Yahoo!!!

I got to touch my pony today!!! She had somehow lost her halter last week, then Jenn got hurt...so we had a couple of days off. I was hoping she wouldn't be a goldfish and forget everything we'd worked on. As extra insurance, I brought Roxanne, my old and wise Mustang mare, over and turned them out together...it was love at first sight for Gidget! She followed her around and couldn't figure out why Rox would let me come up to her and pet her...she was way curious about that. Then came time to get a halter back on her...that was kinda traumatic so we just put an extra panel in her stall and squeezed her against the fence...bingo, the halter was on and she didn't even know what happened. Then came the oh so scary hands, followed by the brush - but wait, that feels kinda good, so I'll just stand here and see what happens...she was such a good girl. Hopefully tomorrow will be good too...we've only got 11 weeks to go.

can you say faaaabulouuuuuussss

yes! it's true! i am up and walking today! Dayquil and tylonol seem to be my new sponsors for this weekend. We had a beyond great day with the horses today!! My mom wants to blog about her own horsie today so here is my piece about my bay wonder:

Ruger-
thanks to mary(since i'm walking but my right side says "hail no!") ruger wore a pad and a saddle today! whoooo hooo! i'm pee in your pants excited about that. she also stood and got her mane brushed as well as both sides of her neck and face. can we say BREAK THOUGH! oh yeah baby! our leading is coming along nicely too, we back and stop. lol. it's showmanship time!! mary(who is a sound person for MTV by day) has the next 3 weeks off so she is going to be helping us out with working the mares during the day since i think we are the only ones in this thing who have nine to five jobs? lol. no offence meant by that...lucky you guys!! :)

oh yeah, the big girl panties were on today sista! :) lol.

over and out!
-Jenn

no work today

I spent mostof the day on the couch pumped full of vicodin. :( still need to figure out why i can't feel the skin on my right hip, even though the swelling has gone down. I feel much better, still sore, but i'll be able to work with ruger tomarrow. We are trailering Roxanne over so we can work with the saddle pad and saddle with Ruger and get leading down. hopefully my 2 day absence wont hurt us. I'm sure it won't she is beyond smart and willing. Gidget should be good tomarrow as well. mary is coming over again to help since i might not be fully operational..haha. I'll be back on my witty feet before you know it. :)


more sleepy-

-Jenn

set backs

i didn't get to work Ruger tonight cause i was thrown off my friends horse onto some seriously hard ground, and to say the least i can barely walk. I'm talking hit my head and passed out, my hip is the size of a watermelon, and I have a 5 inch scrape on my forehead where i actually lost hair on my right temple. lets hope tomarrow i can move or im totally screwed for this thing.

anyway...last night we had some serious progress! she let me put the "scary" saddle pad on the longe line..she's so friggin good, the weight of the pad makes her stop and turn like i'm asking her too...it "chased" her for a while, wich was scary at first, but shedidn't care after the second lap. she spun around and flipped the pad up onher back all by herself and stood there like "oh god, it's on my back. it's ok. oh god, it's on my back." She also is getting GREAT at leading and backing! We will have more saddle and pad training on saturday when we bring Roxy over and pony her.

Gidget was good tonight as well. she managed to get her halter off, and we have had some issues with space and temper so i was set on fixing these problems in one session. she let me wrap a longe line around her neck and work with her that way, making her face you when she stops is a big problem we have, i put her in the round pen and worked with this on the tarp and saddle pad. She was good so we went in her stall and worked on her space issues. She rears and paws at you if you get to close or do something she doesn't like, so i went to work using the longe whip and desenstizing her with it. she was good and didn't do anything stupid, so i quit with that.

i'm off to heal,
-Jenn

Finito!

There it is!! I finished the pencil drawing of Ruger last night. You can buy a print at:

http://www.cafepress.com/teameliminator.361271983

goodbye snorting!

Sorry i didn't post last night, got home and was entirely too tired to do anything.

Here is Monday nights recap:

Ruger was introduced to a BIG scary tarp last night...ok so it wasn't scary at all, she walked up to it, sniffed, and walked over no problem. could this possibly be because i totally invaded her stall and hung every feed bag, shavings bag, and jolly ball as torture for her constant snorting at "scary" things. We made it through an entire session last night without snorting once!! exciting! She also let me walk up to her at a normal pace and pet her nose without being a spaz. I love her personality and disposition..she knows that the end of the lead rope is the end and she can't run anymore and turns into me and licks and chews..sometimes even taking a step forward. She's getting better about leading..we only have our "cow" moments when she decides she needs a breather. We are progressing nicely...I'm trailering my older(and broke) mustang, Roxy, over on saturday so I can work on ponying and swinging the saddle pad on her back. I'm hoping to get her saddled by next week so we can line drive and such. I have a crazy idea that might work for line driving before a saddle, and i'll wait to tell you about it..just in case it doesn't work. :)

Gidget was good tonight..she does have some listening issues though with "whoa" she knows what it means, she just likes to test my mom. I hate that, and since my mom is going out to my grandma's tonight...it's game on for me a Gidge. Anyhow, she did really well with the tarp and saddle pads so we will have to think of other things to throw at her. She's getting better at leading as well, she understands what pulling means and has way more "cow" moments than Ruger, but she'll get there.

