Lareyña In Ocala
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Apr 7 2009, 11:47 AM in Extreme Mustang Makeover 2009
The finals for the 2009 Gatorland Extreme Mustang Makeover were held the first weekend of April in Ocala, Florida. LaReyña, Gilbert and their entourage all headed south from Thomson, Georgia early on Thursday morning, arriving early in the afternoon.
By evening, LaReyña was starting to break out in "hives" on her legs, and spreading up to her girth area and shoulders. Three other mustangs in the barn were developing the same symptoms, though LaReyña's were the worst. A vet could not be reached until the next morning, when the vet apparently diagnosed them with "spider bites." She had a fever of over 101, and little bumps all over her body, including the girth area, which was swollen up as if blistered. The vet gave her something for pain, and I think an anti-histamine but gave Gilbert clearance to show her. 
She was bumpy and itchy and sleepy, and it showed for the in-hand portion of the event. It was dismal. This little mare, that had always had so much energy and pep in her step, was practically dragged into the arena. Normally, she walks at Gilbert's shoulder and stays right with him. Not this time. She was literally dragging. She wouldn't jog over the poles as required, but did the backing portion beautifully. Next was the "pick up all four feet" part, which she normally does very well, but this time, she didn't want Gilbert walking around to her back end, and kept turning as he walked back, keeping him in her sight. Then came the trailer loading. Normally, she hops right in when asked, but wouldn't leave Gilbert's side this time. Finally, he gave up and just stepped in the trailer himself and she went right in with him. And so on and so forth. 
They placed next to last - 37th out of 38. All due to her being sick.
Later that afternoon, Lynn Palm sent over something from her barn to apply to the bites. Within a couple of hours, she was 100% better. She was moved to a new stall on the other side of the barn, with fresh shavings. On Saturday morning, she was back to normal. No signs of having been sick, no bumps, nothing. Many thanks to Lynn Palm for her help!
The "trail course" began on Saturday morning, and LaReyña was number 24. The course consisted of weaving cones, picking up a left lead at the canter, crossing a "bridge," stopping, backing, turning, and then a 90-second freestyle portion. They did beautifully! For the freestyle, he leaned over and picked up a cone and sat it on the ground on the other side of her (she never flinched), and then he got out his bull whip, cracked it loudly several times (she never flinched), then got down his rope and roped a cone (she never flinched). For a finale, he stood in the saddle and tipped his hat. The crowd roared! (she never flinched). 
After the trail course, they'd moved up from next to last to 15th! 
The top 10 came back for the finals, and they didn't quite make it. But just the fact that she did so amazingly in the trail course was satisfaction enough, knowing that if she hadn't been sick that first day, they would have made it back to the finals.
That afternoon, LaReyña stood in her stall as potential "adopters" came by to visit with her. As much as we didn't want her to go to another home, she just insisted on being friendly. This mare had never, ever been friendly before! But there she was, standing at the FRONT of the stall, engaging with the people that came by to see her!
Keep in mind that on Sunday, all of these mustangs were to be auctioned off to new homes. "Adopting" a mustang from the BLM requires that you fill out an application to be an adopter, be approved, and pay the $125 (I think) adoption fee. These mustangs will be adopted by the highest bidder. Some have gone for as much as $30,000 in the past, though the economy was much better at that time. The Mustang Makeover helps "started" mustangs find good homes, and the proceeds from the sale go back to the foundation, with the trainers receiving 20% of the selling price.
Gilbert really, really wanted to keep LaReyña and was even willing to offer to continue her training to whomever adopted her.
We stood around her stall for quite some time that afternoon, and she seemed to know that this may be the end of her time with all of us and that cold, stand-off-ishness that she'd displayed for the last 70 days seemed to just melt away. She does this cute thing with her nose if you touch her on the chin. She started letting us do that, one at a time, and then slowly started letting us all scratch her face, rub on her neck and just generally love on her. I was rubbing on her face, just below her right eye when she leaned her head over on me and closed her eye. Wow! What a change in her!
On Sunday, as the auction began, we started seeing the heartbreak on the trainers' faces as they were asked to describe their mustangs and their training experience with them. For many of them, this was a difficult thing to do, because they were essentially being asked to encourage someone to buy a horse that they wanted to keep for themselves. It was very difficult to watch, but in most cases, when the trainer wanted their mustang, they ended up with them.
When Gilbert and LaReyña's time came, the sadness was apparent. 
Together with Charlotte, Gilbert's wife, some of his friends dug out a little extra cash and threw in together to try to buy LaReyña for Gilbert. We didn't have much to spend, but after seeing several top 10 finalists sell for much less than $1000, we felt confident that we would be able to get her. When the bidding began, we weren't the first in, and the bidding went up very quickly and finally topped off at $950 (I think that the other bidders realized that she was being bought for Gilbert and stopped).
The smiles, tears and emotions from all of the trainers and their families and friends was just amazing. I've never, ever experienced such an amazing event. The finals are NOT the culmination of the Mustang Makeover, the auction is. Seeing how much these trainers had fallen in love with these mustangs in such a short time was incredible.
Now, LaReyña is back home with Gilbert. He plans to give her a couple of weeks off to just be a horse, and then pick up her training again.
I'm very happy to say that this is not the last you'll hear of LaReyña...
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Lareyña Heads For Florida Tomorrow!
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Apr 1 2009, 10:59 AM in Extreme Mustang Makeover 2009
It's been a while since we've talked about LaReyña. When last mentioned, LaReyña was 21 days into her 70 days of training, and giving Gilbert a run for his money. She was proving to be difficult and spooky while still showing some promising signs of intelligence and willingness. LaReyña was the un-social of the two mares, the one that seemed more like a "prisoner" than anything else. All of this left us wondering if 70 days would be enough to bring her around enough to even compete in April. 
