Unfortunately, my employment with the Mustang Heritage Foundation's Youth Employment Program will soon be over.
I have thoroughly enjoyed getting more in-depth and sharing what I know about the marvelous world of Mustangs, and I will be very sad to see it come to an end.
However, I will always be an advocate for Mustangs--and a personal lover of the amazing breed! I will continue to spread this love and respect of these wild horses as much as I can within my own community, and I encourage anyone who loves Mustangs to do the same!
It costs nothing to spread the good word of these horses--their talents, and their legacy--and who knows? You might even help one find a home!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Jasmine is growing up!
Docs Princess Jasmine is my little Mustang mare, and I absolutely love her!
I first adopted Jasmine when she was but a yearling, after I competed in the EMM Youth Edition in 2011. Since then, I have turned her out to pasture to let her "chill out"; coming from completely wild to completely tame within 90 days is hard work, and she needed the breather!
I went out to pasture just the other day to see how she was doing, and she's really grown up! She's only two years old, but she's as broad across her back as any medium-sized horse! I'm planning on breaking her in the summer of next year, when she's 3. I can't imagine how much bigger she'll be by then!
Jasmine hasn't gotten much taller, but as far as thickness goes, she's twice what she was at this time last year. The herd she comes from is rumored to have a fair bit of Percheron blood, and I am definitely starting to see the similarities. For one thing, my formerly black mare is turning grey!
My older sister's Mustang, Docs Golden Allegro--who is 4 this year--is her complete opposite. Whereas she is short and broad, Allegro is tall and lean--not unlike a Thoroughbred.
Watching my family's Mustangs grow is just another example of how unique and diverse each herd is. Every Mustang has their own story, their own bloodlines, and every single one grows up differently!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Growing up: How mustangs grow differently
Like any other breed of horse, mustangs come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. However, one big difference between most domestic horses and mustangs is how they grow into those sizes!
The average Quarter Horse (and most domestic horses) reach maturity at 4 or 5 years old; the size they are by then is generally the size they will stay for the majority of their lives.
Mustangs, on the other hand, are known to grow until they are 6 to 10 years old! I remember one particular Mustang mare that had come through the Trainer Incentive Program (TIP), who arrived for training at 7 years old and was roughly 14 hands. I saw her again 7 or 8 months later, and she was nearly 15 hands! Talk about a growth spurt!
Unlike her, however, most mustangs' growth rates slow as they get older. Like any normal horse, most physical changes occur when they are young, but then continue to steadily mature until they are fully grown--at whatever age that might be!
This raises another question: If they grow for so long, how big will they be when they're finally matured?
It would be funny to think that Mustangs grow up to be 15 hands at 5 years old, and then just keep getting bigger! But actually, Mustangs are of a very average height, if not even considered to be short.
Most Mustangs rarely exceed 15 hands; the majority of Mustangs measure between pony-sized to 14 hands. Of course, as with any breed, there are always exceptions! Our local holding facility once had a gelding that measured 18 hands!!
More information concerning the Trainer Incentive Program is available here: http://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/tip.php
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Winners of the Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover!
And the placings are in!
Your Top 20 Legends Competitiors:
1) Bobby Kerr and Maypop
2) Mary Miller Jordan and Silver Lining
3) Drew Olsen and Bentley
4) Mary Kitzmiller and Jax
5) Kirk Christiansen and Cruise
6) Tom Hagwood and El Gato
7) Mozaun McKibben and Range Rover
8) Teryn Muench and Relay
9) Wylene Wilson and Smarty Pants
10) Jerry Jones and Tator Tot
