Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[ellyenchanted]

@sitka spruce: woah, that's so cool! i love to watch people adopt mustangs and gentle them, though i know that's something i could probably never do. hope you are able to adopt the gelding you want!

...

i fell off for the first time in a long time on sunday! slid right off after getting a bad distance. it's the first time falling off while jumping and thankfully i wasn't hurt. it was a pony too so i didn't have far to fall lol.

i'm also feeling a bit weird because i graduate in may and will be moving back home most likely, so i will have to stop lessons at my current barn which i love. part of me wishes i could stay but it wouldn't really make sense money wise

[ghostface.]

@sitka spruce: woah, that's so cool! i love to watch people adopt mustangs and gentle them, though i know that's something i could probably never do. hope you are able to adopt the gelding you want!

...

i fell off for the first time in a long time on sunday! slid right off after getting a bad distance. it's the first time falling off while jumping and thankfully i wasn't hurt. it was a pony too so i didn't have far to fall lol.

i'm also feeling a bit weird because i graduate in may and will be moving back home most likely, so i will have to stop lessons at my current barn which i love. part of me wishes i could stay but it wouldn't really make sense money wise

hhhh thank you!! honestly im nervous because this is my first one (i'm sure everyone who adopts a BLM mustang for the first time feels similarly, i might be a little short on the experience side but i think i have a decent understanding of horses, communication and have the calm energy and patience to help me put together the rest...) but i also feel like i've already established a bond/connection with him from when i visited and i don't think he will forget me. he seems very calm in his mind too so i feel like that will help me. i'm hoping that my bond with him will help his sense of trust and confidence so we can work together on the training part.

i'm honestly not in a hurry at all though, my main priority the next few weeks/months is to establish a strong bond so he feels confident trusting me when i ask him to do new things. if all else fails, i'll enlist the help of a trainer (i might end up doing that for undersaddle but i'm not sure yet). i'm pretty excited though because i found out the facility he's at is not listing any horses on online auction this time, they're just doing an adoption day next friday which means i don't have to get in a bidding war over him and i can just show up first thing at 8am, sign some papers and he's mine.

i'll be glad to share updates and photos with him. i think i'm approaching it pretty level-headed and i got a good sense of his personality (i'm going to visit him once or twice more before i commit though).

i live in the mountains but the high desert got a bunch of snow after the most recent storm so i got to go on a fun little ride behind the equestrian center i volunteer at with the horses through about 5-9" of snow haha.

[Verdana]

Mustang work is so cool! Please do post updates, I'd love to hear more!

I had to try to explain horse person language to someone who doesn't really know horses today. How do you describe the compliment you're getting when your instructor, a no-nonsense no-sentiment horseperson says, 'The horse you're on likes you'? It's more than the sum of its words. Similar when a horse person comments that the horse you're riding 'looks happy'.

What other loaded phrases have you heard in horse world?

[ghostface.]

Mustang work is so cool! Please do post updates, I'd love to hear more!

I had to try to explain horse person language to someone who doesn't really know horses today. How do you describe the compliment you're getting when your instructor, a no-nonsense no-sentiment horseperson says, 'The horse you're on likes you'? It's more than the sum of its words. Similar when a horse person comments that the horse you're riding 'looks happy'.

What other loaded phrases have you heard in horse world?

the trainer i work with told me last week "good riding". and the other trainer i work with told me i have a "good seat" so i would say those both fall under the "loaded phrases", particularly since trainers don't just dole out compliments for the sake of it so deductively, that means that i was riding really well.

the auction for the BLM mustangs started on monday. a lot of people are bidding on the gelding i want. i'm hesitating about adopting him. i'm a little worried that i should wait and accumulate more experience before i jump into it headfirst. not sure. i'm planning to go visit him this coming monday before the auction ends and i can kind of figure out what i want to do at that point...

[Verdana]

I wouldn't rush it. Definitely stay within your budget. The right horse will come at the right time. If he's popular, let him go. It's the ones nobody bids on who kinda need the chance and they're the ones I feel really sorry for.

