Day 16

Spent some time with Shonee at the round pen. No pressure, just time. It was good.

Day 15

Took the day off today and enjoyed watching it finally rain.

Day 14

Back in the round pen, we began with the drive lines again. Shonee has a beautiful & elevated trot. Then I moved him around some under saddle. We worked on flexion and I did some more jumping up & down beside him. I was thinking about taling the first ride. I stepped up in th saddle on each side while putting my knee across his rump. This went very well. I mounted Shonee from the left side, swung up onto the saddle, paused and dismounted- uneventfully. I casually walked around him to repeat this on the off-side. I stepped up, sat down in the saddle planning to dismount again. But, Shonee let me know he wasn't quite ready.

Day 13

Shonee is leading up and accepting the bit much better. I took him into the big arena for the first time today. We worked on sending exercises, backing, and driving the forehand. He let me rub his front legs all the way down. From the observation deck I was able to put a foot over his back and allow him to see me above him.

Day 12

Shonee still doesn't like me behind him. Today I saddled and bridled him. He stands great during saddling without being tied. I put drive lines on him and he tried to keep me in one eye or the other. It was fun to watch him turn his head back and forth as I moved from side to side. I got him to give me a few steps backwards- progress. I tried standing up in the stirrups. It took several tries for him to accept that. I ended the session by standing in the stirrup and lying across him on both sides.

Day 11

Today Shonee wore a saddle, bridle, saddle bags, and bumpers- still no buck. The only thing he seems to be afraid of is me. I'm still working on gaining his trust. As a long 4 year old, he's very confident. On the one hand, this is a very good thing. He easily accepts objects and has no problem with everything I've introduced. On the other hand, a horse with that much confidence in himself is not really looking for a leader. He could be categorized as a strong Beta- challenging me every day, asking me if I'm still going to be the leader that day.

Day 10

It may have been a mistake to give Shonee a day off. I finally got a saddle on him. He stood fine after getting it on. The cinch was no problem and no buck! I then introduced him to a bit and let him loose in the round pen to carry them around for a while.

Day 9

It was close to 100 degrees again. Shonee had a well-deserved day off in his stall with his fan. I took him back to the round pen just before dark. I think I'll saddle him tomorrow.

Day 8

(Another day in the upper 90's)

I felt like Shonee was halter broken enough to take out of the round pen. Although he was a little unsure about leaving the pen, once outside I allowed him to hand-graze and check out the barnyard. I put him on high-tie for a couple of hours while I worked some other colts. He stood great and did not attempt to set back. Shonee entered his new stall like a champ and seemed to enjoy standing in front of the fan. In the evening session we worked in the indoor arena. I rubbed a bareback pad over him. He accepted the pad and I did some more jumping up & down beside him. He allowed me to lie across his back and the Jeffries Method on both sides. We had some friends over that day. We ended the session with everyone applauding and cheering loudly. He handled the commotion great! Shonee then spent his first night in a stall.

Day 7

It's Hotter than H@## in North Carolina!
It's a good thing there's a lot of shade trees around the round pen. I used Penny again today to drive Shonee's hindquarters and forehand. He's getting better with me on his side, bumped him with my foot on his chest, legs, and ribs. He was reluctant to trot while ponying. So, Pat came in and flagged him to encourage him to get forward and feel the release of pressure from the lariat. Penny was great! Shonee's doing better tied and only set back twice today. I can get him to drop his head. Today was a good day.

Day 6

Lunging over barrels today and across clear plastic sheeting - he's fearless. I can throw a white towel all over him with no reaction. Today I began jumping up & down beside him during flexion. I'm pleased with our progress.

Day 5

Now that he has a rope halter, I've attached a short lead rope for him to drag around and step on. I'll take it off at night. I tied him for the 1st time. He set back some, but is learning to get forward. He lets me on his side more now. He's hooked on now and follows me in the round pen. I led him around by each front foot with a rope. He catches on quickly. He's almost too de-sensitized. I'm having trouble moving hos shoulder away. A flag is working for that, but he'll need a little sensitizing.

Day 4

The temperature is in the high 90's with a heat index over 100 degrees. Today I started sending exercises and driving Shonee's shoulder. He lets me touch him on his side more now but just on his neck and with one hand not two (yet). He gets troubled if I push it. He's not ready & we have time. I'm still using a halter made with the lariat. I started lateral flexion and teaching him to follow a feel. He isn't afraid of objects, just nervous about my hand. I can touch him all over with a rope, stick, broom and towel. In the evening session with Shonee I finally got a rope halter on him. It took about 45 minutes to get it tied. And a momentous occasio, I cut off his tag.

Day 3

Shonee allowed me to place a rope over his head and make a halter. He let's me rub his head with one hand, but not two ( yet). He still doesn't want me on his side. We did more lunging and de-sensitizing. I brought my young mare, Penny, into the round pen for company. He didn't seem to mind that. He needs to get used to her since I'll be using her to pony him. This evening, I saddled Penny and used her to move Shonee around. I roped him and began to pony him. Penny did great and handled his resistance.

Day 2

We named the Mustang "Shonee". I started out with a lariat, teaching him to lunge and throwing a rope across his back. After he's gotten a good sweat going, I roped him and slowly let him feel the tension of the rope. I used a long stick & string de-sensitizing him. He tolerates objects quickly, but definitely knows the difference between a nobject and my hand. He faces up almost too well. Shonee is reluctant to let me on his side or in his right eye. When I pushed the issue, he struck out - and got a whack for his trouble. Deliberate acts of agression are not acceptable.

Day 1

We arrived at the vet bright and early. Dr. Holt, Pat & I all agreed that the Mustang may injure himself worse in the attempt to sedate him and stitch the eyelid. So, we are to keep a close watch on the wound for signs of infection. As soon as we're able, we'll spray some Vetericyn on it. Back home, we backed up to the round pen and turned him out into it. I left him there all day to get acclimated. In the early evening, I started out just walking around him and some approach & retreat. He's very aware of everything around him and very sensitive to my body language. He catches onto my cues very quickly and was facing up right away. I ended that first session when he would allow me to approach and he reached out to touch my hand with his nose.

Pick-up Day

My wife, Pat & I picked up the Mustang on July 16th (my birthday!) at the Mississippi BLM pick-up site. We got to the pens at 9:00 am. I was very satisfied to see the horse I'd drawn. He was a good size and had a beautiful, big soft eye. When it was his turn to be cut from the herd and run into the chutes, he cut his left eyelid open on the slide gate. Then he attempted to come over the sides and escape the chute. We were able to spray a little iodine into the wound before running him onto the trailer for the long journey to his new, temporary home. Although he was scared to death, he was remarkably calm on the trailer. We hardly knew he was back there the whole way home. We stopped every couple of hours to allow him to rest and drink water. He didn't drink a lot along the way, and the hay we had provided appeared to be untouched. We pulled into our driveway that night at 12:30- exhausted. We left him on the stock trailer overnight since we had called our veterinarian, Dr. Roger Holt, and arranged to bring him in the next morning to deal with that eye.