Innovative Equine Barn Blog

Wellspring Clinic

2011-11-06T22:03:00.000-08:00

Rouven is happy to be working out of Wellspring Stables now, just outside of Buellton. It's a great facility, with a bunch of really nice people! Plus over 2,000 acres of trails up in the hills, across the river, and down through vineyards... I can't wait to ride there! ;-) Rouven thought it would be a nice way to introduce himself to the folks there by holding a free clinic and potluck lunch. I always enjoy these sorts of things, because I learn so much. There are several mustangs there too. Anyway, it really was nice to meet fellow horsepeople and compare notes and share about our horses. Thanks to everyone who came, and especially to Cliff Earle for his wonderful photos! And bravo, Rouven -- you did a great job!

Some Long Rides

2011-11-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

I think Rouven has found his ideal sport... Endurance Riding! Hours in the saddle on spirited athletes, riding through beautiful wilderness... Our friend Peter got him hooked... on their first ride together, the Fire Mountain ride, Rouven came in 7th and won the Horsemanship award on the 30 mile ride, riding another friend's lovely gray gelding, Cardiff. Then Rouven crewed for Peter in this year's Tevis Cup ride (100 miles!)... and just recently the two of them tied for 4th place in a 50 mile ride in the desert in Inyokern. That's Rouven on Remy in the photo above.

Plans for more rides are in the works... hopefully with Red next year when he'll be old enough to give it a try!

The Extreme Mustang Makeover

2011-05-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Lil' Red reviews the first arena pattern with Rouven on Day 1

Getting to Norco took days of preparation and running around... then four hours of driving down through the L.A.area... Then arriving at the showgrounds and all the hustle and bustle of getting our bearings... add to that all the anticipation, the knotted nerves, the hopes, the worries... we were wound up pretty tight!

Lil' Red, of course, eased out of the trailer and settled into his stall like a champ, and tucked into his hay with no worries.

The first night, Rouven attended the trainer's meeting, and was awarded a grant of $1,000 to use toward purchasing Lil' Red at the auction. We're very grateful to the Mustang Heritage Foundation for this generous assistance that should enable us to keep up with bidding at the auction and bring Red back home. We've got a lot more plans in store for him... but more on that later! To me, receiving the grant, and knowing that we'll most likely get to keep Red makes me feel like we're winners already, and what a great start to the show!

Enjoying a little refreshment after the trail ride

The next day was jam-packed. It was so exciting to see all the other mustangs and trainers! Right from the start, it was amazingly impressive to see how calm and well-behaved and sweet all the mustangs were, and the obvious deep bonds all the trainers had with their horses.

The first event was an in-hand obstacle course, which included trotting over poles, loading into a trailer, backing up through a maze, etc. Directly afterward, the horses and riders took off into the hills behind the arena for a 2-hour rural trail riding challenge with more judged obstacles that included a bridge, scrambling over rocks, steep climbs, etc. Fortunately, the weather has been quite mild and pleasant, because it sure looks like it can be hot as heck around here.

Rouven and Red came through the in-hand obstacles quite handily, although I think they both were a little nervous! Then all the trail riding that they've been doing paid off, as they did very well on the trail challenge. They finished 12th overall in the standings for the first day!

In the afternoon the horses were scored on conditioning and the ability to be caught and haltered by a stranger. Again, it was really impressive to see so many mustangs waiting together, so relaxed and well-behaved. This turned out to be Red's least successful event... he was a little distracted in the pen and wandered off a bit to sniff out the place rather than standing to wait to be haltered, and his baby body didn't score as well as some of the bigger-boned, more mature & muscled horses.

The next day was even busier. They began with an arena obstacle course under saddle, which included weaving cones at a trot, crossing a wooden platform, carrying a tarp from one barrel to another, and loping circles with a lead change. Then off for a two hour urban trail ride. Rouven really enjoyed this one. The town of Norco is laid out with nice wide, fenced equestrian trails along all the streets. Intersections have street crossing buttons set high on poles for riders, and shops and restaurants have corrals and hitching rails. The judged obstacles included opening a gate, a water crossing, and tying up and dismounting at a bar for a shot of root beer. Red must have enjoyed the ride too, because this was his highest scoring event -- they came in 7th overall!

But the day wasn't over yet. With only a brief break after the trail ride, contestants had a 90-second freestyle performance. It was really hard to pick out what to do! The day before, Rouven practiced having Red bow and lay down, then get on him as he got up and then canter him bareback. They looked great in practice, and Team Red voted to give it a shot for the judges! Well, after the long challenging ride and in the big noisy arena, it didn't go quite as well as in practice... but Rouven still did a nice job of jumping up on Red and riding bareback.

When the numbers were tallied up, Lil' Red & Rouven placed 16th overall, pretty much right in the middle. It was a little disappointing for Rouven not to make it into the top ten finalists, but I think it was a stellar achievement, especially for a first time effort! Many of the trainers have competed in EMMs several times, or had lots of horse show experience. Red and Rouven made it all the way to the end (and there were quite a few who didn't), and held their own within a really talented field. I'm super proud of them!

Best of all though, Red got to come home with us. He's so devoted to Rouven, and they have such an amazing bond... it was unimaginable really, to consider sending him home with a complete stranger at the auction.

And Red came home with a new friend as well -- our horsehoer friends adopted the #5 horse overall, another little red gelding the spitting image of Red.

The EMM was a LOT of hard work... and immensely rewarding. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have witnessed and participated in the transformation of this wild young mustang into the amazing equine partner he's become today... and looking forward future adventures!

One More Day... Mixed Emotions

2011-05-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that today may be Lil' Red's last day on the ranch with us.

