Norco Mustang Makeover 09

norco in 2010?

2009-10-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

well, it's that time.

norco emm 2010 apps are open and mary, my mom, and i each submitted one.

hopefully we get chosen again and we get the chance to show them what real competitors we are!! not that we weren't last time, but ruger was lame and didn't show to her fullest in the finals, and mary wasn't allowed to compete for points.

this time however...ya'll need to watch out! :)

the norco girls are taking home 1st, 2nd, and 3rd... lord have mercy on the rest of ya'll.

the new house is coming along great, finally settled and every room is painted, the front yard is landscaped and we are moving along on the backyard.

WE HAVE AUTOMATIC WATERERS!!!!! i'm so excited about not filling up buckets anymore!! the rats have decided to use them as swimming pools! thank god we won't have that problem anymore!

alright, enough blabbering...i have horses to work!

new house updates!

2009-08-22T10:45:00.001-07:00

thought i would send an update! we are all moved in and the horses are LOVING it at home!! more to come when mary gets home and we start using this thing as a photojournal!!

<3 jenn

new blog, new name, same cool people!!

2009-07-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's our NEW HOUSE!!! *dancing*

So since we are offical norcoians now(yayyyyy!!!!), true to fashion we have a "ranch", The Cadillac Ranch... and since all the horses we have been riding lately have decided it's more fun to break in half and be naughty than to behave and be contenders in a show pen, we have renamed our training operation from Eliminator Performance Horses to Broke N Half Training and Lessons.

Fitting right?! lol. at least we think it's cool and it gives us the warm and fuzzies inside!

Ruger and Stryker are riding in BITS now! yes i said BITS!! we are so proud of our girls and thier shank bits, now they are still snaffle mouth pieces but hey...they get the point across and we can bridle them with no problem.

We did have to spererate the girls though, they have this unholy bond to each other and I'm all for them being a "herd" but enough is enough and it's time to "wean" them if you may.

We are now accepting TIP horses...well as soon as our barn and round pen are built..so if anyone wants a bad ass mustang in 90 days...look us up!

Till next time!

-Jenn

me, a BAY fanatic....nooooo

2009-07-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

The parentals on a trail ride. My dad is riding Roxanne..our old pro mustang, and my mom is riding Belle.. I'm on Ruger, but you know how much I love the camera! hahah. i kid i kid.

Taco(formerly Miss El Paso) our EMM purchase is coming along nicely. she's broke to ride and awesome, but she's not "Jennifer White Broke". yes, there is a difference. Ride one of my horses..you'll see.

This is what my spoiled rotten little bratty Ruger mare does when I give her a bath..she rolls in her damn pee hole. I swear this mare absolutley HAS to be dirty..she cannot stay clean to save her life.

--------

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I try to keep this thing as horsie oriented as I can. There is lots of stuff going on with me, but it's not all horses..and thats why you guys come here..to get a look see at my horse life.

So I sold Carlton and Wesley is out on a lease...thats two geldings out of my hair!! I also gave Kristy Reed my other show gelding Mikey. They love him beyond words and I'm so happy he went to them!

That leaves me down to 4 horses...3 mustangs and a paint(with no spots mind you!) -and- they are all bays! No, we don't buy all bay horses to confuse you..and yes I could spot MY bay horses in a sea of bays..it's a gift really.

who's itching for an update?

2009-06-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

You are! :)

Ruger and stryker are doing well with their bit training, I've taken to just riding her in the hackamore lately cause i'm lazy and i don't have a competition to worry about so..meh! They are turning out to be such great trail horses, by the way, i've come to HATE arenas. I rode Carlton in the pen yesterday and was bored within 5 miliseconds. so I took him out on the trail and down into the riverbed and got more accomplished than I would have in the arena. Who would have known loping the windy switchbacks would turn into teaching lead changes?? huh..

Anyhow, I have some rather awesome news. We all have a horse that we had at one point and wished we didn't sell..mine was a bred in the purple little mare name Foxy Cutter Belle. She is a registered breedingstock paint but had all the talent in the world to hang with the big boys. Unfortunatly she came out with not a speck of white on her and she was sold to us for $2500 when she was two. I took her, broke her, and won every local show class under the sun with her...then I did the most idiodic thing of my life. I sold her. I've been searching for her for a few years, the new owner never transfered her into his name, so everywhere I got a dead end. I sort of knew where she was, the same barn I left her at, but I didn't really know. The other day my parents were driving around looking for properties and we came by this one house that was locked up, we called our agent but she was at the river and couldn't come open it. So my dad goes over to his friends house who lives in the same neighborhood, who's wife is a realtor, and askes if she can open the door for us. Their daughter has a horse, so naturally we stuck up a convorsation. I asked her where she boarded her horse and she said Moonshadow Farms...That's where I sold Belle...So I say "oh yeah, that's cool, I think my old mare Belle is there." and she goes "Belle?!?! you owned her? She's for sale!" My heart pounded, I couldn't breath, my mind was racing, it was all I could do from leaping out of the car and shouting.

Needless to say, The next day I went to the bank, pulled out the money I had been saving to buy Ruger with (trust me I fought myself hard when I saw a saddle I could have bought with the money) and bought Belle back.

She's home, forever. :)

-Jenn

we moved!

2009-06-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

the horses anyway. the place we were at, the people were losing thier house so we had to do an emergency move yesterday.

I was prowling craigslist this morning only to find they were selling all of thier stalls. ha. good thing I got my horses out!

We moved to this cool place with an arena and a bitchin round pen. The lady breeds paso finos so there are lots of funny moving horses on the property! lol.

it's nice though to be at a place right next to the riverbed, i'm going down there tooonight!

-Jenn

The Cadillac Ranch

2009-05-28T15:19:00.001-07:00

So my parents are buying property in Norco (Horsetown USA!), one cause we are tired of boarding, and two cause my dad wants us to train out of a nice facility that we can do what we please with.

I'm super stoked. My dad came up with a name for the ranch, and I came up with the logo. awesome no? I'm working on a website right now, we need someone to come out and take cool photos of us with our ponies then it will be bitchen.

Ruger was a "ranch horse" yesterday when i rode her. you know, when cowboys or working ranching break a horse from a hackamore to a snaffle they ride with the snaffle over the hackamore so they can ride with both and still have control..so thats what i did. she was awesome, i love her.

more later.
-Jenn

bits, bridles, and a brilliant idea

2009-05-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

Ruger is learning what a snaffle is all about and coming along nicely. We put the bridle on like a pro and we know how to lead from it now. It helps when horses are smart when you are training them! She didn't enjoy backing up (remember those holes I was talking about being left unfilled? our backing is the grand canyon of holes) so I bought two new long lines and attempted to drive her backward in the round pen.

nope.

having someone walk in front of her with a tarp.

nope.

backing her like i do in a showmanship class .

bingo!

she will get it eventually. I have some tricks up my sleeve for when I ride her in the snaffle to get her to back, but on the ground frustrates me.
-----
Kristy Reed has a brilliant idea and I want to be in on it 110%. She wants to create a club that puts on 5 to 6 shows for MUSTANGS ONLY with daily highpoint and year end awards. (I think it should be a BLM branded, or offspring of BLM branded mustang show only cause your going to get grade horses whos owners will claim "mustang" just to show.)

How friggin sweet is that?? I want to get it started NOW! :) Please chime in if you know how to get one of these clubs started and what is needed!

Ruger, Striker, and Miss El Paso

2009-05-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

Thought the other day that I would keep this thing updated so all of my followers (all 3 of you lol) could keep tabs on us.

Ruger and Striker are learning to take bits in thier mouths this week. We were going to give them a week off, but I've heard of some trainers from other EMM's that gave thier horses time off and they are pretty much starting over. So, to keep that away from us I'm trial riding and working in the round pen.

When you have 90 days to gentle and break a wild horse, there are holes that you leave unfilled just to get them to the show. Ruger hasn't had a bit in her mouth for more than a day...ever... I opted to leave that hole open cause I didn't want to deal with trying to stick something in a wild horses mouth..choose your battles wisley with the wild ones i say.

