Day 89 (Fateful Decision)

Wendy:

It’s been a while since my last blog. We’ve had so much going on here that I haven’t had time to write lately. Murphy has continued to do well and has made improvement everyday in his training, but I had to make a really tough decision recently about whether or not to take him back to Oklahoma or compete in the Mustang challenge. Through several days of praying and asking God what I needed to do I felt I got a clear answer to take him back. I won’t go into all the details, but the decision had nothing to do with Murphy. He is a wonderful horse and with a little more training will make someone a great partner. I just wasn’t able to have my cake and eat it too. There is a possibility that my mustang could have still been competitive to the extreme and been able to pull off a win, but with my lack of extra time and more on my schedule than I could handle, I felt that I needed to put more time into him that what I had to give. I enjoyed working with Murphy and building the relationship with him and I was very happy to hear that he would be going to another trainer to be finished out and eventually sold. I was really worried that all that hard work would go down the drain. I wanted to include several pictures of Murphy on our last obstacle course workout and also other special pictures of my little boy Tristan that I thought would get a laugh. This kid’s got potential, he is already helping mom teach a clinic, and man can he clean those stalls. Ha ha

Day 87 (Final Preparations...)

Steve,

Diago is doing so well and I say that with extreme gladness in my spirit. I made a promise to myself that I would pray to God before each session with Diago and give him all the glory for the training and progress. It seems that all the training is paying off and coming together. I would love to be doing more with him but as I train him I am thinking in the back of my mind who might bid on Diago and take him home. I want that person to stay safe, have a calm, soft, and responsive mustang. He is getting much softer and lighter in all that we do. Until the competition I will continue to review what he has learned and prepare for the freestyle if we make it to the top ten.

Day 80 (Leads, Side Passes and Forehand Control...)

Steve:
Diago is doing well, but it’s really draining. I am pleased with his training, but now with a month left I am wanting to do so much more with him and wondering how much further I can get him. It’s a competition and we all want to win and the stress of wondering how ready I am is coming out. This last week we worked mostly on picking up the right lead, side passing and forehand control. We rode through our obstacle course and then a small trail ride. We will continue to review and refine right up to the competition, add one or two new things and work on his softness.

Day 72 through 79 (Everyday little things...)

Wendy:
Murphy did well this week, we rode mostly in the arena, and worked on steering exercises, vertical flexion, stopping, backing, etc (nothing extreme mind you...).

My makeover mustang is coming along nicely and is learning fast. I had the farrier come and do his feet on Friday and we took a trip to the vet again that afternoon. Murphy took it all in stride. He was a little nervous with the farrier, but John does such a good job and helps the horses to really relax. He’s one of the best farrier’s we’ve ever had when it comes to working with young horses.

This week I also ran Murphy through the obstacle course again just to see what he would do, and he was really good. His leading is getting better and he doesn’t shy at things as much as he did. He will take a look at things first and then just follow my direction. Grooming, clipping, saddling and your everyday things are just normal to him now. I never thought this day would come. Ha ha

Day 71 (Trust Building & Finding the Right Lead)

Steve:
This week was pretty good. This week was I spent time reviewing and kind of just taking it easy. I did however run into a little trouble (nothing too extreme) on Tuesday when I started to lope circles to the right. I also worked on spook proofing Diago for the makeover challenge.

Diago would pick up his left lead fine when loping to the left but would not pick up his right lead when going to the right. After several attempts and breaking it down (exercises to help him take the correct lead) he finally picked up the right lead. He was pretty tired after that session so the next day I was going to just lope to the right and get him comfortable loping on the right lead on a circle to the right. We started out and he picked it up right off the bat. We loped for a few minutes and then spent the rest of the time just goofing off. This up coming week I plan on more loping, riding the obstacle course, and preparation work in the arena for the mustang competition.

Day 67 through 70 (Bringing Up Baby...)