11) Teryn Muench and Déjà Vu
12) Tate Weber and Lil Bit
13) Randall Davis and Last Call
14) Miranda Lyon and Finnegan
15) Joe Williams and Vegas
16) Teryn Muench and Pretty Boy Floyd
17) Kirk Christiansen and Maverick
18) Tate Weber and Snake Farm
19) Clint Bailey and Hondo
20) Jake Lundahl and Tyree
11) Teryn Muench and Déjà Vu
12) Tate Weber and Lil Bit
13) Randall Davis and Last Call
14) Miranda Lyon and Finnegan
15) Joe Williams and Vegas
16) Teryn Muench and Pretty Boy Floyd
17) Kirk Christiansen and Maverick
18) Tate Weber and Snake Farm
19) Clint Bailey and Hondo
20) Jake Lundahl and Tyree
Top 10 Idol Competitors:
1) Cam Warner and Willson
2) Arianne Hagwood and Harney
3) Susan Kerr and Flaxey Fooler
4) Austin Blake and Mustang GT
5) Sharla Wilson and Smokie
6) Clint Hayden and Hondo
7) Seth Weber and Peterbilt
8) Betsy Moles and Mighty Mouse
9) Heath Weber and Cranberry
10) Shaula Carboni and Born To Be Bombproof Leopold
Top 10 Stars Competitors:
1) Zachary Rios and Ezekiel
2) Cindy Brasfield and Top Line
3) Sharla Wilson and Bandit
4) Toby Dach and Deuces Wild
5) Dwayne Rhea and Vaquero
6) Bridget Slaughter and Phoenix
7) Emily Hutton and Latigo
8) Ira Konig and Latigo
9) James Low and Albarado es Joaquim
10) James Low and Whiskey
Top 20 Youth Competitors:
1) Sirra Sawaya and Shasta
2) Luke Lundahl and Rowdy
3) Kaitlyn Sheheen and Sebastian
4) Hannah Catalino and Just Harley Dun It
5) Michelle Deden and Jesse James
6) Morgan Moreno and Charlie Brown
7) Tyler Brewster and Gideon
8) Amelia Rhodes and Top Blonde
9) Mikaela Sawaya and Amira
10) Jayde Dittmer and Wyatt
11) Allison Reynolds and Whispering Hills Pride
12) Hannah Catalino and Ace Of Spades
13) Tyler Brewster and Strawberry Shortcake
14) Chloe Chambers and Dante's Dream
15) McCoy Christiansen and Bubba
16) Abby Brown and Ozzy
17) Sarah Bowman and Dream On
18) Jerrad Dittmer and McCoy
19) Kellie Hunn and Lacy
20) Nikki Bednarek and Whispering Hills Daisy Darling
Congrats to Bobby Kerr and Maypop, Cam Warner and Wilson, Zachary Rios and Ezekiel, and Sirra and Shasta! And to everyone else who worked so hard!!!!
Bobby Kerr and Maypop
Cam Warner and Wilson
Zachary Rios and Ezekiel
Sirra Sawaya and Shasta
Friday, September 14, 2012
Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover
This weekend is the Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover!
It started Thursday with:
IDOLS Combined Trail Class - John Justin Arena
9 AM
LEGENDS Pattern Class - Coliseum
10 AM
YOUTH Pattern Class - Watt Arena
1 PM
LEGENDS Trail Class - Coliseum
2 PM
STARS Leading Trail Class - John Justin Arena
3 PM
YOUTH Compulsory Maneuvers - Watt Arena
5 PM
STARS Compulsory Maneuvers - John Justin Arena
Friday's Schedule:
8 AM LEGENDS Trainers Choice Western - John Justin Arena
9 AM YOUTH Leading Trail Class - Watt Arena
10 AM STARS Pattern Class - Coliseum
11 AM IDOLS Pattern Class - Coliseum
1 PM Announce the Top 10 STARS Finalists - John Justin Arena
2 PM LEGENDS Trainers Choice English - John Justin Arena
2 PM IDOLS Compulsory Maneuvers - Coliseum
5 PM ADOPTABLES Trail Class & Adoption - John Justin Arena
7 PM STARS Top 10 Finals Performance, John Justin Arena
Class Awards Presentation &
YOUTH, IDOLS & LEGENDS Finalist Announcement
And finally, Saturday's Schedule!
9 AM YOUTH Top 20 Finals Performance - John Justin Arena
9 AM Mustang Gathering Show - Watt Arena
1 PM IDOLS Top 10 Finals Performance - John Justin Arena
3 PM Mustang Meet & Greet - John Justin Arena
5 PM Coliseum Doors Open – Ticket Required
6 PM LEGENDS Top 20 Finals Performance - Coliseum
Good luck to everyone competing! I will post the results after the weekend is done.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Extreme Mustang Makeover Team Roping
Last weekend, for the first time, the Extreme Mustang Makeover Team Roping will be held in conjunction with the Resistol #11 World Series Team Roping at the Wildfire Ranch Arena in Salado, Texas August 31 ending September 1, 2012. Trainers entering this competition will have a shot at winning $30,000 in prize money when they compete in Pattern, Heeling, Steer Stopping and Team Roping classes. Quite a bit of money there!
Here is the list of trainers who competed:
| First | Last | City | State |
|
Oh, and our judges were James Gholson and Tommy Houston.
