Kelli Semar and Breaking Ground -SEMM 2012

Wow it is over!

2012-09-16T23:02:00.001-07:00

The last week has been an emotional roller coaster. I am going to do my best to try to describe everything. But it is truly a competition that you have to see to believe. Not sure where I blogged last but the four days before we left Spade became really sick. I have never seen a horse feel the way he did. Tuesday (the day before we left) I took him into my vet. That is when I found out that he had dry bronchitis and he really was sick. For days we had batted around if it was sickness, exhaustion, or a emotional issue. The night before we were going to leave I decided that he we well enough to work through my classes and to double check that he would do everything required. It didn't turn out like I wanted. I ended up working two hours trying to get him to do the very basic maneuvers. He felt bad and had not been ridden in over four days. I was so upset I didn't want to even load him the next morning to leave for Fort Worth. I fought the emotions the entire way there. I knew that this wasn't an easy competition even when your horse is working right. I was really worried.
Once we got to the show grounds it was craziness. People unloading trailers pushing horses and saddles to and fro. A typical check in at any horse show. My goal was to get him checked in and settled as quickly as possible and get on and ride. I knew if I could spend time with just him both of us would be okay. I was a ball of nerves. It is very different when you go to a barrel race and you are confidant in who you are. Here I walk in my horse knowing that he really needed two or three more weeks of training and then you are being passed by some of the top trainers in the nation riding their newly trained mustangs through all of this craziness, BRIDLE-LESS!! It isn't like we were in a closed pen I mean they were in the parking lots and the stall areas. Talk about being worried. I carried Spade to the main ally for check in. Right off there were people walking right behind him looking at him. Then a man came up with paint brands to paint his butt. I am standing there praying the whole time that Spade would not kick anyone. He has been doing so well but this was serious pressure. After the man was done I felt I could breathe. From that moment on I decided to not worry about him kicking anyone. We got to the stalls and set up our tack stall. By that time I had a few hours before the competitors meeting. So I saddled up. I wanted to ride him in the pen as soon as possible.
The first ride eased my mind. When I walked in the pen many of my friends I had met on Facebook were also riding. We walked around and looked at he sights. Spade was extremely calm. He did everything I asked. Had great spins, great circles, great stops. Never tried to run off. The ride made me feel much better. I also was able to talk to the trainers that had helped me prepare. On the way back to the stalls you could hear through the whole barn the startled shuffle of hoofs on the concrete. It was a sound we heard all week every time one of these guys would spook. Once I received my packet in the meeting I relaxed. The patterns were well within our capabilities. Then riding with other Idols trainers we started to see how talented other horses were and we were just as smooth and nice as they were. It made me feel like I was going to be okay.
My first class was Thurs morning. It was the trail class. We had to walk out, walk over poles, move a slicker from one barrel to the other, pick up all four feet and then cross a bridge. Spade did so well. He had a slight hesitation crossing the bridge because of the greenery on the edges but he was fine. Then we had to turn around in a box trot thru cones and back into a chute that was also covered in greenery. He did it all but stepped out of the chute twice trying to avoid the decorations. This hurt my points. Then we had to lope to a cone stop and side pass over a log. He did pretty good on all that too. His side pass was super smooth once he knew what he was suppose to do. When I walked out I knew that the hesitations and the stepping out of the chutes were going to hurt me. But then sitting there watching others mustangs flipping out and refusing obstacles I was pretty proud we did that good. We ended up 21st. I was a little upset because I thought he did better but at least the pressure of winning was over. Now I just needed to do my best in the other classes and see where I could place.
That night I pulled him out to start working on my pattern class for the next morning. He fought me a little and I had to make some bit changes so it was a little frustrating but by the end of the night he was set and doing wonderful. I was confident that we would place high in this one. The one thing that I had noticed in practice was Spade was gravitating toward a banner that had a picture of horses on it. He kept wanting to sniff them. I wasn't overly concerned. The next morning when I started my warm up it was like he had wheels on his feet. He had currently been in a 12x12 stall for 48 hours and was felling better so he wanted to run around. I knew by the way he was warming up he was going to be a handful. Plus in a warm up pen with people from multiple disciplines here is no cultured traffic. It is hard to get a circle in without someone cutting you off. And all you barrel racers know that is the most frustrating thing. The pattern class for us was a basic reining pattern minus the hard stops. Finally it was my turn. My nerves picked up just like they would at a barrel race. The gate opened. Spade did the two tracks beautiful, he stopped and backed up. On the first loping circle he tosses his shoulder inside the circle and starts pulling on me a little. I knew then he really didn't want to be there. As I started the second circle he spotted his beloved horse banner on the wall. And started loping toward it thankfully it was the direction he was suppose to go. When he passed it there was a very large bright blue banner next to the horse one. He shuttered underneath me and, remaining in the pattern, bolted. So there we were sprinting the reining pattern. He nailed the lead change and the final circle required needed to be slow. He slowed down and did great. As we approached the stop I was still a little frazzled from him running. I never say down and gave him the cue to stop. When I pulled in the bridle for the stop I was still squeezing in my legs so he loped straight toward the fence. I knew I had just blown my chances at placing. I loped another circle and stopped. He finished with two beautiful 360s. I came out almost in tears. Spade did everything that he could do I just wasn't communicating with him. After watching the video it really didn't look all that bad. I thought for sure I would get last. We didn't! We placed 21st again. An hour later the final class came. He did everything he was suppose to but once again my lack of show horse experience placed us for another 21st. Overall we ended up 20th. At least I was consistent. It gave me lots of perspective on the competition and my riding skills. Needless to say I told God I am doing it again next year and I am going to learn more advanced riding between now and then. I had a fairly long discussion with the Lord about who I should learn from. I figured I would come home and research and figure out what to do. Well God had other plans. The next morning Spade was eating in the stall row while I cleaned his stall. He had been so good all three days. He never kicked at anyone even though people were everywhere. So I walked around the corner to fill his bucket and when I came back Mark Lyons was standing in the other side of Spade. He asked me if he was mine. I said yes. He said "He just tried to kick me!" I apologized and told him a little about how difficult Spade had been. We chatted a minute and he went on. I was so upset at Spade. Mark is one of the most well known trainers and is related to some of the best in the business. I looked at Spade. "Really Spade of all people you have to take a swipe at, Mark Lyons!!" About an hour later Mark approaches me in the arena. I apologized again because I was so embarrassed at Spades actions. Mark hands me a brochure. It was his and Miranda's information. He told me he knew that I had gotten to know another girl that he helped this year and he wanted to invite me out to the ranch for help. I was super excited. After talking to Mary Kitzmiller (which took 4th in Legends this year) I knew that it was no accident that Spade chose Mark to throw a punch at. I had already decided that they could teach me quite a bit. She told me she had been an intern under Clinton Anderson and she entered last year for the first time thinking it was going to be easy. She placed very close to what I did this year. The Lyons helped her jump 30 places in the last year. Still a little concerned not knowing how they trained I asked God what he thought. I didn't really get much of an answer. While I was walking Spade around for a leg stretch there were so many spectators talking to the trainers. Pretty soon people were all around Spade petting and talking to me about our four month process. I slipped into a warm up area trying to give Spade a break from the pressure of all the hands. He was kicking around the dirt thinking about rolling when a couple bee lines across the pen straight to me. They talked to me just like the others but next thing I knew Spade LOVED them and was rubbing and loving all over them. I found it VERY odd. In the conversation the woman told me that her horse was sent to Mark and Miranda to train. I asked questions about what they knew about him. They had used him quite a bit and loved him. After about a 15 min conversation they left. I felt I needed to pick up my jaw off the floor. It has been a long time since I asked God for something and he gives me multiple encounters to confirm his answer in a matter of hours. But God is like that sometimes he just needs us to ask and he will answer any question we have. Our problem is we don't ask. Needless to say I am going to load both mustangs up and head to Whitesboro this week so I can catch up on Magpie I am now over a month behind all the other barrel racers. I can sit on her but haven't moved any farther. As easy going as she is if I had not had Spade I would already be on barrels with her.
The one thing that I learned this week is God really cares about us to ordain something like a horse kicking at someone to bring attention to their owner. I would have probably come home and signed up for a less then par reining clinic somewhere. Or worse. But God knows how and what we need to learn so He hooked me up this time. I feel like if we rely on God for even the little things then he will make our paths straight.

We chased a COW!!!

2012-09-07T21:11:00.000-07:00

OK for the record I am one of few "cowgirls" that is NOT a fan of cows. Therefore I don't look for opportunities to go do anything that involves cows. In my search for things that Spade is good at, I decided to call an old friend today and go track some of his calfs. I am don't mind the calves so much! I roped back in high school and was kinda decent so today brought back tons of memories. This morning Spade did ummm....bad! Really bad. On everything. I was super upset by the time I got to the house. In the attempt to recollect my emotions I called two of my dear friends for a pep talk. One gave me a little "how to handle the pressure" talk. And the other gave me more of an idea on what it is like to compete in this. In the end I felt way better. So that is why tonight I was looking for something fun to do with him. He did much better in his warm up to track the calf. I sat all day and thought about what I had missed or what I did to make him fight me. I did a few drills with him tonight and he is much better. He did really great with the cow but he seemed distracted. I have noticed that he has felt distracted the last few days. He has also been having some issues with his ears. He has them hanging straight out and they stay like that. Then when he lopes they flop all crazy. I have no idea what is going on. Never seen that before. I am calling the vet in the morning to see what they say. He has been a little under the weather so I hope it isn't related. I am assuming that is why he has been fighting me in practice. I hope to get some answers tomorrow. In the mean time I plan on doing some fun things for him this weekend. Make him feel better.

