Stang in an itchy dress :)

So really quickly I wanted to catch everyone up. So sorry I haven't blogged. Busy, busy.
Both stangs are doing great. Yesterday Veronica Plant came in to start working with Sable. Veronica, to me is a hidden treasure, she has alot of talent and all the way back at the auction I asked her that IF I got two mustangs and decided that it was to much then would she finish one and show it for me. She quickly said yes since it is something that she has always wanted to do. Last week was the time that the entries were due so I called her and let her know that I had decided that I would rather have one really nice horse rather then two mediocre ones. I had decided that the only way to make them both great is if I handed one off to another trainer. Long story short she is super excited and so am I. It is tough to find someone that is good at training and isn't scared to work a mustang in this time limit. And her job in my opinion is tougher then mine, because she will be competing in the specialty classes. There are six...Dressage, Hunter Hack (Jumping), Trail, Cow Work, Pattern and Freestyle. That is pretty intense and I can't wait to watch. Today she was able to get her out and play with her a bit. I spent a little time talking to Veronica about Sables little quirks (that is individual to all mustangs) then let her mess with her in her own way as I sat on the side and watched. It was so need to see Sable find her way with another person. After working her in some ground work Veronica was ready to ride. So we saddled her up and they road around for a bit. I was trilled to see Sable do so well.
I on the other hand will be doing the Legends class. Not as many classes but extremely difficult in skill level. I will be competing against many of the top trainers in the country. Including a hand full of Road to the Horse competitors. If you would like to google some of the names of some great showman to get an idea you can look up Bobby Kerr, Mary Kitzmiller, or Mary Miller Jordan. They will show you the level I will be playing at. Needless to say I will be more then happy to compete, and ecstatic to make the Top 20.  Sunday has surprised me everyday, but it has been a HUGE challenge to find a bridle that will work for her. She hates the snaffle with a passion, and can't seem to find where her tongue needs to go. So I sent her out to pasture last week for 24 hours with the snaffle on. It was my last ditch effort to getting her to where the dumb thing. It helped a ton. But she still pulls at it like a little girl in an itchy dress. If she could verbally whine, I am convinced she would. So the other day I changed her to a thick rubber snaffle and she did way better. So today I rode her in that and she was okay although I noticed that her head and neck where really stiff to the right. So I put her in her bosal she did better one way but still the same to the right. So I decided to try the halter only. Same response. So she is obviously hurting. After an inspection I noticed that her TMJ muscle in her jaw was swollen. So off to the vet we went.
We took both mustangs and they both had soreness in the TMJ and their teeth were way unlevel. They also had pretty bad ear mites. So we took care of all of it. I am now waiting for Sunday to not be sore so I can start really getting to work.

So after today I seem to like riding Sunday in a rope halter over any of my other training aids. It is a toss up to see what I stick with. Even though Sunday was hurting today she did something that gave me hope and taught me a small lesson. As I was riding her I went to stop her in the halter and she tucked her hind end and stopped really nice. I thought it was good and totally normal for her. Veronica was sitting over to the side and commented that she wasn't stopping from the halter. I was confused. I said "What do you mean?" She said "She is stopping from your lead rope." I was still confused. After a short discussion I realized that I wasn't even controlling her with my halter. She was working purely off the rope around her neck. I had tied the halter a little long and the rope would hit her before the halter would. This gave me great hope because one of my goal is to ride her bridle less with a neck rope. I think I never really expected my training to get to that point but it was a goal. Since today, I feel like that goal might be attainable. I think that it is funny how God knows your goals on the inside and he seems to make the "accidents" happen that push you into your goals. I also find it interesting that many of us have the potential to do unbelievable things but we short change ourselves because we don't believe in ourselves and trust that God can do great things though us. Recently I have learned a ton about confidence in yourself and what type of people feed your self confidence. If Veronica had not been there today watching me closely I would have never realized that Sunday was showing great potential to accomplish one of my goals. Sometimes it takes an outsider looking in to tell you that you have a chance. There are so many people in this world that with the right people and the right words behind them they can accomplish great task. So I decided today that I would start paying attention to others more closely and learn to cheer them on if I see them doing better then they expect. And I challenge others to look at people around them  and be a cheerleader for them. Some people just need that one influential person to say a kind word of encouragement to give them the boost they need. Be that person for someone else. We are in a world with a lot of hopelessness and encouraging words are the best way to change that. Show people that they CAN be who God wants them to be.

Crazy time!

So I wanted to give everyone a quick update on the last few weeks. It has been pretty tough, but my head is up. After the last time I posted I took a four day trip with Gracie my 5 year old to a barrel clinic at the Josey Ranch. I had the opportunity to take a mustang with me but I opted not to so I could focus on Grace and Macaroni. Little did I know I could have used the days for the saddle time. So I came back recovered for a day and then rode them that Saturday. Both girls did awesome and I taught both of them to side pass. I was ready to start riding them everyday and things had slowed down. The next day (2 Mondays ago) I was out riding a clients colt he was very fresh and bucked under saddle as I lunged him in warm up. This wasn't out of the ordinary for this colt so I figured he would be fine if I moved on and jumped on. After all he had been ridden 12+ times and has been solid. As I started moving him around he started skipping. I made a joke that he was gonna try to buck but I never thought he was agile enough to really do any damage. All it took was one moment for him to decide he didn't want to do what I ask and he sucked his head to the ground and pulled away from me into a buck. My first thought was to stick with him, he had not really bucked hard even in the beginning so I figured he didn't have a hard buck in him. Boy was I wrong. He bucked harder then I have ever ridden before. I rode him about six jumps and every jump I thought I was off, then I would land back in the saddle still with him. So I kept riding. Finally the physics of it all caught up with me. The horse was going down faster then I was and then would meet me on the way up. It took about two of those jumps and I was off. My instinct was still trying to get his head around, so the pull of the reins flipped me upside down and straight on the back of my neck. Let me tell you it HURT. I laid there trying to feel if everything was working. Thankfully it was. Unfortunately, everyone that was standing around not five minutes before had left to go unsaddle other horses and get a drink. Which left me on the ground for 10 minutes before my sister came and found me. All I knew was I didn't want to sit up or move until I was sure I didn't break my neck. There was a lot of panic as everyone ran around trying to find out what happened. Finally with assistance of my family I sat up and started moving. Obviously I didn't ride my mustangs that day.  After three days I decided that my body wasn't healing like it should so I went to the doctor and they let me know that I had a moderate concussion and that I should be off for at least another week. I have been off for two weeks. I was not planning on that much time off. Thankfully I had a friend come in and ride Sunday (the dun) for a day in the middle. I was so happy to see she did really well.
After all the stress of missing work and getting way behind on the mustangs. I called in a friend to see if she wanted to ride and show Sable (the black mare). I am a little bummed because Sable has really started to shine up and look good. It has really taken a load off that she will be leaving and going to my friend. I would rather separate them and give them both a chance then me to finish both and not have the time to make them great. So since that decision I am super excited to finish Sunday.

