front of a crowd as big as this one will be. I try to calm my nerves by reminding myself that it absolutely does not matter how well we do in comparison to the other horses - I'm doing this for Eli, and for mustangs in general, and by simply getting to Ft. Worth with a broke horse, we've been successful.

This past week, Eli didn't get much work. In preparation for our move to California, I flew out to look at a house that we're hoping to buy. It's on about 5 acres, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to not only keep my own horse(s) there, but possibly set up a place so that I can work with more mustangs in the future. Most of the work I did with Eli was on desensitizing and groundwork. There are not too many things that freak him out, although I would really like to expose him to an indoor arena and ride him around some other horses in that setting. Not sure if that opportunity will present itself before Ft. Worth, but I think he'll still settle in pretty quickly regardless.

I also finalized my entry into the Idols division in the competition. It's the middle level, and looks like it will have a basic course asking us to show all three gaits and do some basic trail obstacles. I felt like this was where we fit in best at this point. I have no doubt that with more time and a more skilled trainer, Eli would've been able to do just about anything anyone trained him to do. He's so quick to learn. This is only the second time I've started a horse under saddle completely by myself, and there were a lot of times that I was learning right along with Eli. I made some mistakes along the way, leading to some behaviors that I had to go back and correct, so that has kept us from moving past some of the basics. But I have no regrets about not pushing Eli farther. He's only three, and I don't really like to do a lot of hard work under saddle with a horse until age four or five.

We'll spend this last week working on some moves for our two minute freestyle as well as solidifying the basics to get us through the ground and horse course. I do have a few ideas for the finals, if by some miracle we make it. I've got the PERFECT music and theme, and would love to be able to put it to use, but my main focus will simply be to have a good showing in the preliminaries, and to have a FABULOUS time at the event. I'm so looking forward to meeting the other trainers, and spectators. Please stop by and say hello!

Texas State of Mind

2008-08-29T15:09:00.002-05:00

Well, folks, it's been way too long since my last update, but I finally made it back in front of the computer to do more than just check email, so I'll try to cover all that we've been up to.

First of all, we are back in Tx! And it's SO good to be home - good music, yummy tex-mex food, my horses right in the backyard, and two of the happiest grandparents you'll ever meet! My parents are, of course, thrilled to have all this quality time with the boys, and likewise, the boys are happy to be spoiled! Right before we arrived, they got 2 1/2 in. of rain here, so there's tons of green grass for the horses, which is good, because Eli was looking kinda lean. Now if we could just do something about this heat and humidity, and the accompanying mosquitos! But August in Tx is notoriously hot, so I'm not holding my breath on that one!

Our trip home was nice. My mom helped with the driving, and we stopped in Tryon, NC for a day to visit our friends, Rhonda and Ben at what can only be described as horse (and people) heaven. Acres and acres of grass pasture on rolling hills, and trails right out the back door that go for miles into the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Kaden came down with a nasty fever, so my riding time was cut short, but I did venture out with Eli on a little ride, once again wearing the heart monitor and drooling over his nice recoveries after a couple of long climbs. Rhonda spoiled us, as usual with her terrific cooking from their enormous garden (nothing beats home grown tomatoes - yum!). I will miss living on the East coast and being able to drop by and visit with such dear friends.

Arrived in Aubrey Fri. night, and immediately had to separate my herd, as Ranger was being his usual super-dominant self and trying to kick Eli's butt. They get along fine now in the big pasture with plenty of food and room to spread out, but we still separate them at night in the small paddock where Eli can get cornered.

Sunday, the farrier dropped by, so I had him trim up Eli's feet again so they'd look nice for Ft. Worth. Eli wiggled a little for the first two feet, but stood like a champ for the last two, and got compliments from the farrier for his good behavior. Made me smile.

Since then, we've been working some under saddle, and some on the ground. Cantering is getting better, we've been working on changes of lead thru the trot, and Eli's figuring that out well. I'm now trying to get him a little sharper to my leg aids - gotta start carrying a stick with him to wake him up a bit I think. I went to a party store this week and bought some scary things to work on de-spooking some more. We'll try to do a lot of that this weekend. I also did a little more work on Eli's mane, pulling it to shorten it up a bit. His mane is like Chris, my thoroughbred's. We always used to joke that Chris was a thoroughbred with a pony mane, because it was so thick and liked to stick up all over the place. Eli's got the same thing going on - it'll take some braids to make it lay down. Funny thing is, I usually don't care about that kind of stuff. I like to let their mane just grow out, but since I'm trying to make Eli's rubbed out area look even with the rest, I'm having to go back to my dressage roots and do some mane pulling again. I promised Eli that if I adopt him, I'll never make him have his mane pulled again.

