Results!

Congratulations to Madeleine LeClerc and Eyebrow Cat for placing first in the Legend's division of the TN Extreme Mustang Makeover!!! And a big congrats to Robert Carlson and Rock'n'rolla for placing second!! It's a R&M Performance Horse sweep!!

Week 12

This week Robert and I have both been sick (of course a week before the show!) and both the horses have had a little less riding than we would have liked, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes a few days off can really give the horse time to think and process what he has been learning. I have been continuing to work with Wildcat on the obstacles we have here at the house. He is doing very well with all of them. The big test will be if he remembers these lessons when he is under the stress of the competition. He is still having difficulty with his left lead depart and so I have pretty much decided to let it be. Hopefully we will get a pattern with a right lead departure, but if we do have to depart left we will just pick up the right lead and flying change to the left a stride or two later. When I really push for the left lead departure Wildcat becomes stressed and nervous and it is simply too late in the game to risk his mindset.

Robert and Rock have been working on gaining more refinement in the arena. Rock tends to be easily distracted and ornery in the beginning and Robert has found that if he mounts up and lopes a few laps right off the bat he is more prepared to learn. Rock has really been showing us what a talented stopper he is! He has also been very smart with his leads and has nice simple changes and circles at the lope. He isn't the most talented turn-around horse, so hopefully his other skills will make up for it in the competition.

We are planning on leaving Wednesday morning so posts will be limited next week. I will do my best to be on the ball keeping you all updated but no promises :) Things will be very busy!

Wish us luck!!

Week 11

Well things have been pretty busy here the last two weeks so I am going to have to do some catching up! During the 11th week we took RockNRolla and Wildcat to a Ranch Sorting Practice in Poolville. Rock started out pretty nervous but settled down and Robert rode him in his first round of the day. Rock just seemed to say "Cows? No Problem!". Wildcat also did well. He started out a little cautious but as soon as he realized that the cows were afraid of him he picked it right up.
We have also been working with both horses on more preparation for bridleless riding. So far Rock is better at complete rein-less riding (hasn't taken the actual bridle off yet) but Wildcat does great with a neck rope as a little helper for when he gets confused.
About mid-week in preparation for Project Cowboy Robert and I put together a whole bunch of new obstacles so both horses have started learning about the carwash, rope gate, picking items off barrels, log drag, jump, and more.
Two days before Project Cowboy Arty was pulling up sore and so I made the decision to take Wildcat instead! We went in knowing that we wouldn't win anything but I was very impressed when out of nearly 200 horses Wildcat came in 101st in the Reining! He got a bit spooked with me in the groundwork portion (the crinkly number on my back was SCARY!) but the rest of the weekend went well. Rock came along for the ride and spent most of the weekend hanging out in his stall watching the world go by. Friday and Saturday nights we were able to take both horses into the big arena and practice. It was a great experience for them both!
I have pictures from the event but I will have to get them posted later.

Week 10

Week 10 has held a lot more of the same for Wildcat. Left lead departures are better, but still touch-and-go. His flying lead changes are coming along great! He is very smart about getting his entire lead and not just half (a very common problem with most green horses).

RockNRolla has had some serious issues with his teeth and as a result has just not been able to relax in the snaffle bit. It took us a while to narrow it down to the bit and we wasted a lot of time messing with saddle fit, hooves, etc. looking for the reason for all his head tossing and random abrupt stops. Finally we figured it out and Robert put him in the Bosal this week. Voila! Rock has been much happier ever since. Of course Robert has had to re-teach almost all his aides and rein cues since the Bosal applies such different pressure than the snaffle bit.

On Sunday we took both horses to a local schooling show hosted by Susar Farm Arabians. Susan was very excited about the Mustangs and not only sponsored our entries for the event, but also made sure to announce all about them over the loudspeakers. We had a lot of fun, the classes were a blast, the judge was very kind and supportive, and overall it was a wonderful experience for the horses. I was very pleased that everyone there seemed very excited to hear about the Mustangs and were glad to see them there! We will be attending more Susar Schooling Shows in the future and urge you to join us! Check out her website at www.susarinc.com

Week 9

Wildcat has had a great week this week. We have been trailering out a lot to different arenas. He has gotten to the point where he jumps right in to the trailer and auto pilots into his stall.

We are still having trouble picking up the left lead out of the walk or trot but if I pick up the right lead then he will flying change onto the left. He is progressing nicely in his lateral work, stops, backing, turn arounds, guiding, flying lead changes, etc. Early in the week I had some trouble picking up his feet (he just planted and wouldn't pick them up) but we worked through it and with lots of repetition he is now picking them up great. Trotting in-hand is also touch and go so we do have a lot more ground to cover before the competition, but I feel like we are making progress in the right direction.

Robert has has a tough week with RockNRolla. Rock is just super sensitive and a bit anxious. He tends to be really temperamental. He has enormous athletic ability and tons of talent, Robert is just faced with the more difficult task of "training the brain". Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of Rock this week since Robert was working with Ruger and his owner Becky. For those of you who followed the Colorado blog, Becky adopted Ruger long-distance (from Virginia) and has left him here for us to train until December. This weekend was the first time she has actually gotten to meet Ruger in person! They got along great and we are super excited to hear about their Calvary re-enactment adventures next year!

Week 8

Week 8 has been another big one for both RockNRolla and Wildcat. We have been hauling both horses to as many different arenas as possible. Wildcat has been loping nicely for me to the right but still has a hard time picking up the left lead. After a couple tries he usually gets it though so it is just a matter of time and practice before he can pick it up reliably.
RockNRolla went on his first trail ride under-saddle early in the week but towards the end he started to shake his head around viciously whenever Robert would touch the bit so he took a trip to see Matt Lampe (www.dfwabsoluteequine.com) yesterday. Matt found that he had a couple of wolf teeth and a bunch of caps that were pushing into his cheek creating a sore and causing pain when the bit applied pressure. Robert will have to ride in a hackamore for a few days but then he will be good as new. Rock has really been progressing quickly under saddle. He has an awesome stop! Wildcat has been doing well too. His lateral work is beautiful! He is still a little nervous about people on the ground but I think we have almost worked past it.
We took both boys to a practice shoot on Saturday and they did great with all the gunfire, horses, and people running around.
Wildcat is very pleased with the latest change in his life! I have been turning him out in the pasture with the other 2 and 3 year olds and he is loving it!

Week 7

We've had a huge week this week! I got Wildcat leading reliably, we got our first few strides of lope, and had our first ride outside of the round pen! RockNRolla has been rode several times without someone on the ground and has been doing great! At the end of the week we took both horses on an overnight camping trip at the LBJ Grasslands in Decatur. We used Artista (EMM '08) and Ruger (EMM CO '10) to pony Rock and Wildcat all over the grasslands on Sunday and after a nice long pony I felt comfortable mounting up on Wildcat and riding him around the campsite!