Wendy:
I’ve ridden Murphy a few more times this week, just finished up with a ride a little while ago. We moved out under saddle at a walk, trot, and canter and he is doing well with that. I started working on more steering and vertical flexion. Murphy seems to be taking that all in stride. I include some spook proofing things with the ground work and riding for my makeover mustang. I put my son Tristan’s play pen in the shade so that I could keep a close watch on him and yet still get Murphy ridden today. Murphy didn’t know quite what to think about that noisy little kid crawling around and pulling up on the side of the play pen. Steve saved the day when he came out to get pictures. I think Tristan had just about enough of being confined and was sure letting me know about it. It is really hard to focus on your mustang when your baby is yelling. ha ha

I was unable to ride two days this week due to putting up square bales for the winter. Steve, Colton and I loaded and unloaded over 600 bales and the heat index was well over 100 degrees so needless to say I didn’t have much energy to ride a horse after that, so I was bound and determined to ride today. I can’t tell you how excited I am about Murphy’s progress. He seems really smart and willing to try anything if it isn't to extreme. If I can just keep building that confidence we may just be able to do some pretty fun things, who knows!!!!

Day 55 through 66 (Riding Murphy & Singing His Praises)

Wendy:
I’ve started several new things with him and he is taking it all in stride. I’ve ridden him, clipped him with clippers, worked on his feet and a few other things. Unfortunately I have not worked with him everyday, but in spite of that he is doing well.

I can’t help but think how well he would do if I could work him more than an hour here and there. With a business to run, and a 16 month old son it is really hard to find all the time I want. I am just doing the best I can do and not worrying about the rest.

I really think Murphy is going to make someone a good horse. He has so many good attributes. With the number of days I have actually worked him, and how scared he started in the beginning, he is doing so well. We’ve had both Murphy and Diago about 60 days and I am pretty sure I would be lucky if I put a full 30 days on him. That really says a lot for him, to come so far in such a short amount of time. There were things I would try to do a month ago, that Murphy would have no part of, and I do them now and he calmly accepts them and does what I ask. I know a huge part of it is his confidence in me, but it is still soooo cool!!!!

I wonder how others in the Extreme Makeover Competiton are doing with their mustangs and if they are enjoying them as much as Steve and I are. It will sure be great to meet all of the trainers and horses and see the amazing things that I know they will be doing.

I have to be honest, I am so nervous about the competition. I don’t like to compete for the most part. I love teaching my horses to do cool stuff and I get a lot of pleasure out of helping others, but I hate being in the spot light. This will be really good for me. It’s been quite a while since I have shown in anything. Well enough for now -- I want to go ride Murphy before it gets too hot!!!!!

Day 64 (Training, Training, and more Training)

Steve:
This last week we have been hard at it again. Diago and I have been working on shoulder control, backing, vertical flexion, hindquarter control, two tracking, roll backs, and much, much, more. I think I will only review this week and not add anything new. He doesn’t quite have all of these exercises down well enough yet. I don’t want to overload him and cause any regression in his training.

There’s not much more to cover other than circles and review with him. I am almost to the point where all I should have to do is review and make sure he knows the training inside and out and is really solid, light, and relaxed.

Day 56 (Working Hard...)

Steve:
Diago and I have been working hard this last week and I am very proud of him and where he is at in his training. We have been working in the arena doing so many different things, trying to get him to relax and get soft in all five body parts or as soft as I can get them. My goal is to bring them all together for my intermediate level maneuvers. Hopefully it will all work out. Right now I am doing basic level exercises trying to work my way to my goal. The last month I plan on working more with the obstacles and refining my ground work which I feel fairly good about now.

Day 54 (Why I love training!)

Wendy:
I am very proud of Murphy. The change in him is extreme. It is almost like I have a different horse in some aspects.

In the past 10 days, we have made a break through, finally!!!!! I can see that he has so much more confidence in me. He looks to me when he is a little unsure of things and when I ask him to try, he gives me his heart. That is the coolest thing.

I have to be honest, I wasn’t necessarily impressed or not impressed with Mustangs before. I’ve worked with them before and it was just another horse, but this guy is winning my heart. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not perfect, but it is amazing that even with all the days he’s had no work at all (due to the rain) he has made such a big change.