I guess that about brings us up to date. Tomorrow I'm going to head out to the Denton Greenbelt trails down the road from us. I used to condition endurance horses almost daily out there, and it'll be fun to be out there again. I've got a few pictures to post, but it will have to wait until naptime tomorrow when I have time to wait for them to upload on my parents' uber-slow computer.

Til then...happy trails!

Bye-bye Bragg

2008-08-19T09:20:00.003-05:00

Eli's training is coming right along. We hit some snags with steering last week, but things improved once I started riding with a bit in his mouth again. He has his own ideas about which way he wants to go at times, especially when there's another horse around that he'd like to hang out with, but at the walk and trot, I have good control. We've been working on the canter, and it's getting better. Eli's not breaking gait as much, picking up his leads pretty well, and doing some large circles. We did lose the "power steering" at one point last night - we were cantering around the arena, and Eli decided to drift toward another horse in the arena. When I disagreed with this plan, he decided to just leave the arena altogether, threw his shoulder in the direction of the gate, and made a break for it. Then it became a fun game to try every time we passed the gate! After a tirade of naughty words and strong corrections from me, he finally decided he could go around the arena like a civilized horse again. Such a little imp!

Sadly, last night was the last time I will have a chance to work in the arena at the Ft. Bragg stables. Tomorrow we hit the road for Texas...a little early, I know! We have orders to move to Ft. Irwin, CA soon, and I'm going to head out early in order to have a little time with the family in Tx and have the kids out of the way while the movers pack up our house here. My mom will fly here today to help me drive. We'll spend a couple of days with a friend near Asheville, then hit the road for Aubrey. I will miss having an arena right in my backyard. If anyone in the Aubrey, Tx area is reading this and has an arena I can use, please let me know!

Our time here at Bragg has been kinda rough - Jace's work schedule was CRAZY from day 1, leaving me lots of, er, "quality" alone time with the boys, and very little time for much else. But as usual, horses were my sanity. The friends I made at the Ft. Bragg stables were the best of both worlds, understanding my horse obsession in addition to the unique challenges of military life. And I would never have survived the last deployment without my friend, Diane - fellow endurance rider and riding buddy, caretaker and "poop fairy" for my horse when I couldn't make it to the barn, "Aunt Diane" to my boys, always reminding me to "Suck it up, cupcake!" when I got whiny, and most of all, a terrific friend who I will miss terribly out in the desert of Cali.

It may be a while before I post again, but I'll try to include some new pics when I do. Eli's learning so much, and I'm really starting to get excited about Ft. Worth!

Trail Horse in the Making

2008-08-11T13:37:00.003-05:00

Another week has ticked away, and Eli and I continue to make progress. I've been working on cantering a bit. Eli has a nice canter, very smooth, but convincing him not to break gait has been a little tough. We worked out on trail first, where there were some straightaways with good footing to help his motivation. After a few tries, he would pick up the canter with a light aid, and keep going until I asked for the trot. In the arena, his canter departs got pretty good, but Eli sometimes got his own ideas about steering, so it was back to a slower gait to get him listening again. Something to work on this week...

Last week was really hot and humid here, so one of my "daycare mornings" was spent on beautifying Eli a little. A shampoo bath, conditioner, and sheath cleaning, all of which were tolerated well. Afterward, I let him mow some tall grass in a ditch while he dried, and he cleared a 10 ft. area in no time! Eating is surely his favorite activity! The pasture that he gets turned out in is pretty bare, so I let him graze in a grassy field by the barn while I'm doing barn chores each day. It's the only time I can't get him to come to me when I whistle.

On Saturday, some of my friends from the barn wanted to have a last outing before I head to Tx, so we loaded up and hauled our horses to Raven Rock State Park for a trail ride. Eli made me proud once again, acting like an old pro, crossing water, logs and bridges with no hesitation. We did have one little incident - a couple of the girls got ahead of us and disappeared around a curve, and Eli decided that the quickest way to catch up would be to cut trail and go crashing through the brush. He turned quickly and hit the gas, straight towards trees and brambles, and ignored my protesting aids (and a few bad words), but a hard one rein stop got him back under my control and we were on our way again.