Flip the Grease

2012-09-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

It is funny how God knows what we need. Today I had to drop off Grace, my daughter, at school. She had to be there at 9. My riding schedule is about to change because the weather and school is different. Thankfully Grace only goes to a Pre-K program that is only twice a week. On my way home I ran by to pick up Talicia so we could go home and start timing maneuvers that I have to do. All my classes in the Mustang Makeover are timed and my freestyle is too. I have to know how long it will all take me to finish so that I know what to do and not to do. As I walked up her steps I could see that the dogs had a hay day with her trash she had set outside. Talicia's jaw dropped. She went inside to the kitchen and I followed. We then realized that they had flipped over a bunch of stuff there too. It was crazy!! The worst part was the dogs had knocked over a shelf and flipped a big can of old grease on to the floor. It was everywhere. So being the food friend that I am I quietly stood there and chatted with her while she picked it all back up. LOL! Mainly because I am to sore to do anything else. Needless to say after cleaning up it was too hot to go and ride. I was a little upset but we came home and I was able to start figuring out what I need to pack and do before I leave. When you are packing for you and your horse there is lots to remember. Plus tons of things that have to be done before I leave. So all day I ran errands to prepare. Then came home and had a tack cleaning party. That consisted of Talicia quietly sitting and watching me oil my tack. Then tonight my plan was to ride Spade in the open ride night but he hasn't been doing well under the lights. Just as I was about to go get him Grace asked to ride her horse. Really?? But I couldn't tell her no again. She always wants to ride and I rarely have time. So I gave Spade the night off and let Gracie ride Mac. I have to say I am glad I did. Grace started loping her pony for the first time tonight. I was so super proud. Laying here in bed after a long day I relaxed that I really needed some rest and so did Spade. It amazes me that they are so tolerant to ride as much as I have. So it made me think, God knows what we need way better then us. Otherwise he wouldn't have let those dogs flip the grease. ;-)

Aaron and Hur

2012-09-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Ok I have been non stop running around trying to get everything ready for Fort Worth. We are "so" down to crunch time it isn't funny. From here on out I will be pretty vague on what I am doing because I have moved into working on freestyle ideas and that is way more hush hush than the regular training. I will be sure to fill you in afterwards, but hopefully I will have a video of it "when" I make the finals (speaking things that aren't as though they are). I will be competing in the Idols class against 40 other trainers. I have to say that I am super happy that I am to this point. Spade is positively the best trained horse that I have ever sat on. He is so trained that without ever running the barrel pattern before I was able to cruise though for a student today to show her what her horse needed to look like in a turn. He did the pattern like an old pro and I haven't even walked him through it before. I am happy to have him. It looks like I will be using him as my lesson partner because he does it all.
So today I rode him and he did much better then yesterday. I didn't blog yesterday mainly because I was so aggravated by the time I came in the house I didn't want to talk about it. I worked him last night and he started out ok. The more I rode, the worst he got. Until he started to drag me around the pen like he did a few weeks ago. Needless to say I was very upset. A week out from check-in and he wants to become "untrained". Angie Lewis has been helping me with things that are perceived by spectator/judges. Sometimes things feel way worse to me then they look. She said, "It looks like he is running away! Like he is fighting you! Of coarse in my short temper I barked back "HE IS!". I am really glad my support group takes me at the best and the worst! The more I worked with him the more mad I got. So I finally quit and left him alone. I could feel the Holy Spirit telling me "You are about to undo everything that you have taught him. Just Stop." Just before I quit I was loping a circle to the left and I noticed that Spade kept glancing to his right side. The whole time he had been fighting me he was running from the tassels on my chaps. I recently, the last few rides, started to ride him in the chaps to get him used to them. The first two days he didn't care but last night he finally noticed that the tassels flop when he is loping. On top of that I notice that he runs away and is more scared under the lights at night. The colors and shadows I am sure are different to him. So all night last night I laid in bed thinking about what I need to do to get him used to the chaps. I even dreamt about it! This morning I let them hang off his saddle as I loped him around on the lunge line. He was "looky" at first but soon settled. Today he did great and loped like a sane and trained horse even with the chaps on. Still trying to find the pattern to the craziness but if it is just because it is dark in the pen at night and the lights are on, I will be happy. I don't have to compete in that type of setting in Fort Worth at all. This afternoon I pulled out all the stops. I had some great freestyle ideas but struggling with teaching some of the tricks and maneuvers. The freestyle consist of 3.5 minutes to do anything you want to show off your horses better than average ability. The more "Wow" you have the higher the points. It is only for the Top Ten that make the Finals in the Idols class. But everyone prepares because you never know how you are going to place. In the Legends (the most advanced class) the freestyle is where you see chainsaws, bullwhips, 4-wheelers, bridle-less and bareback riding and a large amount of firearms. Hence the reason that I chose to compete in Idols. LOL! After I realized today that some of my conservative ideas weren't really what Spade wanted to do. I told Angie "If I were crazy I would try..... use your imagination!" She said "Try it!" I could hear the faith in her voice. I was a little afraid that I was too ambitious but what do I have to loose at this point. I mean if I make the top ten out of 40 that is already saying something for a horse that has been ridden only five weeks. So why not go for gold!? Lets just say that the ideas scared every horse in the pasture except Spade. He was right beside us and never budged. In fact I think he likes it. I know, I know, what is it?? Sorry that will have to wait until after my competition. I have some really cool things that are his favorite and they will all be a part of the freestyle. Really looking forward to it.
I can't tell you how important it is to have a support group around you. I have such a great team of people that I can look to at anytime. Angie and Talicia have been a huge part of that. They are the ones that at least one of them are here every time I have worked Spade. I can literally count on one hand how many times I have worked him alone. They will but be with me in Fort Worth to help with what ever. They are the ones that see how tired I get trying to keep up with the fast schedule that I have set to make sure every horse gets done. And they help with what ever they can. Then I have Mary right down the road that is constantly riding with me and giving input. She is a great friend that loves Jesus and has ridden lots of horses, that makes her very valuable to me. And Danial my husband that is so super proud of everything that I have done with Spade and refrains from exploding every time I use the word "mustang". I know he hates the word by now. Then there is a huge team of vets, mustang trainers and other equine specialist that help me so much. And so, so, so many friends that are rooting us on. I have never been so proud to have such special people in my life. I think often about how great God is to bring in key people to support me. It makes me feel even more loved by Him. Talicia and I were talking the other day about the story in the Old Testament where the Hebrews were in battle against the Amalekites(Ex 17:10-13). Joshua was leading the battle and as long as Moses arms were extended in the air they would be beating the enemy in the battle. But when he would get tired and start to lower them the enemy would start to overtake the Hebrews. So along came Aaron and Hur and they held up the arms of Moses because he was tired. For the battle's sake no matter how tired he got he had to keep those arms up. Talicia had mentioned the story to me to explain something in her own life. But I realized that God had sent Talicia and Angie to hold up my arm in this journey. This "mustang thing" that I am "into" (that's how I have heard people explain me) might look like nothing but the devil knows that it is Phase 1 to a serious kick in the teeth. To me it isn't just a competition to show my skills. In the long run (not sure how!) this is going to become a ministry to glorify Gods Kingdom, not mine. So I feel that I am in a battle against the enemy to just get this cute little "wildcat of a mustang" trained and finished for a greater cause. Every time I have wanted to stop because I was to tired or (I hate to admit it) too scared. These girls have been the ones to pick up what slack they could and encourage me if it was something that only I could do. Just like today Angie's faith that Spade would tolerate something that I normally wouldn't have ever tried, could change my whole competition this year. God knows what we need to finish something that he has called us to do. He also knows when we need an Aaron and Hur to help us in the process. Angie kinda showed up about a month after I had been accepted in the SEMM. Talicia started coming out the first week that I had picked up Spade. Both of them I had been friends with for years but we had lost touch for almost 15 years. But God brought them back to help me now. I am so glad he did. Spade isn't a product of just what I did. He is a product of an entire support group made up of so many. I thank everyone that has helped along the way. I have a feeling he is going to do great.

Steal my Show

2012-09-02T16:11:00.003-07:00

Wow! Are the nerves really starting to set in. It is hard for me to believe that we are this close to the competition. When I was growing up I was heavily involved in 4-H. Every year from the age of 8 to the age of 18 I competed in the local, district, and state horse show. I did all the events, Halter, horsemanship, western pleasure and of coarse barrels. I found out really quick that I was meant to be in the speed events. It wasn't near as nerve racking. I still remember trotting in western pleasure classes and my mom whispering "smile!" as I trotted by. I fought the nerves the whole time as I forced my smile. I felt like the judges eyes were piercing straight through me. Then every time I would come out of the pen I would remember that I forgot to acknowledge the judge before I left. I would be devastated because I forgot one little thing. I never understood that it wasn't the smile or the lack of acknowledgement that put me in the bottom of the placing it was because I was riding like a barrel racer and my bouncy barrel horse wasn't what the judge was looking for. Which if anyone knows me I don't settle well with not winning, especially if it is a on a consistent basis. I think that is why even in my "cold spots" growing up and even today, God lets me win just enough to keep me going. And if it ever got really bad the "give up" attitude wasn't even an option because the challenge to fix the problem kept me trying. Now my riding skills are ten times better than they were and my training is really my best skill in horsemanship. In the back of my mind I am still in 4-H and preparing for a judged show. Bottom line is I would rather run on the clock for 16 seconds then be watched and critiqued anyday. But I am so excited for this competition because it lets the little guy in horse training float to the top if they have what it takes. That was my first reason of doing this competition, to see how I stood in a trainers competition.
Where we stand now, even before we head to Fort Worth, my confidence is much more solid then it has been in a long time. Yesterday, I was loping my compulsory pattern on Spade and he felt wonderful. He did everything that I ask and more. He didn't just stop he stopped with great form and style. When he would change leads he did it like he has done it all his life. I stopped with a smile because I realized that I have only been on his back for 5 or so weeks and he is more trained than anything that I have ever ridden. I feel like I have finally proven to myself that I am the trainer that I thought I could be. At this point he knows all that he needs to for the competition. Now we are working on all the bells and whistles. This last week I have to do everything that is in the trail class and everything in the freestyle to insure that he is comfortable doing them without persuasion.
I picked out my music for freestyle a few days ago. It was probably the toughest thing that I have done so far. I wanted to have a rockin' freestyle and I think that Spade has the moves to really do well to a faster song. I looked and looked. In the process I found out that my 4 month old daughter loves music and the more rhythm the better. I personally listen to christian music only. It is something that God required of me when I was younger. Not that I don't like secular music or that I don't know the songs. I just don't find that they fulfill me like christian music. So as I was going though all the songs I wasn't finding anything secular or christian. Finally I found a song that was exactly what I wanted and it was me. My main goal in this is to show people who Spade and I are as a team and give God all the Glory in the way we compete. So we picked one of the new songs by Toby Mac to do our freestyle to. I believe that no matter what you do you should do it for God's glory alone. The name of the song is "Steal my Show". That is exactly what I hope God does for me. Now to start making my list of all the things that I have to pack. I have to do my part to ensure we have a great time. Much to do.