When I thought about signing on with the Extreme Mustang Makeover challenge, my first reaction was, it sure would be nice to win some extra cash and get some exposure. But I guess where I’m at in my life, I decided not to focus so much on that and to try to focus on how I could grow and improve myself. I wanted to get something else out of it, win or lose.

This far into it, I’ve learned a lot about myself. It’s made me remember how much I love horses, how much I love to teach them and take my time with them, to build their confidence slowly and progressively.

When you do this for a living, there is always the clock breathing down your neck. The customer wonders why you aren’t riding their horse yet, and why they aren’t neck reining yet, and why the horse isn’t absolutely perfect after 60 days of training. Then you remember why you got into training horses in the first place: because you love horses. It’s easy to forget that. I will be forever grateful to Murphy and God for reminding me of that.

Day 50 (Lazy Murphy)

Wendy:
Murphy (my makeover mustang) is doing wonderful, except for his lazy streak!!! He has become almost a different horse in the past few weeks. I gotta get him lifting up his feet going over obstacles though. I always thought mustangs were very careful with their feet, not this guy, he plows right through and uses the least amount of effort possible to pick up his feet!

Day 46 (Riding Diago)

Steve:
Wow, I haven’t realized it’s been so long since I’ve last made an entry on the blog. Sorry for that. I have been real busy, the rain has dried up and I have been playing catch up with just about every thing. Diago, my mustang makeover horse, is doing great. I am now riding him at a relaxed walk, trot, and canter. I am going to ride him in the arena for the first time today. I feel he will do well because of the previous ground work on the obstacle course, arena and round pen.

The self control exercises are coming along well too which should help us out if we make it to the final ten in the competition (I can always dream!). Diago has gotten over a lot of his training mentally but still carries much of his instinctual nature with him, for example his biggest deal is if he gets startled or nervous he still wants to ark his body to be ready to wheel and kick. I can’t stand that BUT it is tremendously better that when he first arrived. This upcoming week I plan on working on his stop, go, gait, introduction to neck reining and try to introduce vertical flexion at the stand still and walk if he’s ready. The following week I would like to work on the rail, his steering, more body softness and control and more vertical flexion.

Day 33 thru 45 (Lots of hard work)

Wendy:
Murphy and I have worked on a lot of things since the last addition to the blog. We finally got a week and a half of dry weather and it has really helped Steve and I get some much needed time on our horses. I’ve worked on Trailer loading, picking up Murphy’s feet, standing tied lessons, a lot of desensitizing, lunging, and more. Murphy is doing well, he is becoming more confident, and he’s gone from trying to kill the plastic to accepting it pretty well. I decided that if he couldn’t deal with the plastic then he probably wouldn’t deal with me on his back too well, so even though that has really slowed us down, I continued to work at it until he was accepting of it. I would say starting out our hardest tasks have been the plastic and the lunging. Now I can’t pick out anything that he is having much difficulty with. He is a lot more trusting of me and relaxed around the barn. He’s not spooking and bolting constantly like before.

I noticed this week that as I taught Murphy to load in a two horse trailer, I was able to stand up on the fender well and load him from both sides. Two weeks ago if anyone climbed up on his round pen to watch him being worked he would come unglued. I would like more time to work him so I can get caught up to where I would like to be, but so far it’s just hard to find extra time. I will keep going and maybe I can get some spare time. We have a vet appointment tomorrow morning to pull the coggins and wolf teeth. Should be interesting to say the least.

Day 31 (Murphy makes progress)

Wendy:
Today we worked in the arena on all our previous exercises. Murphy made quite a bit of progress with the plastic bag

Day 30 (Rain and Training)

Steve:
I think Diago and I have developed web feet with all this rain. The past weeks training has been spent mostly in the barn. The rain has so saturated the ground that training is difficult. It has however allowed me to cover other things that I had planned to at a later date, so technically I haven’t really lost time training I just changed the program up. I have been ready to put the first ride on him but haven’t been able to that either. I’m hoping to put the first ride on this week. I have a friend with a covered arena that will allow me to ride him until we dry up enough to continue at our place. I have also taught Diago to trailer load and he is doing well. I have high hopes for him but I know he and I still have a Looonnnngggg way to go.

Day 20 (Outside Work!)