Tomorrow we make the four hour drive out to Norco and the Mustang Makeover competition. We're all on pins and needles with the anticipation. It's a big event for all of us, and we've got a whole Red Posse making the trip -- Rouven and myself, Ingo the farrier and his wife Jenny.

But it's a mixed bag of emotions.

On one hand, I'm so very proud of Red and Rouven and all they've accomplished. So impressed with this little horse, his trust, loyalty, courage and intelligence. So grateful to Ingo & Jenny for all their help and support, and all our friends who have followed this journey with us together.

I think Red and Rouven are going to do really well at the competition, and I can't wait to see them do their thing, and to see all the other mustangs and trainers! This is so exciting!

On the other hand though, I'm distressed at the thought of Red being adopted out to someone we don't know... will he be cherished the way he's been here? Will he have a nice place to live? Fun things to do? I don't want to let this special little horse down... he deserves the very best...

I had a nice talk with a woman I'd never met before yesterday, and I was telling her about Red and the competition. She'd worked with mustangs and finding them homes before and knew exactly how I felt. She said to remember that Red had received the gift of a good start here, and that would stay with him. Mustangs are amazing creatures; strong and resilient. And that there are so many other mustangs and horses waiting in need of a good start.

That helped a little... but I'm already getting teary-eyed at the thought of not seeing him in his corral...

Deep breath!

Gettin' Wheels

2011-05-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

I used to think that pulling a cart was a safe, easy thing for horses to do. But I've come to realize that driving a cart with a horse is actually much more difficult and dangerous than riding.

First of all, go back to that primal predator/prey thing. Having something basically chasing you from behind would seem to go against every survival instinct of a horse. A wild horse especially, would seem to be hard-wired to run away fast from any contraption that looks like it's pursuing him!

Then if the horse does decide it's all too much to handle or has a big spook, because of all the equipment that can get tangled or hung up or flip over, the potential for serious injuries to horse and driver are much increased compared to a horse simply dumping it's rider and running away.

So hitching up a three year old mustang with less than 90 days of training is a pretty significant thing to even try!

Of course, Lil' Red isn't any average horse, that's for sure. Red has such a willing and trusting attitude, we're all just in awe of him.

Ingo the farrier has been helping Rouven with cart training, and Red really seems to enjoy every minute of hanging out with the guys. They began with getting Red accustomed to all the harness equipment, walking him around the barn first, and then out and about, getting sensitized to all the new straps and pressure points and movements. Next, they practiced backing him into the cart, feeling the shafts against his sides. Then, without physically hitching him to it, walking the cart behind him in the barn. They also practiced hitching him to a log and dragging it around in the arena. Very systematic and step by step. All the driving that Rouven had done before riding really paid off here.

Then the other day, they went down to the arena, and after practicing dragging and having the cart pushed behind him, they hitched him up for the first time. Up till now, Red hadn't really expressed any problem with any of the cart equipment or procedures. They moved forward just fine... but when it was time to turn in the corner, the shafts pressed into his sides and he got a little worried! I've included the video at left to show that it doesn't always start off perfect!
But as you can see in the next video, it doesn't take Red long to figure out how to maneuver with the shafts in a turn, and he soon settles into the routine. Just to be safe, Rouven isn't riding in the cart yet, and Ingo is leading Red, but with practice, in the next few days he should be driving just like a pro!

We figured that because of his somewhat diminutive size, Red might make a nice driving horse, and so far so good!

Tricky Moments

2011-04-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

When you see photos like the ones in today's blog, I wish there was a way to also show the stacks upon stacks of moments it took to get to this point!

The awkward first attempts. The moments of frustration. The "aha" moment when it finally clicks. The repetitions, again and again, to get it to stick. The step by step progressions, every day just a little more, a little better.

It's taken daily practice, for weeks, to teach Red to take a bow, to sit, and now to lay down. It's not easy and can be dangerous, really, if not done properly, so I'm not going to try to go into a detailed description of how to do it. At least Rouven's circus days are finally paying off!

But when I think about how he's been able to teach Red these tricks, I think it really all comes down to trust -- the horse has to truly trust the trainer, that he's not going to hurt him, that it's going to be okay in the end even if what's going on seems really weird to the horse.

And this kind of trust is what Rouven has been building with Red since day one. It's been a progression of moments great and small, not just some technique you apply. You can't force a horse to do something like this; they're so much stronger than a human. The horse has to allow the trainer to work this way. It's amazing to me to see just how far this young wild horse has come to trust Rouven, and all of us, in such a short amount of time.

Trick training only takes 15 minutes or so at a time -- it's pretty intense, hard work, and usually Rouven does it at the end of a session. Most of the rest of Red's training sessions these days have been focusing on improving head carriage, working in close proximity with other horses, and relaxing out on the trail.

And check this out -- last week Rouven took Lil' Red to a training day for the Sherriff's mounted unit! Sorry there aren't any photos (I wasn't able to go, and Rouven had his hands full!), but Rouven came back just glowing about Red's performance... he participated in group maneuvers, made it through the obstacle course, and proved to be a reliable mount in yet another strange new place with lots of new horses and people. A long day for the little guy, and quite a lot to ask of any three year old horse! Thank you to the Santa Barbara Sherriff's Mounted Unit for allowing Red and Rouven to join in!

So it's just a couple more weeks till Norco and the competition... we're making arrangements and plans...

I can't believe how all these moments have flown by...

Out And About

2011-04-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

This week Red had his first ride out on the trails where we live. He went out with four other horses and a dog and handled it quite well! It was the first time he went up and down hills with a rider on his back, which seemed a little awkward and worrisome for him at first. But as usual, he took it pretty well in stride, see the video above.