I'll post more tonight after my fight club with the girls. :)

over and out,
-Jenn

Lead Ropes and Jolly Balls

Hi All, this is Becky, Jenn's mom. My mare, Gidget, is still skittish about being touched, but we have grasped the concept of leading and following. Hoping for actual contact sometime this week... she could sure use a good grooming. She wants to be good...it's just everything is a horse killer - oh well...she'll get over it :)

Ruger, Jenn's mare, is progressing quite well. She got a sacking out treatment today complete with scary saddle blankets, feed bags, and jolly balls! By the end of the session, she had decided that they weren't going to kill her and actually walked over the blankets on the ground. Not so much drama today, either...maybe she's really getting used to us! Ha Ha...little does she know what awaits her...

Show some love...

Thanks to our brilliant competitor Kristy from Reed Performance Horses, we have now joined the t-shirt selling ban wagon!

shop at http://www.cafepress.com/teameliminator

"Team Ruger" which is me(Jenn) and my mare Ruger
"Team Gidget" which is my mom(Becky) and her mare Gidget(formerly known as BLAZE!)

Thanks Kristy for the shout out and all the help!!

:)

here horsie horsie horsie...

We got the rope off of BLAZE! today and managed to get the longeline on her so we can work with her without being pissy about it. she's coming along nicely, we should be petting her this week.

-Ruger-

Mary came back today to help me out with Ruger and getting her used to her since she is the other half to my training program. :)

I tried to post capions under the photos, but blogger no likey me today. Ruger was beyond exceptional today, and is really starting to enjoy being with people. She has this "drama snort" that at first I thought meant she was going to be scared of everything, but now i know it's just her personality and she is being "drama" and making noise whether it is something she is used to or not. :) Mary put her in the round pen, and this is the first time that she actually was relaxed and very responsive to all the voice commands. As you can see in the photos Mary reeled her in, and my leading lessons paid off cause she is walking toward her!! First contact in the round pen and loose! she is normally tied when i pet her..mary got confortable and started playing around and leaning on the rope(last photo) and Ruger was fine with it all. so we accomplished two things today, learning the basics of leading and being petted in the open. I was also able to get to brush her today, her forelock was a mess, but it's all purdy now. :)

more today!

-jenn

where we go, they will follow.

Ruger and BLAZE! were good today. When we first got there i thought i was going to have to drop out of the competition..seriously.I get so frustrated sometimes when things don't go my way that it just infuriates me. It seems like i'm the only one who isn't practically riding my horse yet and that makes me grumpy to say the least..which poor Ruger found out when she caught the verbal brunt of my hatred today. I must first tell you how she is before I make myself out to be a bumbling retard.... if you move to quickly she jumps like she's been electricuted...if you yell, if you cough, if you fart(sad to say yes, this happened today) same thing. It's gotten to the point where if i'm walking alone and i see something "scary" i brace for a spaz attack(even though there is no horse around me) ugh.

after my outburst, i decided that she might be a little wound up from the rain and not being out, so i put her in the round pen and let her trot around and stretch her legs. She seemed to visibly relax so i decided to try and see if i could get something done to not make the day a total loss. wouldn't you know it we learned how to lead and back up. once i declaired that i wanted nothing to do with her, she was all about figuring out what i was doing. so all in all we had a simi-good day.

BLAZE! did well in the roundpen today, she knows "whoa" and turning into the fence and was generally better than she normally is.

im tired, and have a huge headache. bah!

nite
-jenn

blood, sweat, and sweet feed.

i know i know, i'm two days behind! -grumbles- i've broken it into two sections so i don't get maddened emails about my slacker-ness.

Thursday-

Tonight i gave ruger the night off and went to see phantom of the opera at the pantages theater in la...GREAT show by the way, and i highly suggest that you all go see it! :)

BLAZE! frustrated the hell out of my mom tonight and i must say not being there to help my mom kinda irritated me, cause i wanted to be there for her and let her know this was the right choice. that mare...lord help me...i thought ruger was going to be the crazy one(it's always the quiet ones!) but she has some spirit! We all alllllll weekend to harass her so it should end well.
-crosses fingers-

Friday-
My dad, being the lovely soul he is, gave my mom and i a half day off(family business, aint' it fun!) and i brought my secret weapon...MARY!! my friend for over 15 years and my sidekick on most days involving horses. She worked with BLAZE! and got her to tie and learn "whoa" which was fantastic cause now we can touch her.

