Horse Training: The Extreme Mustang Makeover is Aptly Named

I love reading about, hearing about, and watching the Extreme Mustang Makeovers because I love mustangs.

I've adopted 5 mustangs now, and I still have 3 of them. They are the most versatile, tough, loyal and amazing horses I've ever had the honor to support.

Mustangs are also very, very extreme!

That's why I think the name "Extreme Mustang Makeover" is such a perfect name. Mustangs are like the mules of the horse world. They give new meaning to words like:

• stubborn
• opinionated
• survivor
• tough
• heart

If a mustang has an opinion about something (and most mustangs have opinions about everything under the sun) you will know, and quickly!

An Example of an Extreme Mustang with a Strong Opinion
A few days ago I took Reyacita, my 5-year-old buckskin mustang mare (pictured above) to a roping practice. Reyacita and I had had a couple of private lessons with the Robosteer, during which we tracked the steer positioned at its left hip. When you first start teaching a heeling horse her position, you position them at the steer's left hip, because this is the position from which you will ultimately throw the rope.

Reyacita, being a Metal horse personality type, instantly locked onto her position. Metal horses want desperately to learn their jobs, and then do their jobs without further interruption. Reyacita "got it" that her position was by the steer's left hip.

Unfortunately, when you start roping as a team, with another horse and rider in the heading position, the heel horse has to start at the steer's right hip. The head horse starts at the steer's left hip, ropes the steer, then turns the steer. That's when the heel horse turns and steps into position at the steer's left hip.

Reyacita did NOT like this concept at all. When she saw my buddy Heidi and her horse Shady step into position at the steer's left hip, she got upset. She perceived that another horse was in "her position." To correct what she thought was a mistake, she simply side-passed over and tried to bump Heidi and Shady out of position.

It took me quite a while to convince Reyacita that we were now in the next phase of training, and that now we were supposed to start on the steer's right side. She didn't like it, thought very hard about bucking me off, but trusted me enough to try this new position. Once Heidi had roped the steer's horns and turned, then I allowed Reyacita to step into "her position" at the steer's left hip. She was much happier. She also understood this new arrangement, and allowed Heidi and Shady to take up the position at the steer's left hip with no further trouble.

Mustangs are So Extreme!
What cracks me up is that most horses would have simply followed their person's guidance without question. Not mustangs, especially Metal mustangs. When they think they KNOW what their job is, heaven help you if you get in their way. Metal horse types don't like interference at the best times. Metal mustangs really don't want to hear from their riders once they think they know their job.

One thing that has helped Reyacita become less rigid and more allowing is the herbal supplement Eleviv. Although this herbal supplement is usually given as remedy for horses who have been traumatized or who have physical problems as a result of emotional trauma, it also works will with horses who are mentally rigid. Of all the types, Fire and Metal horse personality types can be the most mentally rigid. If they don't understand "why" something should be done, don't count on getting it done anytime soon.

Test your horse's personality type here.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, check out my ebook for wacky horses and humans, or holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction ... and you can, too!

Horse Health Care: How to Help a Rescue Horse Recover from Trauma

The words 'rescue' and 'adoption' are becoming all too frequently associated with horses these days. With some of the coldest temperatures in history and the economic downturn, people are dumping horses left and right.

In fact, it's so bad that people are secretly stashing unwanted horses at a sale horse in empty trailers to avoid having to pay the sale barn commission!

Being "dumped" can definitely be traumatic for horses, since they often pick up on their humans' distress. Plus, when they are being "dumped" they have no idea what is going to happen to them. This level of uncertainty can traumatize even horses with the most stable personalities.

Four Ways to Help a Horse Recover from Trauma
If you are one of the good Samaritans who has adopted, rescued, or otherwise provided a home for a needy horse, you are probably dealing with a horse who has been traumatized to some extent. Even horses who don't show outer signs of trauma may be feeling insecure and uncertain, which can sometimes lead to health issues like colic, ulcers, or allergies.

For instance, a horse with a Metal personality type can often be dying inside while never showing outer signs of stress (read more about horse personality types on the Horse Harmony website or test your horse's type for free at Horse Harmony Test).

There are many small steps you can take to help your newly acquired horse feel more at home and recover from the trauma of relocation. Here's a short list to get you started, all easily integrated into any regular horse health care routine.

Horse Health Care Tip #1: Talk to Your Horse
Even if you aren't the world's greatest animal communicator, your new horse understands more than you think. Horses understand our intent, even if they may not understand the words we use to converse with them. Reassure your new charge that they are safe and will be cared for. It's important to be honest. If you are not sure that you can provide this horse a "forever home," then don't promise it. You can tell them that you will care for them, love them, and provide a safe home for them for now. Daily reassurance is very important to a traumatized horse. If you need help with animal communication, check out the Herbs and Animals website or the blog.

Tip #2: Provide a Steady Routine
Traumatized horses take great comfort in routine because it gives them something reliable to lean on. A steady routine that runs like clockwork will help a relocated horse settle in quickly. This works especially well for mustangs, who are traumatized from being gathered and shoved into a domestic situation. It works the same way for domesticated horses who have been relocated and are uncertain about their future.

Tip #3: Feed The Nervous System
Most rescue horses are nervous wrecks on the inside, even if they don't show signs of anxiety on the outside. This means that they are operating from their sympathetic nervous system, which is their "fight or flight" nervous system. It is not healthy for them to operate from the sympathetic nervous system all the time. In nature, this "fight or flight" reflex is only meant to be used in situations requiring a quick response. After the threat is over, the horse should shift back into their more normal parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with healing and relaxation. Unfortunately, most traumatized horses get "stuck" in their sympathetic nervous system, which means that they can't relax or let down their guard.

