Dennis:
Saturday was an eventful day for all of us at the Moniteau Saddle Club clinic that I conducted at Sedalia, MO. At the break of dawn we headed to the barn and took them from their stalls and took them right into the trailer. This was the first time for them to be loaded since they had arrived. Like Willy Nelson said we are on the road again. We arrived at Fischer Stables at Sedalia, MO, parked in the middle of a wide open field which when they stepped off the trailer would be their first time in the wide open but now with a halter and lead rope on. They took it very well. They came off the trailer with good attitudes and seemed as though they were glad to be with us. We are starting to become security for them which is a good thing. We saddled them up and started the clinic off using them as our subject. There was an obstacle laying on the ground that consisted of a bunch of colored plastic strips flopping in the wind so we opted to use it as a tool to give them something to focus on. Lance and I worked together with these two horses to encourage them to walk up to and eventually over these plastic strips. Once they realized that being close to the strips was a comfortable place they dropped their heads and walked over with ease. It took a little bit but they accepted it with well for their first outing. Drove lance’s for a little bit as he rode her and we drove her into a large outdoor arena. This was a really good opportunity because of the environment and the opportunity to let this horse experience being taking away from the grey mare some distance and finding out she was ok away from her. We also used this time to walk in one end of the arena and out the other end of the arena, which I like to do to give the horse the idea that there is a place to escape on the other end of the arena. This works to prevent a horse from being resistant to enter an arena. We then tied both to the fence and broke for lunch then Lance and I both rode them as we conducted the remainder of the clinic with the other participants. This gave us time to ride with other horses and gained the experience of being in traffic with them. We were also able to walk, trot and canter which all and all proved to be a very productive day for the mustangs. The experience and the exposure I feel is vital in the preparation for the end makeover.
Lance:
I was impressed how smoothly everything went even when the moments where their energy level was high they keep their attitudes and posture with people around, wind blowing, loud speakers and with new surroundings. It was a relief to know this was the first time and the next time will just get better. I think people were impressed on how far they had come along for 14 days and that made me feel were going in the right direction. Looking forward to future trips.
Ride Your Picture,
Dennis & Lance
Trainers
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