We're lucky to have miles of trails on the ranch, and Rouven took him out for several more rides this week. Then this weekend he took him out for some even bigger adventures... on Friday, Rouven and Red went to a cattle gather and branding, with dozens of horses and people, and lots of activity and noise. Today they went on a trail ride on another ranch. Rouven described Red as "a total sweetheart" on the ride. Every ride he's gaining more confidence and doing better each time they go out.

These kinds of adventures out into the world are great training for Red. The more kinds of situations and places he gets exposed to, with these kinds of positive experiences, the more confidence he has.

One of the things the mustangs get scored on in Norco will be their condition. We figured that a supplement might help boost Red's overall condition and appearance. But of all the thousands of products available out there, where to even begin? What would be the best choice for a young mustang? When word got out that we were trying to find a good supplement appropriate for Red, our friend Angela of Grand Meadows came forward to help us. Not only did she recommend several supplements that could help, but when we couldn't get Red to eat a supplement, she recommended a horse feed that Red quickly came to love, which complemented the supplement ingredients. (You may remember that Red wasn't interested in carrots or grain -- we had quite a few adventures trying to entice Red with sugar cubes, molasses, shredded carrots, and more, with no luck!) Thanks so much to Angela, Red now enjoys a daily treat of Grand Coat, Grand Vite, and Grand Calm. He's looking and feeling great, and his winter coat is shedding out to reveal a rich shiny copper-red summer sheen, over his increasingly muscular build.

Our sincere gratitude to Angela and Grand Meadows!

Halfway There: Through Thick and Thin...

2011-04-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a rough couple weeks here at the ranch. We got hammered by a series of rain storms, with one in particular that dumped over 8 inches on us in less than 24 hours. The bridge on the main road to the property washed out, our trails turned to slip-n-slides, and a mudslide flowed into the soaked arena.

Then Rouven's pickup truck slid on a mud-slick access road onto the ranch and slammed into the hillside. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the truck was totaled, and Rouven was too sore to ride for a few days.

It took a big chunk of riding time away from Lil' Red, unfortunately.

But hey, we're Innovative Equine... and when we get lemons, we make lemonade!

For example, between storms, we had some windy days, and the arena footing was still pretty slippery... Maybe not a great day for riding... but excellent for plastic bag desensitization!

Now this is something about horses that always gets me shaking my head. It seems to be a universal truth that each and every horse is born with an innate terror of those plastic grocery bags. Whether it's caught in the bottom of a bush on the trail, or fluttering around on the breeze, or crinkling in a pocket, something about those things just sets horses off. Why? There's no comparable threat in nature... other critters don't seem to give a hoot about them... Why are those weightless, utterly harmless little bags so unnerving to horses?

We may never know the answer... but it's sure a good thing to practice dealing with them, because they are everywhere!

The process of "desensitization" to things and situations that horses find frightening, in a controlled, safe environment, is very useful for a number of reasons. When a horse confronts something scary, and is able to overcome or control it's fear with the leadership of the handler, it builds the horse's confidence in the leadership of the handler, as well as himself. The more you successfully practice these things with your horse, the more easily the horse is going to rely on you when you encounter new, unrehearsed scary situations. Notice that I say "successfully practice" -- As a trainer, Rouven is very adept at guiding a horse with a firm but sensitive hand to work through a challenge and then comfort or praise him at just the right time that he's figuring it out, so that it ends as a positive experience. Without that skill, a desensitization session can turn into a frustrating and potentially dangerous exercise. He just always makes it look so easy!

Rouven began by taking a plastic bag scrunched small and rubbing Red in his most comfortable places -- shoulders, neck, back. Gradually, he opened the bag and allowed it to make more noise, and fluttered it around less comfortable places like his legs and head. Red definitely didn't like the bag as it got bigger and noisier, but he braced himself and allowed Rouven to move it around. For a horse that kicks, strikes or bites, it's a good idea to do this exercise by fixing the bag on a stick!

Next Rouven took Red into the round pen, where the wind was pretty breezy. He fluttered the bag around Red again, praising him for standing still and remaining calm. So he took it a step further, and tied the bag onto the saddle, then started lungeing him.

You would have thought he tied a rabid wolverine onto his back...

You can see Red is paying attention to the bag, not Rouven. Rouven let Red discover for himself that the bag was in fact not attacking him, which took a few minutes. He comforted and praised Red when he calmed down and accepted the bag. You can see in the second video that the bag blows over Red's back, and he looks to Rouven to see if everything is okay, rather than taking off, which is just what we want.

So we did lots of this sort of thing during all the messy weather. Lots of tying and standing patiently. Lots of grooming. Practicing getting in and out of the trailer. And when the sun did come out here and there, we took him for walks out on the trails.

And here I learned another interesting thing about mustangs vs. domestic horses. I've been bugging Rouven that we need to get Red out on the trails, and get him used to being handled and ridden in big open spaces asap. Rouven explained to me that wild mustangs are generally quite comfortable being out in the open, and felt that Red would be fine on the trail; that it's the man-made encounters and arena work that was more likely to unnerve Red. This was counter to experiences I've had with domestic horses like thoroughbreds, who feel secure and relaxed in an arena or paddock, but go out on the trail and it's like they go into sensory overload, worrying over every bush and rock, dancing and jigging every step of the way, ready to bolt.

So I took Red out for a nice long walk when the trails were starting to dry out, and sure enough, he was quite relaxed. On another walk we went down to the river to look at where the bridge used to be...

Well, the sun's finally out again, and it's back to work under saddle for Lil' Red... and full speed ahead to Norco in May!