Flying Leads

2012-08-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today Spade got a day off because he has been doing so good, but since I forgot to write about our awesome day yesterday I hoped on here. Yesterday Mary called and wanted me to come to her house to ride with her. Being that she only live a few miles down the road I went for it. I figured it would be a nice short trip for Spade. Poor guy gets in the trailer and we drive forever and then I usually eat with friends so then he has to stand there. I thought this might be refreshing. I saddled him when we got there and went to her pen. I can't say I really did all that much. I started to trot and lope circles. As I loped fast circles and slow circles I started to make them different sizes. So when I went to the big fast circle I was like "why not ask for a lead change" For my no horse group a lead is the leading foot when a horse is loping (running). Right lead is when the right is ahead and left is the left. So I shifted my weight and he swapped leads (right foot to left foot) and headed to the left. Behind me I heard Mary yelling. She was amazed that he did a flying lead change (that means he did it at a run without stopping...it isn't an easy maneuver to teach) I stopped and went to Mary I am sure my jaw was hanging open. I didn't expect a beautiful flying change I just wanted him to attempt the simple lead change. I was so excited, I did it four or five more times and quit him for the session. Later yesterday afternoon I pulled him out for a lesson and he did even better there. At one point I had to adjust my students equipment and I just walked away from him about 10 ft and he stood there ground tied like a good boy for a good while. Also my students dad was riding his roping horse around and he as if he could rope Spades back legs. I thought about it and said sure. The worst thing that could happen is he might buck. The first time it caught Spade off guard and he threw a little kick at the rope. So little I didn't even feel him do it. The second time he just stood there. When he pulled the rope back Spade flipped around and looked at him. I laughed because I have taught him that if he is afraid instead of kicking turn and look at it. Later we did it again and he didn't even care.

A little grace.

2012-08-28T09:45:00.001-07:00

Man I was not wanting to get up this morning. Yesterday morning I rode Spade for two hours. Since I have been having problems with him the thought of riding wasn't a fun one. Sunday I told God that I really needed some help because I had no idea what to do with Spade. Sunday night I sat down with my computer and noticed that there was a CD in it. I pushed play and up comes one of the series that I was watching a few weeks ago. It was Clinton Anderson's riding series. About 15 seconds finished up the lesson that I had watched last. Then came the next lesson. Some of the first words out of Clinton's mouth was "if you have a horse that is running out of the circle then this is the drill for you" I was floored the answer had been sitting in my computer for weeks all I had to do was push play. Needless to say I recorded small explanations of the rest of the lessons. Danial said that I should watch the whole series before I start training, that is probably a great idea. I went out yesterday morning and tried the drill on Spade. He got it. He is still a little tough, but he is much better. I didn't have to fight him at all to do it. I felt much better. All day yesterday I went shopping for the last few things that I needed for Fort Worth. I had to get a brown hat and some boots. And a few pieces of tack. On the way home Talicia and I where talking about all that needed to be done in the next two weeks and I was sharing how pressured I felt because I still had to teach him more obstacles. She helped me figure out how I could fit it all in and work with Magpie. So last night we came in and blew up my huge green ball. And moved all the obstacles into the arena. I looked like Disney world in the arena. I was excited to work this morning but I was super tired. So I slowly pulled myself out I bed and down to the round pen to work Mag first this morning. I was feeling behind in every direction on both mustangs. What was I thinking getting two at the same time!?? I was dreading working with Mag because I remember what it was like with Spade after a week off. I took a minute to pray. I told God I really needed his grace to get these horses trained on time. I knew I couldn't do it without Him. As I walked into Mags pen she started to run to her stall. Not sure why I did it but I started chasing her. It kinda caught her off guard and she turned around and looked at me. I turned around and walked off. She followed. We did this twice and she came to the center of the round pen. I started working with her and she quickly came right back to where we left off. But this time she was way more solid then a week ago. She was soft in the bridle so I started to drive her. She picked it up really quick. I hope to be training in the saddle soon. She is now feeling more ready. I was so happy I didn't have to start over. After working Mags I pulled out Spade. I picked him up in the car so I lead him from the outside of the car over to the trailer. He did really well once he figured out that the car wasn't going to run over him. I took him out to the arena I wanted to have fun and not worry about work today. I started by teaching him to kick the 50" ball. Pretty soon he figured out that the harder he kicks it the farther it goes and the faster he gets to chase it. It turned into a really fun game. He pushed it all over the pen. I then worked a few circles with him with no problem. To cool him down I took him though all the obstacles and through the pole pattern. You could feel how happy he was. On the way out of the pen he started to pass the ball and he turned and kicked it with his front leg and started to track it again. I love it when I find something he likes. As I was unsaddling I thanked God for giving me a great day with the horses. Sometimes God is waiting on us to ask for His help. I am going to be asking for His help for the next two weeks for sure.

In our favor

2012-08-26T06:25:00.001-07:00

My faith is being challenged today. Since I have been having some control problems on Spade it had really got me frustrated and confused. I don't think anyone likes to be challenged to the point of frustration. At this point I know that it is only God that can give me the answer to teach Spade the right way. Some times God is working in our favor even when we don't feel like it. We just have to keep trying and believing. There has been so many times in my life that the silver lining was a little foggy and at the last minute God will come though. I know He is for me not against me. So no challenge is too tough for him.

Winning IS everything!

2012-08-24T13:21:00.001-07:00

Three weeks! Wow it is catching up! I have been working day and night on Spade. They last few days we have been working on his circling problem. I am so thankful for the many eyes we have around here that can tell what Spade and I are doing right and wrong. This was a hard thing to fix but I think we are almost there. I was upset at Spade in the beginning and frustrated that he wouldn't slow down. He was also running away in the turns. Later that night I got on a training horse and started having the same two problems with her. I quickly realized that it was me and the way I was riding. Not sure what changed but I am riding the colts differently then I normally do. I am having a lack of shoulder control and a lack of speed control. I finally figured out that for one I am running around holding by breath. For those that don't ride. If you hold your breath the horse runs faster. But it isn't easy to talk your self into breathing while running circles. Not sure why I am doing it but I am working on my riding skills to stop it. I still have a long way to go. Mary hopped on him the other night and felt him out. She realized that the shoulder leading problem that he had was even when he was walking and trotting. I thought that it was just a problem at the lope. She told me how she fixes this issue and it was the same thing that someone else told me earlier that day. Since I have never had this issue before then I came at it with an open mind and tried it. Last night I pulled him out and he was much better. So the drill worked. I will work on it again tonight to see how he does. Once I get him loping and doing the majority of the required moves then I will start on Magpie again. I am feeling the pressure from all sides. I really want to do well and I know that I have a very short time to finish him. He is such a great horse. He is by far the best trained horse on my place when it comes to the basics. There are things that I am going on him that I wouldn't even try on some of my barrel horses. I hope we get it all soon. The thing that I keep learning over and over is when things aren't working out for you there is nothing wrong with saying that you need help. It seems to be our nature in this part of the country to have the "leave me alone, I've got it" attitude. Over the last few years I have watched people that have that attitude go "no where quick". A good trainer once told me that if you want to be a great trainer then you hang out with great trainers. That is true, but I always add... "and pay attention". When I started this mustang challenge I saw there where many trainers that did things that I have never seen before. Some were very intriguing to me. I decided from the beginning that I would listen and watch with an open mind and then let my gut (which is usually the Holy Spirit talking.) tell me if I needed to learn that technic or not. Since I have been that way I have learned more in the last few months then I have in years. It is all about mentorship. Whether you believe it or not we all need mentors. I always say that we all have Paul's, Barnabas', and Timothy's in our life. The Paul's are the ones we look up too. The Barnabas' are the ones that are our peers that we lean on, and the Timothy's are the ones that we lead. If you think about it you have all three in your life. I know I have them in training and in my spiritual life. I have a wonderful young lady that has learned my way to succeed in barrels, she is like a little sponge. The Timothy's in your life are like extended children to you. Her success is my success. To make it better I have seen her grow in the Lord and find her way to a great youth group where she is a winner in life as well. I have a great friend in my church that lives her life like I think that God wants us to live. I use her for my own accountability. Sometimes she doesn't even know it. She is one of my Barnabas'. Then I have many trainers over the years that have helped me in my training. One of them I lost to cancer when I was a teenager, but there are times that I ride I can hear her voice in my mind as I am teaching Spade new things. I believe that we all have people that guide us whether they are present or not. Words that people say can out live them by a hundred years. We all thrive off of good influence and we all fail from bad influence. The Paul's in your life I believe are most important. They are the ones that influence you the most. I try to make sure that the people that I am learning from are not only the best at what they do that they also rely on the Lord to guide there decisions. In the long run if you pick the wrong Paul you could not only effect your life but all the little Timothy's under you. So my question today is who is your influence? Jesus should be the main influence in our life, that is a given, but who you are around on a daily basis has an effect on who you are. I would love to give you a specific verse but really if you read in the new testament in the Bible any of Paul's letters to the church it seems to be a recurring theme to watch who you hang out with and who you allow in your midst. God takes this very serious as well. In fact at one point Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Christ"(1 Cor 11:1) Find some one that is like Christ in the good times and the bad, in the secret and in the open. A person that has a relationship with the Lord and lives like He commands us will only benefit you in your life. I didn't mean to get on a soap box here but I know how important it is to learn to be a winner in the arena and outside the arena. And the people that you hang with can make you win or loose. Choose to win!