In our past outings on trail, I noticed Eli had been pretty tenderfooted on any rocks. His soles are pretty flat right now. I don't think he's been on any kind of hard, rocky ground in quite a while. So for our ride on Saturday, I put Easyboots on his front feet to help him out. At first he hesitated to move out on the rocks, but as soon as he realized it didn't hurt, he chugged right along. I also put my heart rate moniter on him to check out his working heart rates and recoveries. Of course, I found myself comparing him to Ranger, who because of his bulk, cools down and recovers slowly. Eli's heartrates were slower and his recoveries faster than Ranger at his fittest.

All in all, another good day on the trail with Eli. He really carried himself well when the trail got a bit technical, and cruised up and down hills with ease. He takes care of himself, eating and drinking at every opportunity. And he's got nice feet, they just need to toughen up a bit. All good things in my book. Makes me want to spend hours on trail with him, but we've got lots of other things to do before this 100 days is over!

Eli Easy

2008-08-04T13:48:00.001-05:00

He's a Champion!

2008-08-04T12:56:00.003-05:00

Eli's cheering section (minus photographer/paparazzi Mary)

Backing thru poles

S-curve

Mounted - back thru poles

Hangin' out between classes

Saturday was a big day for Eli. I'd been looking for an opportunity to trailer him somewhere where we could practice being with other horses in a show environment. When my friend, Mary, showed up at the barn mid-week with a flyer for a schooling show in Raeford, I was more than ready to load up and go! Saturday morning I put Eli in the trailer along w/ fellow boarder Abby's horse, Kira, and off we went for a day of fun in the oppressive NC sun and heat!

The show gave us lots of good practice for the competition in Ft. Worth. I entered a class where I showed Eli in hand thru obstacles - stand ground tied (gotta work on that one), go thru a maze of poles, over a bridge, over a log, back thru poles, pivot in a square box, go over a crossrail, trot thru bending poles. In another class we did a similar course under saddle, this time with a hill and a brush jump added to the mix. Finally a flat class to give him a chance to be in an arena with other horses. Eli was completely unfazed by all of these new experiences. We hadn't tried opening and closing a gate under saddle yet, so that was a little tough for him. We got the gate open, but had to dismount to close it. And ground tying is something I've only done when standing right next to him while grooming, so he was way confused when I tried to walk away! But overall, he did as well if not better than the less green horses out there, and won every class he entered. He even won champion in his level! Now, lest all of those blue ribbons go to his head, I reminded Eli that there were never more than four competitors in his class! Regardless of the ribbons, Eli made me super proud with his laid back attitude and willingness to try whatever I asked of him. He received lots of compliments throughout the day, and they were certainly well deserved!

I came away from the show with some ideas of what we still need to work on, but I think we're well on our way to a good showing in Ft. Worth. I've now got a little over six weeks left, and I'm starting to think about what division I want to enter Eli in. I'm not exactly sure what we will be asked to do in each division, and I'm not sure how long it's going to take to teach Eli some of the things I have in mind, but I'm very pleased with his progress so far, so we'll just keep pluggin' away until we run out of time!

Take One Giant Step Forward

2008-07-28T12:29:00.003-05:00

I'm glad to say that Eli seems to have recovered from his roundpen incident with no permanent damage. Saturday, the swelling had gone down and he was trotting sound again. I was eager to get on his back again, so we worked in the arena at the walk on improving his steering. He did pretty well, but was definitely opinionated when it came to going where he wanted to go! At times, it seemed he was doing the exact opposite of what I asked, just to try to get a rise out of me. I tried not to fall into that trap, but I was also unsure of what to do to get past that behavior. It's been so long since I've worked with a horse from scratch! I found a good place to end our lesson, vowing to return the next day with some new ideas.

Spent the boys' naptime on Sunday watching some old Parelli dvd's. I've done a lot of Parelli-type groundwork before, but never really learned much of the under saddle stuff, so I got a few new exercises that seemed like just the thing to help with Eli's unwillingness to go where I asked. Sunday night's ride was SOOOOOO much better! The Parelli exercises put the responsibility back on Eli to do the right thing instead of me micro-managing every step he took, and he really tuned into what I wanted. He threw one little temper tantrum where he literally stomped at the ground, but I just calmly kept asking him to go where I wanted, and he gave in. At the end of our ride, I was able to steer him with just my seat some of the time, and only had to give the lightest of rein aids. Pretty cool!