Settling Into A Routine...

2011-03-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Now that every little thing each and every day isn't completely new and foreign, Red is settling into a pretty typical training routine for any young horse.

Generally, we start with a nice grooming session (man, is he shedding right now!) and tack up in the barn; then it's down to the round pen for some warm up lunging. Then some desensitization exercises, such as touching his ticklish spots with tarps and ropes so that he doesn't flinch or worry about those things. Of course, we've done all these things dozens of times already, but compared to a more experienced horse, it's a good idea to practice a lot of little reminders of how things feel and work before getting in the saddle -- sometimes they just forget that a leg swinging over the back isn't a cause for alarm!

A little driving to remember how stopping and turning work. Then mounting up for riding and walk, trot and canter, both directions, in the round pen. Then out into the arena. Right now the arena work is primarily walking and trotting, turning, stopping, large circles, small circles, and backing up. Just started working on some sidepassing. We'll keep adding and refining skills each session, things like moving off the leg, proper head carriage, cantering and leads, and on and on...

Red seems to have what I hear called "a good work ethic" -- he seems to enjoy riding and having a job to do. He likes to move his body, and he really does move awfully nicely I think! He can get a little frustrated at times when he doesn't understand what he's being asked to do, but he doesn't act out in a resistant way, like bucking or rearing or tossing his head all over.

Rouven has been cooling Red down practicing some new tricks... more on that soon! Then it's back to the barn, maybe a little bath, and lots of praise...

Week 4: Nailing The Basics

2011-03-12T01:05:00.000-08:00

Another busy, busy week for Lil' Red. Just some of the things this little mustang was up to: taking a trailer ride to a friend's house to get used to going new places, lots of work in the round pen, first canters under saddle, lots of grooming and handling, a first real bath complete with shampoo! learning about new foods, like sugar cubes (messy but fun!) and grain, trying out some of the training his horse friend Dakota is learning about as a sherriff's mounted unit prospect, like flares and gun shots and noise cans (none of which caused any trouble for Red!), getting to hang out in a variety of corrals around different horses here, working outside the round pen in the arena...

Without fail, Red takes on each of these new experiences and challenges with a willingness and loyalty and intelligence that impresses everyone who sees...

For example, in today's video, you'll see our friend Jenny, who has been helping Rouven train Red on the lunge line. Jenny used to start young race horses in Germany. She told me the other day that with most young horses, training often seems to go three steps forward, and two steps back, but she was amazed at how Red just seems to move forward, forward, forward. He's just such a smart and good-natured horse... well, now she's in love with him too!

As we watched the videos today, Rouven remarked that when he's riding Red, it almost seems as if Red already knows what to do...

Well, he certainly has learned a lot so far! Here we are at Day 28, and Red has pretty much all the fundamental abilities expected from a greenbroke horse: he's not a problem to catch and halter, ties, is patient for grooming and tacking, accepts the farrier and having his feet worked with, leads, lunges, drives, stands for mounting & dismounting, walks, trots and canters with a rider, doesn't buck or rear, trailers, and isn't prone to spooking. He really does move quite nicely and is already learning to collect himself. Just look at the footage in the video and notice how relaxed Red looks in the arena!

There's still a long way to go, of course, and lots and lots of practicing for Red. But what a fantastic start! I'm so proud of both of them -- way to go Red & Rouven!

Since he's such a good sport about being caught and haltered, Red got turned out into a little pasture today, which he certainly did seem to enjoy.

Week 3: Sweeter By The Minute

2011-03-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

We've had more than our share of wet weather lately, and the arena footing hasn't been optimal for riding a green mustang -- when things are muddy, little spooks can turn into slips and spills, and we don't want to see the rider or the ridee get injured! So we've been focusing on a lot of groundwork, which is always a good thing. Tying, grooming, familiarizing Red with all sorts of equipment and situations.

We practiced going in and out of the horse trailer, and it was another lovely non-issue. (which is pretty remarkable if you've ever had to deal with a good ol' domestic horse who decides it's not going into a trailer, no way, no how!). I think Red would follow Rouven pretty much anywhere right now.

It's been amazing to watch this scared, shivering little wild thing blossom into such a sweet and personable horse. When he first came here, he'd run to the other end of the corral whenever I came to feed or muck. He'd stand there in his corner, rear end turned toward me, warily watching my every move from the corner of his eye, flinching at every step I took.

After he'd established contact with Red for a few days, Rouven asked me to work with building a relationship with Red as well, because it's important for him to be able to accept other people as handlers. At first, it was quick, tentative little touches, Lil' Red tensed up in his corner, ready to bolt.

But as the days went by, little by little he started to relax, accepting pats and strokes... now, he walks up to me and buries his head in my arms, soaking up attention and returning affection with sweet little nuzzles. And yesterday, I discovered his happy scratching spots -- I'll try to get a photo soon of how he stretches his neck out and makes the funniest faces -- I think I scratched some itches he'd never been able to reach before, and he was just loving it!
.

This affection from Red strikes me in a different way from many of the other horses I deal with... there aren't any treats involved (he still hasn't figured out how to deal with carrots or grain!) ... somehow, it seems to come from a deeper place than a horse that's grown up accustomed to and expecting the care of humans. I guess this must be where part of the mystique of working with mustangs comes from. It's very moving and beautiful, and feels like a very special privilege to share.

Anyway, despite the weather, Rouven has managed to get three rides on Red, with another scheduled this afternoon. Each ride has gone a little longer, building Red's confidence and balance, sensitizing him to cues from legs and reins. More soon!

(photo at right: Rouven giving Red a goodnight kiss!)