She opened her mouth and took the snaffle like a pro yesterday, she's ready for one anyway cause she now has callouses on her jaw from the bosal and doesn't listen anymore(ok sometimes, but not always)

She picked up this biting thing at the EMM too..i let her do it cause i didn't want anyone to buy her, but now that she's home..it's ass kickin time! lol.

Miss El Paso has a tendon thats acting up but she isn't sore on it so we are icing it and working more on her ground work. I like my horses DEAD on the ground, whoa means whoa, and clucking means get your ass in gear. it's funny to work with a horse that I haven't started..there are holes to fill that I don't know about, it's like whack a mole...find it, whack it, move on.

Stryker is well...stryker and is currently turned out with carlton in the round-ish pen. The place we are at ran out of stalls so they built a turnout of sorts for friendly horses to go in till some horses leave...you hear that Ruger I said FRIENDLY! :)

There are now more mustangs at the facility than there are "broke" horses..lol. The owners have 2 and we have 4.

Last but not least....

I have a great broke trail horse that I'm offering FREE to a good home. This guy thinks he's a person, and loves attention. He's been sitting for a while so he's out of shape, fat, and kinda ugly, but he's way cool. oh, and he has (so i was told) a bone spur on in his foot. every so often he will take a lame step but thats it.

let me know if your interested in him.

till later
-Jenn

the best..

2009-05-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well everyone is home safe and sound. Mary brought Stryker home for $750, Ruger came home with us for $1500 and we bought Miss El Paso (who is being renamed to Baretta) for $2000.

The EMM Norco Trail Challenge was the best time I've ever had..We met so many new friends that I personally will forever remember, everyone was so helpful and caring, it wasn't like any of the other "horse shows" i've been too.

Ruger and I had a great in hand pattern and rode the hills in the "rual trail challenge" with no problems on Friday. Saturday I was a little worried about our riding pattern as we don't pick up the lope right away but she did exactly as I asked with no issues and we aced our "urban trail challenge" the only thing that scared us enough to launch us into the street was a windmil wirly bird thing that came out of no where.

Somehow I made it into the top ten (haha!) and of course I came with no pattern, I did find music last second so I was ok...or so I thought. We walked into the pen, Ruger decided she was done, and started balking and rearing so I pushed her forward and kept making her trot a circle. Ray Ariss and Hail Yeah were the interviewers and he had nothing but nice things to say about my riding. As did Ken McNab and Mark Lyon. I ended up 10th, but damn it if I didn't have a butt load of people at my stall telling me I did a fantastic job and praising me for not giving up.

Mark Lyon found me yesterday filling water buckets and stood there to talk to me for a good half hour. He had nothing but good things to say and mentioned that if Ruger had cooperated and I had a clean run, I would have been in the top 4. He also insisted that I put in an application for fort worth.

I personally want to thank Patty, Randi, Ken, Mark, the MHF, and the BLM for allowing me to show not only what I can do with a mustang but what Ruger can do!

I will definatly be back for the next one in Norco, and this time I'm coming for blood!! :)

-Jenn

2+1=3

2009-05-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

So we brought ruger and striker home... Plus we bought a cute little broke mare named miss el paso.

Patty, the founder, didn't realize that my dad had a tv show till today so when I came into the pen she annouced it and had me announceto the audience what we did in our shop. Haha.

She also challenged my dad to a little "mustang challenge" of his own.. A little horsepower vs. "horse power" for next years norco trail challenge.

Too cool!!

Well when I get to a computer and it's easier to type ill post more! :)

-jenn

We made top ten!!!

2009-05-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

Ruger and I had a friggin blast at the norco challenge, they let Mary ride, but not for placing.

Rugie and I made top ten and had a wild ride in the finals so we ended up 10th but damn it I made the top 10!! I'm proud of Mary and I ... AND the horses!!

We are going to do it again when and if they come back

Well I'm on an iPhone at dinner so I'll blog more later.

-jenn

the plea

2009-05-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

ok.

so i know my horse is pretty bad ass...i ask that all of you following and attending..

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T BID ON HER!

I really want to bring her home with me..and i have limited funds(my tax return) to buy her back.i will be heart broken at best if someone else takes her home. besides..good luck trying to ride her..she's catapulted mary many times cause she wasn't "mom". :)

as for striker.. don't bid on her either cause mary is in LOVE with her...that and she will try to take your head off. you think I'm kidding? haha..i WILL NOT touch or lead her, and I'm not scared of "bad" horses normally.

-also- i have heard rumors that people walk willy nilly into stalls with the horses without the trainers. in less your looking to get kicked and maimed, i wouldn't walk into a 12x12 totally enclosed box stall with a nervous partially trained mustang without consent of the trainer.

I have my handy iphone so i will be posting how things go, most likely RIGHT after they happen..at the show..and photos.

Lets hope i make it into the top ten! :)

the "scary" arena

2009-05-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a relaxing and fulfilling day. We took Ruger and Striker(formerly Gidget) to the Ingalls arena in Norco where the competition will be. They were having a GSPA open show up there and they are really cool about letting people ride in the arena during lunch and breaks.

My mom came with Roxy and my dad even ponied up and rode Carlton!! :)

Now, it's a HUGE indoor arena with aluminum bleachers on one side and smelly bucking chutes on the other, I know for those of you not in california indoor arenas are no big deal, but out here (where the sun is always shining!) we have outdoor arenas and the indoor arena has become a horse killer to those not acclimated to them.

We rode up to the pen and stood and watched all the kids practicing showmanship, and some halter classes. The girls were falling asleep standing at the rail..a lady on a mule rode up and noticed they were mustangs, so i gave her the whole EMM speal and she was very impressed.

The show staffers had added a cart class and there were 3 horses pulling carts around the property..now there are two things that scare any normal sized horse. mini's and carts. We stood on the rail and watched them warm up for their class, then they called a 10 min open arena..mary and i looked at each other and walked into the arena. There was only 2 other people besides us, brave enough to come into an arena with carts. The mares took a second to adjust and look at everything, then it was down to business and we trotted around the whole arena without any problems at all. We followed the carts, walked next to them, and let them pass us without any problems at all. We even handled the other horses cantering by us with no issues.

They didn't care about all the commotion or the loud speakers, people walking up to and by them other horses standing next to them. I am so proud of both of them!!

The mares get a day off today, and they are going back to basics tomarrow in the round pen, just for shits and giggles cause it's good to revisit the fundamentals every now and then. Wednesday we are taking them back out to my grandmas for somemore riding around the property, we might even take them to McCall Park in the mountains.

we will see :)

-Jenn

first night away and new shoes

2009-04-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well the mares survived thier first night away from home, in a 1/2 acre pasture, with my 3 geldings! they were actually looooving it this morning when we went to get them. We took them out there last night and rode all around my grandma's 80 acres..too much fun!

We brought them home this morning with Carlton, my big paint horse..(someone is coming to look at him on sunday, and hopefully he will go down the road!)oh by the way...when i turned him out 3 months ago, he was a 15.3 hand scrawny coming 4 year old...he is now a 16 hand monster. what the hell man. is daddy is all of 15 hands and his momma was 15.2 at her biggest! where did this monster come from! lol.

-anyway-
Striker(formerly Gidget) and Ruger got thier very first front shoes, and a back trim today! feet on the stand-y thing and all! :) The shoer, who did thier "front trim" 3 weeks ago was the same one who came out to do thier shoes today, and he told mary and I that when he trimmed them he was thinking "no way they will have those horses ready for shoes by the next time i come out."(I had mentioned that the next time he was out that I would have him put shoes on them)

ha! ha! in yo face! he said he will never underestimate us again. :)

It was a pretty chill day, and we are taking them back to fullerton tomarrow for some more fun trail riding! yay!

oh yeah Kristy Reed is coming to ride with us at ingalls on sunday! yay! :)

more later!

-Jenn

what a friggin day..

