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shpapaShappa... (Sioux Indian for "Red Thunder")

click here for lots more photos!

ARRIVED January 2009 -- Extreme Mustang Makeover Competitor (BLM mustang, completely untouched)
ADOPTABILITY AVAILABLE to adopt, see below for details
SPONSORSHIP: (Details below)
  • FEED: needs a sponsor!
  • MEDICAL: needs a sponsor!
BREED/AGE 4-year old (2006 model) BLM Mustang Mare, 14.2hh (waiting for title) (read history below the report card)

Skills/Training "Report Card"

Overall Health: 

C+
  • Shappa is still growing, at age 3 -- common for mustangs. She will not likely get much taller, but she should broaden.
  • She is narrow chested and narrow barreled, and needs to gain additional weight.
  • As of May 2009, she has not yet finished shedding her winter coat.
  • She has no known health problems or injuries at any time in her life.
  • Her legs are in excellent shape; her front hooves are flatter than ideal.
  • She has had mild dental issues -- difficulty losing her baby caps -- and currently rides only in a hackamore.

Ground Manners:

C
  • Shappa is unsure of herself in many situations, and even more unsure she should trust a human's judgment of what's safe. She will walk up and touch tractors and other large, "scary" machines, but may balk at walking across an open gravel area. 
  • She doesn't mind traffic or dogs.
  • She still occasionally tosses her head when displeased.
  • She has very good balance and knows EXACTLY where her hooves are -- and may intentionally step on the side of your boot, for example, if she feels you aren't paying adequate attention to her..
  • Loves to work at liberty in a round pen, including free jumping.

Basic Riding Skills:

C

  • Shappa requires additional riding training.
  • She has excellent balance for a horse who has less than 50 rides.
  • She leg yields nicely, pivots on the forehand.
  • Her trot is very well balanced and easy to rate. Trots over ground rails with ease
  • She still struggles getting into her canter at times. Understands proper leads but sometimes chooses to ignore the rider's request.
  • She does not bolt and she steers easily, fluidly.
  • See her ride videos hosted on YouTube:
  • nearly ready to ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMw0sjofMp8 
  • 2nd/3rd ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8WNyHVp0u8&feature=channel
  • Shappa has not done any trail riding, or other riding outside a fenced arena.

Ideal Career

 Shappa is still VERY green. We would only adopt her to an experienced trainer or someone planning to work very closely with one. She requires a firm yet patient hand. She's immature and timid and occasionally unpredictable but is improving every day.

Stall Manners

B

  • Stalls easily, remains relaxed as long as another horse is in the barn.
  • Mildly edgy if left alone in a stall, but doesn't panic. Calls rarely.
  • Waits to be led out when the door is opened.
  • Eats easily, doesn't pace, crib or stall walk..

Trailering Skills:

B

  • Loads easily but occasionally still refuses.
  • Has trailered several times, rides fairly quietly, has never been trailered alone.
  • Unloads well, ready to get down but backs off smoothly.

Companionship / Pasture Manners

B
  • Shappa is not a leader, and likes a clear alpha in her grouping.
  • No longer severely herd bound, she now goes off on her own and handles being left in a paddock alone.
  • Can be mildly aggressive, but immediately backs down; not picked on much because she just avoids the confrontation.
  • Comes when called, easy to catch, truly loves people and attention, just not always sure how to act.

Manageability for Routine and Medical Care

B

  • Farrier: C. Lifts front hooves great but nervous about being on the stand; lifts rears nicely but very tense about being on the stand.
  • Shots: B. No fuss! Stands with reasonable manners for vaccinations.
  • Dental: A. VERY easily sedated, remains calm even through extensive procedure.
  • Worming: A. No fuss, doesn't pull away, doesn't spit it out or drop or wipe it on handlers.
  • Grooming: B. Good for brushing and hoof cleaning, but gets mildly impatient. 
  • Ears -- A+, no reaction to any handling (never tried to clip)
  • Clipping -- C. Handled clipping her brand like an old pro, but did not like having her whiskers trimmed.
  • Bathing -- NA, we've not tried.
  • Tying: NA, not tried to teach Shappa to tie yet..
adoption terms Shappa was at CWER on her one year adoption contract from the BLM. For her to go to a new adopter would require their approval as a BLM adopter and a $25 transfer fee; however, her year ends on 4/22/10, and she will then be eligible to adopt from CWER as any other horse.

Because Shappa is such an unusual personality who still has so much to learn and still needs help maturing, CWER would require her to go only to an experienced trainer who wished to help Shappa find herself and find a future. This is subject to change as Shappa's training continues, please email for confirmation of her current adoption terms. for how to adopt, please see our QnA page.

Overview: Shappa is a beautiful, graceful, well balanced mustang mare who arrived as clearly the lowest on the pecking order of the 3 mustangs for this year's Extreme Mustang Makeover Midwest 2009. She was obsessive about being with the other 2 mares. Shappa is clearly a very bright little mare, and she enjoyed many of the games we played together and was learning very quickly. About 4 weeks before the Wisconsin contest, she panicked and threw AnnMarie when a baby tooth shifted in her mouth and cut into her gums. This crash caused very real fear in Shappa and a timidness for AnnMarie that turned into disaster for the pair. At Wisconsin, Shappa was so timid outside Wakanda's calming presence, she could barely lead. Since returning home, Shappa has settled into a more normal routine, has been kept with other horses and not Wakanda or Ennapay, and is making nice progress in developing into a more mentally mature and emotionally confident horse.