Ruger was, um, ok today. I have been pussy footing around this whole petting her thing cause..well i hadn't pulled up my big girl panties and gotten serious about this thing yet..well that is until my dad harassed me and said "if your going to have a horse to ride at this thing, you better get going!" tuchay my friend, tuchay so with that...
wait for it....
we pushed our comfort zone(hers and mine) and we got a whole neck and shoulder rub down!!! yay! my goal is to be brushing her by sunday. plain and simple...this has to happen no more of this wimpy crap. :) She also discovered that if she is scared of something, she will wear it on her head. lol. it's always been my motto..."you don't like that bush?? good. we'll wear it on our head"
She wants so bad to be good, but her senses are telling her RUN! SCARY TWO LEGGER! we started out great today and ended great...it was the scary drystall bag in between that made us sweaty and pissy.

oh and sorry about the no photos. again...

i promise some tomarrow. :)

over and out!
-Jenn

i'm a slacker, don't shoot me!

Sorry I didn't do my normal blogging last night! I went out to my grandma's to visit Wesley and Carlton and see how they have faired through the snow(yes i said SNOW..in california) and rain that she has been having. They were fine, fresh, but fine. :)

-anyway- on you why you are really here:

Ruger made it through an entire session last night without trembling or sweating! she was even relaxed enough to let me talk(i'm loud..just so you know) and move around without her classic "snort", you know the one.. drama. I worked on "petting" her neck with my buggy whip and enforcing the "good girl" pat on her shoulder. I also fed her some horsie crack..thats sweet feed for all of out out of my loop..and it was hilarious watching her try and figure out how to eat it out of a persons hand. First she tired the "move my nose around" method which resulted in all the sweet feed on the ground and a quite puzzled look from her, then she tried the "open my mouth really wide and try to bite it out of her hand" which bothered me a little since I like my hands attatched to my arms quite a bit, then we ended with the "oh if i lick it, i get more of it in my mouth..sweet" method which i must say i enjoy as well since it doesn't involve me losing limbs.
I ended with that case to me, damn it, thats progress for Ruger. :)

My moms mare, who isn't really named, but who i fondly call BLAZE!(thats how i say it to, loud and with an exclamation) is coming along great. She broke her leadrope the other day so me and my rad roping skills...hah. not...finally got the loop around her neck so my mom could work with her that way. she's getting pretty damn close to touching her, so we will make it our goal to touch her by 5pm on sunday. Should be a fun time!

We are also pursuing sponsors for feed and such so if you know of anyone who would like to help, let me know. Oh, and being the crazy artist I am, i'm going to be doing some pencil and paper artwork of Ruger and BLAZE! and selling prints for $5. I'll let you know when this is ready to go ad i'll post it here. See some of my penicl and paper arwork at www.stickponydesign.com/pencildrawings.html

over and out!
-Jenn

ground gained, ropes lost.

we had a great night with the mares tonight!!

Pin Up Girl, my moms mare, had a very good night! my mom put her back in the roundpen and worked on "whoa" and turning into the fence. she did however loose her leadrope by stomping it into the mud and breaking it..but never one to give up my mom kept on training and working with the buggy whip and touching her all over. she got about a foot away from her without the leadrope... i do say GOOD JOB! :) I'm going to start helping my mom so she can touch her mare..starting with putting a rope on her and teaching her to tie. This is a team effort after all!

Ruger was exceptional tonight..we didn't sweat at all!! we've had this habit of breaking into a cold sweat when i start working with her, which is understandable cause she is scared to death of people. Tied again, and willingly took a step forward and let me touch her after i bounced the buggy whip on and around her face for while. We ended on a good note playing the "get off me" game..I'd put my hand on her nose and she would gently push her nose into my hand and I would continue to bounce the buggy whip on her head.

No photos today, I apologize..i know..i've let you down..lol. It's hard to take photos and keep an eye on a mustang! :)

over and out!
-Jenn

huston, we have contact!

I know i said yesterday that when she was ready to be touched, she would let me know..well she let me know today! We were practicing tying in her stall and i though...hmm i'm this close why not try a little further and *bing* my hand was on her nose. At first she didn't likey me on her hose and we had a moment of crazyness, but once she settled down again, I put my hand back on her nose and she licked and chewed. I got to scratch the "ice cream cone" on her head and called it a day. today was a mile stone, and hopefully we can build from here. Sorry the photo is really blurry! It was dark and my boyfriend used the camera on his phone. :)

My mom's mare was good again today, when she finally gets serious about touching her i told her i would help...lol.

more tomrrow!