Yuck!

2012-08-21T17:44:00.001-07:00

Well today wasn't the best day for me and Spade. I took him to Angie's today to see where Spade was on all his obstacles. I probably should have gone with my gut and not even took him. I knew that he wasn't ready to be tested on this stuff. Angie had everything that has been in the past year's competition set up. First he decided that today he didn't need to pick up his feet. He was ready for the log pulling just not the rope on top of the barrel. I went to pick up the rope and he stepped away. He didn't want near the barrel. Finally once Angie handed me the rope he pulled it to the next barrel. Again he didn't want anything to do with the barrel or putting the rope down on it. Given we haven't worked but one time on picking things up off the barrel and if you remember that was the one day I thought he was going to kill me. Remember the Jolly Ball incident. After we finally got past the drag pole I moved to the gate. I was so proud because I have only opened a gate on him once before. And he did really well on the gate today. Then we back into the box and I was suppose to lope out and lope a circle. Then head to the bridge. That isn't what happened... I have been working on the whole speed control thing for the last week and Spade isn't really getting it. So when I took off at a lope he decided that he would jump over all the logs and go to the back of the pen. There was no left, no right and no stop. All I could say was 'uh oh'! It was funny, yet really frustrating at the same time. After trying it again Angie and I realized that I needed way more control. So I started to lope circles. Every time I would come around he would take off toward the bridge. This went on for at least five minutes until I got a few good circles and then I stopped him. We went out on the trails for a few hours and then came back to do more speed control. I finally figured out that the way I was riding and sitting was my main problem. So tomorrow I will have to start working on that.
It is so easy to get frustrated when things don't go our way. I was sharing with a friend today that I have gotten to the point that no matter what happens in life or with the horses I just laugh it off. In the horse business it is really easy to have problems at least twice a week. And if you always feel frustrated then a person would be very unhappy all the time. I tend to keep a since of humor while I am with the horses. I always try my best to say "well I will fix it in the practice pen" and move on. I always think about Job in the bible when the devil had killed his family, stolen everything he had and Job ended up on a manure pile listening to some not so good friends. He had enough character to understand that even then God was still his Redeemer (Job 19:25) and he had it all under control. He also understood that his life was not his own, because he said "Though He slay me, I will still trust Him" Job 13:15 What a free way to live...Trusting that God has your life in his hands and that he has your best interest in mind. I know for me it frees me from all the worry that I would carry if I were trying to live this life on my own.

Cleaning your plate.

2012-08-20T22:23:00.001-07:00

I can't tell you how much better I feel. The last few days I have taken some time to rest. My plan was to take off Friday because I had taken Spade to the vet to get his West Nile shot. Many people have told me that it makes them kinda sore. So Saturday I went out with my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary and I had planned on coming back and riding that evening. Well when I headed back it started pouring rain. I was defiantly not going to complain about that. I came home and watched training videos and started figuring out how to train the elements I am not familiar with. It was nice to get a game plan together. Then yesterday I headed to church and after I came home I waited on Danial as he made his way home from San Antonio. Needless to say after three days off I was starting to feel very disorganized. I have felt really scatter brained now that I have both mustangs. So I sat down and had a long chat with the Lord and I decided to set Magpie aside for a few days while I get Spade where I need him to be. I felt like I was only halfway there. I seriously need to start practicing my freestyle and maneuvers class. I have only worked on a few of my obstacles for the trail class. This week I will be able to work at least twice a day on Spade to get him all caught up.
Today I loaded up and took Spade to a covered pen so that we could work longer on his loping and circles. Thursday when I worked him he felt like he was running away at the lope. Sitting on it a few days seemed to help Spade because today I was able to get better shoulder control and better speed control. Even though we tried to run over Mary a few times, he ended up making some nice loping circles. He seems to know his leads very naturally. I just stuck a cue to his natural ability. Spade makes me smile because he really tries to do anything I ask. He learned quite a bit this morning so I took him home and let him rest for a few hours and after I worked a horse in training I pulled him back out to work on some of our freestyle stuff. He learned how to trot on the halter too. I seemed to forget that when I started him. After working on those things I loped around and did some harder maneuvers on him to show my mom how he was doing. Mom hasn't been out to see him in a really long time. I think that she was proud of how far we have come. Then it was to the log. I got off and desensitized him to the rope moving on the saddle. And drug the log from the ground for a while. I wanted to check and see what he would do if the rope hit him while he was dragging the log. So as I laid the heavy rope against his back legs he started kicking. I was shocked he hasn't done that in weeks. I stopped him and laid it against him again only in smaller movements this time. He then got to where he would let it wrap around him and he would pull the log through the dirt. I was super proud that it took no time to teach him that it was ok. Tomorrow I am headed to Moscow Texas to work him on the obstacles. That will show me what I need to work on more.
The one things I learned over the last few days is that there is time to be busy and then there is a time to relax. Someone once told me in bible college that when you find that you have to much on your plate the best thing to do is go to the trash and to scrape some of it off. It is so true. I have always keep that in the back of my mind over the years. In no way does God want us to be overwhelmed. I have learned that if I am overwhelmed then more then likely I have placed that feeling on myself by scheduling to many things or taking on to many task at once. If we are overwhelmed it is impossible for us to be effective for the Kingdom. So many times we will take on things at home or in the church that we assume that God is wanting us to do. I know there have been times in my life I was in five different ministries, trying to hold down a job and thank God I was single at the time. I was running around half doing everything. And found that I wasn't getting anything done. That was when another friend gave me a huge revelation for life. She explained that even though I thought doing all these things for God was what God wanted, if He didn't call me or ask me to do those things then I was in disobedience. I was shocked by that statement. But that is also true. Have you ever had one of those horses that try too hard?? You don't ask them to move, in fact you just want them to stand still but they are constantly trying to do things you aren't asking for. It is one of the most annoying things. After I thought about that for a while I realized that I was doing to much. Way more then God was asking and I was overwhelmed. But who would fill my spot??? Then I started to understand that by doing things that I wasn't asked to do I was taking someone else's job and stealing their call and their blessing. God has a job for everyone, He is just waiting on the ones doing nothing to find their job and the one that do to much to get out of the way and only do what they are told. Hopefully I haven't lost you yet. In a nutshell if you are overwhelmed, ask God what He wants from you. Your destiny, your call. Then leave all the other stuff to Him and let Him fill the holes. Everyone knows that I am at my church every time the doors are open, helping and doing whatever else I can. When I felt that God required me to do these two mustang competitions I had to back off from being so busy at the church. In most church peoples eyes that would look really similar to me backsliding. Which is the farthest from the truth. God's requirement for me currently is to give my best to these events. There is a plan to why God wants me in this. He has given Danial and I the plan. These mustangs are Phase 1. But you better believe once these competitions are over I will be back with my family at Liberty Church. It has been tough only seeing them on the weekends.

Come on already!

2012-08-17T23:45:00.001-07:00

Feeling a little bit like I am in a holding pattern on both my mustangs today. I rode Spade yesterday morning and last night. We took him out early yesterday to go down the trails. We both have been working extra hard to get ready with the last few things that he needs to learn before we head to Fort Worth. I think we have four more weeks give or take. I wanted to give him a small break from all the training so I took him to do what he loves. The minute I got him out of the trailer and he saw where he was you could see that he was excited. I got on and Mary got on her horse and off we went. I thought it was so funny because Spade was so excited he was power walking to get down the trails. After about five minutes he started to settle but it was neat to see that he really enjoys something. The most exciting part of our two hour ride happened when Spade went to pass a small tree really close to the edge of the trail. I saw it coming. He didn't realize that my foot sticks out on his side. He rammed my leg into the tree. Thankfully not hard enough to hurt. When he did it pushed my spur into his side. Between the spur grabbing him and the shock that my leg didn't move, the situation spoked him and he jumped forward and hopped. I started laughing because he quickly realized he was kinda being a girl about he whole thing and stopped and looked at the tree like it was all the trees fault. I really enjoy riding him out on the trails.
Last night all I did was get his trotting a little more controlled and I started to lope his circles and get them more fluid. Every now and then he will drift toward "magnets" in the arena. I need to get him to where he is working way better. Today I took him to the vet to get his West Nile and get a check over. I was glad to hear that my vet really liked him.
This morning I decided that I would sleep in. I have really felt tired and I have worked morning and night to keep up with all the horses that I have to ride on a daily basis. The extra sleep helped me a ton. This afternoon I worked with Magpie. After thinking about the other day I felt like I would just go out to her and act like she was a normal horse. After I got her haltered I went to put the saddle pad on. I gave her a brief smell and went to toss it up there. She tried to bolt. I quickly grabbed my buggy whip and started to push her around the pen. I moved her until she was begging to stop. I walked her back up and every time I would approach her with the pad she would step backwards. In response I would back her three extra steps. It made her feel uncomfortable so she stopped wiggling while I was saddling her. After getting her pretty solid on the saddling I still felt like, even though I have sat on her before, she wasn't solid enough for me to trust her. I am only in the first two weeks so I am not pressured to go to fast. After I saddled her a few times I tied her to the blocker ring. She wasn't sure about what to do so she pulled a little at first but soon figured out that she wasn't suppose to move. After she kinda figured it out I pulled out the buggy whip and the rope and got her used to me moving around her. I was happy to see that kicking was never an option. She did really great.

Everyday is new.