I'm starting to feel the time slipping away faster now. We've lost quite a few days to travel, injury, etc, so my plan is to really try to put in the hours under saddle in the next few weeks. I don't expect to make the finals, but I would like to be able to complete a basic course - show all three gaits, canter on the correct lead, work thru some basic obstacles - without much drama.

Lately, every time I talk to someone about Eli, they inevitably ask "So, are you going to keep him?" Before this competition, my answer would've been a clear "No." I did this competition because I wanted to give one mustang a good start and get him into a good home. I vowed that I wouldn't even consider keeping my Makeover mustang unless it was a phenomenal endurance prospect. Of course, now that I'm in the thick of it, it's a lot harder to imagine life without Eli. I'm finding that it's now hard to make the call as to whether or not he'd be a "good" endurance prospect. Ranger is my major basis for comparison, and he certainly doesn't look the part of an endurance horse, but what he lacks in looks, he makes up for in heart, and he continually surprises me with what he is able to do out on trail. Eli is put together better than Ranger, so he's automatically at an advantage in that department. But he is a completely different personality from Ranger. He seems to love being on trail, but does he have the same desire to carry me down the trail for 50 or 100 miles? Maybe my remaining weeks with him will give me a better insight into this.

The other factor at work here is, of course, money. I don't know how much people will be bidding for the horses at this year's Makeover. Last year, many went for $2000-3000 or more. If that's the case this year, how much can I realistically afford to bid? I would love to be able to be completely objective about all of this, but I'm afraid it's impossible. Anyone out there care to give their opinion?

Bumps in the Road

2008-07-25T06:42:00.004-05:00

I guess the politically correct description of this past week would be "interesting."

Things started out well enough. On Saturday, I trailered up to Pittsboro, where I had the privelege of meeting one of my fellow Makeover trainers, Jim Thomas. He kindly volunteered to do Eli's first trim, so we loaded up and made the one hour drive up to his place. One of the things I look forward to the most during this competition is meeting other trainers and mustang enthusiasts, and my morning at Jim's was a treat. I enjoyed meeting his herd, seeing his barn (I was taking notes - he had a great setup), and hearing what he had to say. Eli was a bit testy that day, so the trim was an exercise in patience, but Jim was up to the task. He trims his own horses, and if I hadn't been so foggy-headed from the weird sinus thing I had going on, I would've thought to pick his brain about barefoot trimming - maybe next time we get together.

After Saturday, my opportunities to work with Eli dwindled for a few days. I had issues arranging for daycare for the week, so my only free time was in the evenings after Jace got home from work. Thunderstorms popped up on Tuesday evening - another opportunity lost. By Wednesday evening, Eli was full of himself. I intended to ride, but as I did a few exercises with him on the ground in the roundpen, it was obvious he needed to move his feet a bit first. I let him loose to free lunge in a couple of circles, and when I swung my rope at him to send him off at one point, he turned into the roundpen panel, reared, and hooked his feet over the top in an attempt to jump over. One foot slid into the space between the panels and he was hung. I could only watch in horror and get out of the way to let whatever was going to happen, happen. Amazingly, he didn't panic once he realized that there was no way he was going to get himself loose, just stood there and waited while I unhooked the nearby panels from each other to free him. He ran around for a few minutes, then let me catch him to assess the damage - several abrasions, but he trotted out sound. I did a few easy ground exercises to get his attention and end on a good note, then doctored his wounds and turned him out for the night.

The next morning he had swelling and heat above his ankle and was grade 1 lame. Hydrotherapy, Bute and a sweat wrap were my chosen treatment, and of course, no riding. This morning I reassessed him - swelling is a little better, but he's still slightly off. I palpated the soft tissues and couldn't make him flinch except when touching the raw abrasions, so I'm hoping he's just a bit bruised and will be back to normal in a few days. In the meantime, I've been taking him on walks and showing him every scary thing I can think of.

Since I've had all this time to do groundwork, Eli's been very good at showing me the holes in his training so far. I tend to be too quick to tighten up on the lead when I don't get the response from him that I want, and I tend to forget to ask for things with the lightest aid before moving up to something stronger. The result in Eli - he tends to overreact to my corrections. I've noticed several examples of this in the last week, so I'm making a concerted effort to be softer and more creative with Eli as we work. This horse is incredibly clever, and although very eager to be with people, he REALLY takes it personally when you get your emotions up. Although it's been a rough week, Eli's teaching me some important lessons. I just hope that I can do right by him in return, and give him a good base of training to build upon.