2009-04-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ruger's light bulb really clicked yesterday. I've been riding her in a side pull and she's been poking her nose and generally just avoiding my hands lately. Mary has been using my bosal i bought for my pleasure horses a while back..needless to say it sat in my tackroom and rarely got used before this competition. Striker(formerly Gidget) has been coming along nicely in it, and yesterday I figured it was time for ruger to move out of her side pull and into a bosal.(sorry mary! time to buy your own!!lol)

Wouldn't you know, I rode her in the bosal and it was like riding a totally different horse! being a pleasure based trainer I like my horses with their heads down, neck level, shoulder up, and collected..so naturally that was the first thing I taught her...it took me all of 5 minutes to teach her to jog. let me just say...

THIS HORSE IS BAD ASS!! :)

We loped for the first time in a big pen yesterday, big round circles, with our head level, shoulder up, and somewhat collected. She's still a little fast for my taste, but she's a wild damn mustang with 70 some days on her! I can't be anything but proud of her at this point! She picks up the right lead every time, no questions asked. We are a little drunk on the rail, weaving about and such, but I don't think any of the competition says we have to go on the rail. lol.

I worked her on the trail too, I let my mom go wayyy up ahead out of sight and mary was way behind. She was good and learned we don't get to look at things that scare us, and we just move on. Nor do we get to stop and refuse to go forward without a smack from the popper on the mecate. We also got used to mailboxes and standing IN the lanes of traffic to get to them, that hackamore is a magical thing. love it.

Striker (formerly Gidget) was lame yesterday so mary walked her and I gave her a showmanship lesson. She trots and kind of pivots now, she will get it in the next week or so, they are too damn smart for their own good sometimes. :)

we are going to pick up Carlton at my grandma's today..i have someone coming to look at him this saturday so hopefully they will buy him!! that would make me happy at this point, I would be down a horse and Loooooving it! :)

The girls get thier first set of front shoes tomarrow! I know Ruger will be much happier on the trail with shoes on, no more "ouch...ouch....rocks"

At this point i'm friggin EXCITED about the competition! yay!

-Jenn

Ruger's sick, roxanne's lame, and mary's working..

2009-04-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

so we worked on our showmanship and in hand trail today.

Specificly our "pull turns" or the reverse 360 we have to do in a box for the in hand. I also worked on weaving in and out of cones at a trot..i've been watching alot of the in hand trail stuff, and i've noticed some things, you have to a) drag something from one barrel to another or b) take a jacket out, wave it at your horse and carry it to the next barrel. i've done this one other occasions and she's been fine with it.

once you train a horse for you to be on the left side, ever notice how retarded they are when you lead them from the right? lol. I want her to be good both ways just incase they throw something random at us like that.

first i tried the 'pull turn'..didn't work out so grand..it was more like the blind leading the blind with a forehand turn mixed in. so i opted to take the pretty way out and go on her right side and 'push' her into a turn to the right, like you do in showmanship on the left. (by the way..there aint no way she moves her pivot foot anymore..she rocks to the left) we applied the same techniques as in a left turn and we sort of got it, but it took me time to get the left so it will take time to get the right.

She has a cool "halter horse trot" now.. I don't even have to trot with her, just cluck and walk faster and she will trot right next to me. I assume i'm going to have to trot myself during the in hand so i might as well start..even tough my pants fall off my butt..ugh.

has anyone done in hand stuff as part of their finals? or is it a riding only thing?

-jenn

trail...trail...and more trail

2009-04-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

We have been trailering EVERYWHERE the last couple of days, and it's been awesome! The Girls load like it's no biggie and they don't care where they are anymore. Wednesday we took them to Fullerton, they have a really cool HUGE public arena with grandstands, scary white fences..the works..they didn't bat an eye. Fullerton is known for it's awesome trails and the lake..we rode on the trails with mountain bikers, joggers, and walkers with no problem at all! we even loped down a section of trail..too much fun! :)

Yesterday we took them to Orange Park Acres(it's like laguna hills with horses and property)and they didn't even mind at all. We had a friggin HERD with us, Bree and her 2 year old, Mary's sister on this Giant warmblood thing, my mom on Roxanne, and mary and i with the girls. We rode in the very cool public arena to warm up, them off to Irvine park we went! Down busy streets and across bridges..they were so friggin good, I was so proud of them. There is one stretch of road where there is no trail and you have to pretty much share the road with cars..it's clearly marked and people know there are horses, but it's still a little hairy. We had an incident with a douchebag in a BMW who thought he could run horses over with his riced out poop wagon..mary and i had stern words with him and i offered to chase him..grrr. Anyway the mares were awesome with water crossings and whatnot, hill climbing...haha..we run up them.

Today my mom and I are taking Roxanne and Ruger to Ingalls park and ride around in the foot hills where the competition is going to be. Ruger likes to go first, but gets weireded out sometimes when it comes to mailboxes..great since we are prolly going to have to pull a tarp out of one..ugh. Maybe we will make it to the river bottom which is SUPER fun for all of you who haven't ridden in the Norco River bottom!! :)

More tonight or tomarrow morning. :)

-Jenn

showmanship and getting sick

2009-04-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

so ruger started hacking today and snorting green boogers on me...any suggestions on how to stomp this "cold" out before it gets bad? I'll feed her anything..

oh yeah, we rock at showmanship and in hand trail..my mom even did it with her today and she was perfect! :)

It's hot

2009-04-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

Today was hot. 101 at tre highest. I worked ruger for a while then she started acting like she was going into some sort of heat stroke so I hosed her off and gave her her goodies with some electrolites in them. I called it a day and I'm going to to later in the day tomarrow. Let's hope it gets cooler this weekend.

damn my butt hurts!

2009-04-18T20:54:00.001-07:00

So today was an awesome day to say the least! It wasn't windy THANK GOD! so i set out to get my confidence back, and instill somemore in Ruger.

I don't think I wrote about it but a few weeks back ruger spooked at something and started hopping, which turned into crazyness and I ended up with my newest edition of buises and my reinstatement into Club Dirt. It was a decent fall and I wansn't too banged up, I just lost some of my ballsy confidence. I thought it was because it was windy and it annoyed me that she got spooky when it was windy.

I got on her today and same thing.."bahhhh!! something, i don't know what...but something is going to get me!" so I patted her and tried to figure out what was bothering her. I moved my left leg and she shot sideways...ahhh...she's scared of my legs moving around or touching her. Good to know...good to know. Now this is mostly my fault..in an effort not to scare her, I haven't been using my legs-at all- in her training. odd since i'm a spur stop kinda girl. So i proceeded to kick, flail, and and bang my legs all over her sides until she was pretty much dead sided standing there. So we did it while we were walking, then trotting..since i was feeling pretty good about my Nancy Drew problem solving I decided it was time to lope again. I've only loped her once and it it was at marys nagging "oh come on grow some balls and lope already!" I think that was the commentary.. so I kissed put my outside leg on and she only trotted about 5 feet before she loped off..good girl!! We loped a few circles and then went the other way and she was just as decent that way. So i quit, untacked her and went to lunch with my mom. We came back and went on a 3 hour trail ride though the busiest streets in norco. people honking, men walking dogs, children playing in yards, dogs, the works..she did AWESOME! i'm so proud of her. she was really tired and kept wanting to stop and not go forward towards the end. but all in all she was really good and i couldn't of asked for a better horse today.

Mary is at the river and won't be back till Tuesday, but we are planning a day trip to Irvine park next thursday so if you want to come..your more than welcome!

-Jenn

in an attempt to not be boring...

2009-04-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

I know i haven't been the best at blogging lately..but things get hectic when you have 30 something days left in a competition. I've made a solid goal for Ruger and for myself.

I've got a few extra pounds hanging around(who doesn't..shut up you salad eating skinny girls) so I've vowed to lose them in the next 30 days.

Ruger, my dear ruger..I have 3 things i want her to accomplish before we go out and see lots of scary things at this competition. Be level headed and collected at the walk, trot, and canter. Three things, three gaits. We have walk and trot, its our poor dropped shoulder, half run of a lope i have to work on.

