Improving, well everything

Read/Watch all kinds of books/magazines/videos/tv shows on horses from all kinds of Horse People and spend time with Your Horse.

Sounds too simple, but it really is that easy to start improving, if you've only read one author try some others. Only watched one video from one trainer? there is a whole world of information waiting for you. Open your horizons and enjoy learning from any all who are willing to share their experiences and love of horses with you.

Amazing Horses

BabyDoll (2 year old I have) was ready to lead around the block. The big decision was do I lead her? Do I pony her from another horse? and If ponying, which horse do I use?

After some thought, decided to see if ponying was something King would be willing to do. Your first thought is what do you mean is the horse willing to do it? Are you willing to work with a bratty teen? Its a gift, some people and some horses just have a gift with bratty teens. King has shown himself to be great with bratty teens, but I don't take it for granted.

So saddled up, got BabyDoll haltered and ready, and in the saddle I went. First stop was King quietly with little fuss established he was in charge. Just stood there, the minute BD stopped (fidgeting, pawing, etc) and paid attention to him, he twitched an ear. Slowly BD stood quietly. BD the horse that never stood quietly was standing quietly, Wahoo!

Then King starts walking and BD comes along, she wasn't in the right spot, so King stops. A little head movement, some nibbles and BD is in the right spot. Off we go.

We had a lovely ride around the block with a few stops here and there. The amazing thing, was how non aggressive and quietly King was able to establish and keep his roll as leader.

Michelle

Made a hard decision

Well made a very hard decision and turned Val II back over to BLM. He was a very well built horse that sometimes made great decisions, but when he would sometimes make a wrong decision. He did NOT like to change his mind. So once he made a decision it would mean long days of trying to get him to change his mind. So after almost 3 months it was time to admit he would not be ready in 100 days.

Which reminds me of something I occasionally tell others. Horses have personalities, and sometimes you find the right horse with the right personality and everything is wonderful. If you find a nice horse with the wrong personality, everything is not so wonderful. When personalities don't match, you have a choice. Change you or change the horse. The good news is that in many cases a bit of change on both sides will bring horse and rider together as a team. To help with this change, it usually includes paying a trainer to help you and the horse. The bad news is that sometimes, it is best to take a deep breath and admit it is time to find the horse a new home. Finding the horse a new home is a very hard decision. Sometimes it is the right decision.

Okay you hear stories of me and my horse made it. In most of these stories they didn't make it on their own. The PAID trainers to help them. In many cases more than one trainer. I really like it when people commit to getting the horse and themselves the help they need to bring their personalities closer together.

My frustration as a trainer is when someone sees there is a problem but wants a FREE AND QUICK fix. My answer is start a program, pay a trainer, and stick with a program. Make the commitment to change yourself and your horse.

Animal Guardianship

If you have any animals, please take a moment and read the following article on TheHorse.com.
Commentary: Animal Guardianship and Horses
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=15021&src=VW

Agree or Disagree it is very very important to be an informed owner.

Sept 29th already!

Guess I forgot to do some blogging, LOL. Val is starting to get good about change. He has a bit of a stubborn streak :-) You start by introducing the first change and once that is accepted you introduce a new change and so on. Always be looking around, you might find what you need at the most unexpected places. Was at a garage sale today and found 2 light and shiny table cloths and thought what wonderful items to add to Vals corral, . Val was much more accepting of the new additions to his corral. the table cloths move nicely in the wind and reflect line in unexpected ways. Oh,,, and yep 3rd mustang starts next Monday, Wahoo!

Mustangs are coming

Just found it interesting that I picked up Val II and just start getting him moving along and another mustang shows up. Month 1 = 1 Mustang and Month 2 = 2 Mustangs. Does this mean Month 3 will equal 3 Mustangs? Guess I will have to wait and see.

Is a horse trainer, training the horse or the owner?