On a lighter note, I decided that his newly trimmed hooves warrented a tidy mane to match. So I cut off all the longer, scraggly stuff, and now his mane is much more uniform in length. I still need to pull it to make it look really nice, but he already looks much more handsome. I am SO bad about getting pictures, so I have none to post of his new locks, or of his hoof trimming adventures, but I'll try to get some soon.

Moving Right Along

2008-07-17T13:00:00.005-05:00

Cruisin' down the trail

Drinking at the spring

What can I say about the last few days with Eli except - WOW!!!

We got out of quarantine on Tuesday evening, much to Eli's pleasure. That night I turned him out in the 40 acre pasture. It was first time I'd really seen him move out, and boy did he! We watched him disappear over the hill in a cloud of dust that followed him around the perimeter of the pasture and back again. After a good gallop, he made his introductions to the rest of the herd and promptly found himself at the bottom of the pecking order. I don't think he minded too much - he was just happy to be out.

Last night I worked him in the roundpen. Saddled him up, and got on his back. No drama, he figured it all out quickly. Went thru the same routine as I had when I rode him bareback, then added some trotting. Then it was out to the grassy field to explore a bit before getting off. Introduced him to the washrack - he wasn't a big fan, but tolerated it without much fuss.

Since he'd done nothing to worry me so far under saddle, today I took him out for a trail ride with my friend Diane on her endurance horse, Prism. I swear, you never would've known this was all new to Eli! He followed Prism for a while, then we let him lead, which he did fearlessly with ears forward, eager to see the sights. I let him trot a bit, and even cantered for a short stretch. What a smooth canter - a pleasure! We walked down to a little spring for a drink, and he dropped his head right down and slurped away.

Eli's training is far from finished, but he's picking up everything I teach him so quickly. I haven't been able to wipe the smile off my face all day. Can't wait to see what we get done over the next few days!

Put on Your Big Girl Panties

2008-07-14T12:15:00.002-05:00

Put on your big girl panties...I'd never heard this expression before I got to Ft. Bragg, but it seems to get a lot of usage amongst the army wives here. Basically it means to quit whining, suck it up and do what you gotta do. These past few days were a little frustrating. I knew coming into this competition that once I got back to Bragg, my time to work with Eli was going to be more limited and somewhat dependent on Jace's work schedule. I was hopeful that the frantic pace that Jace's unit has kept up for the last two years would settle now that this deployment was done. So when Jace worked super late Fri. night, killing my plans to do Eli's first ride, I was more than a little disappointed. Then Jace ended up working a good portion of Sat. as well, and I went into a full blown pity party. I reminded myself about those big girl panties...but after a couple years of wearing them, they're looking a little worn out! Must be time for a new pair!

Anyway, I did manage to get on Eli Saturday night, on our four week anniversary. Hard to believe he was completely untouched just a few weeks ago! You'd never know it now. I got on him bareback, and it was pretty much a non-event for him. My friend, Mary, led him forward for a bit until he got used to the new load he was carrying, then I took him around the pen at a walk. I asked him for some turns, did some stopping and starting, some backward steps, and a little yielding of his hindquarters. He did it all with no drama. Such a star!

I have yet to ride him under saddle. We're still in "quarantine" and not allowed to use the arenas until Wed., so I'll probably wait until then to do much more riding. I have plenty of other games we can play until then.

Ready to Ride

2008-07-10T14:40:00.002-05:00

Spent another morning working with Eli. Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the boys now go to daycare, giving me free time to do horsey stuff. Today was productive - Eli was in a good mood and seemed ready for anything. I saddled him again and sent him around the pen. This time he gave some good bucks, but settled down after a few minutes. Then it was on to the bridle. He took the bit just fine, chewed on it for a bit, but accepted it quickly. Did some long-lining - again, no problem. After all that, I put a foot in the stirrup, hopped around some, put weight in the stirrup, laid across him, everything but actually swinging a leg over. I don't have an extra person around most of the time when I'm working out at the barn. It's the only thing that's stopped me from riding him up til now, because I like having someone on the ground nearby for those first couple of rides. This weekend I ought to be able to round someone up to be my ground person. I'm more than ready to get on this horse's back!

Once again, I forgot to bring the camera along to document our training adventures. Hopefully I'll have photographic proof of our accomplishments soon.

It seems my mustang adventures are leading me to educate myself on the technological front as well. I've been working to make my blog prettier, add some photos and other cool stuff. I have zero skills in this area, so thus far my site is pretty basic. Check back often for any improvements!