April is now here, and in two days, the Gatorland 2009 Extreme Mustang Makeover begins.
Considering her determination not to give in, Gilbert decided to back up and spend some extra time on ground work and building trust. After several difficult days, she did finally come around and "locked on" to Gilbert, following him around and not taking her eyes off of him. This was quite a step for her, though "locking on" isn't always a good thing, especially when it's not your horse - they tend to lock on to one person and no one else. But, with this one, I think it's the best we could hope for.
With the difficulty of dealing with Valencia's illness and subsequent death, Gilbert wasn't able to put as much effort into LaReyña during that time and missed about a week of training with her. Valencia's death was very hard on Gilbert, and took a lot out of him. But like any good cowboy, he didn't stay down for long, and came back with a dogged determination to put every ounce of his talent into LaReyña's training. 
After re-establishing all of her ground work, Gilbert began ponying her around, saddled, with Leroy, a good snub horse. They spent a lot of time in the round pen, then in the pastures, the woods, and even into town a few times. When she was finally ready, and he stepped aboard, there were no fireworks, no rodeo, just a young horse willing to learn. He was able to walk and trot her that day, but unable to transition into a canter, which he prefers to do during his first ride on every young horse. But this one has been different all along, so why change now?
Over the course of the last few weeks, LaReyña has come a LONG way! I've watched her do things I never expected her to do, given her state of mind when she arrived. She has been on several long trail rides with other horses - no problems. Creeks, ditches, wooden bridges, dogs, roads, trucks, motorcycles - all no problem. 
I visited the farm on Monday after not seeing her for a while and was amazed at her progress. She's very light to the touch in her bosal, very willing, giving. She did everything asked, with no hesitation. We were shooting video for HorseCity.com TV that day, and had her in the woods, crossing creeks, even a couple of Canada Geese startled and flew up as she passed - she never flinched.
At the end of the shoot, Gilbert mentioned that he thought he'd ride her into town that day, maybe to Wal-Mart. That statement got our photographer, our videographer and myself very interested, and we thought that would be a great opportunity for some good shots. So rather than riding into town, Gilbert loaded her in the trailer (again, no problems) and drove into town.
I must admit that I was concerned. I shouldn't have been, because I know Gilbert well enough to know that he wouldn't be doing this if she couldn't handle it. He's done similar things with both of my own mares, and I know I could ride them both down main street in the middle of the day with no problem. I don't know why I thought LaReyña would be different.
As she backed off of the trailer just a half-block from the intersection of Main Street in our little town, she paid no attention to the cars going by, or the growing bustle of the lunchtime traffic. I did notice that Gilbert chose to lead her onto a large grassy area to mount. I would have done the same.
He rode her right down the sidewalk to the intersection at Main Street, took a right and walked her up the steps to the sidewalk in front of the Methodist church, and then on down the street, past the courthouse where they stood and waited for lunchtime traffic to clear enough to cross. During that wait, the noon-time bells at the church were ringing, eighteen-wheelers were jake-brakeing, and horns were blowing (Gilbert's friends know that if he's on a horse on Main Street, blow the horn, if they're not comfortable with it yet, it's time! She never flinched.). They finally crossed Main Street in front of one of our city police officers, then down an alley beside the library, over to the railroad tracks, and so on and so forth.
We caught up with him again a little while later as he happened to be passing my niece's home, so we all stopped there to chat. My nephews (I call them my pseudo-grandchildren), Wyatt and Collin are 6 months and 18 months old, and she brought them outside to visit.
LaReyña has still got one issue remaining. She's still very wary of people. She's got no "environmental" problems at all, as you can see from above. But she's just not crazy about people being near her.
I had been very worried about her future for a while, afraid she may not be adoptable due to the problems over the first few weeks. I've been concerned that 70 days is not enough time to give her the chance that she deserves. Well, that concern is not un-founded. It's agreed, 70 days really isn't enough time, but I think that she's definitely adoptable at this point. If nothing else, Gilbert wants to buy her if he can. He's fallen in love with her, I think.
This mare will never be someone's pet. She's all business.
I'm not saying that she's unfriendly or aggressive, she's not. But she would prefer that people keep their distance. She will let others touch her, but the approach has to be calm and careful and towards the shoulder, not towards her face, or she will back away. But her eyes have gotten so much softer and she's starting to trust.
For so long, the "prisoner" look in her eyes bothered me, but that look is gone, and she seems to be starting to "thaw." The look of curiosity on her face when the children were outside showed me that much. That was probably the most expression I've seen her have since she arrived. Ears pricked, eyes alert and attentive, she watched every move the baby made and I thought for a minute that she might be wanting to go check him out. But then, everybody loves my grandbabies, so I can't blame her for that!
They leave for Florida tomorrow. I will be heading down there on Friday morning, very early, and will try to update you throughout the competition. The schedule, as I understand it, is to have the in-hand and trail competitions on Friday, and those that place highest in those classes will move on to the freestyle on Saturday (or is it everyone?), and then the mustangs will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on Sunday.
I am confident in Gilbert's talent, and this little mare has proven that she has as much heart as he does, so I think that their chances of walking away as winners is good. At the very least, I hope that Gilbert has the opportunity to continue his training with her, whether it be for himself, as her new owner, or for whomever buys her.
Good luck to Gilbert & LaReyña!
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Valencia (in The Words Of Trainer Gilbert Gonzales)
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Mar 25 2009, 10:59 AM in Extreme Mustang Makeover 2009
In the words of Gilbert Gonzales
I've owned and trained many a horse, though until now, all have been domesticated and for some reason, my feelings toward them were different.
The way I was raised, horses come and go - you can always make another one.... Well that all changed recently when I had to put down one of the two wild mustangs that we picked up in January for the Extreme Mustang Makeover to be held in April.