Yesterday I went out and rode for the first time since my incident. Being that I don't have one "broke" horse on the place I pulled out Sable. I had a lesson and I needed a steed to help me out. I rode her around in the round pen first to test her and then I took her into the arena. She walked around as three other horses warmed up around her. I wasn't expecting her to do anything great. Just being there was a huge step forward. There was only once that one of the girls loped passed her and she jumped. As the girls were finishing up their warm up I watched and suddenly I lost my horse. She apparently thought that the sand was way to good to pass up and laid down right underneath me. We all laughed. I chose to take advantage of the moment and sat on her and rubbed all over her. After a minute or two I gave her the "up" cue and she hoped up. The rest of the lesson she stood quietly and watched. I was really proud.

Today I rode Sunday and tried her out in our new bosal. She seems to like it much better then the bridle. From here on out I will be doing a little of both to get the effects that I want. I have to kick it in to high gear to get her ready to do all the things that we need done. I have really gotten excited about working with Sunday. She is really a neat horse.

On a personal note, this has been one of the most mentally and spiritually challenging few weeks. I have listened to many podcast on positive sports mentality trying to keep my head straight. It is funny how a small issue can send you in a thought process that can defeat you before you get started. At this point I know that I finish Sunday and she can be a nice horse. My issue is making her spectacular in the limited time that I have. There are so many aspects of the competition that I am not prepared for. In the end I know that God has a plan. Now I just need to work really hard and let Him do the rest.  Stay in tune.

Fun day!

So today was quick but fun. I pulled Sunday out and went to go tie her to the trailer to saddle her. My 4-wheeler was parked very close to her and as she passed she stuck out her nose to investigate it. I allowed her time to look.  I decided that I would climb on and start it and see what she did. She didn't move a muscle. As it was roaring she steadily touched all of it with her nose. It was almost like she had been waiting on this chance for awhile. I noticed that both mustangs weren't afraid of the 4-wheeler  she seemed really interested in what it was. So as I sat there a minute I figured clicking it into gear and leading her off it wouldn't hurt. She even walked behind it where the exhaust blew at her and she just gave it a funny look. She led beside it like a champ as I picked up speed she trotted right along. I then took her out to the pasture and up the drive to my house and told Dan to video. She trotted all over. I was so happy to see that she was that interested. I took her back to the trailer and saddled her up. Today I worked on her mounting and bridling skills both need help. I accidentally kicked her in the butt mounting her  a few weeks ago and it has slowly turned into an issue. It went from a small spook to a jump and run scenario the last few rides. She did way better after working with me today. The other big step for her today was I figured out a way to rig her bit so she won't get her tounge over the bridle. After the initial introduction to how the bit felt. I got on and began working on her face. She quickly figured out how to lower her head and travel around the pen she turned very well and stopped like a pro. I guess all I have taught her in the halter just translated right over to the bridle. Happy to see us finally moving into what I know. It is a challenge to constantly be on guard and reading them by each minute. Sometimes I wish they were just normal, but then I realize how much I learn because they aren't normal. 

 

God doesn't care about our "eventuallys" He cares about our "today's"

So over the last few days it has been frustrating for me...If you followed me last year then you know I tell the good, bad, and ugly. I told you at the end of my last post that I wanted to take some big steps over the next few days. Well mustangs don't really work on our schedule. Both girls have been really reactive and "mustangy" ever since last weekend and I have had a tough time pulling them back around. Sunday took a great step a few days ago, I got on her again with the halter and she is very light. We are still waiting on the bosal to come in due to the fact that the first one came in and was defective. The last few days I have been fond of Sunday. I seem to have had more luck with her. So in the process of trying to progress her I took her out of the pen with Sable and put her in the barn in Spade's (last years mustang) stall. Spade then has to eat in the ally of the barn since I am full in every pen. It was a great move because it made Sunday start focusing on me instead of everything else. It cause Spade to eat in the ally of the barn where there is more movement around him. It was good for me because I am terrified to walk behind Spade because he kicks so bad. Since this change has happened Spade settled down and will actually let me walk around and behind him as I feed other horses. This has built my confidence in him tremendously. He has really softened over the last few months. After returning last year he kinda did his own thing and I rode him only once after coming back from the challenge. It has taken him a while to come around but he is finally there. I hope to start him on barrels after the Mustang Million.