HISTORY: 

We hope you enjoy these posts from the Crosswinds free email list (see cwer.org for details of how to join). AnnMarie worked hard to keep the list current on the progress she and Shappa were making...

Riding Video Shappa YouTube link, this one will take you to the video's of the horses so far. Including her first rides, day 55.
Text of Shappa riding first time, a must read. Please click here

The littlest mustang gets named....Shappa, which is Sioux “red thunder”. I understand it is usually used as a boys name, but it is easy to say, easy to remember, and close enough for govt work! :)
Shappa -- She is very bright, very playful, rather foal like, definitely not dominant. Her name is Sioux for red thunder and was the son of a famous chief -- a mediator who brought Sioux tribes together and chose not to become a leader as his father had been..
1/15/2009
Shappa -- my gal -- the smaller one who I expect to shed out into an exceptional copper color. I love her build, but most of all I love her eyes and her spirit. She is very low man on the totem pole among the mares, but she's low like a foal not low like a submissive personality. Last night I was within a foot of her shoulder several times during our hour of work together. she is cautious but mostly she is playful. My work and Tory's bball schedule make it so I am not getting as much time with her as I would like, but I am pleased with the progress we are making. She's also exceptionally fit. I have some concern she may have a urinary infection based upon the smell of her urine, and we will get that checked as soon as we are able.
1/19/09 Shappa....this is my "red thunder" mare, who acts a lot like a teenager...with her mind mostly on play time and social interaction. Oh, and food, don't forget food! She and I are getting to know one another and we both truly enjoy dancing together. As of this evening, I can lay both hands on either side of her body while stalled, or one hand on either side while loose in the round pen. She responds to my voice when i enter the barn, and even when moving away from me, she remains locked in, paying attention, and often turns her head to me as if to ask 'so, what's next?"
Day 12: 1/22/09
Shappa, this is my girl, 'red thunder'. we are taking our time, going easy. i only have about 15 minutes to spend with her in the morning about every other day, and then at most an hour in the evening again about every other day. Then we spend time on the weekends as i can manage around my other cwer duties. Yet, we're still coming along nicely. This eve i shot a little video of her in the round pen, eating grain from my hand, standing unrestrained while i lay both hands flat on her left side, rubbing/scratching her barrel, up across the top of her backbone, forward onto her shoulder. In her stall, i can move her head using her mustang tag which will be coming off soon. i can rub down her right side and even onto the upper leg. she looks to me often now, and will walk to me to eat grain out of a gloved hand or bowl or feed scoop. today was a breakthrough -- my hand on her side is a calming force, and she was unafraid of anything new i showed her today. she remains playful and teenagerish and we're enjoying each other more and more each day.
Shappa was a huge breakthrough for me last night. After we played in the round pen, I went in her stall with her to 'say goodnight'. For the first time, she REACHED her ribcage to my hand, and found my hand as a calming force. She was so fantastic and relaxed with me that I began the next stage...we take a cheap wintec stirrup leather turned inside out to make a loop, and slip it over their nose as a first step prior to a halter. she sniffed it, played with it, and put her face in it for me on her own. in about 3 tries, i was able to bring her head to me, ease her nose away, and even turn her position with the loop. She started and stepped away from me only once in the 10 minutes or so I was in her stall with her. It was a GREAT high!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2/1/09
Although time was short AGAIN this weekend, the time we did find together was amazing. we've been working on just short movements from halter alone for a few days now. Friday evening I put a short lead on her the first time -- so short th at if her head is at normal height she cannot step on it, and let go of the lead. She startled and spooked for a minute or so,then stood perfectly still and waited for me to come to her and make it better -- in fact she took several steps toward me, but was afraid of it hanging and moving when she moved. I came up to her easily, lifted the lead gently and to the side, and encouraged her to take a few steps with me. In a matter of about 4 tries, we were walking the length of the arena together!! soon, we were walking from one end to the other and even playing a bit with the scary exercise ball.

Saturday we practiced more time on the lead, and graduated to a normal length lead rope. We also spent more time on front feet -- she holds them up for me now and isn't panicky when I ask for them.We did more desensitizing, including rubbing a saddle pad pretty much everywhere on her body except her hind legs, and even slid up her neck until it was covering one eye. She doesn't mind the upper half the surcingle at all, and tolerates it even when a girth is hanging from it (we've not yet fastened it). she will back sometimes, and she has already learned that the slot between the mounting steps and the arena rail is a place for rest. she will let me stand or kneel on the platform and rub her back, set weight on her back, etc.

Sunday morning, on a soft cotton lunge line this time, Shappa got to take her first trip outside. We followed Ennapay out and watched what she did for a little while, then Ennapay went into the outdoor round pen to relax while Shappa got to pose for photos. We trotted short jogs along the drive and even played in some snow banks. Shappa managed to pull out of my hands once after a spook, but went to the round pen gate to her 'sisters' and was very good about being caught and handled further. Finally she walked to her stall like a perfect lady on the lead, halting when asked.I really like this little mare. Mike teases her,but he likes her too. She's a bright girl who thinks long and hard about things. she watches what the other mares do and is clearly jealous when they get attention -- especially MY attention -- and she is not. She's not a boss mare, but could grow up to be a lead mare. She is very curious about things but also can be spooky at times.
2/3/09
Shappa is making fabulous progress. i am soooo pleased with her.
 
She just learned to lead on Thursday. Friday we were able to walk short distances on a lead inside the round pen. Sunday morning we went for a walk out in the sunlight (see photo) and had a fabulous time, including playing in the snow! yesterday basketball got in the way of 'pony time'.
 