2012-08-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well I had me an exciting day today. This morning was Magpie's first ride. Yay! Well it was more like her first "sit". I never actually took any steps. LOL. Angie Robertson came out this morning to see how everyone was doing. I love bringing her out because it gives an outside perspective to how far my mustangs have come. She brought all kinds of toys for Magpie to play with. I took the first 15 minutes to let Angie see where Mag was in her training. I whacked her with my makeshift mop and pulled the ropes all around her. She did great. Angie wanted to bring in some foreign objects and see what she did. Mags played with a hoola-hoop and a big stuffed dummy. She would flinch every now and then but for the most part she was great. After an hour of goofing around we started to do half mounts (standing in the stirrup and putting all your weight in the saddle, without putting a leg over). I let Angie play with her for a while and then I jumped in to finish her off. The only time that I had any problem was when I went to mount the off side and I had my knee resting in her belly. She wasn't having that and she moved away and stomped her back leg. That kinda worried me but I moved on. I started to belly over her and pat her other side. You could see her using both eyes like she expected me to be on. Angie kept telling me from the side "She is calm, her eyes are great. She has no fear." I am thinking to myself "I have enough fear for the both of us." It is always a little nerve racking on a first ride no matter what horse it is. But I am a little more nervous with the mustangs, because they are so quick and deadly accurate when they are frightened. I finally got up there, put a leg on both sides and found my other stirrup. I tried not to make any sudden moves. She was totally relaxed. I felt my heart rate climbing. When my heart started racing I felt her tense a little. I kept telling myself "Breathe goober!" Angie and I both were holding our breath. The second I let out a sigh she relaxed. I started to feel more at ease. Angie ask me if I was going to get off. I could have cared less at this point but I figured why not get on again. So that is what I did. This time I sat up there and flexed her from side to side and rubbed my legs back and forth on her. She did great again so I stepped down. She is such a great girl.
After this morning I needed a break. Spade has been coming along fairly quick so I left and went with Talicia to go shopping for some stuff for the Mustang Makeovers. I am slowly getting my shirts and boots and such together. Shopping is always fun.
I was thinking tonight while I was typing that God was a genius when he made the days 24hours. I think that He knew that we couldn't handle much more than that in one shot. The Bible says that Gods mercy is new every morning. Boy am I glad for that. Lately it has been really tough on me physically and emotionally. There is so much spinning around me that somedays I don't even know what to do next. But the crazier it gets all I can do is trust that the Lord has my world in his hands. I never would have though that training for these competitions would be such a battle in my mind. On an hourly basis I am thinking about thousands of things regarding these animals. What do I need to be training for next on Spade? Magpie? I wonder if I am on track so that I am finishing on time? Who has my kids and how they are doing? Why can't I sleep? I have to wake up and ride at 8 am again? Can't I sleep-in one day? How in the world am I going to get Spade to gain more weight? Will I have all the money I need to finish this? Oh my! What do I wear? I don't want to look like a dork! I better keep on training clients horses. How are they doing? Will the clients be happy? I hope my barrel horses don't get lazy? I am riding nothing but green horses!?...gosh I hope I don't get bucked off! After running these and many other question through my head I start thinking about all that God is doing in others lives through the work I have done and doing with the mustangs. That reminds me that I know that I am where I am suppose to be. God and I discuss many things all day everyday. I know He has me in this for a reason. I know some of the plan and some I don't. Either way I am trusting Him to tell me all things regarding this challenge....Which feed is better for these guys, which shirts to wear, where to find the good deals on all the things that I still need. He is so faithful to take care of even the little things in life if we would just let Him. I honestly think that I am a tool to be used in these competitions. This started out being a way to improve my training and to show others what my program is all about. But it has so turned into something that only God can receive the Glory from. This is His competition and I just want to be used to glorify Him in all that I do. So win or lose God is still on His throne and He is still in control of my destiny. And that is what keeps me smiling. :-)

To Fast to go Slow.

2012-08-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

What a great couple of days. Last night I rode Spade and worked on more control. He is finally feeling like a regular horse. He has been very aimless the past few weeks. Similar to riding a drunk horse. Last night I worked on more shoulder control and speed control. By the end of the night I had way more control. The problem I was still having is he wants to move out to fast. I ask for a trot and he will fast trot. I ask for a lope and he will almost run. The whole time giving me the bridle. He honestly doesn't know how to do anything slow. So today I put him in the pipe round pen hoping that I might get through to him. I finally got him to do a slow trot but the lope was extremely fast. I laughed at his attempt. He really is the cutest thing and really does try to do anything that I ask. Tonight and tomorrow I am trying to regroup and see what might work to teach him he has a slow lope in there. I did two different drills that normally work for him they didn't. I will figure out something tomorrow. As far as Magpie she did much better today. I really turned up the heat on sacking her out this morning. I made a large mop out of a feed sack and used that on her she did much better. Another thing that I started doing was rushing toward her when I went to pet her. She got to where she would stop and just let me pet and pat all over with no hesitation. Tomorrow Angie is coming back out to help me with a few things that I need two trainers on so we will see how she does. I hope to be on her in a few days. I know tonight was short but I wanted to keep everyone involved. I am headed to bed.

To tired to work

2012-08-13T15:33:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't been able to post lately, I will have to give a quick update on how everyone is doing. I have been so busy with them that I am getting in to late to post. Since the last time I posted I have been able to do some but not much. I worked with Mag Friday morning. She is doing great. She is still not solid enough for me to get on though. Some people will get on before they are sure they will not buck. I on the other hand will take a few extra days to make sure that they have very slim chances of bucking. If I get bucked off it effects my whole income and I also have two small children that I have to take care of. Saturday we had the equine therapist out and he did over 9 horses it was a long day in the heat. Spade was one in the mix that was checked. He got a clean bill of health. That night there was a barrel race in Livingston so Angela and I loaded up and headed there. The open started at 6:30, but my whole purpose for being there was to ride Spade around again and get him used to people moving around him. I stayed in the stands until it started getting dark. Last week I rode him before it got dark this time I wanted to ride him in the warm-up area in the dark. It is much more different to them. He did really well. In fact he started acting like he belonged there. I would ride in the circle with friends and talk. Every time they would drag I would take him in the arena and ride around. While I was in the back a friend ask if I was going to exhibition him on poles. I hadn't even thought about it. So I signed up. They didn't get to poles until 1am. By that time Spade was a little cranky. He starts to "pumpkinize"about 11pm. Right before poles started I took him in on a drag and he decided he wanted to be a little gate sour. I would trot half a circle and then he would just pull me over to the gate. I would one rein stop and push him back in to the pen. He did this a few times, because he was wanting to go home. Once I got him on the poles he was much happier. He did have a strange reaction to the poles at first. These had red and blue stripes down them, at home I just have white ones. He really watched them the first go and then had a great second try. Immediately got off after I finished my last pole pattern. We had to wait around for me to grab a saddle. So we didn't get home until 3am. I didn't ride him yesterday because I was beat and so was he. The poor guy slept in the shed row most the day.
Yesterday I worked with Magpie again but after about 30 minutes I wasn't feeling all that great so I went in. The heat has really been taking its toll here lately. This morning I had a plan of attempting to get on Mag for the first time. She has done really well. Friday I spooked her a bit by mowing the back barn area. I hated to do it but you couldn't walk through the grass it was so tall. Since then she has been a little skittish. Today I worked with her and realized she still has a little to go before she is ready to get on. I saddled her with a few small jumps and worked her with many different things. I put pool noodles all over her and she didn't do a thing. She traveled around the pen at a trot and lope and never cared once that the noodles were bouncing everywhere. She did everything I ask. So when I was done I wanted to resaddle her to get that more solid. When I lifted the saddle up to put it on her I started to loose my grip. I lightly rested the saddle on her shoulder to re-situate my hand. She stepped to the side. I followed figuring that she would take a step or two and stop. She did not. She snapped and the flight response kicked in and she jumped forward. I pulled the saddle to the ground and off she ran. I was so mad at myself for letting her get to that point. I should have had a longer line on her and I should have been using a lighter saddle. My main issues have been that I don't know what equipment to use and when. For instance when Angie came last week she told me that my main issue with the gentling process was the size of my round pen. It is a training round pen so it is fairly large. You will run yourself to death in it if the circumstances are right. Today I really needed to be using a lighter saddle because it is harder to lift my good saddle. Once she is used to the motion of slinging the saddle and what to expect it will be easier to use my regular saddle. After the blow up situation, it took me about about ten minutes to settle her back down and get back to the saddling. This time I grabbed a twelve inch kid saddle to toss off and on her. I got her saddled and unsaddled and stopped for the day.

I have been blessed with two great mustangs. Both are willing to learn once you are past the fear that they naturally carry. Tonight I will be working on some more advanced maneuvers on Spade. My job at this point is to get him to doing all the things that are required for the competition. We will see how he does.

Top of the world

2012-08-09T22:58:00.001-07:00

So it is now super late and I have been horsing around all day long! This morning I worked with Magpie for about an hour and a half. She is learning really fast but today she decided that she wanted to be the boss. She was a little challenging but nothing worse then an old moody barrel mare. I am sure she has sat in her stall and wondered how she ended up here and what in the world are we trying to do with her. I did get her to flex her nose around and start actually using the bridle.
This afternoon was so hot. I worked a clients horse and then Spade. The clients horse was a challenge also. But I had lots of fun with her. She is a very nervous and jumpy horse. She was being a handful so I decided to use a new method that I have learned a few months back to quickly lay them on the ground. It is called the TAP. A guy in Australia has perfected it and is teaching it. Check it out online, it is very entertaining. I worked with her about two minutes and she gently got woozy and laid down. Being that we were in the middle of "open ride night" there were a few people watching. It was really funny because the mare so enjoyed her experience she started falling asleep. Doc, my barrel horse's brother, walked up with Angie his rider. I wish I could have put words to his face. He was like " I knew it would come to this, they do eat us!"He was so concerned it was funny. After letting her lay there for about 8-9 min. I finally had to kick her foot to get her up. She sat up and started grazing while on her belly. I actually had to get the halter on her and encourage her to stand up. She was so relaxed. She was a totally different horse when she went back in the arena. All I wanted was her mind and I think I got it.