Since the wind has decided to keep on it's insistent blowing and pissing me off I took a day and went a few steps back with her training. It sucks, but, sometimes in this thing I feel like I have to skip steps in order for her to have everything they want done..I hate that. I'm the kind of trainer who won't take a green horse to a show until I know I can get through the class and look decent or better. Being "green" is no excuse for placing 7th out of 8.

Anyway I bridled her up and longed her with her head down, this is the second or third time for her and she was great, she doesn't fight it and just puts her head down. I've ridden her after and she friggin gets it! yay! -anyway- I decided she needed to learn to pick up that shoulder she loves to drop so much, so I tied one side of her head the the saddle horn, not so much that she had her head all the way around, just enough to have that "arc" in her face. Then I tied the other side to the cinch ring tight enough so she can't fallow her nose, but loose enough so she is willing to go forward..She was so funny I couldn't help but laugh a little when she went around the pen, shoulder up at a trot. She couldn't figure out why her body was moving that way and her face was just classic. :)

If you have never tied a horse like this and they have a shoulder dropping problem..I highly suggest it, it teaches them balance on their own, and your not the "bad guy" for picking a "pick up your damn shoulder" fight. You will see them correct themselves instantly and their movement is much nicer and floaty. English horses benefit from this the most, but it helps those joggers too. :)

Back to Ruger, she was very good and tried very hard to keep that shoulder up at the trot and lope. I'll post videos later today so hopefully you can see the difference between not bridled and bridled and not think i'm a quack. haha.

I also worked more on our showmanship and in hand trail..she is getting so damn good. I was watching some of the in hand stuff from EEM's past and i must say...i'm appalled. who leads their horses that way? dragging them around the course like a sack of potatoes. I know that the horse following behind while leading is fine for the barn, but in a class? ouy vey! I'm super surprised that more people don't have their horses mind better on the ground. I guess pat parelli doesn't teach these things. hahahahaha...whew.. sorry i know that was a cheap shot.. :)

Anyway, the wind isn't too bad today so maybe i'll go out on a trail ride with the mama.. after all we do have to do 2 hours of riding on the "urban trails" during this competition.

more later!

haha neglect

2009-04-14T18:25:00.001-07:00

i've been neglecting my posting duties lately..only because mary and i have been so damn busy with the stangs. They load so guess what...they trailer! lol.

We have been taking them everywhere and riding them. it's been fun.

I'll post more later.

i've decided on a finals routine...

2009-04-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

This is a "parody" and should be taken as such.

the lights dim. fog rolls in. The first chords of Toby Kieth's "I shoulda been a cowboy" play.

Ruger and I come busting through the fog, cap guns blairing. A giant green foam cowboy hat on my head, yellow Cinch shirt, pink lambskin chinks, and a "fu-man-chu" mustache on my upper lip. Lets not forget my Levi 501's are tucked into my bran-spankin new polo style boots with crazy embroidery adorning the tops.

I run around and crack a dressage whip like crazy, jump over an oxer while a fan blows red and orange streamers in an upward fashion.(get the flames? I thought you did)

I bust out my cap gun and shoot imaginary balloons while running at mach 10 around th e pen.

I end my performance by running and performing a half ass reiner slide that looks more painful than pretty, backing up and asking Ruger to lay down while I stand on her and shout "I SHOULDA BEEN A COWBOY!!"

My dog Harley comes running in and jumps into my arms and howls.

lights dim.

ahhh...it's going to be EXCELLENT. maybe i'll win..maybe they will get the point..doubt it though. :)

enjoy my friends, enjoy.

-Jenn

let showmanship prevail

2009-04-08T17:53:00.001-07:00

ok, not to toot my own horn, but i am pretty kick ass at showmanship. granted i HATED the thought of leading my horse around a pattern when I first started as a youth, but it grew on me. I wish i had video of my showmanship patterns with my paint mare Belle..she was BAD ASS. I always got dirty looks when I showed up early for showmanship. don't hate. lol.

anyway, i am always forgetting how smart mustangs are. I give a "normal horse" about a solid month and a half to have showmanship down pat and start winning blues..i don't like going out with a half broke horse..embarrassing! It was too windy to ride again today, so i decided to work on our "in hand" since it is a portion of the show. I put my show halter on her along with a stud chain(just in case) and a normal lead rope attatched to the bottom. We walked over poles, the tarp, trotted out and stopped. she started to tune in and follow my body more than my voice commands.

I now some people like to "kiss" to their horse to make them trot in showmanship..i think this is dumb..do you kiss to make them jog while riding? no, you cluck, kissing is for loping..so why confuse them. I also don't understand the "shhh shhh" some trainers use to back them up..ugh. just say "back" damn it! judges don't give a rats ass how much noise you make..as long as you are crisp, clean and on time you WILL get a ribbon.

Back to my showmanship lesson.. I normally don't ask for pivots when first introducing showmanship unless the horse already has trotting and stopping down. Since Ruger is so damn smart I felt that asking her for one was appropriate. I raised my hand stepped into her and clucked...wouldn't you know she crossed her front feet, planted her right rear and stepped over! I walked her on, stopped, backed, then asked her for a whole turn...she gave it to me. I quit with that.

I also set up some jumps in the round pen and line drove her over them..she will clear a 2' jump from a walk. shit balls! good to know tho..lol.

It was a good day even though i had an angry post earlier...i like to vent to all of you! :)

haha doncha love it!

-Jenn

rage against the system

2009-04-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a little ticked off today, so don't mind my angry shouting antics.

My mom's mare, Gidget, is WAY more than my mom can handle, and to be frank she wants nothing to do with the wretched bitch. Mary seems to be the only one who is willing to work with her. Now my complaint is, mom emailed Randi at the MHF and asked nicely if Mary could send in an app and trade with her since she doesn't want to give up on the mare and doesn't want to return her.

-now- if i were in Randi's position i would say, you know what...this lady loves horses and doesn't want to give up on them, so she is finding a suitable trainer to take it off her hands and show it at the NEMM. Does that happen? NO! They would rather risk my mom getting hurt than switching trainers. I'm so pissed off.

Another thing that makes me angry about this EMM thing is the people that keep on winning the damn things. It seems like you have to show up in a damn strawberry picker hat, chinks, bad tack, and a handle bar mustache all while running around and cracking a bull whip to win.
-EXAMPLE-
I was following these two Tallahassee trainers from the Gatorland EMM, they are English trainers that know their shit..the assistant is an AWESOME rider and had a bad ass performance in the finals jumping and whatnot...guess who won?? a mustached, badly tacked, bull whip cracking, standing on the saddle idiot.

can we say stereotype?

I'm letting Ruger sit in her stall and rot till the NEMM. Then I'll show up in full rodeo garb and drag her around the in hand course, cop out and not show her in the riding class, and maybe I'll get a prize.

I'm so tired of show politics.

We all fall sometime

2009-04-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

It was windy today, i was ballsy, i fell. it happens, she was a good girl besides the falling. mary was working so i was alone, my mom came for moral support.

Tomarrow will be better as long as it's not windy. :)

we lope!

2009-04-05T22:05:00.001-07:00

Ruger and i loped today! yay! she is like a big ol' comfy couch!

Gidget has been loping for a week or so, but she is still a little speed demon...barrel horse? lol. They both are excelling REALLY well and I think we are sitting pretty high for 38 days or so. They are really smart, and as long as we dont hit any major glitches we should be golden.

I still need to work on my "showmanship" with ruger so we will have the in hand ok. I love seeing how they are progressing in different areas, they are so different and excell at things the other one most likely wont.

Ruger let me shave her front legs today, minor mishaps with the "ah! it makes noise AND tickles!" I was going to finish her back legs, just the white socks, but mary was playing with the tarp in the round pen and she was just too distracted and pissy...i don't want to get kicked..not that she will..but still.

mary and i were too tired and sore to go out on a trail ride today, so we worked on ground manners and trail obsticles.

