http://www.equinepurebalance.com/index.htmlMustang Chroniclesenjikhalsa@gmail.comCopyright 2009 Ji Khalsa2009-08-04T20:20:29-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:27:33 -0500jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-08-04T20:20:29-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/b8bb0c888f9e8239aa70a41630373cfe-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/b8bb0c888f9e8239aa70a41630373cfe-11.html#unique-entry-id-11It was driving me nuts to have to wait so long to ride him, but he just wasn't ready until today. He was fearful and jumpy and just not trusting me enough and I think we would have had a disaster had I not waited until that went away.

I got on him yesterday and flexed his neck a little, and then had my first real ride today. Reb helped on the ground and he responded really well to that. Walked, turned, and he even decided to trot a little on his own. It was if he just wanted to see what it felt like, then he settled back into a walk. I think he was more relaxed than I was, and there wasn't even a single oh @#^$ moment. He needs some time to get his balance under my weight, but that will come and he was actively looking for it. He naturally sits back and uses his hind end and was even trying to do that under saddle in his turns, which is impressive for a horse with experience under saddle, nevermind on a first ride. I am expecting good things from this boy.

I think I'm a little big for him, but as he matures he will fill out.

Once we get the first week of riding and basic skills down I think we can really make some progress. ]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-08-02T21:35:18-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/72974fd7a72c22549e9a2170d42e55ed-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/72974fd7a72c22549e9a2170d42e55ed-10.html#unique-entry-id-10Looking back over the first two weeks, I lost almost a week to rain and mud. If I do this again, I think I'll need an indoor arena. I should be further along than this.

Got up in the stirrups today a number of times. He did just fine. Didn't mind if I hung out there, either. I am worried about riding. He's a fearful boy and while most of the time he can control it well, when he does loose it it's explosive. He goes 3 or 4 feet straight up.

Since I'm 2 weeks in I thought I'd do a little assessment. We've done well with haltering, leading, simple obstacles, saddling, weight on him. His work at liberty has been and continues to be excellent, directions, speed, turns, alignment, scary stuff coming at him and touching him. He's fairly good with his front feet, but still has to learn to let me hold them a bit after I pick them up. Still need some work in back. We got some pretty impressive kicking at first, and now he's settling down a bit. No problem with ropes around or near them today, although I could see he still didn't like it much. Yields his front end to the lead, his hind to where my leg will be. I want to work on forward motion off leg pressure before I really ride him, so I'm hoping to work on that starting tomorrow.

He still hates but tolerates the white grocery bag, and I still hate it too. He started ground driving well, and we began working on rollbacks. Ground tying is not bad.

He started testing me today, so I had to be a little firmer with him. His intelligence is both an asset and a problem!

I would really like to get him under saddle this week before I have to leave town, but I also don't want to rush him if he's not ready. We shall see.]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-31T20:04:59-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/215f70c14de6475fec2b7b921129e5f2-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/215f70c14de6475fec2b7b921129e5f2-9.html#unique-entry-id-9Had to take too much time off and took a few steps backward in terms of attitude. But we worked it out and got him leading by his feet today. His fronts are great, and we have a little more to do in back but we will get there.

He yields his front end well, and again, we have some work to do with his hind end. A few more days and we can start to put it all together.]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-26T14:44:34-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/0f3669d923d27536b5c1c2c0afef0e3a-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/0f3669d923d27536b5c1c2c0afef0e3a-8.html#unique-entry-id-8Too muddy to work outside, so we worked in the barn. He is learning to pick up his feet. We're not at the point where I can pick them out or trim him, but that won't be long.

Clipped him today, also. I wasn't sure how that would go, but it wasn't bad at all. Some previous companion(s) ate most of his mane off, so I tried to even out his mohawk and clipped his bridle path.