Big Changes

2008-07-08T14:26:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been quite a while since I've been able to update my blog, and a LOT has happened. Most importantly, we are now back at Ft. Bragg! Eli learned to load, thanks to the patience of my mom, while we were visiting Jace's family in Bandera. He quickly figured out how to load in my trailer, and we were ready to haul him by the 5th.

Eli traveled like a champ on the 2 day trip from TX to NC. We made pretty good time and the trip was fairly uneventful. Once we got to Ft. Bragg, things got a little more exciting. New horses entering the Ft. Bragg stables have to spend 10 days in a quarantine pen before joining the rest of the barn. Eli was not thrilled about being all by himself, and to make things more stressful, a thunderstorm was moving in with lots of lightning. Luckily, he stayed put in his pen, and was much more calm by morning.

Quarantine has become sort of a sacred time for me. I've been through quarantine at three different posts with Ranger, and although it's a pain, it's been beneficial. Without other horses around and not much space to graze or run, I was his source of companionship and entertainment. He always emerged from quarantine with a closer bond to me. It seems that the same thing may be happening with Eli. He's mellowed a bit, and seems more eager to please than ever.

Training continues, and we've made some huge strides. I can pick up Eli's feet, and I've introduced some more "scary" things. Nothing really bothered him, so I decided it was time for the saddle. No surprise, Eli didn't blink an eye! I had him go around the pen at the walk, trot and canter with his saddle, and he never spooked or bucked! What a champ! I'm starting to wonder if the BLM made a mistake and gave me an already trained horse! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I have no evidence of our latest accomplishment, but I'll try to get some pictures and post them, along with a few others from the last week, in the next few days.

So It Begins...

2008-06-24T10:28:00.006-05:00

Week 1

Day 1 - Day 1 for me was not the day my horse was picked up at Paul's Valley. While my horse was being picked up on Fri. in OK, (Thanks Dad!) I was actually on a cruise ship, somewhere off the coast of Vancouver on my way back from Alaska. I really wanted to be the one to pick up my horse, but Jace and I were long overdue for a vacation.

As soon as our ship docked in Seattle, I was on the phone w/ my mom, craving any details about my new project. I learned he was a bay (duh), 3 years old, no white on him other than a little star on his forehead. She said he'd already sniffed her hand and let her scratch his face a bit.

Got home the next evening and went to the pen to make my introductions as soon as I got the boys to bed. Grabbed a few handfuls of green grass and the horse came right to the fence to say howdy. This guy is VERY curious and just couldn't stay away. I was able to scratch his face and neck with barely a flinch. Things are looking good.

Overall impression: This guy's gonna be nice! I found myself immediately making comparisons to Ranger, my first mustang. The new guy has a more athletic build, more refined, less drafty, a prettier head. He seems to be a lot more personable than Ranger. Ranger was always very aloof, very stoic, and still can be to this day. This new horse seeks out company much more readily, but also seems more insecure, more of a follower than the strong leader that Ranger has always been. His paperwork says he's from the Ely, Nevada area, and my parents started referring to him as Eli. I told Jace that he gets to name this one, but Eli has a nice ring to it, so it just may stick.

First Hello's

Neck Scratches

Day 2 - Into the pen - The Tx heat is out in full force, so I choose to do most of my training in the morning or evenings. Eli walks right up to me as I enter the pen, and lets me scratch his head and neck. He's a little shy about the front of his face and his poll, but will allow me to work my way toward those sensitive places if I move slowly. I move him around the pen a bit, have him do some turns, get him disengaging his hind end - no problem! He really wants to be close, a little too much at times, so like in the movie Dirty Dancing, I define "my dancing space." I take off the leather halter that the BLM folks sent him home in, and soon have my rope halter on him - again, no problem. I use my stick to scratch him all over and start a few leading lessons. Everything I ask for is met with willingness. I like this guy!

Eli's little dirt pen is boring him and he's pacing around, obviously stressed. My other horses are turned out in a grass pasture further away from the pen during the day, and poor Eli is worried. He makes a couple of attempts at climbing the panels and I am grateful for that 6 ft of height. I put a ball in his pen as a diversion and he has a great time pawing and biting it, sending it all around the pen.