More riding tomarrow... :)

-Jenn

my butt hurts

2009-04-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

ok, so yesterday was not my day, nor was it mary's day. It started out simply..we went to lowe's and bought a tarp, 8 poles, and 2 flags to desesitize our horses further. -anyway- roxanne, the old pro of 14 years used to carry flags and stand next to helicopters taking off...decides she wants to be scared of the flag that i'm carrying and instead of running from it, she runs at me and knocks me down..drags me and stomps -somehow- on my right butt cheek. lol...keep laughing...it gets better! :) We mounted up and rode to the public arena, no mishaps..Ruger decides she wants to be stubbon and pig headed..and i'm not feeling very ballsy because of my roxy adventure...so i get off and tell mary to get on and trot her for a second. -bad idea- she's a one person horse...mary gets on and trots, attempts to walk her over a pole and BOOM! it's "let's get mary off" fest. mary's in the dirt, laughing...i'm peeing my pants her ride was so funny..so she gets back on...this time the ejector seat was quicker...oh lord...i wish i had my camera! lol.

I walked her home and she was fine..silly mare. Gidget was exceptional and loped on both leads..she was pretty un dramatic so nothing fun to report there.

Today we rode to the arena again, Ruger had one mishap at a scary palm tree, nevermind the flapping for sale sign by our head, that damn palm tree was going to kill us! :) She was really..and i stress the REALLY good about trotting and moving off my leg and backing through the "L". Trot poles, hah! i laugh at you!

We are going to do a half day tomarrow, riding and baths. we were going to haul out, but we are both sore and don't want an incident. lol.

Till then!

-Jenn

ok the old blog was boring me!

2009-04-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

i spruced 'er up! whadya think?! lol.

I got so dang bored looking at the old blog so i did a little EMM of my own! lol.. ok so it's a EBM(Extreme Blog Makeover) but it looks nicer and makes me happy when I look at it. :)

Ruger's nose was exceptional today when I went to give her her meds. 10 SMZ pills, 5 cc's of bute and 5 cc's of a anti-inflamitory at 10 am and 10pm. yay! haha. Oh, and the scab broke yesterday and the infection began it's draining process...god thats nasty.

Trail riding again today for the girls...I'm waiting at work for Mary so we can go!

I'll post more soon.

-jenn

dr. williams is the best!

2009-04-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

I called my trusty vet Dr. Williams out this morning to look at Ruger's nose and Gidget's foot. Gidget has an abcess, but he said it's so close to coming out on it's own that he couldn't do anything for her. Ruger has an infected cut over the top of her nose, and it got huge, so she's on antibiotics and he said it should be all better in 48 hours! Good news! :) Let's hope she doesn't have a giant nose and the swelling will go down so her nose is cute and little again.

Both of the girls are doing so good! We rode them to the public arena yesterday which is about a mile and a half of Norco's finest scary urban trails. The only thing we didn't like was a stark white pony coming at us(or course the kid flinging a rope around it didn't help at all) we passed in the street and all was well. Gidget launched and took off when a dog took her by surprise, she ran 30 feet then stopped when Mary pulled her up. Other than that, there weren't any mishaps!

Ruger gave me a little sliding stop yesterday when I set her up for one, and spins on a dime! I told my mom I should send her to Bob Avila for some reining training! lol.

Mary and I have decided to send in applications for the Fort Worth EMM! We have ever been to Texas so we thought we would give it a try with the 'stangs!! :) There are 100 trainers being picked for the September EMM, so lets hope we both get in!

More later,

-Jenn

weekend madness

2009-03-31T13:11:00.001-07:00

The girls were so good over the weekend that we decided to make this week the trail riding week. Yesterday we went out and had a short one down the street and back with scary blowing bags and dogs..ok not so scary anymore! :)

Gidget is an ass. lol. we love her but she is an ass. when she decides she doesn't want her bosal on she makes it very clear! we are out of the striking phase and more of the rearing and running, but she doesn't go far, mary has become "mom" and she does't stray far from her anymore. We are riding to the local arena today so they will see other horses and get ridden around a new place. We are trailering them this weekend down to the local OPA arena. Mary and I used to tear that place up when we were showing as youth kids! :)

I'll blog more today when we get back from our adventure ride! :)

CALIFORNIA TRAINERS:
Ingalls is booked solid...should we meet at another arena for our "Mustang Meeting"?? OPA and Yorba Linda arenas are open on weekdays and weekends if there isn't a show.

Lets chat!

-Jenn

it's trail ride time!

2009-03-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the girls went on thier first trail ride, all the way to Starbrite Riding Academy(aka the home of HAIL YEAH) everytime we drive by we honk and yell "HAIL YEAH!" lol....ohhhh long story...lol

-anyway- they were very good, we experienced rattly stock trailers full of horses speeding down the road, crazy teens hell bent on scaring horses in thier mommy's rover, running and bucking arabians turned out, and a mess of dogs barking at fences. the only thing that bothered Ruger was the scary man raking..but that didn't scare us all that bad. Gidget struck out at a pack of barking dogs behind a fence, it was pee in your pants hilarious..now we know that if we come across a cougar or a coyote on a trail ride, Gidget will take care of it!

Both of the girls got loaded in the trailer again today, this time there was no resitance, so without a challenge, mary and I created one. We closed the dividers on them..Gidget was a little nervous about being in there alone sandwiched between two giant pieces of gray metal but she got over it. Ruger was a little more worried about the fact that there wasn't any hay in her manger..ok more like mad cause she could hear gidget crunching away. Both of them survived so we took them out and made a makeshift trail course in the round pen, Gidget distroyed it in under 30 seconds, so it was like a jones town of orange plastic cones, but she did learn to sidepass over a log..so all was well. Ruger didn't like the cones, nor did she like her white leg wraps I put on her...wah wah wah..cry me a river little mare! :)

Today my mom is coming out on another trail ride with us..hopefully the mares will pick up on Roxy's cool attitude and relax a little more.

Here is a video segment of Rugers fourth ride..enjoy!

and the list goes on....

2009-03-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

The list of things that mary and i accomplished today are loooong!

Ruger-
Picked up front and back feet with no problems to be cleaned
Tacked up and BRIDLED with no problems
Mounted up with minor issues(she likes to walk off)
Trotted out and learned some leg yelding and we have turning and stopping DOWN! :)
Rode around the property with no problems
Went on a walk off the property, she had fun!
Loaded in and out of the trailer with minor "no! you can't make me!" issues..she's a sucker...
Got a soap bath
Got our nose and jaw clipped with the evil clippers! ok they aren't evil, they just tickle

Gidget-
Picked up front and back feet for cleaning
Tacked and bridled up with minor issues
Trotted out, she doesn't like to go forward, but it hurts since she has an abcess
Went on a walk off the property with no running off!
Loaded in and out of the trailer with seriously no issues
Got a soap bath

To say the least the girls were FABULOUS today, and tomarrow will be rockin' as well!!

Here is a video of the girls going into the trailer, my mom is a goon so don't mind her commentary! :) lol.

(Ruger did go all the way in, it's a smaller trailer with not enough room for 2 people and two horses, hince her back feet on the ramp.)

a day off for the good girls

2009-03-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Ruger and Gidget got the day off today, I had so much stuff to do, and mary got called to work so it was nice to give them one day off since they have been so friggin good lately. I convinced mary to buy Gidget her own sidepull, only because I'm riding in mine, and don't want to give it up! lol.

This weekend we are going to trot and possibly canter and work on fine tuning our whoa and side passing. I have some cones that I need to take and work on leading around the ranch and a little more desensitizing with bags and such.

I'm terrified someone will buy her at the auction, and it's making me not want to show her to her full potential so no one likes her. ha, but then again i want to show her and her awesome trainablity..

makes my stomach hurt.. ugh.

-jenn

we steer and stop!! yay!

2009-03-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

side pulls are a marvel. I have to say I've never used one to break a horse before, but since ruger doesn't like bits at all, and i don't like hackamores, a side pull was my next choice. she loves it!

This is her second ride. she steers and moves off my leg, side passes, and stops on a dime when I say "whoa" and we even backed up a few steps! she is smarter than most domesticated horses I've broke, for her second ride, i didn't expect to get so much accomplished!! :)

I'm beyond happy with her improvement!

off to dinner with the rents!
-jenn

and we got ballsy...