We also worked a little on yielding different body parts. he was very good about it and very comfortable with me touching him all over, leaning on and against him, and generally being in his space. Good day.]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-25T22:11:08-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/315bbe93db03bdc0e033772343e778da-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/315bbe93db03bdc0e033772343e778da-7.html#unique-entry-id-7I decided we have been working too hard, so today was a play day. Groomed him, introduced him to fly spray, and petted him lots. We just went out, had fun, and spent some time with the horse ball (Reb's great idea). He was really into it and I think over time it will be one of his favorite things to do. Lots of steps toward trust and confidence today.

Possibility of rain all week, so I took him into the barn for the first time to make sure he was ok with it, since we may need to train in there this week. He handled it like a champ.]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-24T19:08:33-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/3db867489d30b57821f595742b017df0-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/3db867489d30b57821f595742b017df0-6.html#unique-entry-id-6Yesterday brought some attitude, so we took a few steps back and worked on respect. Today was much better. Put a big ol' roping saddle on him, back strap and breast collar included. He could have cared less. I keep waiting for a buck, I'm hoping it's not waiting for when I sit on him. Got my feet in the stirrups, but no weight. Didn't mind the stirrups flapping. He let me lean over him and swing my leg from the fence. We need to progress with some additional ground work before I think we're ready for real mounting, but we're getting there. He's still too goosey for me to want to get on him just yet. A lot better, but there are a few more kinks left to unwind. He's a tough nut to crack. ]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-24T09:04:21-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/4d7f05f79c184ce0c13e1a0bbff6f0a3-5.html#unique-entry-id-5http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/4d7f05f79c184ce0c13e1a0bbff6f0a3-5.html#unique-entry-id-5Day 4 was a rain day, and Day 5 a mud day. Let's see what the sunshine of Day 6 brings us.]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-21T15:10:05-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/a3c63eb547bd04cb99e949696e65d6cc-4.html#unique-entry-id-4http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/a3c63eb547bd04cb99e949696e65d6cc-4.html#unique-entry-id-4Tornado's photo blog can be found here: ttp://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30503079&l=94f859e351&id=1248302486

He did great today. Saddled up more easily, wore it like a champ. We worked on obstacles, which included gates. Thanks to Angela and Karen for their help with that one--definitely a team effort.

The swelling on his knee has gone down by more than half and the would is healing nicely. Doesn't seem to bother him at all.

He went nicely over a white sheet and 2 rails. Our biggest problem with that is that he wanted to pick up the sheet with his mouth and walk away with it. I'm loving the little bits of personality that are starting to emerge now that he's relaxing a bit more.

We don't quite have trust yet, but communication is good and is working in both directions. Trust will follow when he is ready. He's such a sweet, kind horse, and I am looking forward to that day.]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-20T23:32:06-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/2c29f600b84866b383c60d68776f1dcc-3.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/2c29f600b84866b383c60d68776f1dcc-3.html#unique-entry-id-3Got him into the round pen today, so this was the first day I felt like I could really make some progress. His leg is healing nicely and we weren't confined by the small size of his paddock, by the corners, and by the round bale getting in the way.

Since he still needs work with his leading, we built a chute from his paddock to the round pen using corral panels. Worked very well. He wouldn't lead through it all, but I could move him from behind. And he just walked right in.

It was so nice to be in a good work environment and we got a lot done, to the point where I was able to put a saddle on him. He is still flinchy and hesitant so there's much more to be done before he's ready to ride, but the saddle was a big step. It didn't seem to bother him at all. No bucking, no rolling, no rubbing. I let him wear it for a couple of hours after the lesson and he could have cared less. Tomorrow we may try a big ol' roping saddle with a back strap. ]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-19T21:25:49-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/3be85af61e29e54112e3c5d1ee612027-2.html#unique-entry-id-2http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/3be85af61e29e54112e3c5d1ee612027-2.html#unique-entry-id-2A few people have asked me about his brand. It's a code that can be found here: http://www.mustangs4us.com/brands.htm. According to Tornado's brand, he was born in 2006 and was caught in Nevada.]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-19T21:02:10-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/148b2505a54373c783b5260d2aca6132-1.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/148b2505a54373c783b5260d2aca6132-1.html#unique-entry-id-1Yes, the verdict is in. This little horse is smarter than I am. I just hope I can keep that a secret for the next 99 days.