Valencia was the bigger and more docile of the two mares. EVERYONE that saw her loved her. She was loving and friendly with a softness about her eyes that just drew you in.
When a horse that belongs to a client has health issues, the client, not me, makes the call to put a horse down. But when a horse comes from the wild and has been entrusted to you to keep it safe and alive, that’s an entirely different ballgame.
Even though we did all we could to help her pull through, I had to make the call.
After consulting with both DVM Jim Wilkes and DVM Sarah Ford and coordinating with the Bureau of Land Management, the decision was made to put her down humanely.
She is now free to run again in that big prairie in the sky.
When I say we did all we could do, I REALLY mean we did ALL we could do. Staying up giving her IV's and pain medicine through day and night for a week in rain and snow. It takes a toll on your body and your soul and your mind.
My family and I would like to send a special thanks to DVM Jim Wilkes and DVM Sarah Ford for all their help and support.
We would also like to thank David and Myrna Moore of Cedar Rock Farm, for all of their help, support and hospitality for myself and my family during this very difficult time.
And finally, we would like to thank each and every one of our friends for their continued support and friendship.
Sincerely,
Gilbert Gonzales
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A letter from Dr. Sarah Ford, DVM, one of the veterinarians who treated Valencia:
Sarah D. Ford, DVM
Burke Co. Animal Hospital
Waynesboro, GA
March 22, 2009
Dear Gilbert,
I was very sorry to hear about Valencia. I think we gave her the best shot we could, but I was glad to hear that she no longer had to suffer. I have wondered if there was anything else that could have been done, but I think that we (especially you) did an extraordinary amount to help her despite the outcome. I think that this type of problem will be inevitable to a number of horses in this type of competition due to the time constraints and the fact that wild horses cannot be allowed to exercise on their own in a field because you simply would never catch them again. I know there has been significant publicity about the mustangs coming to Georgia, and if anyone has any questions about Valencia’s condition or care, I would be happy to talk to them about her. I am sure that this has been a surprise to a lot of people, so I wanted to outline and explain exactly what happened to Valencia, so there would be no unanswered questions. If I have left anything out, as I have said, feel free to have them call me. My work number is posted above.
“Tying up” or Equine Rhabdomyolysis is a condition most commonly experienced by heavily muscled horses who are exercised after a period of inactivity. Valencia was certainly a heavily muscled horse, which I thought was unusual for a mustang. The mustangs I have seen tend to be thinner and lankier than Valencia. Tying up is not caused by over-exercise -- it is caused by a series of events and factors that line up together to make a horse tie up. It is most common in heavily muscled horses that go through a period of inactivity and are then exercised. The horse will start to experience muscle cramps during exercise and then exhibit symptoms of tying up. These include: reluctance to move, sweating, increased heart and respiratory rates as a result of the pain, shifting of weight from side to side, passing reddish-brown urine, dehydration, shock, and then not being able to stand. Dr. Wilke’s said that Valencia’s liver and CK values were the highest that he had ever seen. My treatment protocol for a horse that is tying up (and how I treated Valencia) is the following: Valencia received multiple liters of IV fluids, injectable methocarbamol (a muscle relaxer), inject able flunixin (banamine -- an NSAID used for pain and inflammation), inject able torbugesic (a narcotic pain reliever), acepromazine (a sedative used to relax a horse and also improves blood flow to damaged muscles). I believe Dr. Wilkes also treated her with dormosedan to help her relax. I was sincerely disappointed when after all the work had been done, and so much time had been spent with Valencia, that she continued to decline.
Best of luck to you with La Reina. I must say that I was nervous to be going to a farm call for a “wild” mustang. I admired your ability to handle Valencia safely and humanely while I treated her.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sarah Ford
-----------------------------------
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Three Weeks Into Training... Are They Ready To Ride?
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Feb 23 2009, 12:25 PM in Extreme Mustang Makeover 2009
So here we are, three weeks into training...As we know, the best way to make a good saddle horse is to do your "homework" and establish a wide, solid foundation through groundwork. Three weeks ago, these mares had never before been handled. Now, they are leading, lunging, driving and giving to pressure. They have been desensitized to touch, movement and sound. They have been saddled, bridled and driven. Now is time to find out if they are ready for the next step.
Valencia seemed to be ready on Friday. All of her "homework" being completed, it was time to take the next step. Gilbert worked with her for close to an hour first. We watched as he patiently took her through each of the steps that had lead her to this point. She's still got a little stubborn streak, but does give in without a fight. He worked her from his snub horse, Leroy, disengaging the hindquarters and eventually ground driving her from Leroy's back (I guess that's not technically ground driving anymore, is it?). 
Finally, it was time. With Leroy ground-tied at the side of the pen, Gilbert took Valencia to the center and started climbing aboard. It was not the first time she had felt his weight in the stirrups, as he stood and bounced in the stirrup first on her left, and then on her right. She stood with her head relaxed and her eyes soft as he did this several times on each side.
Next, Gilbert did something that surprised and confused almost everyone in the crowd who had gathered that day to watch. He stood beside her, rubbing her neck, slapping the saddle and throwing the stirrup leathers back and forth across the saddle for some time, and then reached up to her mane and grabbed a few strands and pulled them out. He took this little lock of her mane, tied a knot in it, then removed his hat and tucked it under his hatband. 
I had seen him do this before and knew why he was doing it, but the curious and confused looks on the faces of those around me prompted me to prod him just a bit about what he was doing, "Not a little superstitious, are you?" I asked, knowing the answer already.
He finished tucking the lock of hair into his hatband and turned around to look at us. As he put the hat back on his head, he said, "It's just something I do before I get on a horse for the first ride. Taking a part of her, making it a part of me."
And with that, he turned around and stepped up into the saddle. 
