As usual I have been away from this for too long. I have no excuse, just been busy and spending time with the horses.
We have a trail ride this weekend to help the Manchester Mounted Police unit/ They have 2 Police horses and the department only covers vet bills. Everything else is by donation. They have a trail ride every year to raise money to take care of the horses and this year Joanne and I will be riding our Mustangs in it. We will carry BLM adoption info with us for all that would like it. This way we help the Police horses and spread the word about Mustangs at the same time. As we all know Mustangs can't be beat for trail horses and we aim to show everyone just that this weekend.
Vinny and Sadie are doing just fine. The vet was out to do Vinny's yearly stuff and he was a total gem for the Doc. Stood still getting shots, blood drawn, teethe floated and sheath cleaned. Doc. George just loves Vinny and Sadie and said he wished the rest of his clients were as good to work with as these two.
Sat. we did some trailer loading training. Sadie had only been trailered once or twice and last time it took forever to get her on the trailer. Vinny I had never loaded before as he was delivered to us by the old owners.
Well Vinny went first and he went right on with zero trouble, then Sadie loaded like a champ, but was a bit nervous at first inside. We unloaded and loaded a few times and then did some tied to the trailer testing. Both were just fine. This stock trailer is so much better than a straight load any day of the week.
That was the last hurdle I was worried about, so now I am happy that we will be fine going to and coming home from the ride.
We have several friends going as well and for most this will be the first time they have seen our Mustangs. The best part is our trainer is coming too and that will make me feel better.
I am 100% sure that Vinny and Sadie will wow everyone there as they always seem to do.
I'll take photos and post them next week .
Monday, October 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
NJ adoption
Just back fro NJ and it was a great adoption. we adopted out 51 animals and I am sorry to say that 9 went back to BLM. I wish it was a home run, but we did very well with 51.
Had a wonderful time working with friends from New England again and everyone worked very hard to make this adoption a winner.
While I was away our friend borrowed Vinny for a trail ride. When they got back all she could talk about is how good Vinny was out there. She said he was the best trail horse she had ever rode. He never once refused or balked at any obstacle on the trail and listened to every command without question. She really loved riding him and I think we have one more Mustang convert.
Our trainer's little girl also has ridden Vinny and she too fell in love with him. She was jumping him over a couple of shaving bales and he was doing fine. She wants to show Vinny and we are going to let her do so. We will have a table with Mustang info at every event.
Guess that's it for now.
Had a wonderful time working with friends from New England again and everyone worked very hard to make this adoption a winner.
While I was away our friend borrowed Vinny for a trail ride. When they got back all she could talk about is how good Vinny was out there. She said he was the best trail horse she had ever rode. He never once refused or balked at any obstacle on the trail and listened to every command without question. She really loved riding him and I think we have one more Mustang convert.
Our trainer's little girl also has ridden Vinny and she too fell in love with him. She was jumping him over a couple of shaving bales and he was doing fine. She wants to show Vinny and we are going to let her do so. We will have a table with Mustang info at every event.
Guess that's it for now.
Monday, August 11, 2008
I'm back
Hello again all. Been awhile since the last post. Many reasons for that, none that interesting.
Vinny and Sadie are doing great! Both are fantastic horses and we are having a ball with them. We took them for a short trail ride and they did great. Cars, motorcycles, dogs, dirt roads and water were no problem for either of them.
I am heading to NJ for the Mustang adoption to help out. Looking forward to seeing the gang from the NH adoption as most will be there, plus I will get to meet some new volunteers as well.
Been riding much more and Vinny is really coming around. He is now the good boy I always knew hae was, he just needed to get back intot things again. We added 15 more corral panels and now have about as much of the land corraled in as we can. The horses love it and have woods to run around in. Vinny showed that he really is a jumper as there was an old stone wall on part of the land and about 20 feet remains in one old section. He came runing throught he woods and jumped the wall several times and was having a bunch of fun with it.
I had taken 2 traffic cones and laid an old lunge whip across it and set it in the pen. Well Vinny jumped that thing most of the day. first in one direction and then in the other. every few times he would stop and look at it like he was grading himself on how well he did. I was watching from inside the house and he just kept jumping that whip over and over again.
We also bought a stock type trailer as the 2 horse we bought a few months ago seems to repel horses. It is pretty narrow and they just don't want to go in. They will jump right on the stock, but want nothing to do with the old Kingston so we are selling it.