Tonight, when i got home, mike and Tory had the entire herd fed and settled in for the night, so i could spend my limited time just with Shappa. She met me at her stall door and offered me her halter to snap on her lead. For the first time, we walked up to the horse trailer (it is backed up to the door at the end of the aisle way from their stalls). Shappa walked to about 2 strides from it, and hesitated. i encouraged her forward, then let her see there was a snack in a bowl inside the trailer. She walked right up to the door, sniffed inside, and put a hoof up in. I gave her a small reward and then moved the bowl to the front of the trailer and simply caressed her neck. she eased forward, all the way up into he front (slant load) stall, snorted a little. i did a flat hand on her side to center her, and she immediately relaxed and rested with me. we turned around and walked off, down the aisle, and back to the trailer. She put one hoof on then stepped back. i talked to her easy, and forward she acme, all the way in and resting in the trailer. we then backed off the trailer oh so nicely together! she wouldn't back down the aisle, but would back off the trailer, still a success. back up and on, turn around, and off we go...no fuss, no muss. just another task mom asked me to do.
 
back to the arena. first, lets rest at the mounting steps. she stands in the slot and relaxes, knowing this is a place to take a break and get loved on, maybe even have a snack. i proceed to walk up the steps rather than just leaning across to rub on her. she looks at me, thinks a second, and goes back to resting there calm as can be. i'm standing essentially above but next to her, rubbing down both sides, scratching her ers. she takes a step or two back, then comes forward again when asked, without a care in the world about the request. just easy.
 
ok, down off the stairs, lets do something else. Ennapay had problems with her first visit with the surcingle in that only one of the 2 straps got buckled so when she startled and jumped forward it flopped and scared her further. So, having had the surcingle just laying on Shappa numerous times now, this time, i reached under and slid one strap onto a billet but did NOT buckle it, i just held it loosely in place while I slid the second billet into the buckle. just tight enough so it can't actually slide aft on her belly and do anything scary, buckle both. no response. praise, attention, loving, and a short walk. no concern other than an ear flipped back now and then as if to say 'what is that thing still doing there?" snug up just enough so it can't slide or roll, and walking and trotting on the lead. she seems to have no interest in this thing on her belly whatsoever.
 
i took the surcingle off and put it back on 4 times tonight, always on from the 'near' side, off from her 'far' side (she's less comfortable with me on her right side, so i try to do the 'nice' things from the far side and the harder things from the near side to balance her comfort level.) there was no upset whatsoever even when i put it fully tight, as tight as i would do a girth to mount in a saddle.
 
we also worked on cleaning front hooves and even stretching front legs forward as if to put on a hoof stand, again with no concern.
 
our only real challenge of the night was when we were working on leading from her off side. she still wants me to pull her along instead of going forward on her own. i tried lunging her from the right again to work on moving forward with me on this side. she startled herself and hopped away, spinning around sot he lunge was over her neck. i had to let go of her, and she did a half lap, then stopped and all but walked up to me to 'fix it mom'. She was a touch nervous, but easily let me unclip the lead, pull it out from between her legs where she'd stepped over it, and with just a touch of hesitation it was snapped back on her halter and we were leading again.
 
This is a very bright young lady. i'm really pleased with how she is coming along. she thinks about allot of things, and if given the time to think, she really makes good progress at a great pace.
 
i have no timeline for shappa. we're working at our own pace, and I'm very happy with how we are coming along. i think she's going to be a pure joy to ride once we get there, but i'm not going to rush that path...
2/17/09
"Join up" is a natural horsemanship term. the basic concept is that the human is acting like the alpha horse in the herd, sending the junior horse away (having them work at the rail of the round pen) until the horse begins to show signs of respect and courtesy -- lowered head, inside ear locked on the trainer, turning head inward, asking to stop and come in, licking and chewing. when the horse has relaxed, the trainer has the horse halt and then turns his back to the horse. in a herd, the junior horse has to walk right up behind the alpha, head lowered, accepting that the alpha is in charge and stepping into the most dangerous place -- where those hind hooves can kick and even kill -- and then follow the alpha horse back into the herd. so, in our world, the trainer turns his/her back, and the horse walks up behind the trainer, and then follows the trainer wherever s/he walks, left right, cutting through the horse's path, etc. it is a statement of respect and security when done properly and is a great ground breaker and a staple of the basics of natural horsemanship.
 
for example, i'm teaching shappa to let me pick her front feet. instead of any sort of tie or power struggle, we stand in the center of the arena, no tie, no lead, perhaps even no halter. i ask for her hoof. if she chooses she can leave -- but then she has to work. horses are a lot like teenage kids, in general they don't WANT to work and they would rather take the easiest route. pretty soon she decides that standing calmly with my holding her hoof is way easier than trotting 5 or 6 laps around the rail of the round pen.
 
to be sure we're clear -- i'm not chasing her like a banshee. she isn't afraid of my lunge whip -- i can rub it anywhere on her body at any time. it is just an extension of my arm, making me 'bigger' and more horse sized to communicate well. unless she acts aggressively toward me, i am not taking an aggressive 'predatory' stance or making any effort to startle or frighten. i am just making her work, and rewarding her when she makes the choice to be with me by allowing her to rest.
 