2009-03-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

ok, so it's not the "greatest" photo of ruger and i, but my camera died and mary had to use her handy iphone to document our momentus progress today! Both Gidget and Ruger were riden for the first time today. Gidget doesn't have steering or stopping, sometimes ruger forgets, but we are riding none the less!

Also, Kristy Reed, Mary, my mom, and I are planning on having a "Mustang Meeting" at Ingalls Park in Norco so if your local and are training for the Norco Challenge please come!! It will be a fun day of meeting everyone and getting the horses used to the arena so there are no "surprises" come show day! :)

We will send out a mass email to all the california trainers for the Norco event soon with a date and such.

ta ta!
oh, here is a video of mary riding gidget. no video of me yet..my camera died! grrrr.

-Jenn

yesterdays sidepull madness

2009-03-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

The girls had a good day yesterday i'll break it into thier own segments..

Ruger-

We learned how to stand(without being tied) to be goomed and fly/show sheen sprayed and she had it down like an old pro by the end of it. I can now pick up both of her front feet without problems, she actually offers them to me by picking up her foot when I bend down. Haven't worked with the back legs, I wanted to get her butt and tail brushed with no issues so I felt comfortable messing with her legs and such. We will have our back legs picked up today, hopefully! We also accomplished being saddled, untied, with no issues. I got brave and put on our new side pull (thanks mom!!) so I could line drive her. She did ok with it, she didn't like how it touched her ears that made her angry! lol. she settled down and by the end of the line driving session she was being such a good girl that I called it quits and gave her a breather. We led around the property like an old pro and I tied her in different places every 20 mins so she could get used to all the different settings and being next to different horses. she didn't care in the least.

Gidget-
Mary has taken gidge on with a passion! she really likes her, and it's fine with my mom. She is still lame, and we suspect an abcess, but soaking a wild horses foot...not so easy. She's not lame at the walk or canter, just at the trot and when she stands, she pushes it out and doesn't want to stand on it. She put her in the round pen and line drove her and she is going to be FUNN(i mean that in a totally sarcastic way) no steering and a blind run.

fun.

but...i don't know how to stand on 3 legs!

2009-03-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

We had a productive and very relaxing day today at the barn. I'm not one to like rope halters, but since i've heard nothing but good things about them on mustangs, I figured I'd give them a chance. Plus I like the no snaps to break thing, not that Ruger breaks them, but it's nicer not to have that problem. Anyhow, I just wanted to have a day for Ruger and I to connect and bond, so to speak. I bought her a pretty new purple rope halter and they had a bargain bin of sorts of pads, so while rummaging through it i found this nifty little purple, black, and teal number that i thought would look nice. So i spent $40 and my pony is all spiffed up! :)

I worked on swinging ropes today, that seems to be our main scary thing(possibly roped and a bad experience?) i worked on swinging it up and around her head like a halter, and i must admit she stood there like a broke old horse, so I thought, why not just put it on, i did and again, nothing tragic. Being ballsy I took it on and off 4 or 5 times till she realized i wasn't going to cut off her air with it, and I tied it on her head. now...how to get that red halter off without her thinking i'm going to kill her. for all of you ladies reading this, you all know how to take a bra off while keeping your shirt on no?? well, maybe I'm the only one with that talent! lol. I worked the red halter off and tah-dah! she was wearing my pretty purple number and her old red halter was on the floor.

good mare!

I brushed her butt today(she didn't do a damn thing!) I was more scared of her kicking...but thats what you get when you always get to work with the kicking horses!! :) I curried and brushed her whole body on both sides, took out her braids, which were more like dreadlocks, brushed it. Then set out to work on picking up her feet...well to be honest I was just trying to desensitize her legs when she just picked it up so I grabbed it and worked with her for a while. She looked like she wanted to bite, but a well placed "ahhhtt!" and she didn't do it again. I ended up picking up both front feet with no problems and CLEANED them out! When I get brave enough, maybe tomarrow we will attempt the back ones.

ta-ta for now!

-Jenn

it was gidget's day today..

2009-03-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

ole'!
at this point i think mary is going to buy Gidget at the auction when this thing is over. That or my family will just buy her and giver her to her. she mentioned today that she really likes her and would buy her. hmm....
-Jenn

it's always fun when you gang up on a mustang!

2009-03-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

Ruger got introduced to a bosal yesterday. she likes it much better than the whole bit deal. Like to top photo?!?!?! eat your heart out "Dazy"!

yay! my first actuall "nice" photo of Ruger-bear and I..i'm lovin it! :)

We will blog more today, hoepfully we will be riding this afternoon! (cross your fingers!)

-Jenn

Away We Go...

2009-03-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

So today started out good...Gidget is getting better by the day. We can now take her halter off at night and walk up to her and re-halter the next day. She'll stand for grooming and saddling, and we can stand in the stirrups - but we just can't muster the courage to swing that leg over yet! Anyway, after our grooming session, Mary and Jenn wanted to take the girls on a walk around the property and down the long driveway. I was kind of hesitant about going out the gate, but they insisted the mares would be fine. "They'll just run home if something happens" is the comment I got. So there we went, the girls leading the mares and me on trusty Roxanne following behind. Everything is cool, we walk to the end of the long road/driveway and on the way back stop to talk to a friendly Paint horse who's turned out in the neighboring arena. His owner is on her way to work, so she stops her car and gets out to say hi. Turns out she and Jenn know each other from the Paint horse circuit, so they're chatting about shows and such, when all of a sudden Gidget spooks at something, pulls the rope out of Mary's hands and takes off - not towards home, but out to the street - Gee, didn't I say something about that? So Mary takes off after her, I follow on Roxanne (who has a slight case of ringbone and can't really be ridden too much or too hard) chasing this crazy mare. Of course she can't take the horse trail on the side of the road, she's gotta go right out into the street! Luckily it's not a busy one, even so we had to be a sight - Mary running on foot, me on my gimpy Rox running down the trail trying to get ahead of her to cut her off, and Gidgie trotting down the middle of the road. We finally cornered her in someone's driveway, and led her uneventfully back to her stall. Maybe the girls will listen to my elder wisdom from now on - but I'm betting not.

But on the good side, I can now play with her forelock and scratch her forehead without her getting cranky - so we are making great progress there. Hopefully we will be riding by next weekend.

a splendid day indeed..

2009-03-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

lots of photos! :) Both of the girls had a great day yesterday! I really think mary is getting through to gidget, which is good because she needs to understand that we aren't here to hurt her and we just want to be friends.

Now, I know all or most of my photos have mary in them..I'm still on the mend from my fall a few weeks ago(who knew bruised ribs took so long to heal!) I can walk just fine, but using my right arm to pull on anything is very painful. This makes mounting even my domesticated horses near impossible(i'm not a mounting block kinda girl) so mary is getting things started for me and hopefully next week i'll be a-ok to do all this fun stuff myself. I did manage to get Ruger to go around and learn to be line driven yesterday, all by my lonesome! :) she was such a good girl, we even got over our fear of the sturrup flying at our face when i pulled on the rope. We know "whoa" means throw your ass in the dirt and turn, and you know, for being a wild horse..she's not very agile. lol.

Gidget was a very good girl yesterday, a whole day with no striking! I take that back, she did strike at the rope, but at least it wasn't at a person. :) Mary had her where she could walk up and halter her and lead her around, un halter her, walk away, walk back and halter her again(without the use of our squeeze chute). she was being so good. She even stood still for "mounting" and didn't offer a sour face or that look she gets when she's gonna strike.

so all in all they had a GREAT day yesterday. Here's to today being the same if not better!

-Jenn

no more hilbilly bridle

2009-03-17T18:26:00.002-07:00

it's not the most flattering photo...she's sweaty and breathing hard...haha..poor mare!

so i might be in norco, but i no longer have to worry about my mare wearing her hilbilly bridle. (the hay twine tied to our halter holding the bit in our mouth in yesterdays post) she wore a bridle today! Mary was going to get on her, but gidget was being a royal ass today and we didn't get around to it, oh well, maybe tomarrow.