I am happy with where Sunday is but it has been tough to figure out a plan with out the use of a bridle. On the flip side of things the move wasn't all that great for Sable. She didn't like being by herself at all. She would pace the fence the majority of the day and lost weight quickly over the few days she was in that pen alone. I didn't realize how bad she was until I tried to catch her a few days ago. She ran around like crazy. I was trying to catch her to get her feet done for the first time. As I was moving her around the pen she seemed to not only be avoiding me,  she genuinely seemed fearful. I was at least 60 feet away from her at all times. By the time I realized she was afraid enough to do something outstanding, she had lock her eyes on the 6 ft fence at the pasture side of the pen. She very strategically loped to the fence and jumped. Her feet caught the top foot of the fence and the whole section of panel came crashing down. She landed on her feet on the other side and continued to run out to the 40 acer grazing pasture. I looked at my farrier and calmly told him that she wouldn't be done that day. :) Since she pulled that stunt I knew something had to be done to get her back on track so yesterday I spent and hour with her doing ground work and bathing and grooming her. She seemed to come back to earth after yesterday. This morning I was sitting at the barn in the car and I pulled out my devotional app on my phone. It always seems to have the quick word that I need. This morning it was talking about how we only get what we expect from the Lord. Believe more, you receive more. It was really good I am bummed I don't know how to copy it on here. But as I read it I realized that I had no faith in God for these horses. I guess I assume that God isn't worried about my progress or deadlines. Danial and I were talking the other day about how sometimes people with talent, no matter what it is, have a tendency to rely on that talent instead of allowing God to take control. I asked myself if I can do what I do in my own power how much more can God do. God interrupted me. I felt Him say "Kelli I can only do what you expect me to do. How much do you expect?" Right then I decided that I was going to pull out my very skittish mustang and saddle her at the trailer like a big girl. I expected her to stand and be saddled quietly. It was a little slower then my normal speed, but she did it. So I then thought, I want to teach my lesson off her this morning. This would require me to be in the arena. So I took her to the round pen and moved her around (with a long line...we will not be jumping anymore fences!!) She seemed good so I hoped on. I rode her around at a walk and trot. She was perfect. The circumstances with my student weren't safe to ride her during the lesson so I tied her and saddled another horse. She stood at the trailer until my lesson was over and I put her away. So tonight I felt that she needed a better ride then we had this morning. I went to the barn to do the work for tonight. I grabbed her first. A friend was riding with me tonight so I took the chance to work Sable in the round pen. I hoped on her almost completely cold and tuned up her feel. I made sure she wasn't going to run off with me. Then I was determined to take the step I have been dreading. Riding her in the arena. There I feel like there is no safety if she wanted to buck or run. It is also intimidating to colts. It can be very scary. My friend was on her seasoned horse so I felt safer. Sable surprised me. She turned very curious...she rushed to meet the other horse and she happily followed him around. The things that usually spook most colts, she would approach to investigate. She seemed like she loved the "purpose" of being in the pen. I started showing her some of the movements that we struggled with the last few weeks and she started getting it. She was moving like she had been ridden 10 more times then she has. I realized that I wasn't expecting enough. I was limiting myself, my mustang, and my God. So my challenge to you today is think about the areas in your life that you are limiting God by your lack of faith that things can truly be different. The bible says, Faith of a mustard seed can make mountains move...how many times have you heard that and said "Mountains don't really move?" I know I have. And it is true in the natural. But God can make things that you can't see or things that don't seem possible, very possible. My mountain, today, was very small on the grand scene of things. I limited Him because I assumed God didn't really care. I knew I could get there in my own power, eventually. But God doesn't care about our "eventuallys" He cares about our "today's". He wants you to believe Him for the "right nows". A person can eventually receive healing or they can be healed right now. Your marrige can eventually be restored or it can be restored today. You can eventually become sucsessful or it could be today. Joseph is one of my favorite people of the bible for multiple reasons but one of those reasons is that he proved that God is in the "suddenly business". In 24 hours he went from the prison to the palace. He became second in command in Egypt, and it wasn't even his own country!  I believe that Joseph relied on the Lord and in His promises. He knew from when he was a boy that he would be special and that was his expectation. So it made it easy for God to do amazing things in his life. It is all on what you believe and have faith for. Have faith that God can change your world, big mountain or small.

Quick Update!

Gosh I keep forgetting to blog!! I have been pretty lazy with the mustangs the last few days. I let them out to graze trying to get them show ready. I only have time for a certain amount of riding due to the heat. Both of them are about the same. I have started to feel like I am not moving on them at all. Then Danial reminded me to look back at where they were four weeks ago and I will see how far they have come.  I feel behind because I am not in the arena on them yet but in reality I am riding in my big round pen mainly because it is shaded in the mornings and the arena is not. The round pen is a good 10-15 degrees cooler then the arena. I figure I teach as much in there as I can and then the arena will be even easier. LOL really I don't like the heat. Either way they are both riding pretty great so I stepped back and started doing some ground things with them to start getting them ready for things that they need to be prepared for. So day before yesterday I pulled them out and got them both walking over the tarp. Sunday has been really a confidant little horse. Everything you ask her to do she is over dramatic about how she doesn't want to but them does it with no issue at all. She is really funny. She is always second guessing if she can accomplish a task, then always surprises me on how well she masters things. Sable is the opposite. She seems like all is fine, then looses her confidence, but then turns around and does it pretty well. Thing about Sable is when she gets scared (which is rare) she will explode. That make me nervous.
Today I called the MHF (Mustang Heritage Foundation) to find out how the classes are separated. Once I heard how cool this year will be I decided to take some stress off and do one mare in the specialty classes and the other in the Legends class. The goal is to just have fun. Now to figure out which horse goes where and which classes to enter. I feel way more less stress because of this decision.  My current feeling is that Sunday is my Legends horse and Sable is my specialty horse. But that could change. Today I taught Sunday to pick me up off the fence. Although I was teaching her in the stall and  I felt it was to small to jump on and ride. I am excited in what I am seeing. We are still having issues with the bit. I was so excited to see my package that came in today that had my bosal in it. I pulled it out and inspected it ready to rig it, shape it, and use it tomorrow. As I started trying to shape it I realized that it was literally longer on one side then the other. It was crooked. I thought to myself "This isn't going to work." So I called the company repacked it and got it ready to send back. So needless to say I was bummed.
As far as Sable she has been having a small "mustang moment" where they are scared of everything. I am going to work with her in the morning if weather permits to see how she is. I plan on riding them a lot in the next week. I have got to make some big steps soon so I can get them going. I fell half way there on five different paths. I will keep everyone informed. Night all.

Rewind to go forward.