I've been chastised recently for admitting on a list that the first time i put a saddle on  a horse, the horse is completely at liberty (no halter etc), and i am not securing the saddle to her back in any manner. if she startles and it falls off, that's ok. i'm going to encourage her to come right back and, ideally, to simply stay here when something falls off. this is a good lesson as someday a rider WILL Fall off, it happens at some time in essentially every horse's life. my horse is learning from day one that this happens sometimes, its nothing to be afraid of, just rest right here and mom will fix it in a moment. i also explained that we do a saddle pad before the saddle, and also a surcingle that is tightened snug enough to hold a saddle securely before a saddle is put in place. the saddle also has no stirrups no girth no anything that the horse could get tangled into....
Shappa at the first mustang clinic:
Next came little Shappa, my little teenager of a personality. And, if anyone has ever asked their young child to perform on command in front of
guests, well, you understand then just how Shappa acted today. :) Primarily the frustration with Shappa was that I was still talking on the Mike
while attempting to work with her, and she quickly became jealous. She tried to nudge me and 'get my attention' and when that didn't work started
acting more and more silly and pushy in hopes of regaining my full attention. When she settled down and was reasonably respectful -- having only
worked on a lead without doing anything new or different -- she was allowed to return to her stall.
3/1/09: not quite riding...
VIDEO

I uploaded Shappa's training video from yesterday to youtube. It's nothing spectacular, but I thought folks still might like a glimpse of where she is at halfway, day 50.

the brief rundown...

  • her ground manners are very good. she's easy to halter, comes when called, lets me walk up and catch her at any time
  • she's very good with all 4 feet, although still nervous about the feel of a rasp
  • she saddles without being tied, with no fussing or concern about tightening her girth
  • i can step up from the ground and lay across her saddle without any concern
  • she'll stand in the mounting blocks and i can sit in her saddle, move her stirrups, etc.
  • she lunges reasonably well but not great, particularly going clockwise
  • she loads and unloads from the trailer well
  • she remains rather attached to her mustang 'sisters', although we're making progress there
So, that's my pretty little girl. i'm enjoying her enormously, and we're taking our time together.
Notes from a discussion about the video:
technically, it was a buck as she did arch her back and popped her hind feet, but i dont think she even cleared the sand to have the bottom of her hooves see daylight so no, i don't really consider it a buck.
 
My weight is actually more balanced than you might think. you can't really see in the video, but my rib cage is actually on the right side of the saddle, so that my upper body mass is on her right side whereas my legs and of course the weighted stirrup are on her right. It undoubtedly isn't a perfect balance of my weight, but it isn't too bad, esp since I weigh less than 125 lbs, so it isn't a lot of an imbalance for a full sized 700+ lb horse to manage. basically, i'm laid across her saddle as you would be in the midst of mounting bareback, where you've got to get your own weight far enough across the horse's back so you dont slide back down to the ground.
 
I've had horses respond like this previously -- they just really aren't sure what i'm asking. So, I'll step back down, and 'ground drive' again with me standing beside the stirrup, so my voice and body are in a similar position and again click and ask her to walk and reward her for doing so. then I'll try again. we did get some forward movement in this session that's video taped, but no real forward walking, all of it involved turns. I won't fully mount and ask her to move forward with me astride her until she does walk forward with me across her back.
3/4/09 RIDES!! Had a fantastic evening with my little girl tonight. I've been avoiding the first ride, worried that there was some hole in Shappa's training thus far that would cause a troublesome first round. She has been spooky sometimes about things on her right side, and I sincerely worried that bringing my leg over the saddle might cause her to spook or panic, and did all sorts of ground work and work with the mounting blocks to try to ease that concern.

Tonight...with no lead and untied...Shappa stood fabulously to be groomed, including cleaning all 4 feet.

She stood to be saddled, and cinched tight. She looks so sharp in my dressage saddle, with that adorable little 20" girth (i couldn't believe how tiny a girth she needs...my wintec dressage is intended for warmbloods....) She held her head nicely to be bridled, and settles into that hackamore so much more nicely than she did the bit. We'll get back there at a later date. She ground drove with me at her shoulder like an angel, halting and turning each direction and walking off nicely (not perfect but more than adequate to know I would have control from her back.)
And, as she's done for well over a week now, she stood perfectly while I put my foot in the stirrup, stepped up, and laid across her side. So, tonight, I swung the leg all the way across the saddle and sat for a 5 count. Stepped down, praised her to the moon!!, and stepped up again. Sat, settled, deep cleansing breath. She looked at me like "so, are we gonna do stuff or what?" I praised her and picked up that outside stirrup very cautiously.

For the next 10 minutes or so, it was the shappa show. She was free to walk wherever she chose, to back, to pivot, to stand still. As long as she was calm and level headed, i let her lead. She can't rub me off on the rails, we had that discussion. She can't get a drink from the water tank. Otherwise, she set the rules as far as pace and direction.

We eased about the arena. Walking easy sometim es,sliding sideways or pivoting others, backing some. Looking over her shoulder to ask for treats, for encouragement, for comfort.

We took our time, and i praised her pretty much nonstop. kept my focus entirely with her, and let her find her own way. And she didn't disappoint me.

When she eased away from the rail after a bit of frustration -- the first that I truly steered and she rewarded my request with respect and movement in the desired direction -- I stepped down, gave her a treat, loved on her, and called it a night.

Shappa has had her first successful ride. Without any struggle, any temper, and most of all, without any fear.

Can't wait for tomorrow night....hopefully we'll get some video or photos to share...
RIDE VIDEO - rides 2 and 3 combined Shappa was terrific! rides 2 and 3 are together on a single video now on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8WNyHVp0u8

This morning we had ride 4. She was very much like ride 3 -- easy, figuring it all out, moving forward well. We had several brief trots, some about 1/2 lap of the indoor. When Mike went into Ennapay's stall, Shappa was certain we were done. We had a bit of a discussion about her needing to
continue to walk when asked, but after 2-3 minutes, we were again walking easily, on a long rein, both directions, easy turns.

