Call of the Wild

It's that time again, folks! I'm happy you're back for round number three, which looks like it'll be the biggest challenge yet. For those returning readers- Amicus (last year's mustang) found a wonderful home with a spectacular lady whom I see almost on a daily basis. He's fat, happy, and spoiled...what more could a mother want?!

Now, without further ado...I'd like to introduce you to Ledoux (as in the late-and-great Country singer, rodeo star, and all-around cowboy Chris Ledoux). Ledoux is a four y/o gelding the Twin Peaks HMA near the California/Nevada boarder, and has been in captivity since August 5, 2006. If I had to personify Ledoux at this point in time, I would say that he resembles the ridiculously intelligent bad boy who loves a good time but refuses to be anything but top dog...the later sure to be the source of any issues we encounter.

Ledoux has been at the Bar T since Friday, July 16, thanks to our friend and barefoot trimmer Alex, who made the long haul to the holding facility in Piney Woods, MS to pick up our boys. We gave the 'stangs all day Saturday to get their wits about them before starting training on Sunday. I did, however, sit in the round pend/corral area on Saturday just to see what the guys would do. Imagine my surprise when Ledoux, who had never been handled, waltzed right on up to me to take a sniff while I was chilling out in a lawn chair. In my mustang experience, this is very uncharacteristic...and I was excited beyond words :) Sunday, before our lesson began, I was out in the round pen with a manure fork and wheelbarrow...and guess who came out to check things out again?! Ledoux started with sniffing me and the aforementioned glamourous tools of the trade, until he apparently lost interest in just sniffing...he grabbed the fork right out of my hands! Already...what a clown :)

I've worked with him daily since Sunday, and it's gone relatively well. Touching him was never a challenge since he more or less made the first move. My challenge with him has been his acceptance with me as the "Alpha" in our relationship. During our first lesson on Sunday, he charged me once and backed toward me (to kick) multiple times. Ummm, Houston, we have a problem. I will say that he isn't doing this to be malicious at all. If you know horses, you know about herd dynamics...every horse has its place in the herd, and because he isn't accustomed to taking direction from others, he's fighting every step of the way. Since our first lesson Sunday, he has undoubtedly improved, but it will continue to be a battle of wills. Luckily, I'm as stubborn and hard-headed as they come :)

We're Baaaaccckkkkkkk!

Okay, so it's time for an update...finally! Amicus and I are still prepping for the competition. I can hardly believe that exactly two weeks from this very moment I'll be getting him situated in his stall in Tennessee! Let me be the first to tell you- 1oo days FLIES by!

I guess I also need to explain our (my) absence. Remember that little lameness issue I wrote about time and time again? Well, that little "issue" turned out to be a chronic, and possibly permanent, problem. Amicus has what's called "Shoulder Sweeney," also known as Neurogenic Atrophy of the Superscapular Muscles. Sounds daunting, huh? In layman's terms, the superspinatus nerve (which runs on the outside of the scapula) was damaged at some point before I got Amicus, causing the muscles above and below the scapula to atrophy severely, to the point that his movement has been affected.

How do we fix this problem? Well, that's the million dollar question! Also the question that no one seems to know the answer to. I'll tell you what I do know- at the suggestion of various equine health professionals, I've been massaging, stretching, and stimulating that nerve every way I possibly can. Amicus is on herbal supplements (both topical and oral) that claim to increase circulation. We also do extensive warm-ups, consisting largely of cavaletti pole work. He also gets a chiropractic adjustment once every two weeks or so. Until about the last week and half, I'd say that all this extra work had been in vain...BUT guess what? He's really coming around! He's not 100% sound, but I'm confident that he's on his way. Will he be 100% by Tennessee? No...but we'll do our very best!

Again, I apologize for sliding under the radar, but I wanted to have a better handle on the situation before I started running my trap!