Fun w/ a ball

Day 3 - Leading lessons continue and he's doing well. I decide he needs a day of beauty. He's had a great time rolling in the sand so I introduce the brush, and he's in heaven, lets me brush him all over. He welcomes the hose, letting me spray him down, all the while trying to drink from the nozzle. His mane makes me cry - it's long, long, long, with the exception of an 8 inch section in the middle that he has rubbed down to a short, frizzy mess. I'll probably get it to grow long enough to lay down by competition time, but I'll have to cut the rest of his long locks to even it out. For now, I comb out the dredlocks, using up a significant amount of Cowboy Magic to loosen the snarls. The tail is next - it's also rubbed out, but has potential. It's nice and thick at the top, and will be stunning in about six months. I trim the ends to just below the hocks to make it less scraggly looking and comb it all out. Not bad for a day's work!

Eli really seems to crave companionship from the other horses, and I feel like I can trust him in our small paddock, so I pair him up with Jazz, our most submissive horse and turn them loose together. Things go well, so I add in Chris, my old thoroughbred dressage horse, and Ranger. Introductions go well, until Eli gets a little too much into Ranger's space. Ranger gives him a warning, Eli doesn't heed it, so Ranger turns his butt and starts firing kicks, cornering Eli and nearly sending him over the fence. I call Ranger off and put him in "time out" in a stall. For now it looks like Jazz can be a good babysitter while Eli gets a little more freedom in the paddock.

Meeting Chris

Day 4 - I work on some new skills, asking Eli to yield to pressure on different parts of his body, moving him around the paddock, doing some beginning lunging lessons. He wants to be in my space a bit, and sending him out on a circle is a tough concept for him, but he starts to get it. Jace and I are planning on going to Bandera with the kids on Saturday to visit with his parents for a week, and hoping to take Eli along, so I introduce the trailer. He is curious, but not ready to step in. I push a little too hard, and he freaks out. I get frustrated, and it's time to call it a night.

Lunging lessons

Day 5 - My morning is spent at the vet with Ranger. He's colicked at the 30 mile mark at the last two races I've been to - minor colics where he just comes down with a bellyache, so I have him scoped to look for ulcers. No ulcers found, so the mystery continues...Anyway, when I get him home, he's still a little drunk, and I turn him loose in the paddock with Eli again. He only has the energy to get in a kick or two and let Eli learn to get out of his way, so they hang out together for the rest of the morning. When I let Ranger out of the paddock that afternoon, Eli is alone, and starts acting like he's going to go over the fence to join his new friends. I quickly put up some portable hotwire tape along the fenceline. One zap and Eli gets the message. Jace and I exchange high fives. In the evening, I try to coax Eli into the trailer again, but he checks out almost immediately, and I'm frustrated. Head to bed trying to come up with a new game plan.

Day 6 - Make another attempt at the trailer, but Eli wants nothing to do with it. I decide to drop the trailer topic for now, go back to some basics, teach some other lessons. I'll go to Bandera and let Mom play with him while I'm gone. I take Eli for a walk to graze on some green grass outside of the paddock and remind him I'm not all bad. I remind myself that he's a sensitive and very smart horse, and I'm going to have to be creative and very soft as I teach him if I want to be successful. I remember how much Ranger taught me about horsemanship. Looks like Eli has plenty to teach me as well. I can hardly wait to get back and continue this adventure!

I'm In!!!!!

2008-05-14T12:38:00.004-05:00

So the deadline for notifying trainers for the Mustang Makeover had come and gone, and I'd heard nothing. I emailed the organizers to confirm that I hadn't been selected...about a week went by...still nothing. So I had pretty much given up on being a trainer for this year's event. Imagine my surprise when I checked my email inbox yesterday and was greeted and email from the Mustang Heritage Foundation that started with this:

2008 Extreme Mustang Makeover

Hello Trainers!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I actually jumped up and down I was so excited! This is such a great opportunity, and I'm honored to have been selected.

Now the planning begins... Since I board at the stables on post, I don't have the facilities available here to work with a wild one. So I'll be doing the first part of my mustang's training at my parents' place in TX. Luckily, Jace has leave around the time we're supposed to pick up the horse, so we were planning on going that direction anyway. The plan is to work with the horse in TX until he's able to handle the boarding facility, then haul him to NC until Sept. when we'll drive back to TX for the competition. Sound complicated enough?

Bliss!!!

2008-04-22T11:34:00.005-05:00

Even though it's been over a week, it's still hard to believe I'm able to say...HE'S HOME!!!!

