Updates

Wow, it has been so busy around here that my poor horses have been pretty much ignored (I'm not sure they mind so much.) Maverick,Shawnee and Radar are having a great time romping in there new 2+ acre enclosure. Radar (our mini donkey) and Maverick have fun playing tug-of-war with different objects and Shawnee enjoys being Queen of the World (meaning the boss). We love to see them run and play. Maverick will be 3 this spring so it will be time to start some serious training. This may even be the year we start riding him lightly. Fancy is still just a hard nut to crack. I think Jim and I have decided that if we can find her the perfect home with someone willing to spend a lot of time with her we'll let her go. One less mouth to feed would be a good thing and we're just not making any progress with her. I'm hoping that with Christmas break coming up (we're home-schooling) the girls and I will have some quality time with the horses.

Persistence pays

That Fancy is one stubborn horse! Still, she's not quite as stubborn as I am. I decided the other day that I wasn't going to back off until she let me touch her. She/we went round and round in the round pen for probably an hour before she finally stood still and let me touch her. I was able to stroke her hindquarters for several minutes before I walked away. I'm about to head down and go at it again with her. Hopefully it won't take an hour today.

Fancy breaks Out!

Well with the help of Maverick Fancy broke out. Maverick is a notorious fence pusher. He managed to push a couple of the fence panels apart and He and Fancy had a few glorious hours pretending they were wild and free again (well free anyway.) I came home from work last Friday to find the two of them grazing on green grass. My heart stopped when I saw Fancy loose. I wasn't sure how I was ever going to catch her again. I blocked the driveway with my van and did what any horseowner with loose horses does....went for the grain pan. It worked. Maverick followed the grain pan and Fancy followed Maverick. She is now in one of the larger lower paddocks. I've been wanting to move her down there for months but didn't have a way to do that......Maverick moved her for me. What a guy!

Maverick

Ashley has become Mav's good friend. She loves to lead him around. He is like a big gentle puppy dog and loves the attention. It is good for Ashley to have a horse "friend". Pal has always been so grumpy with her that he hasn't been much fun. A little girl has to have a big horse neck to hug!

Fancy

Taylor was able to pet Fancy today. We penned her up again to renew our efforts to handle her. Taylor visited her this morning with a bucket of grain and Fancy allowed her to stroke her face as she was eating. It was very exciting. I am ashamed that we've had her almost a year and this is as far as we've gotten. Life is settling down, the weather is great...no excuses we need to spend lots of time with her.

Freedom in Captivity

I was out admiring the horses yesterday. They are fat, happy, and carefree. In contrast I was reading about a bunch of mustangs that were gathered in Nevada recently, brought to the holding facility, and were very sick with salmonella. The water holes are drying up at an alarming rate and many are contaminated. Many of the horses have died....natural selection? I have always held a rather romantic view of the wild mustangs running free and that is a beautiful image but the truth is that the wild ones face many dangers and obstacles. I'm glad my three are carefree in their captivity.

More Space

We finished fencing the remaining couple of acres of our property. The horses have plenty of roaming room now. There is also a lot of summer grass left to pick at. They are having a good time. Maverick and Shawnee are enjoying their reunion. Fancy is still in the arena as we still don't have her haltered. I did recieve the papers to get Mav titled. I just need to get an authorized signature stating that I've taken good care of him. He's very spoiled! Now that the cooler Fall weather is upon us there is no excuse for not furthering his training. I'll post of picture soon of our "free roaming" herd.

Fancy Free

We decided that we just couldn't leave Fancy couped up any longer. She is not nearly gentled yet but it just seemed cruel to confine her 24/7. We built a chute out of panels and worked them down the steep bank and into the arena. She didn't hesitate much to walk down the embankment and then proceeded to kick her heels up and run around. She is a beautiful mover! We put Maverick in with her and you'd think the two had been best friends their whole lives. What fun to watch them interact.

Progress

Jim actually touched Fancy last evening. He was able to touch her rump several times. She doesn't want him by her head but he was able to touch her rear. This was a BIG deal and hopefully a breakthrough. We want so badly to get her turned out with the others.

Updates

We've been so busy it seems that it's hard to get done what we want to get done. Now we are dealing with the blazing heat so our horsey times are restricted to late evening. Maverick and Shawnee are doing great. They enjoy each others company. Fancy is getting better all the time. Jim can throw a rope on her back and has even touched her rump. She comes to the fence to receive her hay and doesn't dart back any longer when I feed her. I think we're getting real close to getting a rope back on her. I can't wait to free her from her small pen and watch her run and play with the others.

Expo

I had the best time at the West Coast Horse Expo over the weekend. I came back newly inspired to play with horses. Pat and Linda Parelli were there and were very inspiring. I purchased some of their material and am excited to work my way through the program. The horses are all at different levels so it should be interesting to see the results. Maverick is such a blank slate and so willing I've been afraid to "ruin" him. Now I feel like I have the right tools. Linda Tellington Jones was really good as well. She made a comment that stuck with in regards to Fancy. She said that if you can cure a horse of the fear of having their body touched you cure all fear. I found that encouraging. Using some of the Parelli techniques with her over the last few days (I'm learning how NOT to act like a predator) I'm seeing a difference. I'm not touching her but she sure is touching me.