Well I am in no mans land again. Every new mustang I feel like there is a huge learning curve. They never just train like a domestic horse. They are way better at somethings and way slower on others. I have done a lot but I was only able to ride them every other day this week due to my wacky schedule. At the beginning of the week I pulled up the Mustang Million trainer group on Facebook, which I try not to do because it discourages me. It make the process way more competitive then it should be. You see people roping cow, jumping obstacles and all kinds of other amazing things. It makes you want to hurry or give up one of the two. When in reality it is a snap shot of how the horse is kinda doing. It is very distracting. So that being said I opened a video of a trainer that has been a good friend to me. She is the one that won Reserve Champion last year and is unbelievably talented. In her video she started loping her horse (this years mustang) around bridle less and as she finished her perfect circle (Yes, a circle bridle less!) the horse came to a sliding stop. I was like "really" ???? Then it showed her at liberty (no tack on her horse) in the arena and the girl would run on foot as fast as she could and call her mustang by name and the horse would run to her no matter where she was. I reminded myself that was what I was competing against. After a small pity party I realized how she might have trained the horse to come to her on foot. Knowing that she rarely uses cookies or treats I kinda thought it through. So the next day I ran out of time to ride another horse, so I pulled out Sunday and released her in the arena. She ran around a few minutes and I started working with my theory. Within minutes Sunday faced me and ran directly to me. That lead to me running backwards and forwards around the pen and she was right on me the whole time. No halters needed. I had achieved what I wanted. I was encouraged by that day that I am competing against some brilliant and inventive trainers but with the right motivation to go outside my box I can do things like that too. Since then I try not to short change myself.
The next day I pulled out Sable to ride her. She had a moment of defiance while saddling. It wasn't the breast collar this time. It was tightening the saddle. She figured out that I use to hands to pull my latigo and when I would pull she would run forward. I corrected her and haven't had an issue since. Riding Sable has done amazing. She is so "normal" that I never feel like she is interesting. But I am really learning to trust her. I have ridden in the big round pen on everyone recently but that is mainly because it is shaded in the morning. I hope to get her in the arena this week. She is very soft. She is moving shoulders and hips fairly well and has a HUGE stop. I am really excited about her.
Sunday is different. I have had a very hard time progressing on her. She is fine on the ground but very unstable in the saddle. I feel like if I breathe wrong she will bust open and start to buck. I say that but she bumped the fence with her hip yesterday and all she did was jump. To make it even tougher she is having a lot of trouble in the bit. She can't seem to find were her tongue goes and all my tricks to fix it haven't really worked. She fusses with it the whole time I am riding her. So yesterday after not getting anything done for about 10 minutes I got frustrated and pulled the bridle off and put my halter back on. I tied the lead back to the halter and got on. I started to ride her around and realized she knew how to turn, move her shoulders and hips and stop with the halter alone. She was very soft and manageable. She is still a little worried about my movements in the saddle. I will be really glad when she gets over that. I came in and started looking at what it might take to ride her in a bosal instead of a bridle. After checking on what I needed I ordered one today and can't wait til it gets here. I will continue in the halter until then.
So once again the mustangs have forced me to broaden my skills and learn something I have never learned before. Sable is working on my seat and my stops and Sunday is going to teach me how to correctly use a bosal and bitless bridles. As I look back though my life I can remember lessons that my horses have taught me through out the years. Wildfire was my first horse. He taught me what a good horse feels like, because of him I have never owned a bad horse. He was patient while I learned horses and barrels. He taught me to quench my fear.  Katie was my next horse.  I rode her for almost a year and she ducked off the second barrel every time, every weekend. After attending Josey's summer school I learned to hold my balance and ride her correctly. She taught me that it is never the horses fault, and you can always ride better. Perfectionism was born in my life. She taught me persistance, perfect practice, and to never give up. The years to come were epic. I won more then I could imagine and this was before the 4D was invented. Katie taught me what it was to win. Then came my love, Star, I bought her when she was 2 years old. I think I was 10 years old. She was started but I had to train her and finish her. She was my first horse to train. It took me three years to get her finished to the point that we were running. She got to the 1D and we never looked back. She is still in my pasture today, retired of coarse. Between Katie and Star I ran youth rodeo until my freshman year in high school. I won a lot of titles and money those years. They taught me how to maintain horses that were athletes. That freshman year I was forced to start riding another horse due to Star's health. It was a professional horse that belonged to a friend, Sage. We matched perfect from day one. I rarely lost a rodeo or barrel race for a year and a half, always in the top placing. I bought him after the first twelve months. Sophomore year, He had an injury to his hip. I went from never losing to struggling to place. Sage taught me that a champion is a way of life not a title that you win. He taught me that you don't need a title to prove who you are. He got better and earned me a scholarship, but never ran the same. While I was running Sage I was training a young mare, Diamond. She was a very large horse and extremely spooky. She was the poster child of a HOT horse. She is the one that taught me patiences. She taught me to do things the natural way. She taught me how to keep a horse from blowing up and how important it was to gain their mind and trust. She taught me how important it was to have a bond.  She was by far my greatest challenge to that point, but was a great teacher. I owned her 12 years. She went though thick and thin with me. She went to college in Louisiana to California and back to Texas with me. She was my sanity and my closest friend though many tough years. Sunday reminds me of her. Manna is my current barrel horse and he has taught me to just have fun and to never judge a book by his cover. Funnest horse I have owned in a while and the ugliest too :).  The mustangs have revolutionized my professional life I can't tell you what they have taught me and where they are taking me. I owe Spade a ton. He has been my greatest teacher.  Now that I am training many colts a month each one teaches me little things here and there. They are why I am a better person and I am convinced that God has a training plan for me spiritually and professionally. Jer 29:11 And it is HIM that sends me the right horses at the right time to teach me in both areas of my life. Currently He is working on my trust.  Sometimes it is important to stop and look where we have come from to remember where we are going. I am thankful that God has always had his hand on me in what I do. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. Heb 11:1 Faith is what activates God in our lives. I have faith that God is moving me in the right direction. This week I have learned that you don't have to trust your horse or trust in people, you just have to trust in God and He will make the paths straight.

Quick update!