Day 13: First Ride

2011-02-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

Most people associate a horse's first ride with lots of dramatic jumping and bucking, like a saddle bronc ride in a rodeo. "Breaking" a horse, till he just gives up, panting and exhausted, rider triumphantly still hanging on for dear life. And I guess that's worked for a lot of people for a long time. Maybe not so much for the horses, though, if you asked them!

Rouven likes to establish more of a partnership with a horse. He doesn't call a first ride "breaking" a horse; it's "starting" a horse. Sets the tone for a whole different kind of relationship, doesn't it?

Ideally, if the preliminary groundwork has been done right, the first ride is almost a non-event. Rouven doesn't want a bunch of rearing and bucking, because that's a horse resisting and fearful of the experience. The horse should willingly accept the rider, because he's built a trusting relationship, and already accepts the leadership of the rider.

So if you're hoping to see a bunch of bucking and rearing in Lil' Red's first ride video, I'm sorry, but you'll be disappointed.

We brought Red down to the round pen (this time without any playful buddies in the other end of the arena!), where he got groomed and saddled up. Rouven brought out another of his innovative desensitizing devices -- a crinkly blue plastic tarp, tied up to simulate a rider's legs. He rubbed Red all over with it, and then practiced putting it on and off the saddle. This is to get the horse accustomed to seeing, hearing and feeling things moving behind him up on his back. Remember that a horse is a prey animal, and predators like mountain lions like to jump on the backs of their prey... horses are hard-wired to run away, fast, from that sort situation!

Not surprisingly, Red found it a little unsettling, but he stuck it out. And then Rouven did some more long-lining with the bridle on, practicing some stops and turns and moving forward. Red still wasn't too keen about those ropes around his back legs, but he was improved over the day before. It's also good for a horse to stretch out and move it's body around before trying something new like this; it helps release some tension.

Ingo the farrier came to hold and lead Lil' Red for the first ride. They had such a positive experience the other day when Ingo trimmed his feet, it was obvious that Red felt comfortable around him.

First Rouven did his bouncing next to Red, and then put a foot in the stirrup and leaned himself across Red's back, then they took a few steps in a circle around Ingo, to practice what they would do when Rouven actually sat in the saddle. It's uncomfortable to have a lot of weight off balance like that, and Red did get a little squirrely about it. But after a few more tries, he knew it wasn't anything that was going to hurt him, and he went along with it.

Next thing you know, Rouven just sort of snuck up and sat up in the saddle. No big deal. It probably actually felt a lot more comfortable to Red, who calmly stood still with Rouven on his back. Ingo asked Red to take a few steps around him like they'd been practicing, and it was no problem. They practiced going in gradually larger circles, Rouven subtly tapping Red's sides and moving his hands on the reins to get him used to the sensations.

A few minutes, and that was enough. Rouven dismounted, with no reaction or fright from Red. No bucking or rearing or excitement. Just the way we like it. Off to a good start, and setting the stage for rides to come...

PS -- a little after the ride, a reporter and photographer from the Santa Barbara Independent came to talk with Rouven about Lil' Red and the Mustang Makeover -- make sure to check next week's issue!

Day 12: First Saddle

2011-02-25T01:10:00.000-08:00

Today, Lil' Red was introduced to a whole lot of new accessories: in a word, tack! Tack is defined as "the gear used in equipping a horse."

It started with a surcingle. A surcingle is basically just a belt that goes around a horse's belly; it usually has rings or handles of some sort, and can be used for long-lining, vaulting, and other training. Rouven wanted to use it to safely accustom Red to the totally new sensation of pressure squeezing around his barrel -- if he was very sensitive or worried by it, it wouldn't be a problem if it rolled underneath his belly the way a saddle might if he bucked and reared and twisted around, which could trigger a dangerous panic situation.

The surcingle wasn't any problem for Red, so Rouven moved forward and put on a saddle. The saddle we use is a very lightweight cordura model, it weighs only a few pounds. Again, imagine how strange it must feel for the first time, to have something squeezing around your middle, and now with flapping things on the sides. It's not too bad when you're standing still, but when Red was asked to move around with it, it was a little scary for him! He tried to run out from under it, but darn, it just wouldn't go away.

We had brought his corral neighbor River over to the arena to keep him company, but instead of being a calming presense the way he'd been the day before, River apparently thought all this jumping around was his cue to play around in his pen too -- you can see him bucking around in the background! River is quite a playful guy... but this is probably part of the reason why Red was a bit more jumpy than his usual self.

Still, it didn't take too long for Red to accept that the saddle wasn't out to hurt him either, and he settled in with it.

So now Rouven introduced a bridle. The bit is a nice easy beginner's snaffle, and Lil' Red didn't fight putting it on, although it obviously felt pretty weird to him too! Rouven led him around with it in the round pen with no resistance, just a lot of chewing on that weird thing.

Red's final accessorization of the day were the long lines. Basically, they're long, flat ropes that attach to the bridle, then are strung through the stirrups, with the ends held by the trainer. When going in a circle around the trainer, one of the lines dangles around the rear end and legs of a horse, which helps desensitize that area, where horses can be notoriously spooky. Red didn't like those things at all!

Long lines are primarily used to drive a horse, and help to simulate the feeling of reins pulling on the bit. This is important to introduce the "feel" of being asked to stop and turn through the reins. And let me point out also that it takes a good deal of skill on the trainer's part not to get tangled up in the long lines!

Red was soon handling the long lines quite nicely, and Rouven had him stopping and turning on cue.

Quite a big day! Rouven felt that they were ready to try mounting up and riding the next day...

