Project Mustang: Wanna Ride? Go Wild!: The Progress: The First 100 Days

The Progress: The First 100 Days

September 21, 2016 will mark the 100th day since we have had our lovely ladies! The progress the girls have made in only 3 months is absolutely astounding. While they wouldn't necessarily be "Mustang Makeover Ready" at this point in time, they are pretty close! The description in the bold parentheisis is the Parelli Horsenality of each horse (don't worry I'll post a blog that covers what that refers too, but until then I have included a diagram). All of the girls have improved so much since their first few days at RFR. Here's what they've learned and what they've been up to:

Parelli Horsenality refers to being able to figure out which part of the brain the horses use the most. Left brained horses act out of dominance and right brained horses react out of fear. The extroverts have a tendency to speed up, where the introverts tend to slow down.

Roxie (Our Left Brain Introvert): This little girl is officially a fan favorite! She loves attention, and food, from absolutely anybody! At a little over a year and a half, she lets anybody do anything to her! She stands great for the farrier (she thinks Nick is an awesome person for holding her up) and has already had a saddle on. She was the first one to have her necktag off and her halter on. She was reluctant about leading, as that seems like a lot of work, but with consistency and patience, she leads like a champ! She doesn't mind fly spray, or saddle pads, or even the saddle for that matter! She has had a saddle on, just to judge her reaction and she didn't even flinch! She is growing like a weed and we are having a little trouble keeping weight on her. She is growing so fast that even she doesn't know what to do with her legs. She is a natural floating mover once she remembers to use her legs. She is a favorite of Delaney (who we consider to be the yearling of our group) and enjoys being pampered! She likes polo wraps, doesn't like water (yet), and is still discovering how lounging works.

Roxie during her first session 6/20/16
(2 days after adoption)

Roxie on August 29, 2016
(2 1/2 months after adoption)

Roxie's First Touch!

First Farrier Appointment!

Roxie's First Halter!

Roxie and I Cuddling!

Roxie's first venture outside of the fence!

Ruckus (Our Left Brain Extrovert): This sassy mare straight up stole my heart! I am not typically a fan of chestnuts and as a horse that I brought home when necktag 0248 and necktag 0148 were not available, she is progressing the fastest and is an absolute rock star at a little over 2 1/2 years old! She was the second after Roxie to get her necktag off and to get her halter on! While she is a small girl, at just barely 14 hands, she makes up for her lack of height with her personality. She enjoys being dramatic about new things, but once she is fine with them, she is really fine with them! She was the first of our girls to have a farrier appointment as she has a slightly clubbed foot on her front right. A little over 2 weeks after we got her she developed a crack in her front right. That day, she let me pick up her foot for the first time, pack it with hoof cushion, put a diaper on it, duct tape it and vet wrap it! She had her first farrier appointment a few days later. She lounges walk/trot/canter, she jumps on the line, she loads in a trailer, stands to be bathed, goes through water, she rides walk/trot, she stands tied, she stands to be saddled, she holds the bit in the proper place and stands at the mounting block! I've even ridden her bareback! She is a nice looking mare, with a lot of heart and a sound mind. I took her to the Barton Hollow Farm Hunter Pace on September 18th as her fifth ride, first time trailering, first field trip and first trail ride and she was absolutely stellar! We cantered for the first time under saddle and even jumped a couple, very small, jumps and walked over some bigger, scarier one

Ruckus on June 18, 2016
(Day of Adoption)

Ruckus on August 29, 2016
(2 1/2 Months after adoption)

First Time Outside!

Learning To Bow!

Jumping In-Hand!

Scary Tarp!

Learning to Relax!

First Bath!!!

Cuddling!

Rhapsody (Our Right Brain Extrovert) This sweet, sweet mare absolutely LOVES cuddles! She was 2 months behind the other two girls, but she got her necktag off and a halter on within a couple of hours. This poor lady has experienced so much negative human contact that she spent 2 months realizing we weren't intending to hurt her. Good thing we aren't in any hurry! She slowly started realizing that humans were happy things that feed her. She finally came around to eating out of my lap and letting me touch her face. Slowly but surely, after that she let me touch her on her face and next, we progressed to haltering and leading! She caught on to leading a lot faster and leads just as well as the other girls. She is already worth her weight in gold! I can't wait to see how the fantastic mare turns out as she learns to trust people more!