I'm so pleased with her. No real power struggles, no battles. Just easy progress together. What a great, great girl!!
3/10/09

Shappa had ride 6 tonight (6? i think 6 :) i'm starting to lose count and I still have fingers left!)

Highlights of our evening:

  1. Shappa ate her dinner in a stall in the pony barn, with Zoey as her neighbor, completely away from the other 2 mustangs. This is the 3rd meal she's had this way, and tonight she was relaxed and easy. She didn't even fuss when I put Zoey out to her own pasture before coming to get Shappa. Shappa did get antsy to get back to her own barn once I opened her door, but remained reasonable and I didn't allow her to return to her own barn until she was calm and respecting my space.
  2. We then went for a walk outdoors, where she was more interested in eating grass than looking for her mustang sisters. Again, big progress. i was very pleased.
  3. when we came into the indoor, Mike was already riding Ennapay, just as we had planned. As expected, Shappa didn't care at all that Ennapay was riding. She's seen that, well, every time Ennapay has ridden, so no surprise. The challenge tonight? For shappa to ride WITH Ennapay instead of waiting until she was finished. We tacked up in Shappa's stall in Cheveyo's barn without any fuss whatsoever, then walked into the arena. She seemed to have little interest in Ennapay's presence, and stood fabulously for me to mount. We then walked around the arena, keeping a reasonable distance from Ennapay and while Shappa tried to hurry to catch up to her once, crowding her a bit, she was exceptionally good.
  4. Now the next challenge. continue riding without Ennapay. This i expected to be much more difficult. yesterday when we went outside for a walk with Ennapay, she was much less responsive to me and respectful than she is when we go out alone, and when Ennapay went out of site she was quite worked up over it. I anticipated similar behavior tonight. To my pleasure, she walked to the gate when Ennapay walked out and into her own stall (still in full visibility of shappa), and then went right back to work. She stopped to sniff ennapay's saddle which was on the mounting steps, then walked past even that oddity and continued her work. Mike took the saddle out, and we continued riding.
  5. We trotted both directions tonight, posting easily going counterclockwise and getting enough energy and impulsion to comfortably post pieces of the arena going clockwise. She is still less happy going clockwise -- still seems to think that a monster lurks near the man door when going this direction -- but otherwise was respectful and even eager at times. We were able to walk figure 8s easily, and halt at any point.
  6. Mike came in with my cell phone and I asked him to snap a few riding photos. we'll have to see how they came out...we took shots standing, walking, and trotting -- DID I MENTION THE TROTS WERE WITHOUT ANY REIN CONTACT? Her reins were slack with me just holding at the buckle in case any correction was needed, but we trotted the entire arena without any rein contact more than once!!!
  7. He also snapped a few brief cell phone video clips. hopefully they come out as well, AS THEY INCLUDED AT LEAST ONE TROT TO HALT TRANSITION, AGAIN WITH NO REIN CONTACT! The halt was simply by voice and weight request, without any contact to her hackamore.
  8. Next, we did our first backing up under saddle tonight. Initially she was irritated at the request, but once she realized what i wanted and that doing so earned her praise, she was happy and clearly proud of herself to have done so!!!
  9. Finally, shappa had her first trim tonight. Her one very unmustang-like trait is that she has poorly shaped front hooves. She has underrun heels and oddly flared flat toes. Tonight, she let mike pare back her soles, use the nippers to trim back her hoof walls at the toe to the quarters, use the rasp to sand it all smooth and to specifically trim her heels to bring her contact point back, and then even put each front hoof on the hoof stand and allowed him to rasp the front of her feet without any significant fuss!!! She didn't yank either hoof back, not even once. She didn't dance or stomp or throw her head or show any other signs of upset other than diving toward her hay. I wish most of our rescues trimmed half so well on their first official trim!! I was thrilled with how she did, and her feet look significantly better. I don't believe she'll be upright and 'normal' by Wisconsin, but she'll be significantly better than she is now. I'm curious to see if she feels any different under saddle with this  change in her pastern angle and her having a nice break over to roll her toes instead of her current motion of mildly 'tossing' her hooves forward kind of like someone with a stiff ankle.
Shappa is really a joy for me. She's the type of horse I click with best -- a passionate horse who shows her emotion and visibly blossoms under praise and positive attention. She is light in my hands already and responsive to small gentle requests, clearly eager to please. She's flighty -- that seems to come with this type of personality or perhaps how i train with this type of personality or, perhaps, even more simply from my own nerves. But she's also eager and playful and passionate and just plain fun.
3/14/09 A brief visit to Pemberly Stables in preparation for the next mustang clinic...
Well, today we drove to Pemberley again -- the barn that was kind enough to host the first mustang clinic and will be hosting the 2nd on 4/4...this time with just 2 mustangs in the trailer. Why 2 you, ask? well, simple...we were  picking up a horse to come into CWER..and rather than take an empty run, we took advantage of the chance to expose Shappa and Wakanda to the big indoor arena again.