Free - Almost

Jim found Maverick out loose this morning. We've been keeping him out in a hot wire enclosed pasture but he figured out our little secret...the gate wasn't actually hot. He had visited Fancy, scattered her hay and was just out front grazing when Jim found him. It only took the rattle of a little grain to convince Mav to follow Jim back into the enclosure. Shawnee, his roomate, didn't want to test the gate. Although the wire was down she decided not to cross the line. They have been having such a good time with the extra space. When I add GoGo to the mix they run about like a bunch of wild horses....go figure.

Days of May

There hasn't been much news to add lately. We've been really busy putting up fence. We will have a couple of acres fenced soon for the horses to graze down. I think they will really enjoy the freedom and additional space. Fancy is still making progress slowly but surely and the other two are just a delight to watch. They are best friends. Here are a couple of pictures I took this morning. Maverick is on the ground with Shawnee standing watch over him.

Mustang Mother's Day

I did just what I wanted to do yesterday and that was play with my horses. I am encouraged with Fancy. Reducing the size of her pen has helped. Jim was even able to stand within just a few feet of her with her actually in a relaxed state. It has helped that she's not able to run to far from us. I put a bareback pad on Maverick yesterday and you would have thought he had worn one all his life. I cinched him up pretty snug and he didn't even flinch. Taylor spent quite a bit of time riding Shawnee. She's doing quite well. She's becoming more responsive to us all the time. The only thing that bothers Taylor is Shawnee's loud whinee. Shawnee is a very talkative little horse...and for such a small horse she has a HUGE voice. Her whole body shakes when she whinees at the other horses. Taylor is finally getting used to the sensation and doesn't want to bail off every time Shawnee has a conversation. I can see that they are going to be a great team.

Fancy

Fancy is still not coming around. She hates to be touched and freaks at absolutely everything. We removed a few of the panels from her pen making it smaller. She is not able to get far from us. We taped two bamboo poles together and are touching her all over with the poles. I'm going to go out three times a day and rub her down with them. She is already more accepting but we are a long way from getting her haltered and handled. I'm trying to remain positive but I'm wondering if she will ever settle down.

Hide and Seek

Ashley and Shawnee were playing hide and seek today. It was the cutest thing. Ashley would run from tree to tree and hide - Shawnee had great fun looking for her and would get so excited when she found Ashley. These mustangs are such treasures (ok- so are the children)!

Pretty Feet

Maverick had his first visit from the farrier yesterday. It went much better then I anticipated. I tried a new farrier and asked him to please look at Maverick. I was concerned that his feet were getting so long but Jim and I hadn't had much success in getting him to stand still. Clint, the new farrier, tested the waters a bit and said he thought he could get the job done. I told him he'd be my hero if he could. You know, it didn't take much of a struggle at all.....Mav wasn't a perfect angel, but as Clint said he isn't a mean horse just a bit of a bratty two year old. Bottom line...Mav has pretty feet again and I feel so much better!

A Good Mustang Day

What a beautiful day it was Sunday! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. The grass is green and the wild flowers are in full bloom. We had a good day with the horses. We put a surcingle on Maverick and it was no big deal to him. He acted like he's always worn one. We were also able (I should say Jim) to get all four feet picked up and cleaned. He's still not happy about picking up the back ones but he's getting better. Shawnee was turned out in the back paddock for a short while. She didn't like the dogs but once she figured out they were on the other side of the fence she settled down. Exposing her to 7 barking dogs across the fence should be a good way to desensitize her. Fancy was taking in all the action and ran up to the fence to meet me as if to say "what about me?"

Marley & Me

I have been reading the book Marley & Me while sitting in the pen with Fancy. She must be very interested in this book. Fancy practically crawled in my lap to read it with me! She wanted in the worst way to taste the book, but of course, being a library book I couldn't exactly let her have it. When she couldn't have the book she decided to taste my shirt, my jeans, and my dirty boots. The silly horse! We can't touch her but she sure can touch us. Just proved to me that all of our subtle efforts have been paying off.....or is it just complete boredom? Whatever the reason, she is certainly coming around. Sitting in the pen does make a difference. She is very relaxed with us on a lower plane then she is. She is on her guard the minute we stand up.

The Fancy Project

Well this little mare is taking a whole lot of patience! She is getting better little by little but it is baby steps with her. My friend Kathy mentioned her to a vet today. The vet's advise since she may be pregnant is to continue slowly but spending much more time with her. He said we should just park ourselves in the middle of her pen for about 3 hours a day until she learns that humans won't hurt her. I'm sure I won't find an extra 3 hours a day but I will try to spend more time sitting with her. He suggested this because if she turns out to be pregnant we need to get our hands on the foal for imprinting or the foal will be as fearful as Fancy is. Makes sense to me. She really is getting better. I did sit with her for a while this evening and she settled down quickly. The photos above I took while in the pen with her.