The Top Ten in the overall placings from the Extreme Mustang Makeover Team Roping are:
1) Steven Roubion and Show Time
2) Teryn Muench and Slip Knot
3) Rance Butler and Kalija
4) Trey Young and Monster
5) Daniel Braddock and Callahan
6) Gary Mills and Bay
7) Billy JoeBarnes and Willy
8) Mozaun McKibben and Tripple B
9) Jared Rowley and Timmy
10) Tyler Griffin and Moses
Our winners Steven Roubion and Show Time. Great job, guys!
And a big congrats to all the trainers who worked so hard! You guys did awesome!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Hurricane Isaac and horse evacuations
What you do if you had two horses and a three horse trailer and a hurricane was about to come your way? You'd most likely take your horses and trailer and evacuate to a friend's house or something.
Now, what if you had 30 horses?
Lots of horse trainers live along the coast and deal with lots of tropical storms and the occasional hurricane. But how would you evacuate that many horses? You'd have to have a lot of trailers. And a lot of people willing to help out.
With Hurricane Isaac approaching, lots of people are evacuating their horses out of the storm's path.
Luckily, where I am, we're only getting the east band of it (which has a lot of wind and rain) but we don't need to evacuate our horses. Instead, we built stalls inside our barn for them to stay out of the rain. My youngest sister's show horse HATES rain, so the stalls are a must for her.
Here is a FaceBook page helping people with horses with evacuations:
https://www.facebook.com/HorseEvacuationsEast
This is a picture of Hurricane Isaac. Scary!
In other news, the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program is holding an Adoption Day at the High Desert Museum in Bend, OR on Sept 1, 2012!
Demonstrations will begin at 11am with the adoption at 2pm. For more information visit: http://www.highdesertmuseum.org/.docs/record_id/10699/pg/10039
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Freezemark Brands
Something I always found intresting about mustangs is their brand on the left side of their neck. This brand is called typically called a Freezemark. The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) uses these Freezemarks to identify each mustang when they gather them from the wild. Freezemarks are painless to mustangs and easy to read when you get the hang of it. It follows the International Alpha Angle System, which uses a series of angles
and alpha-symbols that cannot be altered. The mark contains the Registering
Organization (U.S. Government), year of birth, and registration number.
Here is a key to reading a freezemark brand
The left side of the neck is shaved and washed with alcohol, and the mark is
applied with an iron that is chilled in liquid nitrogen. The hair at the site of
the mark will grow back white and show the identification number. Simple procedure.
Although every effort is made to apply freezemarks that are legible,
occasionally freezemarks do get blurred. This can happen when the iron is applied and the animal moves. Other times it can be something as simple as the horses color. My oldest sister's mustang is a palomino. A very light, (banana colored as we call him) palomino. You can hardly see his brand unless it's shaved around it. One performance she did, we filled in his brand with bright red glitter so everyone could see it.
This my mustang, Jasmine. She has a very clear brand
This is a another clear brand on a mustang. Credit goes to Google Images.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Kiger Mustangs
I'm sure most of you have seen Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarrron. If you haven't, it's a great animated film about mustangs and one of my favorite movies. One thing I found intresting about it, is that Spirit is a Kiger Mustang.
Kiger Mustangs are primarily dun in color and have primitive markings including zebra-like stripes on the upper legs and shoulders as well as a dorsal stripe which runs down the middle of the back into the tail. Typically a dun horse is a shade of muted tan or a light brown-gray with dark brown or black manes. A dun colored horse may have many, but not all, of the primitive markings which include the dorsal stripe, two-toned manes and/or tails, zebra-like stripes on the upper legs and shoulders, dark color around muzzle and ears with dark outlines and lighter interiors. Dun horses are generally identified as simply duns or grullas.
Kiger Mustangs are agile and intelligent, with the stamina and surefootedness seen in many feral horse breeds. They have lots of courage and determination and are generally used for pleasure riding as well as endurance riding, driving, and many other situations where an athletic horse is desired.
Another cool thing about Kiger Mustangs is, unlike other mustangs, they look like the original spanish mustangs. Whereas the other mustang herd have influence with other breeds.
To learn more about Kigers read here:
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/wildhorse/kiger.php
And here is a picture of the iconic Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Kiger Mustangs are primarily dun in color and have primitive markings including zebra-like stripes on the upper legs and shoulders as well as a dorsal stripe which runs down the middle of the back into the tail. Typically a dun horse is a shade of muted tan or a light brown-gray with dark brown or black manes. A dun colored horse may have many, but not all, of the primitive markings which include the dorsal stripe, two-toned manes and/or tails, zebra-like stripes on the upper legs and shoulders, dark color around muzzle and ears with dark outlines and lighter interiors. Dun horses are generally identified as simply duns or grullas.