After unsaddling the grey I grabbed Spade. He was a good boy all day. He was a little slow about putting his boots on. He is still fearful of unknown objects. I will be working on that later this weekend. He came to the pen eager to see all the other horses. Shockingly he is a pretty social guy. I call him the teddy bear because he comes and snuggles with the other horses. My old barrel mare is like that and I really like that trait in a horse. They seem to have great personalities. He seems to be doing much better in the midst of traffic and around people moving on the ground. I still try to warn everyone that is around him that he might kick. But I am trusting him more everyday. Yesterday Angie Lewis and I built a pedestal to start standing him on. Angie Robertson, my mustang friend, and I were chatting about some of Spades problems that I wasn't sure how to address. She suggested the pedestal and I liked the idea. So tonight he learned to stand on it. Along with all the other horses in the pen!! Everyone liked it. I am going to get all these barrel racers hooked on obstacle training. Spade fussed about it way longer then he should have but once I got him up there, he loved it. Now I let him come back to it when he is done going through the pattern or just sitting at the front. By the end of the night he was trying to get me over to it just so he could stand on it. I also sent him through the pole pattern again tonight. He is getting really good. I am finally seeing everything start to come around. I have a long way to go but I know that I can get him where he needs to be.

Oh I wanted to add a small disclaimer. My husband (grammar freak) and I (can't spell worth the flip) were discussing my blog yesterday. It was mildly funny. Everyone that really knows me knows I can't spell and I type slower than Christmas. But I feel that God has called me to share this story with you guys and encourage you by the things that God is teaching me through these wonderful creatures. I am a big stickler on being excellent in everything you do. On the flip hand I am normally typing (slower than Christmas) the blog at 11pm and I am normally too tired to reread it five times to catch the little mistakes I have made. So to all my english teachers out there that can catch some of my spelling/grammar issues. Just take my lack of time and education as part of my charm. :-) We all have strengths and weaknesses, some of us are human dictionaries and some of us train mustangs. Unfortunately for my readers I am of the latter. I really do love and appreciate you all for your support. Even if I don't know you personally. This has been a wonderful experience where I have felt like I have truly stepped into something great. So again, Enjoy.

Not much to worry about.

2012-08-08T21:34:00.001-07:00

Well today there isn't much to talk about. It was one of those days that got all knocked out of whack. When I woke up this morning I had plans of going out and working with Spade, but I knew that I had to take Danial to the airport at 10:30. Little did I know he had changed the flight until later. So I felt a little rushed to get things done this morning. The past few weeks I have decided that the only horses that I am going to work on are the mustangs and clients horses. I have got to focus on Spade so that I can get done in time.
So this morning I was going to ride Spade, so I had to run to the round pen and get my spurs that I had left there last night. When I got to the gate Magpie was waiting on me. I didn't want to completely ignore her so I stepped in for a moment and brushed her down. She is such a good girl. When I went to pull Spade out, he was out in the shade trees. The last few times I had to catch him he would walk away and give me a hard time about it. So today I walked in and gave him eye contact and then he started heading toward me. I stood there and waited. He walked right up to me. I was so proud. After saddling him I wanted to try the horse boots today. The velcro scared him a little. I found myself a little frustrated because Magpie comes and inspects scary things, Spade seems to avoid them. Once we got the boots on he was very eager to go and work. He has been off the last few days because I wasn't sure as to why his throat keeps swelling. We walked to the arena and I got on. He was a little excited to just be there. I had to do some flexing and calming to get him to stand still. I guess he really wanted to get to work. I figured I would start by walking around the pen. Every time I would pass by a object by the fence he would step sideways, just avoiding to get near it. Then I would side pass him to it and let him stop.We did this for about an hour on different items in the pen. Finally he relaxed and would walk the fence line with no problems. I talked to my training friend today about my mare and I told her that I was frustrated because I wish I had put a cues on Spade that encouraged him to try new things and to touch scary things. She in formed me that I could still teach him those things and gave me a few things to try so I will work on those in the morning. After I walked the rail I took him to the pole pattern I wanted to start working on that for my freestyle. He was a little leery of the poles at first but on the third walk through he started to really like it. So I am really excited to see him do so well. Time is ticking and I really feel it.
I was thinking today it is really funny how fear works. Everyone has a fear of something...spiders, snakes, heights. I have dealt with fear in my own life for years. I would always go in seasons fear of one thing and beat it and then become afraid of another. Because of that, I really feel for these horses that are so fearful. Fear can take you life away. Spade reminds me daily that when you are in fear you can seriously hurt someone and not even mean it. But on the other hand of things I look at Magpie and how she has been taught to handle it. I know that when I was a kid my parents would make me open the gate when we came home with the horses. At night I hated it. The woods were so scary and everything was dark. I could imagine a big hog or a monster of some sort flying out of the trees and trying to get me. And the lights on the truck and trailer made it worse because your eyes couldn't adjust to the dark because of the light. So I would step out os the truck and start quoting Psalms 23 the entire time I was opening and closing the gate. It made me feel better. Magpie reminded me of the way that I learned how to deal with stuff as an adult. I used to have this horrible fear that someone was going to break in the house. One of the things that I learned to do was instead of allowing the devil to torment me and stay frozen for minutes. I now will go check things out....with the pistol LOL! But people have a fear of all kinds of things. The thing that most don't understand is fear is a spirit and it can be controlled by the power of Jesus. It is a ploy of the devil to keep us from doing what we are suppose to do and to be who God has called us to be. The Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.( 2 Tim 1:7) God wants us to become overcomers through Him and fear has no place in our lives. So my encouragement to you today is to think about where the devil might be hindering you through fear and pray to the Lord so that you might be released from that to move where you need to go. I strive to live a fear free life even if I have pack along a pistol. :-)

Good Heart

2012-08-07T22:03:00.001-07:00

Gosh it is so tough to keep up these days. Now that I have two mustangs, clients horses, my own and two small children I stay really busy. I went out to Spade yesterday and saw that his throat latch was swollen. I was so afraid that he was getting sick so I decided to not ride him. I prepared this morning to take him to the vet and when I checked him this morning everything seemed to be back to normal. I will check him tonight and see if he is better.
Yesterday I had another mustang friend come down and help me gentle my barrel mare. In three hours she went from never been handled to being saddled. Angie took me step by step on what has to be done to get the correct bond with her. It isn't near as easy as most horse trainers make it seem. Angie made it look easy, but after seeing the process I realize that there were times that I had the chance to have that type of bond with Spade but I moved to fast to gain it. I also realized that what a true bond looks like. I thought because Spade let me touch him all over and let me get him saddled that he was trusting me and bonding to me. He just recently has be truly bonding but I have lost so much. It is really hard to explain. Magpie on the other hand bonded to Angie and I immediately because it was done right. She isn't really all that skittish about anything. When she starts to get worried I quickly get to a place to retreat and walk away. Then she happily bounces up to me again. I now can brush her from head to toe, saddle and unsaddle, and pick up feet. Today I ended with her in a full cheek snaffle. She wore it the rest of the day. It should help her learn how to hold the bit.
Tonight I went out to take the bit off when I walked down the run she perked her ears and came to me. She is still a little funny about touching her face. I took of the bit and put on the halter. And started working on desensitizing. About that time Talicia came out the back of the barn. I was so excited to see her. I told her to come in the pen. I let Maggie go and Talicia walked in. I told her to walk in like Maggie wasn't even there and look away and talk to me about her day. She stood there and Maggie walked up and started sniffing her and Talicia giggled. I thought it was funny. Then I told Talicia to walk away and ignore her and Maggie started following her trying to get her attention. It was neat to see her work like that. Finally I instructed Talicia how to handle her and she rubbed on her. She followed Talicia to the gate and I was going to open the other gate to send her to the stall so I could use the round pen for another horse. She was standing at the front gate pulling on the tarps hanging on the fence. I called her name and gave her eye contact and she came to me and followed me down her run to her stall. She is such a neat mare.
I have to tell you when I was messing with Spade I was constantly frustrated that he wasn't responding to me. But now I know how God feels when he has a person that he has found that is eager to please. I tell you I want to be like Magpie. She is so willing to do what ever I ask. I love her attitude, the way she responds to pressure, and her friendliness. In the old testament God declares that David is after God own heart. He show that he loves David and his willingness despite his short comings. I don't expect this little mare to do everything perfect or to always have the right attitude. But in the end she has a great heart. We should be people after Gods heart. I love trying to do everything that God ask. Figuring Him out sometimes is like my horse trying to understand me I am sure. God knows that we are going to make mistakes. He just loves us according to our heart. All we can do is try our hardest to understand God and to immediately do what He says.

Toad hops.