We are also going on our first real trail ride in Sept. Just 9 miles, but it is local and everyone says it is a great time.
Gotta run for now.
Vinny and Sadie are doing great! Both are fantastic horses and we are having a ball with them. We took them for a short trail ride and they did great. Cars, motorcycles, dogs, dirt roads and water were no problem for either of them.
I am heading to NJ for the Mustang adoption to help out. Looking forward to seeing the gang from the NH adoption as most will be there, plus I will get to meet some new volunteers as well.
Been riding much more and Vinny is really coming around. He is now the good boy I always knew hae was, he just needed to get back intot things again. We added 15 more corral panels and now have about as much of the land corraled in as we can. The horses love it and have woods to run around in. Vinny showed that he really is a jumper as there was an old stone wall on part of the land and about 20 feet remains in one old section. He came runing throught he woods and jumped the wall several times and was having a bunch of fun with it.
I had taken 2 traffic cones and laid an old lunge whip across it and set it in the pen. Well Vinny jumped that thing most of the day. first in one direction and then in the other. every few times he would stop and look at it like he was grading himself on how well he did. I was watching from inside the house and he just kept jumping that whip over and over again.
We also bought a stock type trailer as the 2 horse we bought a few months ago seems to repel horses. It is pretty narrow and they just don't want to go in. They will jump right on the stock, but want nothing to do with the old Kingston so we are selling it.
We are also going on our first real trail ride in Sept. Just 9 miles, but it is local and everyone says it is a great time.
Gotta run for now.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The bad news from BLM
the other day the BLM announced that with the rising costs of fuel, feed, and everything else, that they are running out of money for the Wild Horse and Burro Program. They are looking at options and sadly one is to euth some of the older and unadoptable horses in long term facilities.
As much as this news saddened me, after looking at the reports and other info I could find, it looks like they really are running out of options.
The big question is can we as citizens find ways to be of help?
Well after thinking about it for awhile I feel there is some things we all can do to help.
1st As always we can educate and promote the Mustangs and Burros for what they are. They make wonderful trail horses, endurance horses, and can excel in just about anything we can train them for.
2nd The BLM is allowed donations. They do not flat out ask for them, but they can take private donations.
3rd Some of us are in positions were we can organize some kind of fund raising activity such as a trail ride, or setting up a booth at an equine event to inform and collect donations for the program.
4th We can help advertise local adoptions when they are in our areas and we can go out and volunteer to help at the adoption.
5th We can take our Mustangs to events so that other horse people can see a Mustang first hand and see that a gentled Mustang is a great horse. Many horse people have never seen a Mustang up close.
6th We can work to dismiss the bad PR Mustangs have had for many years. Such as they will try to kill you, they can't be trained, they will never accept a human, things like that which we know are not true.
7th If you have a Mustang and it is good at an event or discipline, make sure it is known that the horse is a mustang. Be proud of that fact, let them know at the event that it is a mustang and ask that they announce it when it is your turn to compete.
So far those are the things that come to mind. I also think we should look for a champion for the Mustangs. Someone that is well known not just by horse people but the general public as well.
I feel that with some effort, we can make a difference. It was done before to get the 1971 law passed, and together we can do it again.
As much as this news saddened me, after looking at the reports and other info I could find, it looks like they really are running out of options.
The big question is can we as citizens find ways to be of help?
Well after thinking about it for awhile I feel there is some things we all can do to help.
1st As always we can educate and promote the Mustangs and Burros for what they are. They make wonderful trail horses, endurance horses, and can excel in just about anything we can train them for.
2nd The BLM is allowed donations. They do not flat out ask for them, but they can take private donations.
3rd Some of us are in positions were we can organize some kind of fund raising activity such as a trail ride, or setting up a booth at an equine event to inform and collect donations for the program.
4th We can help advertise local adoptions when they are in our areas and we can go out and volunteer to help at the adoption.
5th We can take our Mustangs to events so that other horse people can see a Mustang first hand and see that a gentled Mustang is a great horse. Many horse people have never seen a Mustang up close.
6th We can work to dismiss the bad PR Mustangs have had for many years. Such as they will try to kill you, they can't be trained, they will never accept a human, things like that which we know are not true.
7th If you have a Mustang and it is good at an event or discipline, make sure it is known that the horse is a mustang. Be proud of that fact, let them know at the event that it is a mustang and ask that they announce it when it is your turn to compete.