Kiger Mustangs are agile and intelligent, with the stamina and surefootedness seen in many feral horse breeds. They have lots of courage and determination and are generally used for pleasure riding as well as endurance riding, driving, and many other situations where an athletic horse is desired.
Another cool thing about Kiger Mustangs is, unlike other mustangs, they look like the original spanish mustangs. Whereas the other mustang herd have influence with other breeds.
To learn more about Kigers read here:
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/wildhorse/kiger.php
Here is a picture of a lovely Kiger Mustang
And here is a picture of the iconic Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Individual Personalities
I've met many mustangs during the Extreme Mustang Makeover Youth Edition. Each of them had their different strengths and different personalities. I don't think some people realize how much personality and character horses have, especially horses as smart as mustangs. The mustangs I have associated with personally each have been very different in their own ways.
We'll start with my first mustang I competed with in 2010, Big Mak. Big Mak is a very easy going calm and collected kind of guy. He is also bursting with confidence. Even from the first day out of the wild, he wasn't scared of me or what was going on. I've still never seen him truly scared. Because of that, he is a great trail horse for all ages.
We'll start with my first mustang I competed with in 2010, Big Mak. Big Mak is a very easy going calm and collected kind of guy. He is also bursting with confidence. Even from the first day out of the wild, he wasn't scared of me or what was going on. I've still never seen him truly scared. Because of that, he is a great trail horse for all ages.
This is a picture of him in his first show ever, the Mississippi Open Congress Horse Show. Notice how relaxed he is.
This is a video of me doing an exhibition with Big Mak and two other girls who I trained with for a while. I'm the first one to come out in the video, the one who's horse had spray painted white tips in his mane and tail.
Next mustang is Jasmine. Jasmine is athletic, but on top of that, she is very strong naturally and has alot of stamina. She shared some personality traits with Big Mak, like her confidence and calm manner. Jasmine and Big Mak are also both great in in-hand classes.
This is my video from the 2011 Extreme Mustang Makeover Youth Edition with Jasmine. It is my in-hand obstacle course (I won this class!).
This is my video in the Extreme Mustang Makeover Youth Edition Top Ten Fnalist Feestyle performance with Jasmine in 2011, we won reserve champion.
Next mustang is Allegro. My sister's 2009 Extreme Mustang Makeover Youth Edition winner. Allegro, unlike Big Mak and Jasmine, was VERY high spirited, and even though we friendly and inquisitive, he was scared. He is our most athletic and fast mustang.
This is Allegro's Top Ten Finalist Freestyle performance for the Extreme Mustang Makeover.
This is one of his Exhibiton prformances. This one is for the Dixie National Freestyle Reining Competition.
This is Allegro's 2010 two year old long line futurity class he did at the Mustang Makeover I first competed in with Big Mak. Allegro won first place.
Allegro and my youngest sister, Christine, also won Junior Horse High-Point Champion at the Palomino Dixie National show earlier this year.
Big Mak, Jasmine, and Allegro have all accomplished many great things in their own strengths. Mustangs are truly versatile horses!!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Research Paper
Hello again,
Being a part of the Youth Employment Program, for the Mustang Heritage Foundation, I have duties I need to fill every week. Its still my first week of employment, but one of my deadlines was to write a research paper about mustangs. If you look to the side where it says "Pages," there is something called 'American Original.' That's the research paper I wrote this week. I have more research papers to write in future weeks.
Being a part of the Youth Employment Program, for the Mustang Heritage Foundation, I have duties I need to fill every week. Its still my first week of employment, but one of my deadlines was to write a research paper about mustangs. If you look to the side where it says "Pages," there is something called 'American Original.' That's the research paper I wrote this week. I have more research papers to write in future weeks.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Hello Everyone!
I'm Rachel, a mustang enthusiast. I'm writing this blog on behalf of the Mustang Heritage Foundation's Youth Employment Program.
I have trained two of my own mustangs and competed with them in the Extreme Mustang Makeover Yearling Edition for youth. I was a Top Ten Finalist in 2010 with Docs Big Mak Combo and Top Ten Finalist in 2011 with Docs Princess Jasmine.
Big Mak while he was still in training.
Big Mak and me after winning Halter at the 4-H State Show
Jasmine before we even had a halter on her
Jasmine and me at the Extreme Mustang Makeover in the Showmanship class
(We won that class!)
http://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/youth.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)