If in doubt, I'd say hold back. More experience is never a bad thing. See him, and make a point to look at the ones nobody's really bid on as well. See if there are any diamonds in the rough. But the thing about mustangs: there will always be more who need a hand. I think you're right not to rush into it. And watch this one as a learning experience. Follow horses, see how they go over time.

[ghostface.]

I wouldn't rush it. Definitely stay within your budget. The right horse will come at the right time. If he's popular, let him go. It's the ones nobody bids on who kinda need the chance and they're the ones I feel really sorry for.

If in doubt, I'd say hold back. More experience is never a bad thing. See him, and make a point to look at the ones nobody's really bid on as well. See if there are any diamonds in the rough. But the thing about mustangs: there will always be more who need a hand. I think you're right not to rush into it. And watch this one as a learning experience. Follow horses, see how they go over time.

for sure, i agree with you. i picked him out before he went up for auction because i went to visit the horses to just see if i connected with any of them. i didn't have my eye on any specific *colors* or what have you. and i ended up bonding with this sweet buckskin gelding. he let me touch him too which i was amazed by. he had a friend who was really curious too and i thought i might want to adopt him. the gelding i connected with that is having quite a few people bid on him looks completely different from his photos because his hair has grown out with the winter. the photos they put online make him look like the fabio of mustangs so unfortunately he has had a lot of interest. i probably should just wait though, even though i had a connection with him, you're right, he wont be the last mustang that needs a home.

[green.]

id say go and try, dont go above your budget but you may get lucky

[ghostface.]

id say go and try, dont go above your budget but you may get lucky

for sure.
i prematurely bought a halter, a couple lead ropes and a salt lick for him :\
the lady who i spoke with at the BLM office originally mistakenly told me he would be available for adoption last friday but she was mistaken. i was super bummed when i saw him listed on the auction site. maybe it's wishful thinking on my part and i just have to let someone else adopt him but i will give it a shot if his bid doesn't get driven up unreasonably high.

[OutFoxed]

With mustangs and auctions - key factors should be Conformation and Personality.
Check their legs for straightness and any flaws. Check their feet - are they falling apart or neat, overgrown and flaring, cracks? It all shows stress and potential stress spots. What does their topline look like - does it dip low, or have a long back?
There are several Whorl studies out there if you believe in that psychology about the whorl placing and the potential behavior.
Is the horse terrified of the place, what's their stress level, what about new things - people moving about, sudden movements, etc.
Are they curious - do they approach or look at things? Do they charge? What are they like in a herd? Where do they stand in the pecking order?

It's hard to judge in auctions and spaces like a holding pen because so many factors are set up against the horse (similar to dogs and cats in an animal shelter). You want a horse who is interested and alert in the surroundings. Isn't a bully and isn't shutdown.

There might be a reason no one is bidding on other horses - just because they look sorry and alone, doesn't mean they aren't riddled with problems down the road. Maybe their conformation is horrid or they won't stand up to the stress of a chosen discipline (some flaws work for some disciplines while can't for others) - knee faults can be bad for those who are in high impact disciplines (jumping & cow work) but could be okay depending on severity for low level dressage and reining.

Understand the care level required for the auction/holding pen horse. How feral they are - can they be haltered? Are they full of worms/diseases/have a current upper respiratory that can spread to your current herd? Feet, teeth, vaccinations all are important - but what happens if you can't get near the horse and it has a life threatening injury/needs to be treated sooner than later?

The fact that your able to go to the Mustang Holding Pens and the opportunity to adopt is so envious! I would LOVE to be in that situation, and hopefully one day I will be.

PLEASE keep us informed of what's going on. We're living a bit vicariously through you!


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"Add Leg"
Seems to be one of those commonly over used phrases that means what it says but also has so much depth to it that sometimes it's hard to understand.

"Inside Hand to Outside Leg" is another one.

[Verdana]

@OutFoxed: Anything to do with 'leg' means so much more than it seems. And you're right about spotting WHY the unbid-on don't get bid on.

On that note, @Sitka, did you go out and meet the ponies? How did it go?