No fireworks, no rodeo, no nothing. She just stood there like she had been doing this her whole life.
He's training these horses in a bosal, not a bit. She followed his commands as he asked her to bend, flex, back and then finally step off. No rodeo at all. It does pay to do all of your homework. Left turns, right turns, walking, jogging. No problem!
After he finished, and we shut off the cameras, several of us went into the pen with her. She's an absolute love! Loves to be petted and loved on. Personality for days! After a few minutes, Gilbert got back on her for a little while and just sat, chatting with us. She stood there like a champ, head down, relaxed. He was reaching around, touching her everywhere he could reach. Messing with her ears, and even put his hat on her head. She posed. What a ham! Several times, Gilbert dismounted, walked away, came back and mounted from her other side. On Sunday, he walked, trotted, cantered and even stood up in the saddle as she just stood there, relaxed as could be!
The original plan with LaReyna was to ride her the following day, which turned out to be cold and rainy, so it was postponed until Sunday. 
When we arrived Sunday morning, LaReyna was in the pen with a saddle on, and a garbage bag tied to the saddle. She was most definitely NOT happy. When Gilbert looked up at me and shook his head, I knew it wasn't going to be a good day.
LaReyna had been doing so well with her own "homework" that it seemed like she would be ready for at least a "sit" if not a "ride." But that morning when she was turned into the pen and began kicking at her own tail when it touched her legs, even a "sit" became questionable. Gilbert had gone back to basics with her again that morning, working her in the pen; bending, disengaging, flagging, desensitizing. 
Eventually, she did calm down and give in. He drove her from the ground and had her doing quite well. Never well enough to pull out any of her mane and tuck it into his hat, but we did end on a good note with Gilbert standing in each stirrup several times. She was still not ready for the "leg over" but hopefully soon.
Back to basics with her for a while. Maybe a different approach.
It's so interesting to watch two seemingly identical horses react in such dramatically different ways to the same training. Just goes to show that horses are as individual as people.
That day, as we stood in the alleyway of the barn, between the two mares on either side, just chatting, feeding up and whatnot, we all remarked again about how LaReyna withdraws to the back wall of her stall and doesn't move. My mom pointed out that she seemed like a prisoner, held against her will, backed into a corner and withdrawn into herself. A very sad, dejected look in her eye. 
As we were standing there, feeling sorry for the prisoner, LaReyna, the other "prisoner," Valencia was leaning out of her stall, nuzzling me on the shoulder, wanting attention.
What sort of social status had these mares each had in their bands before coming here? One would assume that personality largely determines status in a herd situation, although I doubt that one is entirely independent of the other.
Before being separated out to be shipped together, both mares were observed as part of a group. Valencia was just a part of the herd, not on top, not on bottom, just running with the rest of them. LaReyna (the little one) was running her herd around, chasing them, asserting her dominance.
Was LaReyna the band lead mare? Could that be the reason for her resistance and apparent "captive" mentality? Obviously, Valencia is the more social of the two, but what about the characteristics that it takes to become a lead mare? Are those qualities that would make a good saddle horse? If brought under control in the right way, I would think so.. but can it be done in 70 days?
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And The Training Begins... Mustangs In The Round Pen
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Feb 10 2009, 02:22 PM in Extreme Mustang Makeover 2009
When "Snorty" was released from her stall for the first time on that cold January morning, there was no doubt that she was indeed a wild one. She ran so hard at the opposite side of the pen that she knocked it out of alignment by about three feet. That happened to be the "low spot" in the pen and Gilbert had guessed that this would be the area where one or both of them would try to go through it or over it. So, friend that he is, Gilbert placed my husband right outside of the pen in that very spot. Apparently, you can't just come to watch Gilbert work, you have to become a human barrier as well! Luckily, the pen held her in but I did check to be sure that hubby's life insurance policy is paid up!
A lot of planning went into the setup of the round pen. It had to be taller than normal to keep the mustangs in, and it had to be in close proximity to the barn so that the mustangs could be released from their stalls and go directly to the pen. The round pen was placed very close to the back of the barn, where the doors could open up and form a chute straight into the pen.
Now, after a few minutes in the pen, because this little one was so incredibly wild and was becoming a danger to herself, Gilbert decided to rope her to start the taming process.
Let me back up and say that Gilbert is quite a hand with a rope - he learned from his father and uncles as a kid on ranches in Texas, where his Dad was a top hand. As a matter of fact, all of his earliest horse knowledge was learned first-hand working on the ranches with his Dad. Needless to say, this man knows his way around a rope. He got her on the first throw, and then the fireworks began. 
"Snorty" (or "La Reina", as he calls her) is a feisty little thing. As he was getting her accustomed to the rope touching her body, she was kicking and striking at it. And she's amazingly accurate with her blows! As he flipped the rope over her hindquarters several times, we found that she could kick out and hit the rope with any foot with incredible accuracy and blazing speed. At one point, she was kicking the rope so hard and fast that it sounded like the crack of a small-caliber pistol. She connected with the pen a few times as well, knocking it further out of alignment, but in less than an hour she had given in and allowed Gilbert to approach her. This first day, she would only allow him close enough for her to sniff his hand. but that was enough. Great strides had been made.
It's interesting to watch the wildness turn into willingness, or at least curiosity, in such a short time. Watching this all take place made me even more curious about the background and bloodlines of these two horses. America's Wild Mustangs didn't just appear, they are descendants of domesticated horses dating as far back as when Columbus first brought horses to North America in 1492. 