Day 11: Round Pen & First Trim

2011-02-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

Another milestone day for Lil' Red! Now that he'd proven he could be safely led in larger spaces, we could walk him over to the arena and the round pen. We're going to be spending a lot of time there in the next phase of training.

The round pen is a very useful place for training any horse. Smaller than the arena, the round pen is large enough for trotting and cantering, but contained so that a horse can't just go running off; and round so that the horse won't be tempted to stop or freeze up in corners.

At first, Lil' Red was a bit nervous about all these new places. But he really looks to Rouven as a leader, and he soon settled in just fine. After being confined to his corral the past eleven days, Red looked happy to be able stretch his legs out. Still, he didn't go crazy and start bucking or releasing any pent up wildness, like you might expect. And when Rouven gave him the cues to stop and come meet him, Red was happy to follow along. No problem catching him again, which is sure nice.

Now that he'd had some exercise and was feeling relaxed, we introduced Red to our good friend and farrier, Ingo Wolters, to give Red his first hoof trim. Ingo is an excellent farrier, and is used to working with big, spirited race horses and jumpers. Red seemed to trust him right from the start... and they got all four feet trimmed with no problem! That's a pretty big accomplishment for any first time trim, but considering that Red's only been handled for 11 days, well, my hat is off to all three of them -- well done!

Red seemed to be enjoying his time out exploring, so Rouven brought him up to the barn to hang out and watch some of the other horses here get shod. I'm guessing Red had never been inside a building before, but he took it all in stride, and got a nice grooming in too.

An interesting note -- we figured Red had definitely earned some treats with such exemplary behavior... but dang if he doesn't know what to do with a carrot! Or a horse cookie... or even a handful of grain! I have a feeling that's going to change, though...

Day 10: Bigger Places

2011-02-21T20:52:00.000-08:00

Lil' Red has been doing very well working in his corral and practicing leading in the aisles. So today we took the training we've been practicing out into a large turnout corral.

Red was very comfortable with Rouven in the open space, and followed him around like a big dog. Even with other horses running around nearby, Red kept his focus on Rouven and didn't try bolting or acting up.

They practiced grooming again, and then worked on picking up all four feet. Red was doing so nicely, Rouven took a hoof pick and cleaned his front feet -- see the video clip at left! Then we worked on introducing a new person -- me! We're going to try to have Red's hooves trimmed soon, so it's important to have him get used to other people close to him and handling him as well. Red was a bit jumpy, but allowed me to get close and stroke him on the neck and shoulder.

They practiced putting a halter on and off again, and then Rouven introduced some new activities... he walked Red around the turnout some more, then turned a feeding tub upside down, and stood up on it... to Red, this was a whole new angle of seeing Rouven -- towering above him! But the trust they've been building really showed during this exercise, because although Red was quite wary about what was going on, he stood his ground and stuck with Rouven, even though he looked so different.

One more activity to complete the session -- Rouven placed his hands on Red's back and bounced next to him. It looks pretty silly! But it starts preparing Red to accept weight placed on his back, and get accustomed to the look and feel of someone who would be getting ready to go for a ride... which is going to come soon...!

Day 7: And on the seventh day... he relaxed for a nice first grooming!

2011-02-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

After a big week full of new experiences for Lil' Red, we figured it was time to introduce him to something easy and pleasant -- grooming!

Most horses really enjoy being groomed: it's something that helps settle them down and focus with their rider before a workout, and helps them unwind and relax afterward.

Red has been very accepting of Rouven introducing new objects, and he took today's assortment of brushes and currycombs in stride with no problem. I think he may have even enjoyed it a bit -- Red really seems enjoy Rouven's attention.

So Rouven took it a step further, and worked on asking Red to let him pick up his feet.

Hoof care is crucial to horse care. If the horse gets something like a rock or a nail caught in it's hoof, and when it needs it's hooves trimmed or shod, it makes life a whole lot more pleasant for everyone if the horse willingly and safely allows you to handle all four feet. Considering that those hooves are also the horse's most effective weapons, that can be a lot to ask of a scared or angry horse!

Rouven has developed a method of desensitizing and training horses to safely work with their feet. It begins with getting the horse used to an artificial "hand" on the end of a pole. He rubs it on the areas of the horse's body that it's already comfortable with, such as the face, neck and shoulders.

Then he moves to areas the horse isn't comfortable with, such as the legs and feet. If the horse kicks in defense or irritation, it kicks the pole, not the person -- much safer! Rouven will just keep placing that pole against the leg, showing the horse it's not going to hurt it, and holding it for increasing periods of time as the horse gets used to it and finally stands still.

Then Rouven switches to a padded hook on the end of a pole and does the same thing, which by now, the horse should be pretty comfortable with. He'll get the hook around the horse's fetlock and work to gently pull the foot up and hold it off the ground. Again, if there's a problem, it's much safer to have the horse kick the pole. Then, once the horse is completely comfortable with having it's legs touched and lifting it's feet off the ground, Rouven can try lifting the hoof with his hands.

Rouven worked with this technique yesterday and today. And Red very comfortably allowed Rouven to pick up both front feet and a hind foot as well. If it hadn't rained so dang much last night and wasn't so muddy, he might have even tried using a hoof pick...!

Day 6: Follow The Leader

2011-02-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

Being herd animals, horses are born with a natural inclination to follow the leader.

The tricky part can be establishing just who is the leader! And in the case with a wild horse, establishing first that you're not a threat, because they haven't been imprinted with the image that humans can even be a leader.

Now that Lil' Red has become accustomed to wearing his halter and plenty of human touch, it's time to start working with the idea of who's in charge. In a nutshell -- we've established a trusting relationship; now it's time to introduce respect. And the most fundamental way of doing this is literally to "follow the leader."