Wendy:
Today I did some work outside. I started out beside the barn just doing some lunging by the horse trailer. I think Murphy thought it was going to eat him. He did settle down and lunge up to it from both sides before we were done. We ended up in the arena working on some more lunging exercises that he still needs work on and some desensitizing work with the plastic. He still goes between giving the soft eye and evil eye when it comes to the plastic. It is a love/hate relationship. He hates it because it scares him and he loves it because he gets to stand still and rest when he is being rubbed by it. He did make good improvement today with it, but he is still far from being bombproof with it.

Day 29 (Hauled the trailer out...)

Wendy:
I didn’t try to work Murphy outside of the barn, it is just too slick and wet, and parts of our round pens and our arena are still under water. When we go out to catch the boys we sink a foot. It’s pretty comical, have you ever stepped in sand and tried to pull your foot out and your boot stays in the mud?

Thank God Steve found someone with a four wheel drive to get our trailer out, it’s been stuck for two weeks. We will start working the boys on trailer loading if we can, and start hauling them to an indoor arena. Murphy still needs to go to the vet and have his wolf teeth removed. He’s gentled down enough now that I think that won’t be too much of a problem. It should be interesting trying to teach them to load in all this mess. We’ve parked it on high ground so hopefully we can get something done.

Day 24 (Start of Deluge) Thru 28 (Middle of Deluge)

Wendy:
I can’t believe it. The rain has not stopped yet, it pours everyday. We were told that we were half an inch shy of breaking the record for the most rain in June in Texas. Our forecast is saying still two more weeks of rain. This has really set us back on our training on Murphy and Diago. I just keep telling myself there is a reason for everything and God is in control

Day 25 (Progress with Diago despite the rain...)

Steve:
This Texas weather, I need a boat just to get out to the barn. We have had rain all week. I have had to do a lot of stuff with Diago in the barn this week. I am currently working on picking up his feet now which is slow but that’s OK I would much rather have him trust me and what I’m doing rather than scare him and regress in the training. I feel that he is ready for the first ride but I need a dry place to ride him. As soon as it dries up enough I plan on riding him in the round pen then transfer to the arena. Where I will start to work on the riding establishing a better go forward cue, stop and steering at first. This up coming week I also plan to start teaching him to trailer load. I would say wish me luck but I need prayers more. I feel blessed to of have gotten him this far and look forward to each new day of training.

Day 23 (Rain, Rain, Go Away...)

Wendy:
More rain!!!!! This is amazing for Texas to get this kind of rain in June. We are still under flash flood warnings and the water is creeping closely to the house in places, hope we get a break in the weather soon before we need to build an ark.

Day 22 (More Rain!)

Wendy:
It rained most of the day, so I didn’t get much done today.

Day 21 (Rained out)

Wendy:
We are getting flash flood warnings and our place looks like one big pond. We are still bringing the boys in everyday to the barn, but we aren’t able to do much as far as training due to the rain. They are calling for more rain the rest of the week. I think doing some light work in the stall and just some brushing will be a good confidence builder anyways.

Day 20 (Arena Work)

Wendy:
Today we worked in the arena. Just review with adding a few new exercises. We worked some on backing and at first he was confused, but figured it out in the end and finished up nicely. As I was finishing up a huge storm moved in while I was in the alley way of the barn with Murphy. It sounded like the roof was going to cave in from the hard rain, but surprisingly Murphy stood like a trooper while I brushed out his mane and forelock.

Day 19 (Yet another...)

Wendy:
Day off

Day 18 (Slow and Steady…)

Wendy:
I am wanting to move on so bad with Murphy, but my instinct tells me to take it slow and steady. I know others have their mustangs saddled and are already riding, but this one just isn’t ready for that. I’ve worked many horses and this guy just isn’t going to be a dead head. I do believe with a little patience and some hard work he will come around. I’ve since found out he has wolf teeth on both sides, so we will be needing to make a trip to the vet before I use the snaffle bit on him. Hopefully that won’t slow him down too much. I’ve got to get him loading in my trailer and I want to make sure his vet experience won’t set him back any.