As I dug a little deeper into the history of these two mustangs, I found that they are from Herd Management Areas in the Buck & Bald Complex in Nevada, thanks to Nancy Kerson of Mustangs 4 Us and her incredibly informative web site. The odd markings on the necks of both mares is a "freezemark" which is a freeze-brand applied to every horse captured by the BLM. The mark indicates (in symbols) the country of capture, the year of birth, the Herd Management Area and district on which the horse was captured, and a unique identifier. These two came from two different HMAs - one from "Butte" and the other from "Buck & Bald" - both from the Ely, NV area. According to Nancy, the Butte horses are known for being "old cow pony types" - small, very athletic, quick and "cowy-minded." (I see that all in the little mare, but not necessarily the bigger one.) These mustangs are descendants of Pony Express horses and Calvary remounts, which I find really interesting.. that would mean long-distance, stamina, etc. I don't see too much "cow pony" in the big mare, who Gilbert is now calling "Valencia."
When Valencia came out of the barn into the round pen for the first time, it was a bit more "toned down" than when La Reina had entertained us earlier in the day. Val was curious, but not especially violent. Again, Gilbert got a rope on her quickly, only this time he accidentally caught her with a "figure-8" that got her around the neck, criss-crossed her chest and got both front legs. It was a beautiful throw, but with unintended results as she attempted to dodge the rope coming at her. It's a bit difficult to get a wild horse out of a figure-8 from the ground, but I watched with amazement as Gilbert loosened up the rope and let it slide down to her feet. She began to calmly pick up her feet as she felt the rope around the backs of her legs. She moved backwards in a way that I've seen many experienced trail horses do when caught in a vine or errant strand of fence wire. She knew exactly how to move away from it, and did so with incredible natural grace and agility.
In less than an hour, Gilbert had managed to remove Val's "neck tag" and had triumphantly hung it around his own neck. This mare was much calmer and more curious and willing to accept his presence than La Reina. He spent some time working on haltering her, but she was having none of it. He backed off and just worked on getting her accustomed to having something touching her face by looping the rope over her nose.
In the following couple of days, both mares accepted halters and began to accept Gilbert's presence. La Reina gave up her own neck tag on the second day and they both began to allow him to approach and halter them easily. After that came the "flag" and "feed bag" desensitization part. It is still very interesting to watch how differently the two of them learn and accept. Having had essentially the exact same lives up until now, they're both going through their training processes at the same time, but with such astoundingly different reactions and acceptance levels.
I watch as La Reina violently resists change but then see her eyes change as she seems to go to her "happy place" for a few minutes. During this time, she stands still, eyes frozen and just "zones out." Then suddenly her eyes soften and she accepts. At the next session, she remembers the acceptance and is ready to resist the next challenge.
Valencia, in contrast, has much less of a reaction to change, but resists nonetheless. She's what I'd call "sticky" about it. She knows exactly what Gilbert is asking of her, but just flatly refuses. But then she will finally give in and be just fine with it.. until the next session when she will act like she's forgotten what she has learned. So each session with her requires a little "remedial" learning before moving on to the next thing.
Next time.. Saddling and ground driving.. and maybe a ride?
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Extreme Mustang Makeover 2009 - The Mustangs Arrive In Georgia
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Feb 4 2009, 03:28 PM in Extreme Mustang Makeover 2009
Two wild mustangs from Nevada arrived at Cedar Rock Farm in central Georgia on a cold night in late January. I can only imagine what a drastic change the sights and smells are from their home in the mountainous deserts of northeastern Nevada. The Georgia humidity, this night in the form of a fog that limited sight distance to no more than 15 feet, was probably only one of hundreds of new experiences these young mares must have had in the past few days.
So how did all of this come to take place? The Bureau of Land Management protects, manages and controls wild horses and burros on Western public rangelands and ensures that herds thrive on health rangelands. If an over-population is identified, the BLM gathers excess animals and offers them to the general public for adoption at facilities throughout the United States. Next comes the Mustang Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating successful adoptions and creating a "more marketable" mustang through training programs.
The Extreme Mustang Makeover, created by both the BLM and the Mustang Heritage Foundation to highlight the value of Mustangs through a national training competition, has developed a huge, national audience. At the conclusion of each of the Extreme Mustang Makeovers, the participating Mustangs were made available for adoption by competitive bid, giving the public the opportunity to "adopt a true Living Legend."
EMM offers trainers from across the country the opportunity to train a mustang and compete against other trainers by demonstrating their abilities as a trainer, to highlight the willingness of their Mustang while at the same time showing people all over the world how these rugged, wild horses can become trained mounts, athletic competitors and companions. 
Enter Gilbert Gonzales, a Texas-born and raised horse trainer who now lives and trains in east-central Georgia. Gonzales is one of 38 trainers selected to participate in the Gatorland Florida 2009 Extreme Mustang Makeover, which will take place in Ocala, Florida in early April of this year. Each trainer selected was randomly assigned one Mustang to train for 70 days before returning to compete. In this particular competition, 50 Mustangs were selected to be "volunteers" though only 38 trainers were selected, giving the trainers the option to take more than one horse, if desired. Gonzales took two mares.
Having been captured as yearlings in the summer of 2006 in one of the BLM's "gathers", the two mares were held in captivity, (which really only means that they weren't free to roam just anywhere, but still not what I would call "captive") where they were held until recently when they were moved to Florida. From there they were brought to their new home for the next 70 days, which is Cedar Rock Farm in Thomson, Georgia.
All Mustangs being trained for the Gatorland Extreme Mustang Makeover are mares in the 3-4 year old range. Only mares are being used in this particular competition because the final event will take place at a training clinic for women. Just keeping to a theme, I suppose.
I was there when they arrived and, I couldn't help but wonder what must be going through their minds as they stood there looking at us looking at them. The sights, the smells, the sounds.. all must be so foreign and frightening to them. Had they been able to see out of their stalls, they would have seen nothing at all through the dense fog, though the sounds and smells of the horses and longhorn cattle in the next pasture surely reached them in the bright lights of the barn.