To help them shift back into the parasympathetic nervous system, we have discovered that a course of the herbal supplement Eleviv works great. A short course of high doses of Eleviv (2-6 capsules per day) can help a horse shift quickly into the parasympathetic nervous system, and start relaxing. Economic times are tough, but even 1 bottle of Eleviv (60 capsules) tends to work wonders when given in high concentrations, even if this means you use the entire bottle in 10 days (and I can help you get the lowest wholesale price on this product).

Tip #4: Provide a Good Buddy
Sometimes an older horse or a horse with a steady disposition can provide a lot of support to a newly rescued horse. The experienced horse can take your new rescue under his wing, and "show him the ropes." The experienced horse will show your new horse where food and water are to be found, as well as teach him your regular barn routine. Horse personality types that make good "babysitters" for rescue horses include Earth, Yang Ming, and Shao Yin types. Again, you can read more about horse personality types at Horse Harmony or test your horses' personality types on the Horse Harmony Test website.

Simple Horse Health Care Tips for Rescues
I hope these simple tips help you help your rescue horse. It can take a lot of resources, time, and effort to bring a traumatized rescue horse back to vibrant health, but it's worth it. The joy of seeing a fearful, flighty, or troubled horse restored to happiness is worth just about any price in my book. These days, providing a good home for a horse is a worthy endeavor, even that horse never does anything but "look pretty" standing in your pasture.

Yes, hay and horse feed are expensive, and horses eat a lot. But you can count rescuing a horse as a form of tithing. If it makes you feel any better, you are earning brownie points in horse heaven.

Or, as my friend puts it, you are at least "gilding your karma," which has got to be a good thing, right?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, check out my ebook for wacky horses and humans, or holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction ... and you can, too!

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frederickmdrocks/ / CC BY 2.0

My Horse Just Slapped Me Like Gibbs on NCIS

I am a horse addict and I collect horses. There's no doubt about it. There's also no doubt that my horses live up to their reputation as "hay burners" and eat through my budget like biblical locusts.

Nevertheless, they are cheaper than shrinks and they provide me more therapy than any licensed psychiatrist ever could.

How's that for rationalization?

Horse Therapy from Walker, My Hothouse Flower
If you have read a few of my past blog posts, then you know that I have a quarter horse gelding named Walker, whom I jokingly refer to as my "hothouse flower." Compared to the rest of my herd, mostly mustangs, Walker is just a high-maintenance dude.

I'm a true believer in the barefoot approach, and Walker's feet are as soft and ouchy as clay. He's super-talented at reining, but the least little scratch and his whole body swells up like a balloon. Get the picture yet?

So I've been wondering what to do with Walker. He doesn't fit into my herd of "tough girls" (though he and Fezzywig, my other gelding, are now getting along well in a pen by themselves) and I've been putting about feelers to people who might want to buy him. In the meantime, he gets supplements out the wazoo (my special horse goo times two), bodywork almost daily, and lots and lots of food.

I have been rather disappointed because I bought Walker, at quite a high price, as kind of a "reward horse" for myself. The rest of the time I start mustang colts, who are quite the challenge and mostly not built for reining. Well, come to find out reining isn't really my thing. Hence putting out the feelers to see if the perfect home for Walker might appear.

Walker Pulls an NCIS "Gibbs" Maneuver on Me!
Well, the strangest thing happened yesterday. Walker did the equivalent of slapping me upside the back of my head, kind of like Jethro Gibbs does to his team on the show NCIS. I had done some bodywork on Walker and was sitting on a stool next to him, thinking about selling him. Walker proceeded to put his head down and bop me on the back of my head with his nose. He then put his nose right in my face and blew snot on my face, about 10 times in a row.

I've taken a few animal communication classes in my time, but I don't excel at it (for excellent animal communication resources, check out Leta Worthington's Herbs and Animals website and blog). Nevertheless, the message was clear. Walker was saying,

"Hey, you keep thinking that I'm here for you, that I'm supposed to serve you as your 'reward horse'! Not to mention the fact that you keep thinking about selling me. Well I have got news for you -- you are supposed to be here for me, too. You are supposed to help me, you know! We weren't brought together just so I could be your dream horse. You are supposed to be my dream person, too!"

Wow! Now from a Shao Yin horse personality (read more about horse personalities here), that's a strong statement. Mostly Shao Yin horses want to please people, want to get along. Yowza! Now I'm going to have to rethink the whole deal with Walker.

I've always felt that my horses had to "earn their keep," meaning they had to be good at their discipline and tough enough to stand up to a competitive show horse lifestyle. Be it penning, sorting, roping, jumping, or trail riding, my horses are working horses.

Walker's message was clear: he wants to work and he wants to stay with me, at least for now. When a Shao Yin makes such a strong statement, I'm forced to slam on the brakes and think about this. My thought was that Walker wasn't tough enough to hack it around here so he was outta here. His thought is that he needs the healing I can provide for him, so he wants to stay.

What's a zen cowgirl to do? If I were a straight, non-spiritual cowgirl, I'd say, "Tough patooties! You gotta go." But being a spiritual kind of cowgirl, I'm going to have to rethink this. I'm going to have to buy the boy some boots. I'm going to have to find room in my heart and my "regimen" for a horse who isn't tough but who really wants to be here.

Oh boy ... another freakin' growth opportunity! Gotta love those! Oh well, everything happens for a reason, right?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Also, holler at me if you want to know how I fund my horse addiction ... and you can, too!