Day 18 (Domesticated Deigo)

Steve:
Mostly review again today with a couple new things added in. Diego is really starting to act more and more like a domesticated horse rather than a wild mustang. I say that with reservation. He’s still is very instinctual and I have to remember that he has to be treated with the greatest of respect. Tomorrow is Sunday and I will be giving him the day off. He’s done well and he deserves a day of rest and time to absorb his training.

Day 17 (Cooling our heels in the barn)

Wendy:
I am bringing him in the barn everyday now and actually hosing him off in our wash rack. He’s nervous but willing to stand still for the most part. It is so hot and humid and the bugs are horrible, so I thought it would be nice for him to be in a stall during the hottest part of the day. I am pretty sure he is starting to like his little box fan on his stall door. He stands in front of it and lets the breeze blow his face.

Day 17 (More review...)

Steve:
Not much new today, just reviewing what he knows and refining it. Getting him ready for the first ride which I’m hoping will be next week. I do have more exercises to show him before his first ride that I’m hoping will keep me and him safe. I know he’s not quite ready for the first ride but it’s just around the corner and I’m scared, excited, chomping at the bit, and can’t wait all at the same time. I’m trying to put the horse first and proceed when I feel he is ready.

Day 16 (Dreaded Plastic Bag Monster)

Wendy:
Today I caught him with out much fuss. We worked on some lunging type exercises and always a lot of desensitizing. He is better with the desensitizing, but still has such a long way to go. It is slow going as far as improvement on the desensitizing. He is good with the flag, lead rope and a few other things, but still needing work on the dreaded plastic bag monster. I’ve broken it down even more for him and that has helped, but he’s done everything that can be done short of killing the thing. This little guy is quite reactive, I’ve got to really break it down for him. He is very smart once he does it right a few times he settles in.

Day 16 (Saddling Inconsistencies)

Steve:
Another good day on the ground and in the arena. Although he did buck after I put the saddle on. I chalk it up to lack of consistency on my part with saddling him from day to day. Other that that he did really well. I worked on several new exercises getting control of his feet, getting him to move forwards and backwards with the softness and suppleness I’m looking for.

Day 15 (Lots of work a head…)

Wendy:
Each day I always ask Murphy to disengage and give me two eyes before I approach and attempt to halter him. It is something I do with even the best broke horse. It is a way to see what side of the paddock they woke up on and to see how willing and responsive they are. Each day I work on catching and haltering and each day I would have to do some work before he would allow me to put the halter on. Today is the first day I was able to put the halter on without much movement. I do believe that the last few days as disappointing as they were, were very important. Murphy has a lot of fear. I notice it in other ways when I am not involved in his training and he is just hanging out in his pen by himself. When there are new objects put into his pen, or we walk a horse by with a saddle on, there is no investigating; in fact he stays as far away from things as he can. He is very suspicious of anything new. I still have a ton of work to do, but I do believe that eventually it will pay off. I don’t think he will be an easy one to win over quickly like I initially thought and had hoped. The luck of the draw!!!!! Ha ha

Day 15 (Diego goes into the arena)

Steve:
Today I felt I would start introducing Diego to the facility. We worked on lunging and leading in the barn and in the arena. He did so well I couldn’t believe it. He was a little skittish in the barn but ended up doing OK. Diego did very well in the arena. The arena for him was basically a transition from the round pen to the arena, I was hoping he would do well and he did. Good job Diego. I was pressed for time today so I was unable to saddle him again today, maybe tomorrow.

Day 14 (Murphy vs. Diego)

Wendy:
Much better day today. Steve helped me with Murphy again today. I was looking for Murphy to have another rough day, but he really ended up doing much better. We worked on some lunging, desensitizing and started him with the plastic. All that hard work paid off yesterday. Still miles to go, but I feel better about today. Steve is doing awesome with his competition mustang Diego. He saddled him for the first time today and Diego did wonderful. I really have to get busy to catch up!!!!!

Day 14 (Accepting Bridle and Saddle)

Steve: Today was another great day of training. He has accepted both the bridle and saddle and is doing well. He is getting really good at the self control exercises, all but one which needs more work. I’m sure he can overcome it, he just needs more time. His lunging exercises are coming along nicely I’m hoping to have him lunging around the property starting Thursday for Friday.