So far those are the things that come to mind. I also think we should look for a champion for the Mustangs. Someone that is well known not just by horse people but the general public as well.
I feel that with some effort, we can make a difference. It was done before to get the 1971 law passed, and together we can do it again.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Vinny has a new saddle
Finally got to try out Vinny's new saddle and it is fantastic. With that and Tammy's help we have gotten past the bucking and fear that I had. I am now feeling better and enjoying the ride once more.This has really been a great week for us both. Vinny is now a great horse to ride, I am feeling better about riding and I was on TV the other night.Our local news station WMUR has a show called New Hampshire Chronicle and they did a story about the NH adoption. I was one of the people they interviewed and was on the show.It was a great show and really promoted the Mustangs. I hope it will have long term affects and that more people get interested in Mustangs.If I can post a link to the show, or put the episode up here I shall do so.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
NH Mustang adoption
What can I say!! It was a great adoption and I had a great time! 70 animals total, 12 were online adoption pickups, 58 up for adoption, 51 adopted, and 7 into foster care.
All trucks went back to BLM empty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I met some of the best people I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with.
Vinny and I have been doing a lot of ground work and out trainer Tammy is coming over to help me learn. I really need to get past my new found fears about riding as they have transfered to every horse I get on now. I think they are going to blow up at any moment. I love horses and I love riding, but I can't shake the fear for some reason.
I guess I have just got to get riding and it will go away. I sure hope so! I think I am going to try to ride Sadie tomorrow as she is safe as can be. I want to ride Vinny this weekend with Tammy watching and if I can get her out both weekend days and maybe take a lesson or 2 on a stable horse, I may be able to relax more. I think I just have to ride a lot to get my confidence back.
Will let you know how it goes.
3 of the adopted Mustangs are pretty close to me here in Chester so I hope that they will stay in touch so we can have an all Mustang trail ride in a year or two with their newly trained Mustangs.
All trucks went back to BLM empty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I met some of the best people I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with.
Vinny and I have been doing a lot of ground work and out trainer Tammy is coming over to help me learn. I really need to get past my new found fears about riding as they have transfered to every horse I get on now. I think they are going to blow up at any moment. I love horses and I love riding, but I can't shake the fear for some reason.
I guess I have just got to get riding and it will go away. I sure hope so! I think I am going to try to ride Sadie tomorrow as she is safe as can be. I want to ride Vinny this weekend with Tammy watching and if I can get her out both weekend days and maybe take a lesson or 2 on a stable horse, I may be able to relax more. I think I just have to ride a lot to get my confidence back.
Will let you know how it goes.
3 of the adopted Mustangs are pretty close to me here in Chester so I hope that they will stay in touch so we can have an all Mustang trail ride in a year or two with their newly trained Mustangs.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Been awhile
Folks, sorry to be away for so long. Been working like mad and spending as much time as possible promoting the Mustang adoption next week here in Southern NH.
Have not been doing any real riding, but have been working Vinny on the ground and getting him in shape and sweaty.
Have done a couple of newspaper interviews, a few radio interviews and at least on commercial, all for the adoption. I hope so much that it helps and many horses find homes around here. I will hate if I have to watch a lot of them get loaded back on the trucks with a strike against them. It will make me feel like I did not do enough for them.
Anyways, I hope it goes well!!!
Vinny was perfect for the camera man. He did cookie begs, stuck his nose in the guy's pocket, gave him horse kisses, the works. Camera man gave me his camera and asked me to take photos of him and Vinny. He said Vinny was awesome and looked like royalty! Made me feel great.
I wish I had more news, and I am sure I am forgetting something, but have to get back at it here. Still a few days left to spread the word!
Have not been doing any real riding, but have been working Vinny on the ground and getting him in shape and sweaty.
Have done a couple of newspaper interviews, a few radio interviews and at least on commercial, all for the adoption. I hope so much that it helps and many horses find homes around here. I will hate if I have to watch a lot of them get loaded back on the trucks with a strike against them. It will make me feel like I did not do enough for them.
Anyways, I hope it goes well!!!
Vinny was perfect for the camera man. He did cookie begs, stuck his nose in the guy's pocket, gave him horse kisses, the works. Camera man gave me his camera and asked me to take photos of him and Vinny. He said Vinny was awesome and looked like royalty! Made me feel great.
I wish I had more news, and I am sure I am forgetting something, but have to get back at it here. Still a few days left to spread the word!
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