2012-08-05T22:26:00.001-07:00

So to spare you of all the details I worked Mags this morning and Spade tonight. Magpie did fine this morning. She really retains well. I started working her with the cues from yesterday. She came right back to doing things the way I left her yesterday. Tomorrow I will work her more. She just started eating tonight. She seems to like grain and cubes. I left the food in there and I have been checking every feeding to see if she has found it. Tonight she did. She did really well this morning. She will sneak up behind me to get a sniff. I would stand like a statue and let her smell. The minute you move she runs two strides and stops. The "join up" method has totally worked minus the fact that she still won't let you touch her. It is almost a game to her. There is no fear. She is very confidant. Saturday I even slung the string on my stick around her back end to test her to see if she was a kicker. She raised her legs and kinda jumped but wasn't worried enough to kick. What a nice change.
Today after many touches and rubs with the stick and lots of game playing I was done. I had a client standing at the gate that was convinced he could touch her. So I allowed him in the pen. What could it hurt? I was pretty sure that she wasn't going to hurt him and I was also pretty sure he wouldn't get to her. So I stood by the gate and talked to his wife while he tried to work with her. He was actually doing a pretty good job. The cool thing was he grabbed her lead and reenforced the halter work that I did yesterday. She did really good with him. The neat part was she would avoid him and almost walk over me to get away from him. I just stood quite as she passed me. If I wanted to I could lift my hand and touch her. She was less then a foot off me. I was so surprised that she would come that close to me without fear. Again she is alot like a butterfly. As she would walk passed I watched her ears out of the corner of my eye. I will be honest I was waiting on her to nail me. I am so used to Spade. She wasn't worried at all. One time he stopped her right by me. She would face him which meant her butt was uncomfortably close to me. I was worried the first time but then I realized she wasn't worried about me back there. So I relaxed and then just hoped that she didn't decide to kick. In the long run what little "playing" this guy did. It taught me more about my mare. I was pleased. There are a lot on the Facebook page that are already touching, brushing, and even saddling but this time I don't feel the pressure to hurry. I want her to trust me and have fun that is the only way she is going to love what she does.
Spade had a rough day. We worked in my obstacles area. I worked with all the required elements. He did "ok". I took him to my tractor tire and got him to where he would step in it. All was great until he backed out once and hung the tire on his foot. He jumped and kinda spazzed for a second. Thankfully he was controlable. After that happened twice I had a hard time convincing him that the tire wasn't going to eat him. After fussing with him awhile I decided that the tire wasn't a required element and if he was that worried about it then I couldn't use it in my free style so I left it. It wasn't a battle that was worth the fight. We did a lot of other things. We side passed over a timber and backed in the V. Then we came to the Scary thing on a barrel. I put a jolly ball on the top. I figured at least he won't freak out to bad at that. WRONG! I side passed up to the barrel and started moving it around on the barrel. He was worried but still. So I figured he is good. So I grabbed it and pulled it toward my saddle he stepped sideways. I figured he will stop in a second. He took off. I had the ball in one hand and trying to one rein stop with the other. I am sure it looked hilarious from the outside. I refused to let the ball go. Since he is so broke in the mouth he easily disengaged his hind end and stopped. I started rubbing him with the ball and he relaxed. When I looked up I realized I was 50 ft. from where I started. He tried to buck but it was like little toad hops. I couldn't help but laugh. I tried to loosen up on him in my body. He had spooked me pretty good so my legs were a little shaky and my heart rate was up. I didn't want that to scare him so I settled down. We went back and he did really good. So I did some other things and waited 20 min and went back. This time he did the same thing only he only jumped three hops. He is SO broke in the face. I am really proud of him. Just got to get through the boogers.
So I was thinking today, I would like to take tonight to thank everyone that has supported me in this journey. It was so wonderful going to the barrel race yesterday and everyone cheering Spade on. Everyone has been so helpful and encouraging. People look at him now and they think it was easier then it was. But those that follow him on the blog understand how far he has really come. Ya'll are truly great. I can't tell you what God has done through all of this. I have been able to reach out to so many through this journey. Some of you know that I have been in ministry almost as long as I have been barrel racing and my goal is to reach out to others. This mustang means so much to me but this competition isn't for my glory. It is for what God can do through me and through my talent with horses to reach out to everyone else. All through out the Bible God has always used the outcast to do great things. I didn't understand the purpose of doing this mustang thing. The mustangs have been the outcast for years. I feel that I can use them to do great things. There have been many doors open in the barrel world due to my little 14 Hand mustang and I plan on using these for the Lord. So when you hear me ranting about my mustang please don't take it as me boosting. I am honestly super excited at what God is doing in my life through these wonderful horses. God has promised me some crazy stuff in the future and I know that these things are a step toward that. People that want the glory for what they do will step on others to get there. In my case I want to bring all my friends along. I want whoever wants to be a part of these things to jump in. I love you guys and wouldn't trade this for the world. I have many really cool plans in the works Mr. Spade is just the first step. That is why I say he is "Breaking Ground"

New family member.

2012-08-04T09:57:00.001-07:00

Well after a long trip to Oklahoma we finally got home yesterday at 4:00 pm. I was so excite to get back home to Spade. But I was also very excited to see my Barrel Mustang and she her move in the pen. They don't give you to much time to look at them at the BLM. She is a beautiful dark bay mare that has a great confirmation. She is very sweet, extremely smart and a tad bit strong willed. She moves decent. I am going to have to teach her how to run. She is a little clumsy. In all she is way more friendlier then Spade was and not near as flighty. She has lots of confidence. So far my only issue is getting her to eat. Not sure if it is the bucket or the grain. I am calling her Magpie like the bird. She seems very interested but a little flighty at times.
As far as Spade goes I rode him in the arena lights for the first time last night. I got to laughing at him because he was literally running from his shadow. And the faster he would move the after it would chase him. Thankfully he didn't hurt me in the process. He finally would calmly walk and just keep his eye on it. By the end of the night he had learned to back with leg pressure and allow me to take things off the fence. Another thing I did was run around his backend awhile and wave things around which seemed to help because today at the barrel race he was very tolerant of people moving around him. He also did two exhibitions and did great. I have been so proud of him.

Tonight I felt horrible because I was away from my phone at the barrel race and Danial had called me a ton. When I finally got back to it at 12:30 am I found a text of us on our wedding day five years ago. Then I realized I totally forgot our anniversary. I worked the new mustang early this morning and then took off to do some other stuff and then came home to then pack up and head to the barrel race. I knew it would be late when I got back. I didn't even think of the date. When I got home my whole family was asleep. So now I feel horrible because everything I have given to the mustangs has taken away from my family time. I am so glad that they are so supportive of this adventure. But I know they will all be glad when it is over. I have the greatest family in the world. Sometimes I am not the best at showing them how much I appreciate how great they are.

Super busy.

2012-08-01T12:39:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted lately I have been super busy. All day Monday Spade and I hung out at one of my friends house. She had a equine dentist and chiropractor come out and work on something like 15 horses. Spade stood tied on the edge of the barn and watched as all the other horses as they were worked on. I then decided to get Spade checked by the chiropractor. The chiropractor felt all over Spade and said that there wasn't one thing out. I was very surprised since he had done so many things in the beginning of his training. After everyone left a few of us saddled up and went riding in the woods. I knew that it was thick woods but it was pretty challenging. We came up to a gully and I looked down the slope it had to be 40 ft. We started going down it. I felt like the man from Snowy River. I was so proud of him. Another thing that was fun, we passed a log so I straddled it and side passed down it. The other girls jumped in to try. Spade did just as good as the others. When it finally got to dark to see we headed back. Spade was a little more cautious on the way home but he listened and stuck with me.
Once we got back we stuck around the barn and chatted a while. Then me and another girl went to eat. Little did I know that I would not get to sleep for over 24 hours. I drove home and pulled in at 3 am. As I drove to the barn I saw Talicia's paint mare standing in the center pasture grazing. I thought to myself I bet that horse broke through the fence. As I got out of the truck she met me. It was pitch black outside but I could see a dark line down her face. I took a double take and looked closer and realized it was a line of blood. I quickly unloaded Spade and put him in his pen. I then called and woke up my parents. Once I got to the barn and she walked in I knew I had a major problem on my hands. I freaked. Cyril's face was stripped to the bone from her eyes to the top of her nostrils. All I knew was she needed help. I also knew that she needed stitches and I had a 3 hr window to get them done before the flesh would shrink and die. I had no idea how to save her face. All I could think was she is so pretty and I have to save her face. I went and got some furizone cream and some gauze. I washed out the dirt and hay as good as possible and pour peroxide over the entire wound. I think pulled the large flap of skin back over her face. Put tons of furizone cream on the gauze and packed her face then wrapped it in vet wrap from her mouth up to her ears. My hope was that the cream would keep the flesh moist and alive until the vet could stitch her. During this whole thing I called Talicia many times with no answer. After I had finished with all I could do for her, mom and I jumped in the car and went to Talicias. When I got there I was bummed to see the gate locked. So I jumped the fence and started running the quarter of a mile to her house. By the time I was knocking on her door it was 6 am. She came out and I told her and off we went to pick up Cyri and head to the vet. By 7:30 we had her at the office and by 8:00 she was being sewed up.(I will show her stitches the before picture is way to graphic) The vet was very please with how I treated her. She said that I definitely saved her face. After bringing her home we went out to go get the things Talicia needed to treat her. I came home and started repairing fence. She had gone through the panel and went out Spades gate. I assume that when she got to my herd they started fighting and she ran and never saw the cross fence. I finally got to bed at 6:00pm last night.
This morning I woke up and loaded Spade and took him to a new place with a friend. We went down tons of trails and swam through the creek. I was shocked when Spade drove in to water belly deep. He was again, so good. I am now in Oklahoma with friends to pick up my barrel racing mustang of Fri. I really hope she is great and easier then Spade was.
My main thought the past few days has been, God really orders our steps. My mom had made the statement about how late I came in the other night. And how if I had been home earlier then Cyri wouldn't have gotten hurt. I quickly realized that if I had been home earlier then she would have broke the fence and gotten in with Spade. I would think that they would have hurt each other. Which could have cost me my competition. Also I came in right after she had done it. The wound was really fresh. Which helped her and helped Talicia in vet bills and in the scaring on her face. I realized that God had set up best case scenario. I am not sure the purpose of this horse being injured but it was to teach us something. I am a firm believer that God works all things for good for those who love him. So today I am trusting that God knows the mustang that I need for this next competition. We will see what we get.

WOW!!

2012-07-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

WOW! I can't even begin to tell you...Spade has gone further in a week then I have taken any other colt in a month. I rode him down the pipe lines again the last few days and every time I do he gets a better handle then I could ever put on him in the pen. Thursday night I rode him right at 5 hours. He handled it like a champ. He even hung out with the other horses at the beginning of ride night. Everyone that saw him said they couldn't believe that he was so calm. I tell you once he started trusting me he was locked in. Today I had the ability to go to a mustang friend's house and use her obsticals. She also told me that she would look at him and we could see where he was in his training compared to where he needed to be. I was so happy. I woke up at 6 am more then ready to go feed and load Spade. It has been so long since I have had a horse that I can't wait to see what he is going to do everyday. It has also been a long time that a horse surprise me at how fast he is learning. You can ask any of my clients and they will tell you I can almost tell them to the day, when a horse will finish a task. But with Spade it is like he is sitting in his stall and reading about maneuvers that I haven't taught him yet. Then he comes to the pen and just does it. When I go out to in the woods he has to wait for traffic on 1725 to clear before he crosses. He is so unbelievably calm waiting at the end of the road. It is even a little unnerving to me when there are cars flying by at 60 MPH but he does great. So today when I arrived at Angie's house I wasn't sure what to expect. Spade was a little nervous when he unloaded. Both of us weren't sure at what to do. But Angie was excited to see us. We saddled up and while it was cool we headed out to the obstacles. There was a box on the ground and multiple poles scattered around. There was a drag pole, a bridge, and many other scary looking items. I decided to work on the drag pole first. Angie helped by dragging the pole as Spade and I followed it. He wasn't all that crazy about it in the beginning but before long I was hand walking him with it dragging behind him. Then I started to drag it from the saddle. He was so great. He didn't worry at all. After dragging it around the arena I let him relax before I took to the bridge. At the bridge he was very hesitant and wiggled back and forth. After a few passes and Angie's horse being a buddy Spade stepped up and over. After that he was okay but hesitated at almost every pass. I will continue to work on that.
After an hour of work we took of to go ride the trails. I knew we would be gone a while. We rode for three hours in the woods but it was a blast. I went threw water, gullies, over logs, ran through pastures, and ducked through brush. Spade really had lots of fun. It was funny because Angie would warn me about boogers coming up and Spade didn't once hesitate at anything. I was so proud of him. And to top it all off he did the whole thing on a very loose rein. I was even able to open him up to the point that I felt safe on uneven ground. He was so smooth and quick. I could feel that he had at least two or three more gears before he was his fastest. That made me happy to see that he does have some speed. I keep reminding myself I have six more weeks to tune in everything. That, in my world, is a long time. Tomorrow we are headed to a barrel race after church. So we will see how he does there.