Quickly I wanted to jump on and let everyone know how everything is going with the girls. I have not been able to sit down at all. We had a very long weekend. So a funny thing happened last Thursday with Sable I worked her on the lead and was saddling her. She has been super laid back from day one so I don't move as slowly around her. She was standing in the round pen while I saddled her. When I slid her breast collar down her opposite shoulder and I felt her hold her breath. Then BOOM! she jumped straight in the air and all I saw was her knees in my face. I stepped back and gave her room. She exploded!! Bucking with her nose on the ground and bellowing like a cow! Stirrups flying jumping up and down like she broke out of the chutes at Cheyenne. Danial and I both stood and watched her go insane for about 30 seconds and then she suddenly stopped and looked at like "What was that?" She walked right back up the the place it all started, as to say "Now where were we?" Danial and I both laughed. We didn't know she had that in her at all. She stood quietly as I finished saddling her and I half mounted her a few times just to be safe. She was fine so I jumped on and we rode around for a while working on giving to the reins. We never had another issue.  It was the most random thing that she has done so far. Hilarious!
This past weekend I had the chance to spend some time with a professional trick rider and trick horse trainer. So I took both girls with me to see what they could learn. I was a little concerned how they would do on a big trip like that. I was SO proud of them both they minded so well. We were there with other domestic horses and you couldn't really tell a difference in mine and the others. They did all the drills and caught on to everything we asked. So smart. By the time we left they had learned a few tricks and we will be practicing them between now and the Makeover. When they came back home both of them seemed much more manageable. I have now released them out with my herd full time so they are putting on the pounds. I can walk up to them in the pasture about 70% of the time and put a halter on. (I can't even say that for my other horses!) Every now and then they want to run and play instead of putting the halter on but that is usually Sunday. She is the prankster of the two. She has tons of personality and loves to play games.
Yesterday I had another adventure with Sable. We went to a reining trainer to help me polish up on the things I need for showing. I have never really been a great showman so I figured this year I would go to someone that shows horses for a living. I know once I learn it I will get it. But I have never really had professional horsemanship training. I have always been self taught watching videos and attending small clinics as a child. All my professional training has always been barrel or rodeo based. So this stuff is a little tough to learn . It is a little more disciplined then what is required for barrel horses, it is a little outside my box. I called the trainer and asked what horse he wanted me to bring, my barrel horse or my mustang. He said the mustang (that has only had five rides) would be fine. He was way more sure then I was, I hadn't ridden them in five days due to the trip over the weekend. So I took Sable because I trust her a lot more then Sunday. We got there and I saddled up and after doing my safety check that I do, I got on. She was a little tight but quickly lined out and we had an awesome lesson. She was so good, I was actually able to learn new things and get in a great ride on her at the same time. I was so happy, even though I felt like a rookie all over again. That brings us to tomorrow. I have five horses to ride tomorrow and two of them are the girls. Sunday hasn't been ridden since last Thursday so I hope and pray that she will be fine and keep it together. I will continue on stops and backs which is what I started Sable on at our lesson. I really feel so far behind but I have come so far already. Totally different from last year. Even though the difficulty is the same because there are two I am having a blast and I sleep well.

Let the fur fly!

So it has been a crazy week or two I have worked extremely hard to balance kids, clients and mustangs. Most people that love to hear about our mustang adventures forget that I have a string of clients horses that I am constantly working also. It gets pretty crazy.

So to update on my girls. Both are progressing about the same rate. They are bathing, leading, loading, and riding. I haven't been able to ride them as much as I would like but again the time balance has been tough this year. A few days ago for the sake of putting weight on Sable I decided that I needed to let them out with my herd. Many trainers don't let them out before the competition for fear of them getting hurt. Last year I had the same frame of mind and by the time of the competition I had a very depressed mustang. Last year I figured it would be harder to catch him and he would revert to his wild ways. Well even now when I let them out they are a little more wild but this year I changed the way I think. I figure if I can get them to come up to the barn even in their wilder state of mind then I don't worry about them when they are more focused. So to test this theory this is what I did. Both mares were somewhat hard to catch at the beginning of the week. But were great once on the halter. So I challenged my training skills a bit and took Sable to the arena and let her loose while I worked with Sunday in the open round pen. Sable was calm and cool. When I was finished with Sunday I decided to let her go out with the herd for the evening. When she got to the back where the horses were they all greeted her. All was fine until she laid her ears back at Spade. He was wasn't happy! He wheeled around and they met tail to tail and squealed and kicked. I was amazed I have seen horses fight over the years but two mustangs are a totally different story. As I watched this "discussion" I noticed that they where making a lot of racket and stirring a lot of dust but they weren't injuring each other. After Spade took about 10 minutes to put her in her place they all grazed happily together. I returned to get Sable out of the arena. She was weird at first but every time she would walk away I would slap my halter lightly against my pants. She would look at the noise and I would turn and walk off. After about three or four times of this she started walking at me when I would walk off. So I would keep walking. In about 5 min she was following me all over my arena at liberty. This is what I refer to as "the invisible lead rope". I do this to all horses that come in, I truly believe that it is what makes all my colts confidant. After haltering her and riding her for the day I decided one new mustsng was enough for my herd for one day. So I took Sable back to the mustang pens.
That night when they came up that night for feeding I checked Spade and Sundays legs and neither horse had a scratch. So yesterday I put Sunday in the arena and did the same thing I did with Sable. It worked again. Now both of them will follow me with out any issues. Sable is riding like an old rope horse. Sunday is a little tougher. She is a little scatter brained from time to time but her body is way more sturdy then Sables. It will be interesting to see how they end up.