I forgot to mention last night that I got him comfortable enough with the stick that I can dress his would by putting a gauze pad on the end and using that to put on Novasan and Fly Swat. So if you see photos and he's either bright pink or blue or both, that's why.

The open portion of the wound looked a lot better this morning and the swelling seemed to have gone down a bit.

I made him a nice bed of a couple of bags of shavings on some rubber mats. When I got out there this morning I noticed he had shavings bed head and was glad he was comfortable enough to lay down and get some good rest. And rest he got—he was nice and fresh!

I reviewed some of the previous day's lessons with him, then dressed his wound and began working on a few new things. Most importantly, I got a halter on him. He learned how to give to pressure on it, to pressure from the rope, and made much more progress in learning to lead than I expected. I learned something too: He had been letting me touch him with one hand. By the time I was ready to tie the halter, I realized he wasn't ok with me coming at him with two hands. So I learned to tie a halter with one hand. And never to make that mistake again.

He tolerates the plastic bag a lot more, but still hates it. (I don't blame him, I can't stand the damn thing either.) No more kicking when the ropes or anything else touches is feet. We'll work more on that tomorrow to be sure.

He felt comfortable enough to try to test me a little more today. One or two little kicks, some more striking out with his front feet, and even a little rear or two. Never directly at me in an aggressive way, but still dangerous behaviors. Once he realized that was a bad idea, he moved on to more appropriate behaviors.

He's got a good personality and a playful side. Sometimes if he's really comfortable he'll try to mimic things he sees a human doing. If you bob your head, he'll bob his. If you scratch the ground with your foot, he'll paw with his.

I got his neck tag off at the end of the lesson. I couldn't wait to do that; it made him look too much like livestock and the air of objectification it gave him really bothered me. He's not number 1150 anymore. He's got a name and a home.
]]>jikhalsa@gmail.comMustang Blog2009-07-18T20:51:12-05:00http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/39f35c20000d5f5c58623117cbf191c8-0.html#unique-entry-id-0http://www.equinepurebalance.com/page18/files/39f35c20000d5f5c58623117cbf191c8-0.html#unique-entry-id-0Well, the mustang is finally here. He loaded just fine and travelled like a champ. He was travelling so well that at one point Reb asked me if I was sure he was still back there.

When we got him home to unload, we found an injury on his knee. It's cut up and pretty swollen, but he seems sound and the vet came out right away (thank you, Jennifer!) and said he should be ok. I'm wanting to get him gentled faster, though, so I can take care of it properly. I'm also concerned about working him too hard because of the injury, so I'm taking a very different approach than I had planned.

He's a nice boy, a good boy, number 1150. Smart and resilient. Very handsome, looks like he has some strong Spanish blood in him. He's maybe 14h1, fine boned. We named him Tornado (Tor-nah-do), after Zorro's horse. He has really pretty self-carriage and some nice suspension to his gaits, but could use some better balance. His head and neck are gorgeous, and he's black all over except for the white marks on his face.

I played with him for a few hours, and he lets me rub on his face and scratch him all over with a stick and we're working on ropes and plastic bags. He's doing pretty well with those, but it will take another day or two for him to relax with them. We had some good kicks, and a few front-end strikes, but they were at the rope and the bag when they touched his feet, not at me; they were almost gone by the time we finished tonight. He hasn't shown a single sign of aggression so far and seems to be trying hard to be good and cooperative and respectful. He handles fear well and recovers quickly. I just need to stay out of the way of his very quick feet while he works those issues out.

My mother really seemed to want to pet him, so I brought her in the pen. She stood behind me, and after a few tries he let her touch him and stroke his face. He seems to want to like people, and I think with time he will be a ham.

If his knee isn't swollen or hurting from what we did today, I'll try a bit more tomorrow.

Assuming his knee is ok, I'll be training tomorrow through Wednesday at 7am at my place. Anyone is welcome to come watch or help. If you can't make it then and want to see him, please call and we'll schedule something.

Thanks to everyone for their enthusiasm and support!

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