Now, want to hear about our weekend? I thought so! Amicus and I assisted in hosting the first annual Adopted Wild Mustang Festival here at the Bar T. Not only was it a great way to desensitize Amicus to the outside world, but it was great publicity for the BLM Mustangs we have all come to know and love! Of course, Chap and his 'stang, HOOAH, also represented the Bar T. Brock Griffith , a fellow NC EMM competitor, also came out to share in the fun. You've got to check out the website for this great event...it will, I'm sure, be the first of many! It was a great day. A big thanks goes out to everyone who attended, and helped out with the orchestration of the event. You made it a success!

Ready to Roam

I love Sunday; it's the only day of the week I'm not slammed with responsibilities! I chose to spend pretty much my entire Sunday messing with Amicus. We went our first trail ride late this morning, then we did some ground work this afternoon and this evening.

Chap and I had talked about doing a trail ride all week together with our 'stangs, but our schedules just didn't align until this morning. Before hitting the trail, we went through the paces in the arena to loosen-up the boys. After the friskiness was knocked off our horses, we opened the gate and headed for the hills! Boy were they excited! Our goal for the day was to introduce them to as many obstacles as we could possibly find. We rode them up our 1/4 mile driveway so they could watch the cars go by. Keep in mind that when you live as far out as we do, you just may be waiting a while! We got pretty lucky; not only did we get a hand-full of vehicles, but some of them were pretty loud and shiny. The boys must have gotten pretty desensitized to cars on the 10 plus hour drive from Cross Plains, because they barely batted an eye! Really the only thing we saw that was even remotely of interest to them was a big, blue piece of plastic laying on the shoulder of the road. Aside from that, they pretty much would look, sniff, and move forward. Good guys! HOOAH (Chap's mustang) acted like he had been a trail horse his entire life! Amicus did really well also, but he certainly acts his three years! He'll definitely be a horse that likes to take off and run through an open field. I can't wait!

After we got the boys safely back to the barn, we gave them baths, groomed them from head to hoof, then turned them out to graze for a little while.

A couple hours later, I grabbed Amicus out of the pasture for our second educational lesson for the day. This time, we worked solely on ground work- leading, trotting, sending, backing, etc. As an added bonus, I worked on leading him places he normally wouldn't find himself, like the deck off the front of our barn! He climbed the steps and everything...not even slightly hesitant! Can't wait to see what we'll accomplish this week :)

You've got to stand for something...

Amicus and I didn't have any huge breakthroughs tonight...just thought I'd show you some new pictures. We did, however, get to share the arena with my brother, Chapin, and his EMM horse, HOOAH (Chap's a Soldier :) ). Distractions, like other horses, are such great training tools! Chapin and I have tentatively planned a trail ride for Friday or Saturday. It's time to get out of that arena!

"No time spent in the saddle is wasted..."

"...As you learn to communicate with the horse and appreciate what he can do for you, it will add a fascinating dimension to your life." -- Mary Gordon-Watson



How accurately stated, Ms. Gordon-Watson! Let me tell you, the past two weeks have totally cemented my bond with Amicus, and they have, like Mary Gordon-Watson stated, added a whole new dimension to my life. My time working with Amicus is my favorite part of my day, and I feel like he looks forward to it also. He consistently gives 110% when we're working together, whether we're doing ground work or riding around in the arena.

The last time I updated the blog we were still working only in the round pen, striving for consecutive forward movement. We've come along way since that point!

After the last post, I did give him a week off to rest his lameness injury. Speaking of which, we're still not completely sure what's going on. Initially, I felt like maybe his shoulder was out of line, so I had the chiropractor come and give him a whole-body adjustment (he did a remarkable job allowing a new human to put her hands all over him!). That didn't fix it. Yesterday, our barefoot trimmer (Alex Sperandeo/Miracle Worker), came over to assess the situation. Alex seems to think that Amicus is kind of disjointed in his legs due to his long hooves, which is causing him to favor. My experience with Alex tells me that this assessment is probably spot-on. He'll be back to trim him again in a couple weeks...I'll keep you updated on that front.



Last week, after our week-long hiatus, Amicus and I took to riding again. He still handled it like a champ! We've done mostly light riding to this point, consisting largely of walking, trotting, turning, stopping, bending, and collecting. We moved up from the round pen to the arena, and I think he enjoys the opportunity to move around a little more.