When writing this I couldn't help but think about us as christians in the church. I know every time I would go to a new church or some one new comes to my church there is always a pecking order established, whether we realize it or not. And just like the horses in most cases they just find where they fit in and go on about their business. But every now and then there will be a confrontation and the fur will fly. What? Were you unaware that "church people" can fight? Sometimes with the best of them...the only difference is they will say nasty things and them justify it with a "bless your heart" tag on the end of it. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have heard people make statements like "I love her to death, but she has an attitude problem. Bless her heart!" about others in their church family.  Like sugar coating it makes it so much better! Lol. In our church I enjoy it because it is real. We have a church culture that teaches against being offended. Things can be said, discussions had, but in the end everyone makes sure that we all go home without an emotional scratch or a scar. In Matthew 18:15-17 I tells us how to deal with offenses. 15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’[b] 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. I believe as people of God that we should have the integrity of speaking up when we have been offended and working it out with the other person. I love the example the mustangs set for us on this. They have no issue with battling it out. They know to get things settled right away so we can move on for the benefit of the herd. Before coming to my current church I went through four church splits in five years and it was very emotional and heart breaking. And all of them stemmed from people not working out there offenses.  Instead they would go around a slander each other like wolves. I hated going though that but I am so glad that I did, because it gave me a passion about doing the right thing. Since learning this principle I haven't had any drama in my life. The more I watch how an equine herd functions they more I see the comparison to the church. I think I still have a lot more that I can learn from these guys. The particular lesson I am glad I learned. I know that it has helped me make stronger relationship all around my life. Something to think about..

Sideline Yellers!

Finally home! I have twohappy mustangs in my barn. Let me catch everyone up on our progress. Sincegoing to Marks everything moved pretty fast. Tuesday I went in to each maresstall and started to brush them. I have found that they seem to like being brushedand are calmer about being touched. Also the time near them and moving aroundthem builds confidence that my movements are not aggressive. It is no differentto them as if someone threw you in to a pit of bears when you don't knowanything about the behavior of bears. I personally would panic and probablyhave to change certain articles of clothing. ;) So I try to give them a chanceto be near me without requiring anything from them. And anyone that has brushedout a mane and tail knows that it takes time. After I groomed them Mark poniedSable (the black mare) out to the round pen. We did a little ground work andthen saddled her. She moved out under saddle with no problem. Mark asked if Iwanted to ride her first or him. I didn't trust her near as much as he didso I got him too. lol! I kept thinking “I am a mother of small children!” and Ireally didn't need to take the risk on one I wasn’t sure was ready. So Markhopped on and rode her around in the halter. Walked, trotted, loped with noproblem I was surprised because she was much more flighty then Sunday (thedun). She moved really nice. After lunch we pulled out Sunday and did the samething. She wiggled a little more then Sable did and I was having troublesaddling with a new roping saddle I started using. It was about 15 poundsheavier then my barrel saddle that I start colts in and much harder to throw. Ifinally got it on and moved her around the round pen. She was perfect. I wasmuch more confidant with her then Sable and I was sure she wouldn't buck. Itrusted her much more, mainly because she oozes confidence. Mark dallied her tohis saddle horse so I could step up. I half mounted a few times and she startedto hop. The pommel popped up into my collarbone. It felt like I was beingtossed around like a rag doll. I thought “just hang on and she will settle”Well she didn’t.  So I stepped offhoping that she wouldn’t kick on the way down. Thankfully she wasn’t moving infear so she wasn’t to worried. I wasn't confidant in trying again. I told Mark totry because I knew my lack of confidence would get me bucked off. I was sureglad he did because she bucked and there was no way I would have ridden it. Thefunny thing was she wasn't scared or mean. She was playing like a colt would.After a few good jumps she lined right out and moved around like a champ. Soyesterday I got her out and saddled her and worked her in my normal equipmentand she did great. Miranda and Mark challenged me to ride her in a halter vs.the snaffle that I normally start colts in. (I do it because I am a weenie, orthe fact I just feel like I need the control). Both mares had their teethworked on that morning so bits were out of the question anyway. So I hopped onher and started moving her around. I started laughing because every time shewould move out I would try to stop her, even though she wasn't trying to doanything. I could hear Miranda on the edge of the pen hollering, "Leaveher alone and let her go". I would give her rein and then get scared andstart picking up. Then Miranda would holler again. The reason we let them go isif you try to control them some times they get scared and then you could causethem to buck from fear. Usually they are fine if you just sit there. I got tolaughing at myself I could barely ride. I stepped off Sunday and gave her apat. I was so happy she did every thing that I asked. 

I will tell you a littleabout them both...

Sunday (the dun) ishilarious. After brushing her the other day she has been in my pocket eversince. She has no fear of me at all. In fact she is pushy at times. She yawns alot! She also smiles a lot! Yes she smiles...every time she does something goodor funny she will throw her nose in the air, roll her lip back and show herteeth. Of coarse anyone that has seen her laughs. I think that is why she keepsdoing it. This I have a feeling will come in handy. 

Sable (the black) is myinsecure one. She hasn't really come around to really loving me. She lets metouch her and brush her but not before protesting a little. She is really goodunder saddle so far. She needs a leader. She has deemed Sunday her big sisterand copycats every thing she does. Since we got home today. Sable even eats outof the same food pan as Sunday. I hope in the next few days she will trust meas a leader and become more confident. 

While talking with a good friend today I realized the lesson that Godwas teaching me this week. I realized that it wasn't only on colts that I tryto control. Many times I have a tendency to try to control things that only Godcan control. Many times I feel that people out of fear of loosing control tryto make God do things. Or even worse try to take over what is Gods business.Over and over I have barrel racers that come out and are tight as cats on topof their horse. Pulling back as much as they can trying to control the horseeven when the horse is doing nothing wrong. Then when they need control theydon't have any because they have dulled down all of their cues. When insteadthey could ride around on a loose rein and allow their horse to do their joband then IF the horse needs direction they can give it and the horse is morethen happy to comply.  I see people trying to control things of Godthinking that they know best. Just like people don't trust their horse..they don'ttrust God. I am SO speaking to myself right now. I think that we might besurprised if we would just let go and let God work in our lives. There are manytimes that we block things that God would like to do because we just won't getout of the way. Something else that I learned this week is that some times youneed some one yelling from the sidelines to remind you to let go. I let go ofmy mare this week because I knew that Miranda is more experienced in coltstarting then me and knows what to look for. She also is on of the people in mytraining life that will challenge me to do things that I would never dream. Shestretches me as a trainer and makes me better.  In spiritual things of life I have others that are my"side line yellers" that keep me doing what I need to be doing. So mychallenge to you today is let God do what he wants to do for you, and let goand see what happens. Challenge number two...find someone that is confident inwho they are in God to be your cheerleader to keep you accountable to what youneed to do. They will challenge you to do things that you have never donebefore. With those two things you will catch a ride that will blow yourmind. 

