Flaming Hot Horse

Tonight I was thinking back to the day Tiny came into my life and the journey we have taken together. He has grown into a confident and true riding horse and the belly is shrinking a little more with every mile (: I have grown to love his heart the most and my courage to say goodbye is shrinking by the day. He is soft and willing with every step he takes and although at times he gets scared he always replies to my crazy requests with an honest try. I am keeping our freestyle plans a secret, but I do confess that a fire extinguisher would be a very good idea!!!

PS.... Evidence that Tiny has reached celebrity status with his very own slide stop

Crazy nights with wild horses and girls

We don't believe in sleep, just ask Chris Vilmer! I have been staying up late at lifesavers some nights. The first night I stayed over and played with Jenna and Tiny. Then last night I stayed late with Chris playing with Myagi. Let me break it down for you, as Jenna loves to say :) It was a blast and today I did not even open my eyes until ten. First Thursday night with Tiny all I did was watch. Tiny was wound up! Jenna asked me to ride him and I said next week because he was so wound up that I really did not feel like flying through the air just in case he decided to launch me. Jenna rode him bareback and he did good but really was quite up. Jenna worked him also on his in hand and WOW! It was nice despite Tiny being bratty. She had him soft in his yielding and he really looked good when he was doing what she asked. The other times he looked like a naughty horse full of piss and vinegar! She is going to come bring him to cows next week with me......
Then yesterday was so inspiring. We had a myagi marathon and I have not gotten the chance to play with him for quite awhile. Chris threw a loop over his head and then he haltered quiet. Let me tell you also that poor Chris was having heatstroke and several times looked like she might pass out so I asked to play with her horse. Once on line he was an angel; a very bored, unenthused angel but good and quiet never the less. I played with the flag but he handled it nicely and got over it quickly. I can not believe how much Chris has done with this hard horse! He was so good that I was inspired to throw a pad on him. He handled it so well that I threw a saddle on him and he didn't really care. I cinched it up and BOOM! Myagi got air! And that was the best bucking fiasco I have seen in awhile. He worked through it real quickly and then we played a little before I took it off. Then I told him that he needed to learn to halter without a rope around his head and that him and me where there for the long haul. I said whoa, walked to him with the halter and he ran. So I made him run until he wanted to stop. Then I walked up to him and said whoa and he ran. So we ran again until he wanted to stop. We did this until Myagi said enough and stood still for the halter for lots of times with Chris and I. Then we did ten thousand things like trailer load and teach myagi to tie. Wow! What a good boy but I can tell you this is not an easy horse in the slightest bit! Good job Chris!

Azania learns refinement

Today means we are thirty days away from our competition and I feel like I have so much to accomplish with Azania. Tonight I am planning on taking him to meet cows in Rosemond, where I have heard is a low key great place to introduce your horses to cows. I spent the morning working with him to get some collection in his neck. Azania is so smart and willing that he really trys to please most of the time. The key is MOST of the time. He is working great in the bridle and now we just need to be riding in large areas to work more on our yielding. I introduced him to spurs today to get some better sideways movement. I had spent an hour trying to locate nice rounded spurs that wouldn't poke him too badly. He really thought it was a joke and I probably should have found some pokey ones :) He is pretty sure that he can lean on the spur all day with his tongue out saying I don't feel that...... I don't feel that....... Oh mom, did you notice that I don't really feel that? Funny horse!

Ahhhh, Finally!!!

Relief has washed over me. Miyagi and I have had an amazing three days. It started Sunday night. I brought my son out to Lifesavers for another all nighter if that was what it was gonna take. Marty watched me play for about 30 minutes and then piped in. "Can I play with him Mom?"

Marty was amazing! Miyagi was amazing! It was an amazing night!

As Pat Parelli would say "the prior preparation was in place". Marty haltered Miyagi. Benefit....Marty is 17 and in great shape! When Miyagi said "not so much", Marty could hold him, I couldn't.

It was a brand new day for Miyagi. He was haltered and unhaltered many many times that night. Marty was leading around the arena tossing 50 gallon barrels in the air. Miyagi didn't mind.

Monday, Marty and I returned! Miyagi was in the same frame of mind as we had left him the night before! Yes! Haltered quickly. We played with his feet, we played with toys, we went for a walk. We expanded our basic ground schooling skills, we got our first bath and we trailer loaded! It was a big day.

Tuesday, Miyagi was still in yes mode. Haltered easily. Miyagi's ground work has become butter. I don't think I have ever felt such lightness in my hands. He is an amazing mover. Willing. Fun.

Marty was a gift. His encouragment amazing! "It's just a horse mom, quit thinking he is a wild horse, he is just a horse." Marty is just Marty and I am so blessed to have such a supportive and gifted with horses son!

Miyagi is beautiful! Such a handsome man! I can't thank Jill, Angi, Jenna, Stephanie, Darla and Marty enough for all their support and encouragment.

Park It Miyagi!

Last night with Miyagi was just a blast. I fall in love with him everyday when I play with him. I can't believe how amazing he is doing. So despite the fact that a halter is not big on the Miyagi priority list of things to do, Miyagi's ground work has gotten fantastic. This horse is light as a feather. His confidence is growing everyday.

So new experiences with Miyagi. As I explore new parts of his body, he wishes to explore new parts of mine. Yeah, a little unnerving. I am trying to channel my inner Angi Keitel and trust that he isn't going to kill me during these moments of explortation!

Miyagi's biggest hurdle is his claustrophobia. There is nothing we couldn't do, if only I had 4 foot arms. I have heard about a video of him in the BLM shoot being picked up for his journey here that truly displays the deepness of his claustrophobia. I haven't seen it. So, that is what I am working on.

Last night I built a "parking space" out of toys. Then using the driving game, we parked Miyagi. At first he thought I was crazy. He flew through the tight cubby at lightning speed. It wasn't long though before he settled down, relaxed and stood inside. Then, again with lightning speed, he realized he was in a tight spot and off he went. This time though, he felt the ball and barrels all over his flanks. Wow, Miyagi's life flashed before his eyes. The coolest part was, he immediately looked to me. I love that.

Wasn't long before he was standing quietly in his special "parking spot". I think the special spot should get taller and tighter! Fun with toys we are calling our next adventure.

I LOVE HIM!!!!

big week for tiny horse

What a difference a week makes!!!!!!!! All the hard work is paying off in a big way. It seems that Tiny has decided that fear is something to leave behind ....YAY for Tiny ......HIP HIP HOORAY for me =) Since last week he went on a trail ride and he andled it like a pro AND we finally loped. He was very calm and collected and has one heck of a slide stop.
Did I mention his favorite speed is WHOA?!?


PS... We have located a saddle that actually fits "TINY" ...and it belongs to a 17 hand purebred CLYDESDALE. My 14 hand horse happliy wears a draft saddle LOL!!!

bareback bronc

So Tiny and I are both on a learning curve. I am learning all the ways that mustangs are different than domestic horses and Tiny is learning how to be a domestic horse. He did everything I asked for the first 35 days and then he decided to show me that he really was scared. Apparently he holds all his emotions inward and then BAAAABOOOOM!!! As Angi calls it he "lost his sh*t" ....and I lost mine somewhere between flying through the air and bouncing off the ground. We are working on teaching Tiny how to constructively deal with his fear and hoping that I don't get broke in the process. I have actually reverted to riding him bareback because I don't have a saddle that fits well enough to stay upright when he does loose his stuff.