Fortunately, Red is the kind of guy who is really looking for a leader. Getting him to follow Rouven on a lead line wasn't all that difficult. Lil' Red doesn't seem to be interested in challenging Rouven for a leadership role or fighting against it, but he's just not sure that he trusts him well enough yet to lead him through new situations. So this training expands on the trust-building work as well.

Rouven started by leading Red in circles in both directions in his corral, which he was quite happy to do. But when Rouven asked Red to leave the corral with him, he resisted. Just planted his hooves in the dirt and said "no!" He's got his comfort zone now, and didn't want to leave it!

Rouven tried a bit of tugging on the lead line, but as most horse people will tell you, you can't win a tug of war with a horse. So he tried walking Red around in some more circles in different directions in the corral, but every time they got to the gate, Red kept saying, "no way."

Time to try something different. Red was locking up his feet, but Rouven needed him to keep moving. It's much easier to keep a horse's feet moving by pushing him away, and backing him up, than by trying to pull him toward something he doesn't want.

Another thought occurs to me here as well -- Red definitely feels more comfortable facing the unknown butt-first. It's a survival tactic in the wild -- the butt end of a horse can deliver a powerful kick in defense, plus if it does wind up under attack, the head and eyes are protected. When Red got here a few days ago, first thing he did when anyone came into his corral was turn his butt to us -- nothing personal it turns out, just him being careful. Then when curiosity got the better of him, he'd take a few steps backward at a time toward us, butt first, looking over his shoulder.

So Rouven asked Red to go through the corral gate backward... and... it worked. In a moment he was out of the corral, and when Rouven asked him to come forward with him, Red decided to accept his leadership and walked forward with him.

Which isn't to say that it all went perfectly right off the bat and now you can lead him anywhere! Rouven and Red practiced walking through the corral aisle together, with all the neighbor horses watching, and there were a few short-lived spooks and refusals. But after some more practice, they really had a nice thing going.

Over the next few days, Rouven and Red will practice walking through increasingly open spaces, and continue building on that trust and respect as they encounter new situations. Because Red will need to have a very high level of trust and respect in Rouven's leadership when he gets on his back to ride...!

Rouven & Red in the News

2011-02-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

Nice article in one of our local papers, the Santa Ynez Valley News:
http://www.syvnews.com/lifestyles/article_24a4e382-3965-11e0-b3b0-001cc4c002e0.html

Day 4: First Halter

2011-02-16T02:38:00.000-08:00

Rouven did a lot more work with Red, in short sessions, desensitizing him to human touch, practicing approaching him, having him stand still, petting his face, neck and shoulder. All this happened in Red's "comfort zone," his favorite corner of the pen, with his left side to Rouven. Although still wary, Red accepted Rouven's contact. So now it was time to advance to the next level: putting a halter on.

The first thing Rouven did was desensitize Lil' Red to a rope. He did this by throwing it around, letting Red sniff it, run around it, and see that it wouldn't hurt him. Gradually Rouven threw the rope across Red's back, and then around his neck. He had Red loop himself in the rope, and now Red had to get used to being physically connected to Rouven through the rope. He certainly didn't like at first, but after running around with it and seeing that it wasn't going to hurt him, he soon became accustomed to it. Rouven stopped him often during this process to reassure Red and continue working on desensitizing his face and head with pets and strokes.

Now, the next step that Rouven devised to actually get the halter onto Red... well, I still can't believe it actually worked!

Rouven took baling twine and tied it to the end of a halter, which he draped over one of the fence panels in Red's "comfort zone" corner of the corral. Rouven then drove Red under it, standing still with the rope around his neck, and then gingerly worked the halter over the side of the fence and dropped it onto Red's neck. I was quite surprised that Red only flinched, but stood still when the halter dropped onto him. Then Rouven began working the halter into place with a padded hook on a pole -- so that Red was now accepting a multitude of objects on his body and moving around in his personal space -- a situation that was unimaginable to this horse just 24 hours before.

It took a few good tries, but eventually the halter went on, with Red standing calmly as Rouven buckled it up. This all took place in the space of less than two hours, and ended as we'd hoped, on a positive note. A very big step for a wild little horse, and one that will literally "lead" into Red's next steps in training...

Day 3: First Contact

2011-02-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

We gave Lil' Red the day off Saturday to settle into his new home. There's a lot going on around here -- lots of horses, lots of people and activity, and he calmly took it all in. No pacing or nervous whinnying, a little pawing here and there at times was the only sign he gave of having any anxiety at all.

So Sunday Rouven went to work. The goal was to get Red accustomed to having a person in his space, and to invite him to make contact. Up to now, anytime Rouven entered Red's pen, he moved to the opposite side, always staying as far away as possible from him.

Rouven began by moving the horse around in his pen, and introducing Red to the fundamental training system of pressure and release. He did this using only his body language: an arm up, hand upright, signals pressure (it makes him look bigger and more intimidating), and the horse moves away from it. Lowering his arm and hand and head releases the pressure, makes Rouven look less threatening, and the horse relaxes and stops.

By simply doing this moving and stopping, moving and stopping, for a while, Rouven was able to see that Red was more comfortable with him on his left side, and that Red favored one corner of his pen where he seemed to feel safest.

So he built on that; Rouven would move Red around the pen, and when he stopped and relaxed in his "sweet spot," he would release the pressure, and take a step back. They worked on standing still in this spot for increasing periods of time, and each time, Rouven would move a little closer. Eventually Rouven was able to have Red stand still and be close enough to extend his hand, palm down in an unthreatening gesture, which was an invitation for Red to come to him and sniff, to confirm that he wasn't a threat.