She also wore my pride and joy today -my billy cook saddle- it's heavier than sin, but it's so damn comfy! she looks damn cute all tacked up!

We went for a walk to the front gate after our session and we hung out and she ate some grass while i was standing there. i guess i'm not that big of a threat anymore! :) the neighbors were clanking poop carts and slamming doors, which was always a fun time, but it didn't bother us that bad.
I gave her a shower and gave her her treats, it was a pretty relaxed day execpt for gidget and her trying to kill everyone today.

i don't even want to get into it.

-Jenn

Still Dangerous

2009-03-17T18:26:00.001-07:00

Gidget has been making progress, but she still has anger issues. She will tolerate things to a point, then will rear and strike to show her displeasure. I'm afraid Mary or I will be hurt at some point, and I don't trust her at all. Makes it hard to keep enthusiastic about her training! If anyone has any great ideas for "breaking" her of this habit, please let me know - I'm open to any suggestions!

booyah!

2009-03-17T12:34:00.000-07:00

I owe mary lunch for this one! :) cinched and EVERYTHING.

Nooo...Not My Head!!!!

2009-03-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Today Gidget faced her worst fear...having her head touched. I don't know what it is with the mustangs, they all seem to have this ungodly fear of their faces/heads being touched. Maybe it's because in the wild they're always worried about something jumping on them. Anyway, we were going along just fine in our session yesterday, learning how to stand tied, being brushed over an ever greater part of our body (including those oh-so-tickley armpits - do horses even have armpits?), and wearing the saddle pad. Then I tried scratching a little farther up her neck and you'da thought I tried to kill her! As soon as I'd get close to her cheek she'd pull back, fling her head in the air, and once even pawed at me. So, as always happens when something is too scary, she got the double-throwdown treatment. The rest of the session was spent messing with her face/head - with my "bamboo pole" and even a scary bag on the end of a dressage crop. By the end of it, she was marginally more accepting, but I think it's going to be a long haul with this one. My first mustang (the trusty Roxanne) loved having her forehead and ears scratched, but Gidget just doesn't want to relax and let it happen. Little does she know that I'm not gonna go away, so she better just get used to it!

super ruger

2009-03-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

It's a photo journal. she got a bit in her mouth today and went around like a pro. :) EXTRA! I almost forgot to ad that we got the "goat hair" trimmed(that unsightly loooong hair that was hanging from the underside of our jaw bone)with scissors and we got our but brushed. of course, there was snorting(drama) but nothing naughty or bad. she's becoming such a cool horse..she has a personality in a half, i tell ya!

love that mare.
-Jenn

oh, oh, it's magic.....you knowwwww

2009-03-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Gidget was a fantastic little mare this weekend! as you can see, she has quit striking and being a meanie and turned into a sweet little mare who wants to please. still can't touch her face, but that will happen sooner or later..that or we will show up and ride in a halter! haha! MAry threw the saddle on her and she was like "pshhh. that all you got?" didn't get it cinched cause, well, we are chickens..lol She'll get cinched up this week for sure though! She also leads like a pro and we are planning on taking them on a walk off the property today.

Ruger got the big girl saddle this weekend! sorry about the no pics, I'll get some today when we go. She is sooo damn cute, love my little mare. she got her first turn out in a BIG pen with Roxanne, and you can see she is starting to enjoy being a civilized horse. Roxanne was being the normal food motivated pig she is and practically pushing the fence over to eat the grass on the outside of the turnout. Next time I looked over, Ruger had her head through the fence, but wasn't sure why she had done it and was looking at roxy like "um, why are we doing this?" She also let me "clip" her whiskers, with scissors, now she looks more civil! :)

More today,

-Jenn

dare i say we are becoming civilized?

2009-03-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ruger had another good day today. I'm so proud of her and her almost civilized self! She let me put the saddle pad and the saddle on today without any mishaps, then we survived a very scary thing(well, ok i was more freaked out then she was) the saddle wasn't tight enough, and it slipped around under her belly...she just stopped and looked at me like-"What happend mom?" I tied her back up and un-cinched it and it fell off under her, again she just looked at me. I put everything back on her, cinched it up tight and put her back in the round pen. I still can't manage to get a bridle on her yet so i attatched my round reins to her halter so she can see them flapping around her neck. she handled it really well. She doesn't get scared of anything I throw on her...hmm...maybe we are learning i'm not going to eat her? lol

We ended our session with a quick shower(my term for a bath with no soap) and I braided her mane and forelock. She actually lowered her head and took a deep breath...good signs! She physically relaxed, cocked a leg and licked and chewed. It was awesome.

I'm so excited for her! :)

-Jenn

I Think We're Gonna Make It!

2009-03-12T19:04:00.001-07:00

It seems that Gidget gets better after a day off...today we again made giant steps forward. I was able to walk right up to her and touch her shoulder, lead her out the stall and into the round pen. After not getting out yesterday, I expected her to buck and play, but I practically had to push her around the pen, so I worked on walking up to her left shoulder - for some reason she doesn't like me on that side. Being outside in the big pen wasn't working though...so as Jenn says, I pulled up my big girl panties, tied her in her stall and worked on her in there. By the end of the session, I was able to walk up to both sides with no drama, and was even able to get the saddle pad on her! She is still pissy about her face being touched, so we'll take it slow there - but everything else is coming along fantastic! I'll be gone for the weekend, but Jenn says she'll work with her and I'm hoping by next week to be able to pony her around the property.

she didn't buck, i was dissapointed! lol

2009-03-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

Ruger had an exceptional day today! She let me saddle her and cinch it up!! whoo hoo! although when I turned her out, to my dissapointment she didn't throw a single buck out. I figured since she is so damn dramatic about everything that the saddle all cinched up would be tramatic to say the least. NOT! I'm so proud of her! Don't mind my improvised blue rope "breast collar" I left mine at home, and the mare has no withers so I had to do something! :) She was so good today that our session was pretty short. Saddled, walk-trot-lope in the round pen, then we did something very scary..ok what I thought would be scary..we got a bath. She just stood there like it was raining on her. silly mare..we don't like our back legs though, we strike out and get that water! :)

She has such a pretty trot! our next hurdle is getting a bridle on our head..i think i'm going to buy a side pull so I can get some driving done with her. I've read mustangs do really well in sidepulls.

until tomarrow!

-jenn

mikey the trail horse

2009-03-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

On a totally non mustang note..

Mikey, the horse I showed for a year(I was "leasing" him) has joined my herd offically! My good friend and fellow trainer Jessica Burch(she works with Karen Qualls in Chino) didn't have room for poor old mikey anymore at her house so she GAVE him to me..yes..for free. I LOVE this horse with all my heart. He has the personality of a person, always happy and willing to try his heart out for you. Not only that, but he is an awesome show horse -and- bred in the purple to boot!
He was previously abused, and when I say abused, I mean the kind of abused that goes on behind closed doors at training facilities. Yes, you know what I mean..I won't name names, but a certain trainer who had him as a 2 year old is known for riding horses with a baseball bat in one hand.

-ahem-

anyhow- He is hanging out with Carlton and Wesley in a 1/2 acre pasture at my grandma's house in Temecula and looooviiing it! :) Mary and I are going to take "the boys" and go up to McCall Park this sunday for a nice ride in the wilderness. It should be super fun, and I'm totally looking forward to the relaxing day.

here are some photos of mikey and I when we were showing:

yay! well i'm off to see mikey and the boys.. ta ta!

oh! I almost forgot...I am selling my other two geldings I ROCK(carlton) and WESTERN BOOM(welsey) If you are interested please let me know! I'll take payments, leases, lease to buys, or credit cards on them! here are thier photos and stats:

I ROCK APHA/PINTO Registered 4 year old Gelding
Asking $9000
GREAT youth walk/jog or ammy horse. 10+ lope and jog, soft fluid movement and a awesome personality.
Great on the trails, nothing scares this guy!

------------------

WESTERN BOOM AQHA Registered 6 year old Gelding
Asking $7500
Great walk/jog contender, ammy prospect. Started on trail andshowmanship
great with little kids and out on trail. Not spooky at all.

