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.