Out on the trail

2012-07-25T22:42:00.001-07:00

Spade was so funny today. The only way that I can describe it is how a little kid acts when you come to there house for the first time they want to show you everything. Today Talicia and I went out on the trails in the Sam Houston National Forest. Last month I finished breaking and training Talicia's little paint mare and today was the first time she has ridden her since almost a year ago. I knew going in the woods with two green horses was a little crazy but both have great handles on them and great one rein stops. Spade has been great the last few days and I knew that if I took him out on a trail ride then it would give me plenty of opportunity to work on what he learned without drilling him in the arena. What I didn't expect was how much he would love it. Before we headed out I worked with him on parking next to the fence or a gate. He is a little reluctant to man made objects. I finally got him to park and relax. I then stepped off and opened the gate. As we walked down our drive way we came to the mail boxes. I saw him eye balling them, at least it was in interest instead of fear. Now that he is really trusting me he is like a little kid digging in everything as to say "mom what's that?" I love it. Anyone that knows my herd knows they are very nosey animals. But nosey at least means they aren't afraid. Any way as we walked by the mail boxes he acted like he wanted to investigate. So we spent the next few minutes approaching the mailbox and standing by it. Then we walked on. As we got closer to the highway cars were whizzing by. The first car Spade bounced his head likes "whoa what was that?" and then again hurried in his walk to investigate. Another went by and I felt him get really confidant. I was a little concerned about walking out across the road with both being so green. But with Spade being so confidant I went first so I could see if there was anyone coming. Plus I wanted to protect the safety of Talicia since she was just getting used to Cyri her little paint. Nothing was coming so we both started to trot across the highway together. Spade stepped over the shoulder stripe and moved to the double yellow line and planted it. I am thinking "hurry up Spade we are going to get run over because of a little line! " Both horses hesitated and then quickly stepped over it. With a quick glance at the opposite shoulder line we ducked into the trail. As we went down the trail he got very excited. He didn't jump around or anything there was just a bounce in his step. We would approach standing water and he would wiggle his self around trying to avoid it but once those feet got wet he would paw and play. When we would come to a log across the trail he would not even hesitate. He just bounced right over it. The brush pulling at the saddle and his tail seemed to be old hat to him. I felt like he was saying "see mom this is what I am used to...this is fun!" I can't tell you how solid he felt. The only thing that was obviously new was his understanding of the bridle and that when I am on his feet are my feet. I was very proud of him. He was even picking his ground so that we would be safe. He would dodge potential hazards that I didn't see. The only times he spooked was one time he was looking very cautious at a pool of very scary looking water. I really looked unsafe. As we walk around the edge of the pool he was looking hard to the left and a small twig reached out and ran down his right side. He leaped forward and scared me to death. Out of habit I one rein stopped but there wasn't really a need. He had already realized what had happened. I walked him back and forth through that spot two more times with no problem. Then we were walking and the brush started to rattle. In my left eye I started seeing quick movement. We all looked. All I saw was a brown shadow rushing through the woods. It was so fast neither of us could tell what it was. It was either a large fox or a fawn. Whatever it was it blasted through the woods and crossed the clearing not 30 feet behind us. I felt Spade suck his tail in his butt I told him "easy" and he relaxed and we both watched this thing run through the trees. Again I was shocked that he would be so calm. After walking 20 more min we started heading home this was when he got really nice. He felt like an old kid horse. I released my very long reins and he just walked along with no problem. We got all the way back almost to the highway again and this time I moved into the ditch to see traffic and heard a semi coming. I was really worried. So Talicia and I stood side by side and as the truck blasted by Spade didn't flinch. He walked out and we looked again. This time we could go. The response he gave me excited me. My seasoned horses would have at least jumped. He had done so good all day when I got back home I gave him a bath. We are going out again tomorrow so I can't wait to see how he is then. This might just be the place that I train him. He learned many cues today just out of necessity. What will tomorrow bring?

One step at a time.

2012-07-25T06:32:00.001-07:00

So it is early in the morning but I haven't had time to sit down and post about how things are going. Monday night we brought Spade home after riding the last day at Dan's. He got everything done that day. He got his teeth and feet done and a few other things that needed to happen. I have to admit that it was a very similar feeling that you get when you bring your newborn home from the hospital. You know when the nurses help you take care of them and then send you home by your self. You have that feeling of what am I suppose to do. I was very emotional because I wasn't sure if I could handle him. I also didn't know how he would respond when he came home. The last time I rode him at Dan's he was moving his shoulders, turning left and right, backing really well, side passing, and attempting to open gates. So I was excited to see how far he had come.

We got him to the ranch, unloaded him and I put him in one of the training pens were I keep visitors. There he is much more involved in the equine society that functions here. I didn't want him going back in his old pen and thinking that he could revert back to his old ways. So we changed the scene. Know he gets to talk to everyone on the ranch and he has a little mare next to him to keep him company.
The yesterday morning I went out to feed and he wanted to be a little snorty so I quickly grabbed the halter and went straight to him and pulled him up to eat. I am going to hang out while he eats for the next week just for good measure. I pulled him out last night and worked him for a little while he seemed to do great. But I got on way to early in the day and got over heated to quick. He was pretty hot too. So I called it a night. This morning I am planning on riding him down the pipelines with Talicia and see how he does there. And we already have plans to ride in the woods tomorrow also. Take him somewhere in the morning and then teach him new things in the evening and I will get there.

I had the chance to go to Dan and Kelley's church Sunday morning and the pastors wife had a great message about time. One of the main things that stood out to me was she was talking about when she had cancer that the doctor would only tell her the next step. Because if they told her the whole thing then she would get overwhelmed. A when you get overwhelmed then the giant seems bigger then he really is. I in no way can compare my journey with Spade to something like Cancer but this has been a huge hurdle that I wasn't sure I was going to cross. All of us have those hurdles mine might be Spade but yours might be a task at work or a medical condition. Even though he is much better I still battle with the fear of going out there and messing with him. This lady's message stood out to me because really when I go to ride all I have to worry about is one step at a time. And every time I get through a step then it builds confidence and we move on to the next step. So face your giants today one step at a time. Stay tuned..

Tough day! But making progress- Boot camp day 3

2012-07-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

I didn't get the chance to post yesterday so here it is. Yesterday I woke up a 6am and headed to Spades stall. I have been taking him out to feed him so that he starts looking for me in the mornings. I sat down ate some breakfast and then pulled him out. I sat down with the bucket of grain beside me and he had no problem coming up and eating. When he was done I started to wonder where Dan was normally he is coming down the ally of the barn about this time. I saw no sign that he was coming out. Then I realized that it was Sunday. Maybe he doesn't work on Sunday. I wasn't sure. So I decided to stick with Spade and groom him while I waited. I brushed his mane and body. For the first time I felt safe enough to brush his tail. Spade is still very unpredictable in the backend but has gotten so much better. And the signs that he gives when he might kick are much more visible to me. I like that because I can correct him even in the though of kicking at something. I am convinced that he will be normal soon. I have been picking up his feet, roping his hind legs and a few other things to try to get him used to people and things moving around back there. He seemed to like his tail being brushed. That was one of my main goals in coming here. After I groomed him I figured that Dan for sure didn't ride on Sunday. So I saddled up and took him to the round pen. I rode around on him working on his handling skills. He is really soft in the bridle but naturally you have to reteach it when you get faster. I wanted to get him moving so I trotted around the edge he did pretty good. So I picked him up to a lope. For some reason him wasn't all that crazy about my back girth flopping. So when he would go to the right he would kick out to the left thinking that the girth was going to eat him. Once I got a few laps out of him I stopped. I was bummed that he was kicking out but on the other hand I knew how "uncrazy" his "want to be" bucks are. In his mind he is a bronc. But in reality he barely gets his feet off the ground in the front and the back kicks are pretty easy to ride. By this time it was 9 am and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. So I went back to the bunkhouse and laid down and not minutes later Dan knocked on the door. They were headed to church and asked me to go. I was thinking about going here in Round Top, but I rather go with Dan and Kelley. They go to Mark Shooks church in Cypress and it was really great to go to a service being that I was away from home. After church we can back and I was able to ride Spade again and get more handle. He really seems to be trying. So that after noon I messed around roping his feet and rolling things behind him. He didn't like the things moving behind him. We even loaded him in the trailer a few times. Dan came out and helped me ride him in the arena. I wasn't all that sure Spade was ready, but I tried anyway. Walking and trotting he did pretty good, but once we got to a lope he was very squarely. He was extremely hard to control. I was tired and after him dragging me around for ten minutes I decided to let Dan get on and try. Dan worked really hard and finally got him loping a circle. He was super hot so I walked him a while and let him cool. Then we called it a night. I want to share all the details of how he is responding but the progress proves that he is doing better. It makes a huge difference when there is other trainers to help in the process. I think that this is the hurdle that we needed to overcome. I am confident that I can go home Tues. and be able to progress him further.