If you have any questions email me: jenn@supermusclecar.com
video of both geldings on youtube under username: hisnameisx

ttyl!
-Jenn

enough said...

2009-03-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

Remember those big girl panties? Ruger pulled them up today. We got everything but the kitchen sink thrown at us today, yes that is a day sheet hanging off her butt. she didn't like it, so we wore it for the entire session. :) I love my $100 saddle i bought...i can destroy it like no other...lol. She's already drug it around the round pen a million times through mud and poop. Any how- she was a very good girl today about it all, and i think, if tomarrow we don't forget everything, this week will be a good progress week.

Gidget was good for my mom today, she let her walk up and pet her shoulder and did pretty well in the round pen. I'm sure she will blog about it later. Both of them are progressing, so hopefully in the next 90 days we can get something accoplished!

-Jenn

Good Girl Gidget

2009-03-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

I didn't know what to expect after giving Gidget the weekend off...but sure didn't think I'd be able to walk up to her, no halter or anything, and scratch her shoulder! I was beyond amazed. Of course, Jenn and Mary got there an hour or so before I did and worked with her, so that could have something to do with it. Mary even had her wearing a saddle pad...maybe I will be riding soon - NOT! We've got lots of work to do before we get to that point, like picking up her feet and being able to brush her all over. I will definitely intensify the sessions this week though, only two more months until the show. But considering that only a week ago she was striking and kicking, we've made massive strides!

Getting Better!

2009-03-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

Gidget was a very good girl today...we worked some more in the round pen, she listens and responds to my voice commands, turns into me and moves out nicely. Then I brought out my super secret weapons, good ole' Roxanne and peppermint apple snacks! With that killer combination, I was able to get my hands on her...only for a touch, but I touched her nonetheless. And wonder of wonders, she didn't die :) She's also figured out that I'm the sweet feed goddess, and that she must eat her handful from her bucket while I'm standing there...again, she didn't die from it, so it must be ok. With progress like this, I should be riding by next week...yeah right!!

flying pads are scaaaawwwwieee!!!

2009-03-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

well i am feeling MUCH better this week, so i have sent my trusty assistant mary away so i can bond with Ruger. Weworked on the scary flying pad today...she wasn't going to have it anywhere near her in the round pen, so i put her back in her stall and flung it on her until she decided that it wasn't going to eat her...and she actually was living after it landed on her. she finally stood still and let me swing it up on her back 4 or 5 times so i called it good! She's going to be such a cool horse when she's done and broke. My dad even likes her and he's not even a horsie person! :)

Gidget was civil with my mom today. they played cat and mouse in the round pen, and my mom sqeezed her in her stall and brushed her. She was petting her neck adnd cheek and Gidge actually leaned into her hand once so my mom called it good for today! :)

not a whole ton of progress, but progress none the less.

until tomarrow!
-Jenn

Mustang Fairy

2009-03-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the Mustang Fairy came down and bonked Gidget on the head...or something. She was a completely different horse today...she walked on the lead rope like she'd been doing it forever, let me get somewhat closer than before, and just generally acted like a normal horse! I know there's still going to be a lot of hurdles, but I think maybe something has clicked. Hooray!!!

time for a photo upload!

2009-03-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

-Gidget-

-Ruger-
(with mary working on saddle pad sacking out, and my broke self holding her)

-OUR FIRST TIME OUT! :) Roxanne& my mom(left) Ruger & me(right)-

More Work

2009-03-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

I want to thank everyone who gave me links and advice on how to proceed with Gidget. I went over alone tonight (Jenn's still not feeling or moving that great) and put her in the round pen. She does listen to my commands, stopping at "whoa" and turning in to me, and keeping an ear on me when moving. It's just the approaching that's giving us trouble. I did pick up a bamboo pole (actually it's a piece of pvc, but it works) and after our round pen work, I put her back in her stall and worked on touching her with the pole. She did accept scratches on her shoulder without striking out, so I quit with that. We didn't work a long time tonight, but I feel better about it. Maybe she just has a small tolerance level and once that's reached she explodes. So we'll just work up to it, and I've decided that if all I'll be able to do at the competition is lead her in the arena, so be it.

it leads!

2009-03-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Ruger was fantastic today! i cant say enough cool things about this mare..and yes..i'm buying her back! haha! you just try and out bid me. :) we got lead out of our stall and around the ranch! she seemed to really relax and enjoy her time out in the sunshine with roxanne. we got the normal saddle pad and saddle treatments today with awesome results! no flinching or sweating! :) we are making big time progress in just two days. i'm so proud of her.

Gidget on the other hand is a flaming beyotch...and i say that in the nicest way possible. she struck out at me (ears pinned, nostrils flaring) and caught me on the arm..nice bruise by the way. That isn't the first time she has done this to myself or my mom and i've had about enough of it. This mare is very hateful to people...to be honest, I don't want my mom or myself getting hurt. we are doing this for the fun of it...there is a part on the form that states if the horse is untrainable, it is to be returned. I'm suggesting she get a replacement horse.

oh well, heres to hoping they will still let me mom compete-
-Jenn

Yahoo!!!

2009-02-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-26T21:30:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-25T15:24:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-20T23:42:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-02-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-16T20:40:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-02-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

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!!

2009-02-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

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

more tonight!

-Jenn

thiiierrrrr heeeerreeee.....

2009-02-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-10T14:26:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-07T13:46:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-06T11:21:00.001-08:00

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

the show days

2009-01-27T13:44:00.001-08:00

I've decided that I'm going to post some photos of me and my horses when I was showing youth on my paints and quarters.

enjoy!
my old paint mare annie and roxanne my mom's BLM mustang we got when I was 12, she's 15 this year.
this is Hawkeye, he was a BLM mustang I tuned up for a friend. He was super cool and sweet.

oh Carlton, my 4 year old paint gelding. When this guy lopes, you get goosebumps! He's coming along great and he's going to get a refresher course with Kellie Hinely this month. I'm excited!
Wesley, my 6 year old quarter. He's the Ramsey family's lesson and show horse and enjoying his backyard days.
This is Mikey, he was previously abused before I got my hands on him, and LOOK at him. He is by far the coolest, most talented horse I've ever swung a leg over.

hunt coats and hairy horses

2009-01-25T22:14:00.000-08:00

well the kids got their show clothes this weekend and i'm super stoked at how cute they look! :) Down side, the geldings will have to be shaved..lol. it's a "hairy" horse show, but if you know me I have to roll in the place like a friggin ROCKSTAR and be the best of the best. Hopefully the boys will act right, and the kids will get ribbons. :) Carlton needs his mane banded..so i'm having to look up braiding tutorials online so it looks right..haha. I have NEVER braided a horse before, so it should be interesting how it turns out.

off to dinner with the fam!
-jenn

the walk/trot princess

2009-01-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

So I have this 5 year old girl, Taylor, who friggin ROCKS the walk trot on my paint gelding. I honestly didn't know my WESTERN horse could stretch out and do ENGLISH! He likes it cause it keeps his mind fresh. I'm so excited for the both of them to be going to thier first show on Feb. 1st! It's a novice show, so she will be competing with kids at her same level. She will bring some ribbons home for sure! :) Her brother, Austin, is also doing the walk/jog on my old show horse who is a walk/jog GOD so it should be a good show all around.

I've attatched a few pics of Taylor riding Carlton. Enjoy! :)

I've been chosen!

2009-01-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

Well guys, I'm super excited to share that I have been chosen to compete in the Norco Extreme Trail Challenge with TWO mustangs!! Yes I said two! My mom has decided to jump in and help me with them, and we are more than psyched to be working together. We go to pick them up on Feb. 13th in Ridgecrest, CA..whoo hoo! ROAD TRIP! it's going to be a blast!

On the client side, my 8 and 5 year old are getting ready for their first walk/jog show coming in Feb. They are coming along great, and I'm very happy with how their horses are working for them..since they are my old show horses, they better! :)

More tomarrow, as I VOW to keep this thing active!

-Jenn