Day 13 (Round Pen)

Wendy:
Today I started with round pen work and was able to catch him fairly quickly, but I did up the pressure more today. I am getting the idea that to make better progress I am going to have to push to get where I want to go. He is happy to play some cat and mouse with me and that needs to change. I feel like today was our worst day so far, it seemed that we lost ground in some areas that were good and gained ground in other areas. He’s been really pushy about not wanting me on that right side. I was so exhausted from working in the heat all day with the other horses and so I asked Steve to step in and help me finish on a good note. We did end the lesson on a good note and will look for improvement later.

Day 13 (Good Day for Self Control)

Steve:
Today was a good day for the two of us. I feel like we have made be biggest leap in his training. Today he accepted all of the self control exercises along with all the cue exercises and is becoming fairly efficient with them all. Some better than others but as a whole he is doing tremendously better and I feel something is starting to click.

Day 12 (Father’s Day)

Wendy:
We had a good Fathers day and enjoyed being with family.

Day 11 (Rain)

Wendy:
It is raining pretty good here today so we weren’t able to get much work done on our mustangs today.

Day 10 (Lunging and Self-Control)

Wendy:
Today we worked on more lunging, desensitizing and rubbing. Each day I’ve gotten further back with my hands, but I still don’t trust his hindquarters. He still finds stuff to spook at and he wants to bolt forward when he does so I am very cautious. He is still leading out good and lunging better today, but still not good enough to really take him anywhere.

Day 10 (Slow Going…)

Steve:
The past five days were slow going. I was really trying to get Diego’s confidence and trust, allowing me to move around him and accept the training. I could see improvement but at a slow pace. I decided to give him the weekend off and pick up his training on Monday.

Day 9 (And I dub thee... )

Wendy:
Today was a nice day. We had some cloud cover and it made it not quite as hot. I finally decided on a name for my mustang. My family and I have been batting the idea around for a few days and came up with several ideas, my mom is the one who ended up coming up with the chosen name of Murphy. So there it is, Murphy is his new name.

I started the lesson today asking for disengaging and facing up as I approached him. I did some desensitizing and was able to halter and start on the leading fairly quickly today. He is following me off really good and getting softer and more relaxed about me approaching. The desensitizing is getting better and he’s not as spooky. I started teaching some lunging because he is still unsure about me being behind his drive line. I have lots of ideas of things I would like to do with him to help build his confidence. I am looking at having more time to spend with him in a few weeks. We have a spook proofing clinic going on here at the ranch for 10 days so it makes it hard to find as much time as I would like. Each day there is improvement and each day I like this horse more and more. I think my favorite part about him right now is his curiosity.

Day 8 (Another Free Day ~:( )

Wendy:
I gave my guy the day off today.

Day 7 (Gaining Confidence)

Wendy:
Today I started out trying to just approach him without throwing the rope. I would get real close to getting it over his head and he would back off and get scared. I decided to try to rope him again and caught him on the 2^nd throw. Hey, I may turn into a roper yet!!!! I was feeling like I lost a little ground at first, but he came around pretty quickly again. He’s such a neat little horse, still keeping that curiosity, and I can tell I am gaining his confidence more every day. I started teaching him to lead today and decided to go ahead and halter him and let him wear the halter while I worked with him. The leading ended up being surprisingly easy. It didn’t take much for him to learn to follow me off. I know it’s from building his trust all week. I am really trying to not be too hard on myself about not making more progress faster. I’m really trying to not make it about the competition, but about doing what’s right for my horse.

Day 6 (Roping the Mustang)

Wendy:
I was expecting to lose a little ground today because I was unable to work him yesterday, but he really came around nicely today. I can’t rope to save my life, but for the first several days, to speed things up a bit and make that connection I had to rope him. It was quite comical today, I tried several times to throw the rope and catch him. He is getting so desensitized to it he just turns and faces me and looks at me like I am an idiot. I finally gave up and just approached him and slowly was able to put the rope around his neck. Talk about feeling quite silly. I’ve never claimed to be a roper, but it is making me want to get some pointers from those who do it for a living, you definitely need to have a talent for it, just ask me (the one who ropes everything but the horse)

Day 5 (Starting to Lunge)

Steve:
We are starting to work on more than self control exercises and teaching him to relax. We are now starting to get more control of his hind quarters as well as moving him out while attached to a lead rope. I am still having trouble with getting him to lead out, but there is progress. I was also able to lunge him today and was quite pleased at how well he accepted it.

