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Norco Extreme Mustang Trail Challenge
The Second 30 Days-Part 1
The Second 30 Days-Part 2
The First 30 Days
The Last 30 Days

February 16, 2010 First Saddling

Sometimes the first saddling can get a little western. You wish it didn't need to happen, and you do everything you can to get your youngster prepared to accept the saddle without any upset. And that can often times be done. When you have all the time you need. But when you have 100 days not only to gentle them, ride them, and get them ready to compete out in the world, well, sometimes you have to hurry just a little.

Dave has tossed Polaris' lead rope over his back to ask him to turn around and face him. It worked just fine when there wasn't a monster gripping his back, trying to tear open his belly.

This is always a great way to see just how your horse is feeling and not a bad practice to get into before you get on a horse you don't know real well, or even your own when they might be a little spicey. Always, be careful! You're asking your horse to turn his butt to you.

The first saddling is ending just like you'd want it, for Polaris: nice and quiet.

It went quickly, as new things seem to with Polaris. And this is what Dave expected, and what allowed him to move a bit more quickly than he might have with a less trusting horse. Dave would have stuck with this as long as it took for Polaris to feel good about having a saddle on his back.

The Big Blue Tarp is ubiquitous to today's world, and represents many common monsters. How many of our butts tuck up a little when we see a garbage can, plastic bag, mail box, or just something that wasn't there last time in our horse worlds? And how many of us wish it didn't happen?

It's time for Dave to take this trust relationship with Polaris a step farther.

Yet again, Polaris has shown what a great temperament he has.

And Dave has shown that he can push him far enough to learn, but not far enough that he can't settle back down and learn to trust.

Now that Polaris has learned this new lesson in trust, he'll be able to generalize to many other frightening situations. As Polaris learns to trust Dave's leadership in more and more situations, he'll come to accept that he can trust Dave in new situations as well. He'll also be able to generalize his trust of Dave to other humans he meets along the way. It's our responsibility to prove that we're worthy of the trust our animals bestow on us.

They don't take this gift lightly, and neither should we!

Porta-Flex Pen

You may have noticed that the round corral you see in a lot of these photos isn't what you usually see. No solid plywood walls. No pipe panels. This round pen comes from Steve Harris of Cottonwood, AZ.

It claims to be lightweight, portable, easy to assemble, durable and customizable. From Start to Foundation has found these claims to all be true. But what they mostly appreciate is that it's safe for working youngsters, and any horse that might get physical. The soft sides are strong enough to contain anybody they've put them up against, and soft enough not to hurt anybody, with nothing to get tangled up in. All with the benefit of plenty of air circulation and visibility.

Check out Steve's Extreme Mustang Trail Challenge journey as well.

March 2010 Comet At the Wash Rack

Sure, getting a bath gets a muddied-up horse who's been out on the range all his life, clean and sweet-smelling.
But done with intention, it can be so much more.

Comet doesn't care that much for cookies, but he sure does love to be touched. What could be more soothing than warm water, a scrubber, and lots of warm bubbles. So this is a huge reward for Comet. His ears are flopping all over the place, and his eyes are half closed.

But a bath is even more than a lot of good feelings. Comet was already used to the barn, but there are a whole lot of new things at the wash rack, and this is a fantastic opportunity to do a little more de-spooking with an already pretty calm boy. The hose is not-so-carelessly left under his feet. He can get used to this 'snake' around his feet now, and it may even help him out someday when he get his feet tangled in a fence! It will certainly make the urban trail ride he'll encounter in just a few short weeks a lot more familiar. He's cross-tied for the first time. He's being handled in places you might not ordinarily pet your horse! All of this will add to his growing familiarity with his new world, and make his new life so much easier.

March 2010 Polaris Meets a Big Tire

You just can't do enough to familiarize a young horse-or even an old one!-with new things, and on every part of their body.

A tire is may not seem like something a person would be asking their horse to step into. But it generalizes not only to an overall trust between the horse and rider, but to steps you might find on the trail and even to the step into a horse trailer.

March 2010 Comet's First Ride

It seems like such a huge step from wild horse, to riding horse. But really, it's just a whole lot of tiny steps, explained just as slowly as the individual horse needs to be able to hear them, and process them. Much has been done to prepare Comet for this moment.

March 2010 Comet Gets Ready For Some Circus Tricks

There's just no such thing as too much de-spooking when it comes to young horses: as long as you keep it fresh and interesting for their inquisitive minds, avoiding boring repetition.

Ever the innovator, Krista is suggesting that Comet not only back into the big red bean bag, but she's upped the challenge by adding some distractions to the walls of the round corral. Don't be surprised if you see Comet sitting on this bean bag before he goes to Norco!

It's hard to see here, but Krista isn't using a normal crop to direct Comet. This flexible shaft has a soft rubber ball on the end. She's been using this to tap on Comet: to get his attention, to desensitize him to touch, and to direct his movements.

Today, all he has to do is explore it. Make friends with it. Follow his curiosity..

Allowing a horse to explore anything that they're curious about will ultimately make them braver and more confident. Of course, a time will come when he'll have a job to do, and won't always be allowed to wander off following his nose. But at this young age, the more things he understands and isn't afraid of, the better riding horse, and better partner for his rider, he'll become.

Some would argue that it's never a bad idea to let your express their opinions about their surroundings from time to time. Let them head down a trail that interests them, or stick their nose somewhere it's never been before.

Some would go so far as to argue that if we were to let our horses finish their sentences about things from time to time, they'd be more content in their work. But that's a conversation for another day.