Good Friends

Maverick and Shawnee are so cute together. They really like each other. They share hay and stand around and scratch each others backs. I will have to get a picture of them. They are really a beautiful pair...both dark bays. I'm so glad they are getting along.

Two for One?

We are almost 100% certain that Fancy is in foal. She is kicking at her stomach, constantly bumping it with her nose, and acts very startled as if something just kicked her. Not quite what I had in mind when we brought her home but it should be interesting.

Shawnee's New Home

It has been such a busy week! I'm way behind in updating this site. We did decide to bring Shawnee home with us. She is a beautiful little horse. She traveled like a seasoned pro. We arrived home and turned her out in the arena. She enjoyed bucking and running and is also quite good at standing on her hind two feet (I hope she doesn't do that with a rider on her back). I left her in the arena until Monday afternoon. Monday I turned her out with Maverick. She is certainly the boss but they are getting along quite well. Maverick is very submissive and is happy to be chased about by someone smaller then he for a change. Everyone who has seen her comments on what a beauty she is. I can't get over the way she moves....I can sure see her behind a cart one day.

Shawnee

We are going to look at another mustang this weekend. Her owner loves her but Shawnee never grew past 13 hands and is just too small for her. If her temperament is right she may be the perfect horse for my girls. She is absolutely beautiful and is being ridden: even shown once. She is going on 5 years and was adopted when she was about one. We're not taking on an additional horse we are swapping: Ginger, our "foster" will be returned to the parks soon. As stated in my previous post....I don't have the time to add to our collection.

Daylight Savings Time

Well, I hate the idea that I have to get up an hour earlier next week but I will appreciate the longer days. Snow, rain, cold, short days....I just haven't spent the time that I need to with these horses. Maverick is so great that with just a little time he'll be good to go. We've been working with Fancy...still trying to get our hands on her. She will walk right up to us now for grass and hay but is a long way from haltering. Now that the days will be longer, Jim and I can double team her.

Fancy PVC Photos

It took me a while to get these photos. These were taken by Karen Floyd when she and her husband so graciously picked up Fancy for us back on November 4, 2006. Thanks Karen.

Time

There is no substitute for time. I have made a real effort this week to spend more time with all of the horses. It has paid off especially with Fancy. I've been reading a book by Mark Rashid entitled A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color. It's a great book as all of his are. He talked about a frightened horse that they were able to tame. I tried the method of advance and retreat described in the book...it is really working. All week I have advanced to a particular point in Fancy's stall and stood very relaxed and quiet while she relaxed having me there. After she relaxed I would simply walk back toward the fence turn and advance once again to the center of the pen. I've done this over and over and could see her relaxing more and more with me near by. Tonight I decided to leave her hay on the ground outside the pen while I tried this same advance/retreat technique. She couldn't figure out why I wasn't feeding her. Instead of me approaching her; she approached me. She would come within a few inches of me and sniff me. Fortunately I had read in the book that this is when most people make the mistake of reaching for the horse and scaring them. I didn't reach for her (I sure wanted to) I just let her sniff me and walk off. She kept coming back. Without ever touching her I left the pen and rewarded her with her dinner. What a great feeling!

Terrible Twos?

I think Maverick has entered his terrible twos..no longer the shy submissive baby, he is demonstrating his power as a growing young man. Everything, and I mean everything, is going into his mouth. It's even become a challenge to put a halter on him because he wants to eat it. This does sometimes work in my favor. I had a bridle in my hand the other day and when he decided to taste it I simply eased the bit into his mouth and let him play with it. I must have had the bit in and out of his mouth 5 or 6 times.

We measured him yesterday as best we could since he didn't really want to stand still very long and he's now about 14:1 hands. He is going through a real growth spurt. His hooves have become way too long so my mission this week is to really focus on handling his feet so that they can be trimmed. He's really doing pretty good with this. I'm able to hold his feet up for longer and longer periods of time.

Fancy is still avoiding us for the most part. We shortened her corral yesterday so she had to remain closer to us. We tossed a soft rope around allowing it to land on her back. She didn't like it much and worked up a sweat with the anxiety but we're going to have to push her a bit. She isn't progressing much on her own. I'm also becoming more and more suspicious that she may be in foal (if not she's filling out VERY nicely). If that's the case we simply must be able to handle her by Spring.

First Touch

Finally, I was able to touch Fancy yesterday. I decided to make her work a little for her dinner last night. I sat in a chair just outside the corral and held her hay in my lap. She was confident (and hungry) enough to reach through the panel to eat her hay. As she put her nose through the pipe I gently rubbed her cheek. She did pull back but then immediately returned for more hay. I touched her 4 or 5 times before putting the hay in her feeder. It was great to finally lay my hands on her and even better to see that I have begun to earn her trust.