Day 5 (Day Off :( )

Wendy:
I was not able to work with my mustang today.

Day 4 (Meet Diego)

Steve:
I have decided to name my mustang Diego. Today we had a good session. I started with round pen work then was able to walk up and halter Diego. He is still untrusting but actually doing well. I started to get Diego used to my training tools and used to things moving all around him and leading out. I’m really trying to work on building his trust and confidence in me.

Day 4 (Follow the mower...)

Wendy:
My plan was to work earlier today, but I really needed to get some mowing done before more rain comes in. I started working my mustang at about 3pm. He is still improving every day, and his confidence is building more and more. I see a strong curiosity about him. I noticed it even when I was mowing today. He was following the mower, which surprised me. When I would get anywhere near the round pen he would turn and face me and then follow me off as I kept going. I thought he would want to jump out of the pen if I got too close. We have domestic trained horses that go crazy when they see the mower coming. I am pleased with the progress, but I do wish I was further along. Patience and persistence I know will pay off.

Day 3 (Starting Roping)

Steve:
Today was a little better. I had to rope my horse again today but ended up with the halter on. I started with basic round pen work, getting my horse to turn and face up to me. I then had to rope my horse to actually approach and touch him. He kept snorting as I approached him with that “you better watch it, Mister” look in his eyes. I don’t know who was more scared, me or him. My main goal was to work on catching him and getting him comfortable with me approaching him. I finished the session by working on his leading.

Day 3 (Progress)

Wendy:
Second day in the round pen. My guy remembered everything from the day before so I was able to progress rather quickly to the next step. One big thing I noticed today is that he let me in a lot closer today than yesterday. Although this is a competition and I definitely want to win, I am focusing on trying to do what’s best for him, mentally and physically. As hot as it is I am having to go slower and give lots of breaks which is fine by me. I’m still out of shape from having my son, Tristan, so this heat is kicking my tail. I did rub him for the first time on his head. I really need to come up with a name for this guy. I know he doesn’t really care, but it will be fun. He is cute and curious so it needs to fit him and his personality. I’ll be thinking about what to name him…

Day 2 (Round Pen 101)

Steve:
WHAT DID I GET MY SELF IN TO????? The second day was an eye opening day. I started with basic round pen work and got as far as having him face me, touching his head and working back to his jaw. It was a little disappointing because I had hoped to get a lot further than I did.

Day 2 (HOT!)

Wendy:
Today was the first day I worked my Makeover mustang. It was hot today!!!! In the 90’s and very humid due to all the rain. We started round pen work to try to make a connection and I am happy to say he did wonderful. He is pretty fearful but at the same time curious. I’ve noticed he has a real kind eye, and seems very smart (and he takes cute pictures too!).

Day 1 (Quiet Start)

Steve:
Wendy and I were pretty excited about picking up the mustangs. When we arrived most of the staff had left to go to lunch so we were told the tag numbers of our horses and had time to locate them. The first horse I saw had a saddle on him and told Wendy I hope that one was mine. When we located our horses we looked them over and waited for the staff to return so that we could load up the horses and head back home. Once home the two mustangs unloaded pretty quietly and settled in pretty well. To sum it up the first day went pretty smoothly.

Day 1 (Starting Out)

Wendy:
Steve and I left our house at around 9 a.m. to go to Paul’s Valley Oklahoma to pick up our Extreme Mustang Makeover horses. I have to say I am a bit nervous. I’m not sure what to expect and at the same time wondering what I have gotten myself into. I’ve worked Mustangs before and it is no easy task. My son is just now 14 months old and so it’s been a while since I’ve started even a domestic colt. Should be interesting to say the least.