The little sorrel mare with the pretty blaze face just stood solemnly against the wall, as if she were willing herself to be somewhere else. Any movement towards her produced a sharp snort and a step or two backwards. Occasionally, she would walk around, but very wary of everything. I started calling her "Snorty" but Gilbert assured me that he would find a better name. 
In the stall across the alley was a big, stocky sorrel mare with no markings at all besides the BLM freezemark on her neck. She was curious and stood facing us. Broad through the chest, with a long back and broad hips, I would have guessed that she has some draft horse blood in her.
Standing there in the alleyway, I watched Gilbert watching them. 70 days to put on a good showing with two horses that you can't even touch today. The enormity of this challenge started sinking in.
But I have watched Gilbert in action many times. I know what he can do. He has trained two of my own horses, the horses of friends and co-workers. He has fixed problems, fixed riders, and finished many a good horse. He has the never-say-die attitude of a US Marine.
In the fall of 2007, while competing in the first round of the Extreme Cowboy Race Season 6 in Augusta, GA, the horse he was riding fell off of one of the obstacles, trapping him beneath her, and was unable to get up. After extracting his trapped leg from under his horse and evaluating her situation, Gilbert realized that the only way this horse could stand would be if she were moved away from the mogul that she had fallen off of. The crowd and I watched in amazement as he reached down and grabbed the saddle and literally pulled his horse away from the hill. Later, after noticing his limp, I asked about his leg. His comment was, "My leg's a long way from my heart, darlin'."
That's what we're dealing with here. Heart. 
The next two months should be a ton of fun! I just can't wait to see how this all turns out. I'll be updating as we go, so be sure to subscribe to my blog so that you don't miss a single update.
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Photos of Gilbert Gonzales by Betty Parker
Extreme Cowboy Race Photo Courtesy of HorseCity.com and Jeff Barnes
Gypsy Becomes A Tv Star...
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Oct 9 2008, 08:38 AM in The Mare With No Name
We decided that since the filming was starting early on Thursday morning, we should get Gypsy out to the location early on Wednesday, since that worked best for everyone. Gilbert came and got her, and while she wasn't anxious to get in the trailer, she went in without much fuss at all, thankfully. Then she had a full day to get acclimated to her new luxurious surroundings at Canterbury Trails. She now has a "staff" who tend to her every need.
Filming was scheduled for 8 am to noon on Thursday, with hopes of getting four four-minute segments shot. They had three or four horses lined up to use, and an idea of what the topics would be.
Now, let me tell you a little about Raye Lochert... this was the second time I'd been on location with him shooting a video, and the man is a one-take machine! He used my mare, Patches and shot video at my parent's place about two years ago and not only is he a phenomenal trainer, he does practically everything in one take (which is practically un-heard of in the videography world), with no script, and not a single stutter, stammer or "um... ahhh."
So, we introduced Raye and Gypsy around 8 am and told him her story. They seemed to take to each other immediately. By 9:30, he had shot four segments with her, and wanted to know if HorseCity.com TV would want more? Of course we do! We had Bo Roberts, our videographer on location until noon, so why not make the most of it? Raye shot another two four-minute segments and a twenty-minute "catching" demonstration where he taught her to "catch" him.
No matter how many times I've seen "catching" taught, it never gets old. It's so amazing to watch each and every single time! It's probably my favorite of all the "Natural Horsemanship" techniques. Just beautiful!
Gypsy turned out to be the perfect subject to use for these segments, and Raye used her for all of them. She showed that she didn't already know what he was teaching her, but caught on right away and did exactly as it would always work, under perect conditions with the perfect horse! The fact that Raye was able to do perfect demonstrations on things like lunging, bitting, desensitization, fly spray and bathing in four minutes each speaks volumes about both the trainer and the horse.
I think Raye spent much of the next four days trying to figure out how he could get Gypsy into his suitcase so he could take her back to California with him.
The rest of the weekend was incredibly interesting as well. On Saturday, Gilbert and Raye took turns working with various horses with issues, including several that were full-time residents at Canterbury with trailer-loading and other problems. And when there were no problems left to fix, they worked with Gypsy some more. By the end of the day on Saturday, she was under saddle.
Raye spent quite a bit of time getting her accustomed to weight on her back by standing on a mounting block next to her and laying across her back and sliding around on either side of her. Eventually, after much good-natured complaining about the weight of Gilbert's saddle, Raye had her saddled.
She handled it all much the way we'd expected, hesitantly at first, then acceptance. She did throw a few nice bucks when asked to trot for the first time under saddle, then settled down and acted like she'd been saddled her whole life. Personally, I think it was the combination of the saddle and the fact that she'd been stalled for several days when accustomed to being turned out.
Regardless, she's gaining weight, her feet are much better and she's living at Canterbury for at least the next 30 days with Gilbert training her. I sincerely hope it won't take much longer than that, but I think it probably will...
Next time.. we've got to get an equine dentist (do we have one around here?) to take a look at her teeth. Seems that maybe there's something going on with them that's causing some issues. If you look at this photo, you'll see bumps under her jaw, which are apparently indicative of retained molar caps (another first for me).
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Drum Roll Please... She Has A Name!
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Sep 22 2008, 08:00 AM in The Mare With No Name
It has been a month since we received the phone call that started it all..."Do you know there is a bay horse in your pasture?" A lot has changed since that rainy Sunday afternoon when we found "Bay Mare" but best of all - she finally has a name.
Many good suggestions have been made. Many okay suggestions have been made. And a few pretty bad suggestions have been made. Even a few I don't know how to pronounce. Not Biscuit. Not Cornbread. Not Wilma, Earline or Towanda (though I liked that one, it reminded me of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, but then I got a mental image of Kathy Bates running her car repeatedly into another one while screaming TOOO-WAANNN-DDDAAA!!! and I had second thoughts). Some were full of deep meaning, some just off-the-cuff.