Ingrained habits. My horse does..., many conversations start this way. When asked about training such and such horse who does such and such a thing, try saying that three times fast :-). I try to ask the owner understand that ingrained habits take time to change. First is the getting the horse to stop following the old habit and start creating good new habits. The longest time is actually taken up with helping make those new habits ingrained, and training the owner to only accept the new habit.

The owner is always comparing different trainers, to the person down the street that promises 30 days at a (cheap price) and a fixed horse. 30 days is usually enough to change a bad habit but in many cases it takes training the owner to continue helping the horse to make the new habit ingrained. Without training the owner, the horse can slip back into the original ingrained bad habit.

Best suggestion? Look for a trainer who would like you to be included in the training process once or more a week if possible.

How does this concern Val II? Well he is creating brand new good habits and I have been helping him understand and ingrain these good habits.

Michelle

Val II gets a break

The trip to pickup Val II went well. After arriving back our first order of business was to have a break. After a trip I always like to give my horses a chance to adjust to the new barn. A favorite website of mine is TheHorse.com, they have some well written and informative articles. Horses do need contact with their person and exercise, and this article helps explain some of the many benefits of such contact and exercise.

CONGRATULATIONS!
Dear Mountain Valley Extreme Mustang Makeover Trainer:
The Mustang Heritage Foundation received several exceptional applications from trainers to participate in the Mountain Valley Extreme Mustang Makeover. CONGRATULATIONS - you were accepted as one of the competing trainers! It was a very challenging decision process, based on application content, facilities, experience and references. This will be a very exciting event and we are glad to be working with you.

Wahoo!! I was accepted and am really looking forward to this new adventure :-)

THE MOUNTAIN VALLEY EXTREME MUSTANG MAKEOVER

Timing will be a bit fun, but I took a deep breath and entered! Waiting to find out if my application was accepted. :-)

THE MOUNTAIN VALLEY EXTREME MUSTANG MAKEOVER - NOVEMBER 7th, 2009: For *$10,000 in prize money. The Extreme Mustang Makeover goes buckaroo as it travels to Heber City, Utah, for the 15th annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Buckaroo Fair, November 7th. Only 40 trainers will be accepted to compete for an estimated purse of *$10,000. *Prize money amount to be determined by number of trainers entered. Applications must be postmarked or fax dated by July 1st, 2009. Trainers will be selected and notified shortly after. Selected trainers will pick up their Mustang August 7-8 at the Salt Lake Wild Horse and Burro Facility in Salt Lake City, UT.

More information about the Heber City Cowboy Poetry Gathering click here.

For more information regarding the Mountain Valley Extreme Mustang Makeover, please contact Kali Sublett at kalimullins@yahoo.com or (254) 947-5530.

Valentine

Here goes, Valentine is in Colorado, in the care of BLM. If anyone is interested in adopting her, please contact them.

I am offering 2 months of additional training for Val FREE starting in September.

Thanks
Michelle

Sad News

Do to a family death I am dropping out of the Norco Extreme Mustang Challenge.

Hoping to enter a new mustang challenge in the fall.

Thank You everyone for your support during this difficult time.
Michelle

Valentine and how she got her name

The weather was perfect for my day to pickup the mustang. My mustang was ready, a 3 yr old black filly. They put her in the shoot and asked if I would like a halter and lead rope on her, I said sure, the nice little filly didn't even try to bite when the BLM person put the halter. I enjoyed the opportunity to run my hands down her neck and back. She was like what is going on, not very afraid of being touched at all.

So in the trailer she went. On the drive back to Colorado she startled me the first time she moved her nose to touch my hand. But she got pretty relaxed with the idea of the trailer and me poking my head in.

We arrived at Los Pinos Equestrian Center in good time. By closing some openings we where able to let her move from the trailer to her new pen in a calm easy manner. The gals at the barn where instrumental in giving Val her new name. As we stood around admiring the nice looking beauty we tossed around names. We quickly settled on Valentine. The next 2 days where all about letting her settle into her new area.