Shappa did really well there today. She was respectful and well mannered for most of the time  (spooked while saddling and Tory had to catch her, but those things happen....), and we rode for about 15minutes, walk and trot, I was really very pleased with how she behaved! She also got to have her feet trimmed by the regions premier farrier, Mike Finn aka SuperMike, and our Mike got some additional advice on how to help recover her unusually flat feet in a fairly short time period. She already looks significantly better. I'm embarrassed to say she did NOT behave particularly well for SuperMike -- I will blame it on her being nervous at having a stranger handle her feet. Sigh.
3/25/09 Ennapay has been diagnosed with Sand problems luckily not so bad to cause a full blown sand colic. Shappa is also exhibiting signs of sand issues. She is also on the bran mash and has not ridden since last Wednesday -- the day Ennapay had her panic, and Shappa had one of her own not nearly so severe. tomorrow she gets a dental and a chiropractic check and like Ennapay we will look to Doc for other ideas to bring her along.

in the mean time, shappa and i continue to play with our ground work. She is such a joy to me. She  handles all 4 feet with ease, and loves to pose on
her circus stand! She trots on a lead without any thought, and backs with ease in most cases. We've been practicing a mock up of last Wisconsin in
hand course, and she handles all the obstacles neatly. She also enjoys jumping at liberty in the round pen, which is a fun distraction for her. we
load on the trailer easily. she enjoys her time in the outdoor round pen now and understands hot electric rope. She still gets nervous away from
her 'sisters', but has made good progress in going off alone. She, too, laps up her mash happily each night! she has less sand in her stools than
Ennapay but there is still some visible sand.
3/27/09
Shappa seems to be doing better. we had a dental done the other day, and she was losing a cap off a molar that was pushing into her gum right behind her bit. so that, too, could've caused the bizarre panic attack she had the other day. We are putting the Sand Clear in their mashes -- a 5qt scoop of wheat bran, 2 little cup scoops that come in it of sand clear, their regular grain, and a large quantity of water -- once per day for 7 days -- is what the doctor ordered. we are seeing sand in their stools, but not large quantities of it.
3/29/09 (Written by cotrainer Mike Cross...)

So for something different I thought I would give an update for Shappa. A week and a half ago on the same day that we took Ennapay to the vet hospital AnnMarie came off Shappa when Shappa panicked.  It took a week for us to figure out why it happened. AnnMarie was using a bit for just the second time; usually she rides in a hackamore. Dr King did a dental on Shappa this past wed and found that the tooth that the bit would rest next to was so loose he pulled the cap of the tooth off with his fingers. Could you imagine what it would feel like to have a piece of metal banging on a loose tooth? I know I would do whatever it takes to not let that keep happening to my mouth. Dr King fixed Shappas mouth and did chiropractic on her and gave her a clean bill of health to ride. AnnMarie had taken a few days off after this happened. With the clean bill of health she got back to training.

 We have an outdoor in hand course set up that AnnMarie/Shappa have been doing fantastic. This past Friday morning AnnMarie tried to get herself to get back on Shappa. AnnMarie was timid and it was scaring Shappa. Shappa has learned to trust AnnMarie as a leader. If AnnMarie is scared of something then Shappa has to be on alert. When AnnMarie took her outside to do the hand course Shappa was in a panic. She was fighting AnnMarie over even the easiest things. It was heart breaking for me to see this happening. Shappa went from being a star to not being able to perform at all. AnnMarie kept trying for half an hour or so.

  I was within ear shot if she needed me but was not watching them on purpose. When I did go out and look AnnMarie was sitting on a wood stack while Shappa was eating grass on the end of the lead rope. When I asked AnnMarie what was wrong she answered with tears in her eyes “Shappa has lost trust in me”. It is very seldom that AnnMarie does not have a very clear picture of what’s going on with a horse. I suggested that it was not Shappa that lost faith in her but AnnMarie lost faith in Shappa. When AnnMarie went to ride her AnnMarie was not trusting her and Shappa could not figure out why.

 For the first since the mustangs arrived I asked AnnMarie if I could work Shappa. It took a few minutes but Shappa responded to my confidence and trusted me. She was able to do most of the in hand course pretty well. Not close to how she does for AnnMarie but pretty well.

 AnnMarie was able to pull herself back together and be the strong leader for Shappa and Shappa responded well. AnnMarie was able to work Shappa through all of the in hand course better than I was able to. They were not back to 100% but Shappa was back to trusting AnnMarie.

 That evening AnnMarie rode Shappa again. Shappa was pretty comfortable but AnnMarie was still uptight. It was enlightening to see how much Shappa picked up on AnnMaries confidence. AnnMarie was nervous about the corner where she had come off so she avoided it. Because AnnMarie was not comfortable going there Shappa was also uncomfortable. The connection between the two of them is very strong. The ride was tense but went without incident.

 The next night I got to watch the two of them play in the arena. Not work just playing with each other. When AnnMarie went out of the round pen and put her saddle on the rails Shappa stood next to the saddle pretty much saying she was ready. This ride AnnMaries confidence was back and Shappa responded in kind. Shappa had her fearless leader back and AnnMarie had her student asking to learn. If AnnMarie had tears telling me that Shappa lost trust in her I had tears watching the two of them trust each other again.

 AnnMarie had to look deep into herself to trust Shappa again. Once she put on the brave face Shappa responded in kind.
4/3/09: Shappa had a big day today. I was off work and we took Shappa and Wakanda to Pemberley for practice time before tomorrow's clinic. (Hope you can join us!!)