Though Fancy, Princess, Classy and Dutchess were probably among the most popular suggestions, they just didn't seem to fit her. It needed to be something befitting her history and her personality. My suggestion of something "less regal" and "more white trash" garnered me a plethora of names that I won't even share, as they'll probably offend those who share the same monikers.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm proud of my "white trash" roots, not making fun. I know where I came from. I know where I'll most likely end up, too. But we're looking for something befitting the trailer park, the juke joint, the Waffle House and the tractor pull.
And then, as we knew it would happen - it did. From the most appropriate source, too - the folks who found her, our neighbors, Randy and Sonja. They suggested "Gypsy."
So many things about that name make sense for her. The stereotypical "Gypsy" is dark and mysterious. That fits. Stereotypical gypsies are "nomadic" in nature and known for traveling around a bit. That fits, too. Add to that the fact that just across the river in South Carolina, in the very same county from which she came is the home of our eccentric neighbors, the "Travelers" aka "The Gypsies."
Hubby liked it, too, so I think it's final. Gypsy. She answers to just about anything by now, so she seems okay with it, too.
So, for her training this week - we finally got the hot feed out of her, and she's back to normal in the head. I haven't done a lot with her, since she'll be used in a training clinic this weekend, but we have gotten over the issues with the bag-on-a-stick, and, thanks to suggestions from HC bulletin board member, Cheri Wolfe and others, we're well on our way to getting over the fly spray problem.
We have done some nosing around the trailer, and she thinks is amusing that I get in it, but she doesn't seem to feel that there's a need to go in there herself. I think I'll let Gilbert and Raye handle that one this weekend at the horsemanship clinic at Canterbury Trails.
I will be sure to take pictures and fill you in on how she does. I can't wait to see what else they can do with her!
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Three Weeks.. Still No Name.
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Sep 15 2008, 01:12 PM in The Mare With No Name
It has now been three weeks, and she's still without a name. Though we're going to have to come up with one in the next week or so, regardless.
Let me first update you on what we've found out about her past, how she's doing in training and about her future.
My friend and co-worker, Dennis Faulk took a look at her papers and realized that he knew her previous owners, or at least knows where they live since he once lived nearby. I tried calling the number listed on her coggins papers, but it had been disconnected, which really didn't surprise me. So Dennis set off on Friday afternoon with un-signed registration transfer and vowed to get it signed for me.
And so he did. He learned a bit about her history as well.
As we already knew, she had been sold as a yearling to these people (who we will call Family #2 or F2), and she was in their care until at least February of this year when her latest coggins was pulled.
Turns out, they were happy to see Dennis and very curious to know the whereabouts and condition of Bay Mare (whom they called Classy). She was their favorite, and a virtual pet and they had been distraught when they realized that they had to sell their horses because they could no longer properly care for them due to economic hardship. She was bought by someone who bought quite a few horses at that particular sale, and as they later found out, he turned around and sold them again shortly after. Presumably she was then purchased by the family that we got her from. But who knows?
I respect Family #2 for recognizing the fact that they could no longer properly care for their horses and for doing the right thing. They took good care of her when they were able and I don't believe she was abused. She was also never trained.
Dennis was told that they had put a saddle on her a couple of times and she "jumped around a lot."
That should make Gilbert's job fun, don't you think?
Anyway, I've got the lady's phone number and email address now, and she wants pictures and updates. I'm just not too sure what to tell her at this point. Dennis told her that she's in good hands and that we've taken care of her feet and she's getting fed well.
Speaking of getting fed well... The weight is coming on well. She's filling out beautifully.
We've encountered a behavioral problem that I'm hoping and praying is related to the high-protein feed she's been getting. She seems to be hyper-sensitive to the feel of fly spray or even water on her skin. It started out innocently enough, one day the horse flies suddenly got awful, so the next day before working her, I decided to spray her.
I knew that she might be a little weird about it, as is always an unknown with a new horse, but I had used a mini spray bottle of an anti-bacterial topical treatment on her "battle scars" with very little response. I had even used detangler, sprayed directly on her mane. She didn't like it very much, but tolerated it.
In retrospect there were several things going on at that time that would explain the difference in her behavior with the fly spray: Both were applied during the first few days, before the hi-pro feed. Both applied in her stall, while she was eating said feed. She wasn't too fond of my doing any of that to her, but not really upset enough to do anything more than walk a circle around her stall and go back to the feed bucket.
Fast-forward a week. We've had some good rain, pastures are green again, and she's been getting more than enough really "hot" feed (again, my mistake). Suddenly, our docile little girl is acting like a crackhead. (Duh! We switched her to 10% like the rest get, just more of it.)
So back to the fly spray issue... We started in the alleyway of the barn, but quickly ended up out in the lot with her running circles around me. I determined that it wasn't the sound of the sprayer, or the smell, but the feel of the mist on her skin.
We did the dance for a while, until I got almost too dizzy to stand. (You try it!) Eventually, she would stand and quiver if I sprayed her shoulder - once. So we left it there for the time being and moved on. Another issue after a while with my handy-dandy walmart bag on a stick. She actually surprised me at first and handled it very well, first just folded up and rubbed all over her, then later fully-inflated, all over her body, her head, and both sides. Then, just when I decided we were done, she flipped out. More circles. Dizzy again.
Finally, we found a happy place with the bag folded up again, but she was able to tolerate it being rubbed on her neck and shoulders. Good place to quit on a good note. Sort of.
By this point, we've both worked up quite a sweat and I (mistakenly) thought it would be a good idea to hose her off. We danced some more. Only this time it was in mud. How fun!
Our good stopping point was when I could run the hose up her hoof from the ground to about an inch up he leg without her freaking out. Sheesh!