Remember me telling you how intelligent Amicus is, and how quickly he picks up on things? Well, Amicus is responding so well to leg and seat cues that I'm able to drop the reins and turn both directions, stop, and back up! He's an amazing animal.

I'm starting to think at this point that I'd like to keep Amicus for my own after the competition :)

“Progress always involves risk; you can't steal second base and keep your foot on first base.” -Frederick Wilcox

So exactly 13 days from my first session with Amicus, guess what happened? I'm sure you guessed right...we're under saddle!! I seriously cannot put my relief into words. The first ride, Saturday, was relatively uneventful. I put the blanket on him and saddled him up while he

was ground-tied...he's so mellow. After he was all saddled, I lunged him around just a bit to get all the little boogers out of his system. Then it was time to hop on! I stood in the stirrups from both sides several times before actually planting my behind in the saddle and slipping my feet through the stirrups. When it was finally time to do just that, I have to say I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be! I know I say it all the time, but I just have so much trust in this horse that I truly believe he'd never harm me. (Let's hope I never have to eat those words ;) ) When I finally did climb up and sit down in the saddle, it was, even though I've gone through that same motion hundreds or thousands of times, like the first time. It was such a rush. I was excited, giddy, anxious, and punchy all at the same time. The mere thought that I was on top of an animal that was previously untouched by human hands...it's something you have to experience to comprehend; I can't even do it justice.

He did such an amazing job. We had two little hiccups; both times he got a little distracted, then just forgot I was on his back. He shut right down right after I regained his attention. Great first ride.

Today (Sunday/Day 14) we had our second ride. This time, we worked more on getting consecutive forward motion. Boy was he a champ! We had quite the crowd, as we usually do on Sunday afternoons, and he took all distractions in stride. I really can't tell you how pleased I am with Amicus.

As far as additional under-saddle progress goes, I think we're going to take it nice and slow. He seems to have a little issue in his shoulder. He's

never completely lame (or three-legged lame as we say in the horse world) but you can definitely tell he gets uncomfortable after hard exercise. I'll keep you posted!

Life Outside of the Round Pen

I just can't sing the praises of my Amicus enough! This week he has built on the foundation we laid together over the course of our first week together. So new updates- we left the round pen! On Tuesday night after our lesson (and after dark...), I thought he might enjoy nibbling on a little grass. My goal was to make it out of the lights of the round pen and into the dark abyss of the pasture, around to the other side of the barn, where another horse was being worked in the arena. At first he was a little iffy about walking through the gate, leaving all he knew of the Bar T behind. After just a minute of taking in the outside world while straddling the threshold, it wasn't too terribly difficult to persuade my dear Amicus out of the round pen when he realized there was grass on the other side! The hard part was keeping his attention on me instead of the grass :)

He followed me along the perimeter very well! He only had one tiny "ohmygosh" moment when he encountered a roping dummy toward the end of the barn. After the initial shock, he marched right on up to it, gave it a quick once-over, then decided all was well. Once we made it around to the arena I gave him his head and let him eat. Despite the darkness (who knows what kind of monsters lurk around in the dark), the other horses, the other people, and all the new contraptions, he did so well! He never balked...not once!

The next day (Wednesday), I took him out of the round pen and into the pasture before our lesson. I gave him about thirty minutes of "Amicus Time," and let him roam unattended around the pasture. I think he was appreciative. The best part? He actually walked toward me when I went to catch him. Lovely!

The big triumph Wednesday night was, hands-down, getting on his back. I desensitized him pretty well, then hopped up and laid across his back. He totally didn't care. I got on and off from both sides...nothing! Before that, he learned how to lunge. Again, a non-issue. He's so very smart; after about ten minutes, he was comfortable and perceptive enough to change directions with only a small step (in front of him), and a point of the hand. Great guy!

Tonight (Thursday) I repeated everything he's learned until now, then put the saddle on him :) Again, it was not even a big deal. I didn't, however, cinch him up tonight because it was pitch-dark, and, if/when he bucks, I want pictures! You do too, right?