We began with my walking shappa in the indoor while Wakanda rested in the loaned stall. Then, already saddled, i mounted and just started to ride her when a boarder joined us in the arena. Shappa was fussy about her mounting her horse, but then settled and did better. She was antsy and re ally wanted to go get up close and personal with the beautiful Morgan mare Mimi, but for the most part she listened well and we continued our trot work. We had a minor mishap when i took my coat off, but otherwise she did reasonably well with Mimi in the arena. We did a lot of trot work and tried unsuccessfully to not get into Sandy and Mimi's way. I then dismounted and led shappa around a while, while mike rode Wakanda in the arena. they did very well together.

after Wakanda was done, and I'd had a rest, i got shappa out again. we walked through the wash stall, visited strange horses, explored the 4wheeler, and then saddled up and returned to the arena. this time we worked alone for about 20 minutes. shappa continued to argue about going in certain places, but there was no longer ANY fear, it was simply teenage disobedience.

going counterclockwise, i asked, and was fabulously rewarded with the most balanced first canter pickup any horse has EVER given me. so fabulous, in fact that i was awestruck and had her stop after about 3 strides just to praise her and love on her. it was gorgeous! balanced, easy, level, fairly collected on the entry, no running into it. WOW. did i mention wow? we did 6 or 7 more short canters in this direction, most with similar or nearly as nice departs and all with very nice, very controlled transitions down to either walk or halt.
we were still struggling to work clockwise, and so we didnt do any real canter departs going clockwise today. perhaps tomorrow, we'll have to see.

later today, back at home, i made shappa do round pen at liberty work with no other horses in the barn. this was new and quite challenging for her.
I'd hoped to maybe ride her in that configuration, but not yet. for now, just being able to hold her attention to do very basic free lunging was enough. mike brought Wakanda inside, and shappa immediately settled into our normal routine and for most of the time rode exceptionally well. we
again had several brief canters, with not quiet as nice a depart and with her tending to drop her inside shoulder and lean in working in our much
smaller space.
mike went outside and got his new lawn chair, and set it down and sat in it in the aisle in front of the small sliding door. this was one of the scariest things shappa has ever seen. it took us roughly 10 minutes, me still riding, to get her where she would walk over to the arena gate and go
see her dad. before then it was 2, 3, 5 steps out of the far corner by the sawdust, and ease/back/fidget/fuss or walk back to the corner, then gradually larger circles and ease her way up. she was clearly afraid or uncomfortable and not just being disobedient, so we worked our way through it slowly and cautiously.
this evening, shappa stayed indoors alone while the other horses got fed. she was anxious and noisy, but not unruly or at risk of hurting herself. after about an hour i took her out on a lead. for the first time since my crash 2 weeks ago, i had the old shappa back. she was respectful, careful, ladylike, responsive. we still had a few little hiccups, but among other things, she loaded herself on the trailer like an old pro. well, like herself 4 weeks ago when we first went to Pemberley.

i'm looking forward to tomorrow and seeing how she does with our crowd. with any luck, we will do a brief at liberty demonstration with an extra
safety fence in place. i'm hoping we'll be cantering for our crowd as well. Wakanda may show off her newest trick also...you'll have to be there, or wait for the "review" post event, to hear about it!!!4/3/09
4/5/09 Pemberley Clinic #2 For those who aren't up to speed on Shappa and my progress, allow me to provide a little background. Shappa is a petite, immature (physically, emotionally, mentally), gorgeous little sorrel ustang mare who turns 3 sometime before 7/27/09 (she was captured on 7/27/06 with her dam -- this
particular gather doesn't give an estimated age at time of capture.) She's been with us approximately 85 days. My training approach with her has been
more like the dancer who takes the lead in a waltz than as a 'dominant' or 'true alpha'. We were dancing at liberty in the round pen together, and play and truly enjoy one another, and our inhand work was far ahead of mike's girls, our riding just starting to really come together.

Then, 2 1/2 weeks ago, we had a massive setback. We know now that she was losing one of her molar caps just behind the bit. She startled and jumped forward at something and I tugged the rein to halt her. It must've hit the tooth and obviously that would be both painful and horrifying. She
exploded, tossing me into the round pen fence and bolting away. It was a week before doc could come see her and we could get answers as to what had happened, and longer than that before my legs (which hit the fence) were up to being in the saddle again. During that week, Shappa and I both
lost confidence in each other and in ourselves. In the mean time, we worked at liberty in the round pen, and we both became secure again in one
another in that setting but not in any other. After her dental work, doc cleared her to ride, but at first i couldn't get myself back in the saddle.

We finally got back riding, and our riding was coming back together at an ok pace, early this week, but anything we did outside the round pen
remained a mess. I could barely lead her outside the barn. Outdoors, Shappa had decided that perhaps it was time SHE was the lead partner in
our dances yet she also remained the fragile submissive personality of the lower half of any herd's hierarchy, terrified of being alone and even more afraid of being almost alone -- being with me who she didn't trust to lead her. She'd become a very bad actor outside, and we were really struggling to fix it.

Thursday evening, I left shappa indoors in the round pen alone, taking her 2 equine alphas away from her. we worked at liberty, and then I left
her indoors alone for about an hour. I came back out, put a lead on her, and asked her to come outside and behave. She began like the old shappa -- eager, forward, happy to be with someone and to not be stuck indoors alone. When she got snippy, I insisted she return to the indoor round pen and sent her to the rail at a canter. In a minute, she was licking and chewing, head low, ears locked on me, begging to rejoin me. Everything about her saying, "please don't leave me in here by myself again. I'm sorry."

We went back outdoors, and proceeded to complete the entire practice in hand course outside without a misstep. We loaded on and off the trailer 5
times, each without hesitation. It seemed perhaps we were back to where we had been before. She could see her sisters -- they were in Miata's paddock -- but they weren't close and she kept her focus with me whenever I reminded her to do so. It appeared we might just be back on track.

