Another Milestone :)

I had been feeling a little down. Everyone else is already haltering there horse and leading them around. Some are even riding. I havent even got to touch mine. I had two friends help me out a little bit. I just needed some outside opinions.

First to try him out was Jim Low. Jim and I did the Norco Trail Challenge together last year. We both worked for Jill Starr at Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue where we taught a few clinics together. I value his opinion A LOT!

When Jim started he had the same issues I did. Cut Across was disconnected and did not want anything to do with him. Jim became interesting :) Cut Across also picked up a new habit. He would turn his butt toward me to avoid looking at me. Jim fixed that! Everytime Cut Across would turn his butt to Jim he would hit him with the stick (telling him that butts are a no no. haha). Eventually Jim was able to get close enough to touch him and convince the horse to smell him.

I had the answers, I just did not trust my judgement. I needed some one else to tell me that what I was doing was the right answer. Then I asked Shaula to see what she thought about him. Again, a lot of what I had already knew Shaula found out. She did have some other interesting things to say about him.

I was not actually there when she played with him, but we talked about it later. She aid he is smart. He is trainable. He is going to be hard now, but once he trusts me it will get easier. When the light bulb goes on we will be in buisness. He was unintersted in her. She had to chase him around. Something new she discovered is that he is ticklish. Really? He is ticklish. haha. He is also going to be the type where I will be able to gentle the back end of him before the frobnt end. Oh my. I have my work cut out for me.

Then today I went out there with my lunge wip and my carrot stick. I was prepped to be out there for an hour, running around the pen. NOPE!! I had to push him around a few times and the I was rubbing his butt with the lunge wip.

I walked away and let him think about it. He licked and chewed right away. I rubbeed him a few more times. Then I moved up to his back. Again, instant lick adnd chew. I eventually moved up to his shoulder. I then laid the rope over his back and it hung over the other side. :) After that I did everything with the carrot stick. Its a little smaller so I was a little closer. The same results, licking and chewing.

Right after I took this picture he turned his head and looked at the stick. He sniffed it and the licked and chewed! WHAT? He was actually interested in something. That is when I left him alone. He was done for the day.

It was great to have two amazing friends help reassure me. I need a little encouragement every now and again.

On a side note: My horse from last year, Kiss That Spot, wore a fly mask for the first time :)

I had a great day with my horses :)

Beth

Random Ramble about My Dad & Chester

I went to visit and old family friends this past weekend and had a GREAT time. I loved hearing stories about my dad. Dad wasn't always perfect. He struggled to be happy in his life, but he would give someone the shirt off his back. He was a bad ass with a heart of gold, but sometime that is not enough. I have learned, very recently, that it's okay to be upset with him. Its okay to be upset with someone and still love them. I know at times he tried his best to be the best and sometimes he sucked at being a dad, but he never stopped loving any of us. I also realize sometime loving us wasn't enough to get him to clean up his act, but the last year of his life was the happiest I had ever seen him. He had a steady job, he wasn't drinking as much, had real friends, he was acting like a dad and he was HAPPY!

May 3rd, 1984 - My Parents Wedding.

My dad LOVED Chester. They were like two peas in a weird pod. Haha. They would poke at each other and just be boys. They just made a connection. I could look at them and see the love in there eyes. They seemed to understand what the other one was thinking.

After my dad died there were some tough times, there still are. I know that my dad had all these plans for him to be a mounted shooting horse, on the mounted posse and put putting down the trail. For now he is just going to be my little baby. I am spending a lot of time with him, tons of kisses.

He has been in and out of training since he was three. He spent 90 days bucking and after 6 months he finally launched my trainer. We had long talks about what I wanted to do with him, how safe he would be for me, what my expectations were. I never gave up hope that we would be the best at whatever I decided to do with him. Go Big or Go Home. Right?

Our first Wild Horse Show was October 2007. We got second place in halter and fifth in trail. I messed up the pattern. We did get extra points for him walking on the bridge while I walked beside it. I got complimented on my beautiful mare. I would just laugh and let them know he was a gelding.

I was also offered $5,000 for him, I politely refused. He is priceless to me.

Last year I took him to the Wild Horse and Burro Show in Reno, Nevada. We were entered in 3 classes. We didn't place in the halter class or in the trail course, but we got fifth place in the gamblers choice. We had two minutes to run around and go over as many obstacles as possible, each obstacle being worth a certain amount of points. But we went and we had an amazing time. We even entered the cotume class, he was Captain Chester and I was his first mate. It was so hilarious.

and then there was today. I just pulled him out to play around. I ended up refreshing some of his ground work. I played around and laid him down and crawled under him. We played with the barrels and he drank some of my Mountain Dew. And then at the end I decided to get on him bareback!

As I rode him around I remebered all the good times I spent with my dad. All the horsie adventures we had together, not only with chester, but back in the day. I remembered why I love him so much. I remembered why I got him 7 years ago. I remember the importance of an amazing friendship and why the connection is so important.

Chester was my first mustang. Chester is the reason I love the mustangs. He helped me meet people and build friendships. He has been my partner in crime for seven years. Its easy for me to say I wouldnt know as much about horses if it wasnt for him. He challenges me everyday. I am a better person for knowing him. When we are together there is no Judgement. I know him and he knows me.

Texas Here We Come!

I am so excited to have Cut Across home. He is more beautiful that I thought. His picture did not do him justice. I am so ready to get in the pen and put my arms around him and just start loving the crap out of him. Oh wait……He is wild. Haha. That’s just one minor detail in the bigger picture.  

I have spent a few days getting to know him. He seems to be a react first and think later type of guy, which tells me that he is a little more on the extroverted side.  He is not over the top reactive, but he is definitely reactive. After spending a few more hours with him I have determined he is left brained. Now anyone who is familiar with the Parelli Horsenality chart would have just learned a lot about my horse by the little bit of information I have given. I have a left brain extrovert.

This is my first experience with this type of “horsenality”. I have a few left brain introverts and a right brain extrovert, I know opposite ends of the spectrum. So I am learning a few things about him. There is NO way I will be able to bribe him to like me. He is not food motivated and he is not curious enough to even consider smelling me when I am sitting on the ground in his pen. I needed to do something to make myself more interesting, I finally had to make him interested in me.

On Day two, May 15^th, I spent an hour chasing him around the round pen. Every time he would take his eyes off me I would be crazy and jump around. The minute he would look at me I would get quiet and just stand there and let him think about it. It seemed to be the right answer. He was looking at me, he was totally engaged. Even when I would get out of the pen to let him rest he wouldn’t take his eyes off me. When he was finally making an effort to take steps toward me I was done for the day.

Day three was AMAZING! He started of not being interested, after I reminded him that I was interesting we were back in business. I worked for about half an hour and he took a step towards me and SNIFFED me. I was on cloud nine. We were rocking and rolling!! Texas here we come!!

I am so excited to be on this journey with my little appy. I know it’s going to be a LONG journey, but worth it.

Beth