Day 1-Thoughts on top of a stall.

Wow that was a long day. We have started working our way through a lot of mustangs. We started out going from stall to stall rubbing on each one with a long pole. I will forever add this to my training for untouched horses. It really shows you the nature of the horse, on top of the main reason being we are able to rub them far out of the range that they could kick or strike. As we started with each horse you could tell which ones were lazy, athletic, confidant, or aggressive. Fortunately both of my mares were quiet and docile. It went from a 15 foot stick, to the 12 foot with a bag, to a training flag, and finally my hand. Both girls seemed to be fine outside the normal "mustang jitters". I gave them both every opportunity to kick and neither of them offered. In fact my dun mare, which I am calling "Sunday Drive" has a super funny personality. She is super smart. The black mare that I still haven't named, seems to be super sweet but a little shy and dull. She listens really well and really tries to understand. Today I was able to rub the majority of both of them and we got halters on them. Mark grabbed his saddle horse and dallied their lead ropes and got both of them leading pretty well. I was really excited to see how he used his horse to work them. I now see how much easier it is to have a good horse to rely on during colt starting. I am sure training a saddle horse will be next on my list. That might be Spade's job. I think Manna my barrel horse might be to big of a weenie for that job. By the end of the day I could at least walk in the stall and rub them both. Haltering takes time but they both will let you do it.

So today while sitting on top of a stall wall with long pole in hand I was working with a very flighty mare. I could barely touch her with the pole she was so quick. I thought "Man why would anyone want this spooky thing?" But as I watched her evade the pole she would stop, slide, spin and then take off to the other side of the stall. She was very impressive. She eventually settled down and relaxed, but I was really shocked at how athletic she was. Then I realized sometimes potential can shine through some of our most troublesome moments. How we respond in a trying time shows us and others who we really are. Working with so many mustangs today I got to see many different personalities. The underlying denominator is I love them all just the way they are. Some of them have been really tough like Spade was last year. But we still love them and teach them. I started to understand how God feels on a grander scale about us. He understands that some of us are very compliant and will do what He says and go where He leads, but he also understands the ones that are going to fight His ways all the way until the end and have a tendency to be extremely stubborn. But the underlying denominator is He loves the hard headed ones just as much as the ones that follow him happily. I was fortunate enough to get two great mustangs this year but I can't help but think if I had even gotten a tough one I would still love it and try to teach it. Why because I paid for them. Jesus paid for all of us and it wasn't just a small cost it was a great cost. If I paid for a mustang tough or not I would still want to see it come to his full potential. So now every time I think about why God would choose to deal with me.... I will think about this day... He wants to see everyone of us succeed it just comes down to if we choose to be "trained" by Him.

Adoption weekend!

So as I sit in line to load up my horses I figured I would tell everyone about my weekend. I came to Fort Worth really early Thurs morning to preview the first round of horses. Mary Kitzmiller and I walked and talked about every pen and things we liked and didn't like about each horse. I was having a really hard time because what I look for in a great barrel horse is not always what you need to do well in this competition. In fact something that might be slow is probably a little better. So we sat through the entire preview where they run each pen of six through the round pens so we can see them move. Out of 150 horses, I had no warm fuzziness about any of them. There were some nice ones but nothing that caught my eye. So I endured the Friday auction as all my training friends found there favorites. Friday night we took four mustangs to the Lyons in Whitesboro and came back Saturday to view the next 150 horses. There were a lot that I liked. I probably had twenty on my page. So today I waited until this big black 4 yo mare came in she had a white blaze and two back socks and she was a real mover. I had not seen her yesterday. I had to get her. Then I decided to wait and see how much my top pick went for and when I figured I could afford her I bought her too. So now I have a black mare and a dun mare. These next five months are gonna be fun!!!

Here we go!! Are you ready?

So it starts! We are less then a week away from the first adoption for the Mustang Million (MM). I am extremely excited for this year. Since last year I have been on a HUGE adventure learning more and more about the horse language and mind. I have a HUGE thank you to my two prior mustangs Spade and Magpie for being wonderful teachers and helping me become better at what I do. Because of my mustangs I have made tremendous changes in the way that I train. I have now started with all positive reinforcement methods instead of the popular "work til you do it right". I have found that my horses LOVE me and greet me at the gate when I walk in the barn. Instead of the usual run to the back of the stall praying that I don't pick them today. I have also noticed patience and a kind word works with every horses rather then having to adjust my method based on personality. And when you think you are being soft you can always be softer.  Going in at night has been wonderful because I go in thinking "I love my horses" vs two years ago I would go in frustrated because I couldn't get a certain horse to respond like I wanted them to.  It has been quite the ride and learning experience.

So this year is going to be great! I have made tons of great friends through the mustangs and over the past year those friends have become great assets to the work that I am doing. That being said this year is going to be different. I am excited to have everyone that followed Spade's progress last year to join in this year and I welcome everyone new that wants to follow this year. I am going to try to blog everyday ...But business has tripled since last year so bear with me I don't have the same time I did last year. Next Thursday I will be headed out to go to the viewing of all the mustangs, Friday is the first of two auctions. This year they are pulling up 1000 head of mustangs and separating them into multiple states. The competition itself is much more complex. This year they will still be having the top class which will be the Legends class (that is the one I am shooting for) and they are shelling out some BIG BUCKS! $200, 000 for the first place winner and a DODGE RAM. Yep! you heard me. On top of that they are having 12 specialty classes. Everything from jumping, dressage, cow work, even in hand and walk/trot classes. Everything minus barrels of coarse...I tried to talk them into it. Every class has lots of money tagged to it. They have made it where anyone can be involved. You can sponsor a horse and sit back and watch the progress. Or buy it and get some one to train it and then show it yourself. Or you can train it and show it yourself. They have literally made it to where anyone at any skill level can be involved.  So I go this week to pick out and buy my very special boy or girl. They have also given us a choice in age and gender.  I am going to try to find me a 3-4 year old mare. I LOVE mares! Especially young ones. Since I trained Magpie I have started (broke) five or six 2-4 year old mares and I have really found my nack with them.