See the video above, that captures these first tentative introductions between Rouven and Lil' Red! It may not seem like much, but this positive, non-violent first step paves the way for a very big achievement on Day 4!

A Sniff In The Right Direction

2011-02-12T22:14:00.000-08:00

Lil' Red is settling in nicely. He's wary, but not panicky or aggressive. When he's anxious, he goes to the water trough and paws at it, but he hasn't kicked or struck out at me or anything. He's eating well, and watching all the other horses and activities around the barns with interest. I went into his corral and pushed him just a little, to see what sort of reaction he might have. He was a little worried about getting cornered, but after a few minutes... he stepped toward me... and sniffed my hand.

That was enough for today. More tomorrow.

Mustang Day 1 -- A tired little guy

2011-02-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

The anticipation around here has been so exciting! And at last, here he is... I guess for now we're calling him "Lil' Red."

He's barely bigger than a pony, but a nice chestnut red color, with a pretty stripe down his face. Seems in decent condition, all things considered; he's not skinny, and his coat and feet seem good.

Rouven reports that he wasn't an obvious lunatic in the pen in Ridgecrest, and wasn't any problem to load (through a chute). He bounced around a bit on the ride over, but when he got here, he came out of the trailer calmly and walked right into his corral. He seems pretty pleased with the shelter in the barn, and set right into his food, no problem with his appetite!

Rouven's a little disappointed that he's so small... but I'm lobbying him to wait and see what this little guy is made of. Good things can come in small packages...!

Both the horse and Rouven are exhausted after a very long day... Rouven's crashed on the couch, and you can just see the weariness in the mustang's eye in the photo. Tomorrow will be a fresh new day though, and a whole new world for "Lil' Red."

Getting The Word Out

2011-02-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

Sending out press releases today. Here's the cover letter I wrote:

I'm writing to let you know of a newsworthy local interest story. I'm a local horse trainer based in Buellton, and have been selected as one of only 45 trainers to participate in the Extreme Mustang Makeover to be held May 13-15 in Norco, CA. Please see the attached press release for more details.

I'll be picking up my mustang in Ridgecrest this Friday, February 11, 2011. Over the following 90 days we'll be filming and sharing our progress on a blog and Facebook page accessible through my website, www.innovative-equine.com. Our story will culminate at the competition in Norco, where we will compete in various categories and the mustang will be offered for adoption.

However, the story won't end there, as I am planning to take knowledge gained from this experience and apply it to programs I'm developing to involve local disadvantaged youth with the gentling and training of mustangs. Similar programs have met with great success in other locations, enabling youth to learn techniques of self-discipline, patience, respect, and empowering them to believe in their ability to achieve goals they hadn't thought possible or even considered before.

The coming weeks will be filled with lots of "firsts" -- first human touch, first haltering, first grooming, first ride -- working with a wild horse is a truly transformative process, and I know this is going to be an exciting story to follow for your readers! Please feel free to contact me at this email or by phone at 805.712.0597 if you have questions or would like to more!

I think it's a pretty exciting story! It's a mixed bag for Rouven though. There's a part of him -- the circus performer in the gold lamé shirt, if you've ever seen the photo -- that loves the spotlight and attention... Then there's the ambitious part of him, the dreamer and planner, that is busy working out all the next steps, the YEP program (more on that to come soon!), that understands the importance of letting people know about what he hopes to do with this mustang experience... and then there's the very human part of Rouven, that not so many people get to see... the part that is humble and often shy, and a little worried about taking all this on, playing all those "what if" games...

So, as the wife and official Master Mucker at our barn, here's my message for Rouven: Be brave. We're going to be asking this mustang to be very brave. To bravely trust us, when so far humans have been awfully scary. To bravely step forward from the world he's known, into a whole new world, where good things do await, but he doesn't know it yet.

It's going to take a lot of bravery on Rouven's part as well -- working with a wild mustang is no cakewalk. But when your aspirations are truly heartfelt and aimed at doing good, I don't think there is any failure to fear -- only lessons to learn on the path to realizing your dreams. Good luck Rouven, I know you and this mustang are going to do great things!

Getting Ready for a Mustang

2011-01-29T16:09:00.000-08:00

Rouven and Ingo are out welding some extra panels right now... Keeping a wild mustang takes a bit more planning and equipment than domesticated horses. For example, it may take a while before it can be reliably caught and haltered or handled... so having runs and catch pens set up can make things a lot easier and less stressful for a wild horse. Plus if a wild mustang panics, it may not respect a typical fence or corral the way a regular horse would. So we're fixing up all our old panels and getting ready to bolster up the places we're going to keep and work with the mustang...

Extreme Mustang Makeover!

2011-01-25T23:01:00.000-08:00

Just received notice today that Rouven was accepted as a trainer to participate in the Extreme Mustang Makeover!

It's funny, Rouven was just out at Midland School this morning to work with some mustang babies they have, and he came home all fired up about working with mustangs again... and then we got the news!

We're so excited! It's going to be a lot of hard work, but Rouven really loves this kind of work.

We're already tossing around names for this yet to be seen horse... he likes "Buster"... Of course, I'm thinking something more exotic, maybe Swiss... like "Bitzli" (little bit) or "Ruebli" (carrot)... Or maybe a Tibetan name, like "Lung Ta" (wind horse).

The mustang will be assigned to him by the EMM folks, and we'll be picking it up in Ridgecrest the weekend of Feb. 12-13. Then he has 90 days to gentle and train it... and then take it to the big show in Norco.

*Deep breath* ...!!