tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59033117072483848792012-02-16T22:14:45.754-05:00100 Trainers. 100 Mustangs. 100 Days. <br><br> Cornerstone Training clinicians Steve and Wendy Hilton Smith are honored to be two of the 100 trainers participating in the Extreme Mustang Makeover. <br><br> This 100-day competition began on June 6, 2007. We will have the Mustangs in training until Sept. 22, when we will compete with our Mustangs for $25,000 in prize money in Fort Worth, TX. <br><br> This blog is a ring-side seat to our training progress. Thanks for visiting!Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comBlogger541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-4162377057910842572007-08-29T15:55:00.000-04:002007-09-17T16:20:48.651-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-64881663657173211252007-08-27T16:20:00.000-04:002007-09-17T16:37:36.946-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-84664249311444656332007-08-20T11:46:00.000-04:002007-08-21T11:56:10.198-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-85244438340664607972007-08-19T11:36:00.000-04:002007-08-21T12:00:44.393-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-46711337439392608382007-08-12T10:25:00.000-04:002007-08-21T11:56:35.209-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-27133368938876651182007-08-11T10:07:00.000-04:002007-08-14T13:26:01.781-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-91195812721137206672007-08-07T14:59:00.000-04:002007-08-08T15:19:29.489-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-15215868777821196682007-08-05T15:25:00.000-04:002007-08-08T15:33:06.398-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-79458100403550948762007-07-29T15:21:00.000-04:002007-08-08T15:24:38.176-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-78539586122900847992007-07-27T10:35:00.000-04:002007-07-27T10:47:29.499-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-28958500040771510972007-07-23T22:32:00.000-04:002007-07-27T10:38:37.444-04:00

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!

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-89660112253101055502007-07-19T22:33:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:51:11.503-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-45264940767835199202007-07-18T22:11:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:48:28.464-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-76629856239785854912007-07-07T22:06:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:27:47.733-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-42979354563172581942007-07-06T16:25:00.000-04:002007-07-10T16:33:05.774-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-24024419725313816412007-07-06T16:16:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:28:08.307-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-50721737502922809882007-07-05T16:09:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:32:57.767-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-63922005826972510192007-07-04T15:50:00.000-04:002007-08-08T15:28:49.899-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-86994047809531146582007-06-30T16:20:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:26:05.351-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-85109897016457086442007-06-28T16:53:00.000-04:002007-07-01T16:55:16.693-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-70739029242295672902007-06-27T13:39:00.000-04:002007-07-01T16:53:06.883-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-36457266540396561412007-06-26T13:37:00.000-04:002007-07-01T13:38:56.137-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-54278594151532113412007-06-25T13:33:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:27:05.956-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-21266727721828408312007-06-24T13:22:00.000-04:002007-07-01T13:28:56.362-04:00

Wendy:Day off

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-9142335945238890052007-06-23T16:58:00.000-04:002007-06-24T16:59:18.235-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-9759687610508775672007-06-23T10:45:00.000-04:002007-06-27T10:49:40.282-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-47949304601323261682007-06-22T16:57:00.000-04:002007-07-01T13:30:45.542-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-64299196711876186742007-06-22T10:43:00.000-04:002007-06-27T10:45:02.770-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-17801143101017099882007-06-21T16:55:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:28:51.436-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-31006421164463909552007-06-21T10:40:00.000-04:002007-06-27T10:43:13.424-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-46291147290780853932007-06-20T16:42:00.000-04:002007-06-24T16:55:29.948-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-55358481574963692082007-06-20T10:37:00.000-04:002007-06-27T10:39:52.098-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-22118915504945652632007-06-19T22:41:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:46:39.168-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-35206530427783466072007-06-19T10:43:00.000-04:002007-07-01T13:33:33.958-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-40980041907699106942007-06-18T22:40:00.000-04:002007-06-20T10:50:33.410-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-61142314046571760672007-06-18T10:42:00.000-04:002007-06-20T10:51:10.500-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-64376423289604290862007-06-17T22:38:00.000-04:002007-06-19T22:40:17.604-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-7304476115393443542007-06-16T22:36:00.000-04:002007-06-20T10:51:33.795-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-50342367419781385072007-06-15T22:09:00.000-04:002007-06-20T10:52:23.556-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-46367810868907123682007-06-15T10:38:00.000-04:002007-06-20T10:53:04.652-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-53387171137724081772007-06-14T18:37:00.000-04:002007-06-20T10:53:41.101-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-56678331844795859942007-06-13T18:36:00.000-04:002007-06-15T18:36:53.122-04:00

Wendy:I gave my guy the day off today.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-34278966546874669892007-06-12T16:25:00.000-04:002007-06-13T17:23:42.540-04:00

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 2nd 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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-42856974821072213272007-06-11T16:23:00.000-04:002007-06-13T17:24:03.583-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-1882619042987456572007-06-10T18:53:00.000-04:002007-06-15T18:54:52.155-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-48094871400205282862007-06-10T16:21:00.000-04:002007-06-13T17:24:33.119-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-70253113869461027722007-06-09T18:50:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:25:34.431-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-52434006762747596252007-06-09T16:18:00.000-04:002007-06-13T17:25:40.799-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-49696968306835219562007-06-08T18:50:00.000-04:002007-06-15T18:50:48.999-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-82988704644751110602007-06-08T16:12:00.000-04:002007-06-13T17:26:48.231-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-81204694098479018422007-06-07T18:48:00.000-04:002007-06-15T18:49:14.625-04:00

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.

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-7595599002281336042007-06-07T16:09:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:44:42.769-04:00

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!).

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-14690671011364849722007-06-06T18:39:00.000-04:002007-06-15T18:48:17.176-04:00

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

Cornerstone Traininghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18200341656947702083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903311707248384879.post-13735608021867490002007-06-06T16:06:00.000-04:002007-07-19T22:43:24.268-04:00

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

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