There are two days of auctioning off horses in Fort Worth. Then two weeks later there is another Fort Worth auction. I will be headed to the first one and hope to get a horse (there are only 300 a weekend). If not I will come back and try at the second auction. After the auction we (many mustang friends and I) will be headed to Whitesboro with Mark and Miranda Lyons to have a "training party" where we will be working many of the mustangs and getting them rideable within the first week. Mark is the colt starting king and has taught me many of his tricks to staying safe and getting the job done while still keeping the horse in mind. He usually has at least 10 horses to start every year for this competition. So this should be fun. Going to Marks was a tough decision for me. I really like the way I do things and Mark respects me as a trainer to let me start them my way. But I had a choice to take the horse home and try to do everything by myself or do the exact same thing in the presence of some of the best trainers in the country. I figured that if I had anything to prove I proved myself with Spade last year and this year I had the opportunity to watch some great trainers start their horses and critique me on my skills. And they are pretty tough critiques. Then I have the chance to get help if I do come to something new or to tough. Remember mustangs are literally a different animal then the domestic horses that we all love on everyday. So with the heavy work schedule I have been pulling and the lack of time I figured that this would be the way to go. Plus some of my new training buddies will be there and we always have fun! That is my goal this year is to have FUN! No stress! I am planning on working off and on with Mary Kitzmiller also. Reason being, first of all because she is extremely fun to train beside and second she has the keys to help me in the "non-barrel racing" maneuvers that I seem to be really horrible at (AKA sliding stops, spins, etc.)!!!! Oh! and that whole bride less thing that I am, to be honest, terrified to do. So thankfully she has offered to help me along this year on top of her 3.....yes 3 mustangs that she is doing herself. Crazy I know.  Google her she is awesome!

I think that it is funny when you are doing what God wants you to do, He comes in and places everything and everyone that you need around you. This year I am hoping to at least make a showing in the Legends class. My training and riding skills are going to have to double to make it. But looking back to who I was prior to Spade last year it is insane, I was just a baby trainer at that point, so I have high hopes. I am also praying that I pick a little more...forgiving horse this year. I have said many times if I had Magpie for the SEMM last year it would have turned out very different. So I ask everyone that cares please pray I pick a good one. As things happen I will try to get pictures and post up. Thanks for reading.

Mud on your Boots

After a long deliberation and many request I have decided to start my blog up again. I had many people horsey and non-horsey that have asked if I would continue to post things daily. Since the Mustang Makeover last year, things around here have really picked up. Training, lessons and events have doubled and we could not feel anymore blessed. Danial and I both know that it is God that gives the increase and we are thankful for his blessings. Since I am much busier I had a really hard time deciding to do the Mustang Makeover this year. After thinking long and hard I have decided to do it.
      The Mustang Heritage Foundation has really upped the anne this year. They have renamed the Makeover the "Mustang Million" www.mustangmillion.com . They are adopting out 1000 horses and they have got HUGE jackpots in many different classes. The Legends class winner is going to get $250,000 and a Dodge Pick-up. The doors are wide open for all that want to enter. The have 12 different specialty classes. They have even made it to where if you want to just sponsor a horse you can or even get a trainer to help you train or start your own mustang. It is really neat.  The rules this year are this. First, we have five months instead of four (good news). Second, the last weekend of April I will be going to the first of two auctions to adopt my "guinea pig" for the year. Third I can choose any age and any gender that I would like to try. Now my job is to find a good one and to get started as soon as possible. FYI They are still taking entries if anyone is interested.

As far as this blog goes....I will be tracking the progress of my mustang as well as giving daily devotionals on what God has taught me through each day. There are many times in our day that if we just would look at the little things God can reveal himself though it. The problem is that many times we don't listen close enough. For instance today I went out to the barn to check on the horses. Yesterday, a new training filly came in and I hadn't really gotten the chance to look at her. So I went over to the wood round pen hoping that she would make her way over there and move around for me. As I called I noticed that she wanted to come out but something was holding her back. I went into her stall to drive her down the run to the round pen and she refused to go. The last few weeks it has rained something horrible and it had made the run to the round pen pretty yucky. The horse being a horse, didn't want to go in the mud. I thought this horse has been here 24 hours and hasn't even walked out of her stall. I went and grabbed a halter and lead her through the mud, down the run and into the round pen. After leading her twice back and forth she realized that it wasn't all that bad. When I let her go in the round pen she trotted around and played like it was so liberating to be out of the stall. I thought it was funny. I sat and watched her run from the round pen to the stall back and forth skipping and jumping around. She reminded me of a little girl the way she played. Tonight I went to church and on my way home I started thinking about how God calls and calls us to the good stuff...a place where we are free to play. But instead we just stay in our little box because we are worried about the muck and mud that we have to go through sometimes to get there. We sit there wanting to be free and happy and even though the door is wide open we choose not to leave. God doesn't want us to stay in our comfort zone. Just like this little filly sometimes we need God to take us by the hand and lead us into the unknown. I wasn't loving the fact that my boots were getting all muddy, but I love horses. Even more than my boots ( I really love boots!). Our Lord is the same way. God loves us so much that he doesn't mind walking through the muck WITH us to lead us to the path where we can be free in Him. I can only imagine how He feels when He can sit and watch us enjoy the things that He gives us. I am sure that a little "mud on His boots" never bothered HIM.  The bible says in Heb 13:5 That God will never leave us or forsake us. Isaiah 48:17 says "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” 

I want to welcome all of you to follow the blog even before the mustang event. I grow a lot by writing it. I hope that you grow a lot by reading it. I will pre-appologize for my horrible spelling LOL!