The whole session had been a mistake, from the beginning. We had switched her to regular feed several days before but it was obviously not out of her system. Kinda like me after a couple of Rock Stars. I get it. I get a little twitchy myself.
The next day, I really wanted to reinforce the "happy place" with both of us, since I left the barn feeling awful about the whole experience, and I'm sure she probably wasn't feeling too good about it, either. We did about ten minutes of giving to pressure, leading by and a little bit of the bag-on-a-stick. It all ended without incident.
And now we're on a little break while we wait for her to get control of her brain again.
Our friend and trainer, Gilbert, has asked to use her as his "colt starting" horse in a clinic he's doing in a couple of weeks, which I think will be a great idea. She should look pretty good by then, and hopefully be back to herself.
Getting her on the trailer should be fun. Our neighbor who picked her up from the sale said he had to "put my shirt over her eyes" to get her to load. How FUN! I guess that will be my next update - Trailer Loading for Crackheads...
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Still Nameless..
Posted by Amy Parker Kiel, Sep 5 2008, 01:16 PM in The Mare With No Name
She still has no name.
It's really sad when I think about it. Poor thing must already have plenty of questions going on in that pretty little head of hers. She should at least have an identity.
We've felt certain that she would somehow name herself, and we're still giving her that opportunity, but are actively taking suggestions as well.. My initial name for her was "Annie," - as in "Little Orphan..." but hubby nixed that one right away. According to her last Coggins test, her "barn name" is "Classy" but neither of us feel like that works for her, either.
My Dad suggested "Dot" or "Dottie" since she's got what you really can't even consider a star on her forehead, but more like a "dot" - thus the name. Mom and I thought it was cute; hubby nixed that one, too. My co-worker, Dennis, suggested "Biscuit" - which I also like. Hubby didn't. This is why it took us three years to buy a new kitchen table.
I've done a little bit more reading into the paperwork that came with her, and find it very interesting. Here's what I've learned so far...
Her sire is a local stallion, Deuces Royal King (QH), and his owners are listed as the breeders (who owned the Dam at the time of breeding), and her dam is Classy Uwetai (someone please tell me how to pronounce that). Dad is a registered QH, registered Buckskin, and registered Foundation QH (94%) with King and Cutterbill bloodlines. Mom is a breeding stock solid bay Paint.
According to my paperwork, the breeders sold her as a yearling to another local couple, who apparently owned her until at least February 21 of this year, when a Coggins test was done. What happened after that date until about a month ago is a mystery. Did the second owners sell her to someone else back in February? Or did they own her until a month ago?
Gilbert said that the growth on her feet was probably about six month's worth of neglect. In a way, it's amazing to me that they can get that bad in six months. And on the other hand, I'm really glad that I didn't know that. I've never dealt with this before. Unhealthy and un-cared-for horses are out of my league. It's just never been an issue.
It would make sense to me, somewhat, if she had been sold in February to some unknown person, and then six months later was sold again to the folks I got her from. It was the unknown person who is responsible for the neglect, I'm hoping. And I really hope I never find out who that person is.
The photos on her Coggins test show a health-looking horse. Her mane looks like it's been chewed off, but that happens. She's well-fed and her feet don't appear to be too bad (though it's not a great photo). And from what I've heard, when she was bought in early August, she was terribly thin, much more so than when I found her, wormy and with the feet problems.
I've called the number on the Coggins test, that's supposedly for the folks who owned her at the time, but the number is out of service. Just might be a dead end. I'll keep you posted on any changes on that front.
Regarding her progress.. She seems to have settled nicely into her new home, and is working to establish herself among the other horses. She seems to have befriended my mom's younger mare, Gem, which is very interesting to me, since Gem has a notoriously bad attitude unless she's saddled. Gem doesn't like other horses or people, and would rather be totally left alone by all of us. But she seems to like Bay Mare.
So, is Bay Mare extraordinarily charming or is she cut from the same cloth as Gem?
I haven't seen any signs of bad attitude at all and she actually seems to be quite social. She's also not afraid of them, for the most part. Will be an interesting relationship to watch develop.
I've started some ground work with her this week, and have developed somewhat of a plan - a strategy - for her training and rehabilitation. We want to hold off on any rigorous work until after her next trim, which will probably be about a month from now. Then, we'll see how the cracks are looking and make a determination from there. For now, though, we're going to assume that she's had no training, and start with ground work.
I quickly discovered my first mistake with her after a week of feeding her healthy quantities of my mom's old mare's Senior feed in hopes of the extra roughage adding weight more quickly. Apparently, (and I knew this, just didn't think) high protein feed gives them LOTS OF ENERGY! No way I was going to ever get her attention in that state of mind - she was practically vibrating after a week on that stuff! So we backed down off of the high-powered stuff and now just give her regular 10%, which seems to be calming her back down. I'd guess it will take another week to get it completely out of her system. I noticed from the pictures Mom sent me this morning, that she's still sweating more than she should be, so she's still a bit hot. Mistake number one.. acknowledged and rectified.
We have been working on a little ground work. She's got a bit of an issue on her left side and seems to be very concerned about being touched with the lead line on that side. I'd have to guess that she's been beaten with a lead line on that side.
What I find interesting is that instead of moving away from me when she gets upset, she leans into me with her shoulder - crowding me. I've never seen this before. Anyway, we're working on that, and working on teaching her to give to pressure, back and lead-by.
She's very smart and willing. I love that about her. She doesn't get flustered or bent out of shape when asked to do something she doesn't quite understand, but instead works on figuring out what it is that I'm asking her to do. And she's a pretty good guesser! Willing and eager to please.. the makings of a good horse.
More ground work to come. No rush, no hurry.
I've posted Week 2 photos in my gallery, and will be posting new ones each week, along with updates on her progress - and on her past if we learn anything new.
on Lareyña In Ocala