I got the call last Saturday morning that Jace's flight would be arriving at around 3:30 the next morning, which immediately had me scrambling to find someone to stay with the boys so I wouldn't have to drag them out of bed in the middle of the night. After a few phone calls, I finally gave up and decided to risk taking them along. Fortunately, they behaved like champs, and actually really enjoyed waiting at Green Ramp, watching the plane land and the soldiers march in. It didn't take them long to warm back up to Daddy - a few tickles and some rough-housing, and Daddy was the new favorite.

I didn't get as many pictures as I'd hoped. A 3:30 a.m. arrival and the accompanying darkness didn't lend itself well to good photo-taking, but here are a few of my favorite shots.

Playing on the benches at Green Ramp

Joe w/ Daddy

Finally home - Jace & Kaden

Out of Afghanistan

2008-04-07T13:27:00.002-05:00

After several false starts and changes in plans, Jace should be in the air and on his way out of Afghanistan as I type. He'll be spending an unknown amount of time in another 'stan country (one I never knew existed before this deployment) before the final flight home. His arrival date has changed numerous times, but I think it's safe to say he'll be home within a week, at which point I will finally be able to let out the breath that I've been holding for the past 15 months. Whew!

I'm spending time this week trying to wrap up my application for the Extreme Mustang Makeover. Since I'm doing the initial gentling in Tx, my Mom is having to help me out with pictures of the facility. We've ordered 6 ft. panels, but it's doubtful whether they'll arrive in time for the Apr. 15 deadline, so Mom set up our 5 ft panels in the configuration that I'll use if selected, and forwarded the pics to me. Hopefully that will be enough to convince the Mustang Heritage Foundation folks that our facilities are safe and appropriate.

I'm already getting nervous about this contest. Ranger has made me a permanent fan of the American mustang, and their cause is something I've come to care deeply about. Last year's competition gave these horses such great exposure, really shedding light on their value in a variety of disciplines. I'd love to be a part of that in this year's event. And the time is FINALLY right again in my life to take on another "wild one," something I've been wanting to do for the last few years. For now I'll concentrate on getting that application finished! Hopefully that'll help make these last husband-less days go by a bit faster!

Weekend Getaway

2008-03-31T11:39:00.002-05:00

The last days of a deployment always seem to drag worse than any other time. I don't know how many times I've looked at the calendar lately, willing the days between now and Jace's homecoming to hurry by. I've found that the best way to make that time pass is to stay busy and get out of the house, but with two toddlers, sometimes that's easier said than done!

My original plan for this weekend was to go do the Leatherwood endurance ride. Unfortunately, I couldn't get enough conditioning in to where I felt comfortable taking Ranger up and down 50 miles of mountains, so I decided that I'd put off yet another endurance ride. Since Mom was already planning to come watch the boys, I decided not to totally waste an opportunity to ride, so my friend, Diane, and I went to Uwharrie National Forest to camp out overnight and ride some different trails.

I'd never been to Uwharrie before, but what a lovely place! Tons of nice trails with lots of hills and technical stuff to get a good workout - such a change from our flat and sandy backyard here at Bragg. The campground was great, Ranger was on a picket line for the first time ever, but he couldn've cared less. Tried out some new ankle boots for his interference issues, and they worked great. We had gorgeous weather to ride in on Fri., then managed to get about as far from camp as possible when the sky opened up and poured on us on Sat. I consider myself to be more than just a fair weather rider, but I HATE being wet AND cold for an extended period of time. Oh well, we still had a fabulous time, and are already planning to go back, next time bringing the husbands, kids and dogs.

The Start

2008-03-24T19:22:00.005-05:00

I've played around for months with reading other people's blogs, but I've decided it's time to jump in and start blogging.

The main reason I started this blog is that I'm hoping to become a trainer for this year's Extreme Mustang Makeover and use it as a place where people can follow my adventures with my mustang project. I attended the event in Ft. Worth last year and it literally gave me chills at what these trainers were able to do with their mustangs. I'd love to be a part of that this year. If I'm not selected, then this site will likely become a place to follow other important stuff in my life, like my kids and horse.

Which brings me to the cast of characters...

Me: Karen, current owner of one mustang, endurance rider, mom of 2 year old twin boys, army wife and RN staying at home with the boys while husband is in Afghanistan

Jace: Supportive husband, best Daddy ever, self-proclaimed "cowboy", due home from Afghanistan in April

Joe & Kaden: two year old twins who keep Mommy very busy, but sure can make her smile

Ranger: endurance mustang, tough son of a gun, not the fastest horse out there, but he gets the job done

I guess that'll do for a start. Let the fun begin!