-Jenn

round and round and round we go!

today was a good day, I put Ruger back in the roud pen and worked her on the longe line with "whoa" and turning to face me when she stopped. She did amazing! I've set aside focusing on "touching" her and turned to working with ground work and leading. The rest will follow when she decides she wants to be touched, she will let me know. I know that some other people are touching and saddling thier horses already, but I really think thats too fast. I want to be riding her by the 4th week, and I think when I get there she will be ready. We also discovered sweet feed today...aka horsie crack... she's hooked!

My mom worked her mare today, and they she got pretty close to touching her. She has a cool personality..but i'm glad i ended up with Ruger. :)

I'll post more photos tomarrow.

-Jenn

troubles and triumphs

today was good for ruger. she's a different one..and will be more than worth the payoff once this is all done. She wants so much to stand and be good, but every once in a while she will just lose it. I started messing with the longe whip today, first standing at a distance and bumping it all over her body, around her ears and head..she was cool with that after about 20 mins, so i moved to a smaller dressage whip so i could stand closer to her and she did great with that, i also got close enough to grab her lead rope today. We had a lesson in "whoa" and "when i pull this way, you follow" and i must say she is a smart one! She was good for a good 2 hours, then she seemed pissed and didn't want to work anymore, so i asked her for one more good thing, and quit for today. lets hope tomarrow she still remembers everything from today! She's also getting better about people walking by the front of her stall. It used to terrify her, but now she just stands there and snorts instead of running around wildly and crashing into things. I want to put her back in the round pen tomarrow and work her so she isn't quite as wound up, plus i can get some "whoa" down and such.

my mom's horse didn't get worked today... my parents went out of town for valentines day, but they are coming back for a whole day of mustang-ing tomarrow.

more tomarrow

photo time!!

ok. they uploaded backwards...but who cares!! they are here and doing fantastic!!

more tonight!

-Jenn

thiiierrrrr heeeerreeee.....

we went to ridgecrest at 5am this morning and got our mares! I have to say we got the cutiest ones on the lot!! lol. Both of them are bay(score!) and they both have cool markings.

There were some pregnant mares there that were going to people...odd! One poor lady got one and she was like "Do I get extra points for training the foal too??" lol!!

anyway my mare is stout and a big fatty..not preggers just BIG. I've named her Rouger..yes it's odd..but thats me!! :) I'm going to buy her at the auction when this whole this is over...i already have an attatchment to her, and she has quickly caught on that I am, in fact, not going to eat her. She has the coolest face marking, which i was hoping for a cool marking somwhere cause thats personality -anyway- it's a ice cream cone..i kid you not.. I have photos on my digi, but I seem to have missplaced the cord for the pc..so I will post them tomarrow.


I'm EXHAUSTED!!! good-night!

-Jenn

mares!

well i got an email today saying they were "mares" for the challenge...

there goes naming them "stewie" and "brian"..lol

oh well we will think of other names.


-Jenn

no rain! yay!

It STOPPED raining today, and it's going to be clear the rest of the week. awesomeness.

Tomarrow we are taking roxanne and carlton to my grandma's to make room for the mustangs on friday. They are going to love it..it's a one acre pasture with giant shade trees an chickens. lol. carlton the show horse will just die, he grew up in a pasture with a bunch of other babies so he will adjust and prolly not want to come home and work! :)


Counting the days, counting the days...


over and out.
-Jenn

rain rain...go AWAY!

it's Monday. and it's STILL raining.

lord.

it's supposed to he 52 and cloudy in ridgecrest on Friday, so hopefully that doesn't change. still cold, but no rain.

i have a leak in my roof at home, woke up to a GIANT bubble of water on my ceiling. greaaaat. top it off, the roofer won't call me back.

whoopie! it's prolly burst all over my floor and computer at home.

go mondays!

5 days and counting

well it's 5 days till we pick up the mustangs in ridgecrest for the extreme mustang makeover and i'm beyond excited. We got the round pen squared away today so everthing will go smoothly when we get back with them on friday night.

I had orginally signed up to work with two mustangs and i was going to have my mom work with and show one of them, but since i didn't read the fine print that says only the trainer can ride i sent in a rush registration for my mom so she can have one of my horses and still be able to ride it.

it's going to be fun! Expect photos soon!

-Jenn

Hairy Horse Show 09

Hola!

Well we had a GREAT show last weekend!! The kids were awsome, and the horses behaved themselves wonderfully. Here are some photos from the show, yes it started out with my darling weener cooper, but the photograper loved him. :)

-Jenn