Day 3, was all about convincing Valentine to let me touch her. We worked for several hours before she decided to allow me to touch her all over her left side. Then later I got an email from Marlene,

Valentine has mostly startled away when I've fed and would tentatively turn back while I stand there. But tonight, she was totally different – almost started taking the hay out of my hands before I dropped it and she stood right there and started eating while I watched. So your work today had a big impact!

Marlene Moss

Wahoo! we are on our way.

Make your plans early to come meet Valentine & Michelle Myers!
Norco Extreme Mustang Trail Challenge contenders

Los Piños Equestrian Center is proud to host trainer Michelle Myers and her BLM Mustang Valentine for their 90 days of training in preparation to compete at the Norco Extreme Mustang Challenge!

Visit www.LosPinos-CO.com(http://www.lospinos-co.com) for directions to the barn.

Following is a series of demonstration clinics Michelle is offering to the public so people can watch her work with Valentine. Questions welcomed!

Time: 1PM-3PM

March 1 (Sun) - How to catch your horse 101
Going over the basics of how to enter and approach a reluctant horse.

March 7 (Sat) - Despooking 101.
How to introduce your horse to scary items.

March 15 (Sun) – Trailering 101
Teach your horse to trailer.

March 21 (Sat) – Despooking 102.
Despooking Continued. Introduce your horse to more spooky items.

March 29 (Sun) – Problem Solving
How to influence how your horse thinks.

May TBD - Graduation party for Valentine.
Demo of arena routine. Carrot Cake and Pop.

Interested in seeing the daily sessions? email: auroraequine@yahoo.com

Wahoo!!! The Narco Extreme Mustang Makeover has accepted my application.........

I will be picking up my mustang on Valentines day, February 14 in Ridgecrest, California. I'll head back to the mustangs new home at Los Pinos for 90 days of training for the big event in Norco, California May 14th.

Thank You, Marlene, Stace, and Joan of Los-Pinos Equestrian Center (http://www.lospinos-co.com/).

Their sponsorship made my dreams come true. Marlene's positive upbeat attitude helped keep me centered and positive as I waited to hear if I was accepted.
The Los Pinos owners are big fans of mustangs, having owned, bred and boarded several.

Barn Sour and how changing a reward system can make a difference

Barn Sour, what is with that, and why do my horses not seem to pick up the habit?

Was standing around chatting and wouldn't you know the subject of barn sour horses came up and I opened my mouth and said 'non of mine have been barn sour'. So later was thinking about WHY non of my horses have gotten the barn sour attitude and decided to use the subject for this blog.

When starting my horses, I like to get them leading, giving, saddling, and going for walks. When taking the horses on their first walks I really work on having a happy upbeat attitude that says isn't this fun! I project a strong feeling of confidence that says everything is normal and nothing is a big deal. When I am talking of walks, image yourself taking a big dog for a walk, yep leading the horse on a walk.

Going to take a second and point out that I start with learning sessions (how to lead, how to give, how to behave, etc). When the horse is ready I change our learning sessions tin include first going for a walk (think of it as a warm up time) and when we get back from our walk we continue our learning session in the arena.

Take a moment and thing about it. When you exercise you need to warm up, and a nice walk makes for a pleasant warm up. After your warm up, you move to the more intensive workout. Then cool down. Use a little psychology here. If you warm-up at the barn, do your work out at the barn and do a walk as a cool down, then come back to the barn and put the horse away, you are creating a reward system that says as soon as we get back to the barn you get to relax with your buddies.

Move it around a little. Maybe do a brief warm up (not everyone likes to walk a fresh horse), take the horse for a walk, come back to the barn and do your arena session. Do a nice cool down and put the horse away. Now you have changed the reward system to when you come back to the barn the work begins.

Are you ready to take you horse for a walk? If you are asking that question it is probably best to do a few more learning sessions. How long before I walk/ride on the trail, really depends on the horse and on how much session work the horse has had.