Yesterday, we took Shappa and Wakanda to Pemberley and had a practice session before today's clinic. Shappa got it together and even had her first canter! She wasn't perfect, but she did well.  OK...now that I finished that diatribe, lets get to today...! :)

We arrived at Pemberley a little over an hour early, backed the trailer into the doorway to be used for the inhand course practice, set up some of the other course obstacles. the great people at Pemberley were kind enough to already have our hay divider in place and a row of bales as seats set
up as well. I took shappa into the arena, briefly did a bit of inhand, tacked up and rode. She was very spooky about the trailer being in the doorway and about being able to see glimpses of movement and action outside, but she settled in and was ridable, better than i thought she might be when we first began the riding time. we practiced the inhand course once to be sure i knew what it was, and got ready for the clinic.

mike did the introductions and spoke briefly about the contest, about our goals with the clinic, and about each horse's story. I brought shappa in and
we began with a few of our freestyle tricks -- posing on the circus stand, pivoting 360 on the circus stand, stepping just front feet off and holding, and playing on the bridge including having it set up as a teeter totter. Shappa handled these tasks well. She also did well through the inhand course, hesitating to get onto the trailer  but completing it quite nicely after  all, and fussing a little at the L before backing through impressively. She also did both of her 360's in an OK manner, one of which showing nice form and style and the other drifting to about twice the desired space. Oh well. All in all, she kept her focus with me and I was quite pleased with her in hand performance.

Unfortunately, she continues to dislike it when I am talking to humans instead of paying attention to her, so as I tried to answer questions, she tried nudging, searching my pockets, and even threatened to step on my foot once. We got to talk about how we make her respect our personal space
without getting hysterical with her or allowing her to get hysterical back.
After Wakanda's inhand time (mike gets to tell you about wakanda's day), it was time for Shappa's ridden course. She was antsy for saddling, and I
knew we were going to face some challenges. Unlike we'll be able to do at the real contest, i took a bit of warm up ride time in the arena, having her
trot the figure 8s and a few other steps until she calmed down more. Once she was better focused, we began our test. She trotted the figure 8 reasonably despite my getting confused about the course; our canter depart left much to be desired, but we did get a correct lead and did manage our
canter circle. When i requested she come down to a trot to not canter the other direction (we're not there yet), she halted instead and we had a bit of
a discussion before trotting on to the next obstacle. she halted beautifully then fussed through the pivot, then trotted the poles where i was hoping no one -- particularly not my imaginary judge -- could notice that she was actually horribly bent left to keep her from rushing back toward the 'familiar end' of the arena. :) We then trotted to the bridge, road across the bridge with ease, and went into the L. This time she halted as asked in the L, backed through admirably, and had completed her ridden class.

If we pretend the warm up time never happened, we would've zeroed the lead change, the canter to the cone, and possibly the pivot at the cone. the other maneuvers were scorable. I was actually uite pleasantly surprised. Given the challenges of the last 2 weeks, I'd been trying to prepare myself mentally for the possibility that at Wisconsin we'll fail to even begin the ridden class. I think, now, that it is definitely possible that she may succeed in allowing me to mount and ride at least some of the test's maneuvers without any hysterics or that very real fear that overcomes her sometimes.

We talked awhile about freestyle, and I explained my planned, rather unconventional freestyle. I reminded folks that shappa and I have no expectation whatsoever of winning this thing. it'll be amazing if we make it into the free; if we do not, well that's perfectly ok. but if we do, knowing i can't do anything with a massive wow factor (the winner at Texas this year rode his horse up a teeter totter and halted, standing half way through a ring of fire!), shappa and i intend to show folks that we enjoy one another and that we can have FUN together. So, my intended free involves 1 1/2 minutes of at liberty work -- with a strand of electric fence cutting the arena length to about 1/4 its normal size -- and with several obstacles, including our bridge, a small jump that is NOT placed against the rail, several ground poles again not against the rail and, of course, no freestyle work for shappa would be complete without her "safe place" -- standing proudly atop the circus stand. Once the at liberty is completed, assuming she's got a brain and it happens to be focused upon me, I intend to mount and spend the last roughly 2 minutes doing simple walk trot canter work and showing the very basic lateral maneuvers that a young dressage mount just 40 days into riding training would be VERY proud to be able to display. With any luck, we'll have fun and we'll get to show folks that in this 100 day regimen there is time to -- and value in -- enjoying these horses' own personalities and letting them shine through.

With all that discussion done (there was no way to set up there to do the at liberty safely), Shappa and i simply did another brief ride, demonstrating the leg yields she is now doing with ease and then attempting but failing to demonstrate that, when focused, she has the most balanced gorgeous canter transition any youngster could ever hope for. She seemed to have fun, and folks said they enjoyed watching her work and play. It was an honor to have an upper level dressage rider tell me that my little mare has excellent balance and that her leg yields were balanced and proper and impressive. :) i was beaming!!

We spent the last 45 minutes or so horseless, and simply discussing safety and training issues.  Folks asked some fabulous questions, some of which
are just so hard to answer when you can't demonstrate what you mean. We discussed at length the difference between being alpha and being a bully, and how what we do is much closer to a democracy and asking the horses to trust us and elect us leader rather than threatening to beat them to death if they choose not to do so. We talked about personality and allowing who a horse is to shine through, and mike and i shared numerous stories, quite proudly, of matching the right horse with the right human and hearing stories years later of how fabulous they are together. we explained our philosophy and why ownership stays with us for 6 months, and told stories of horses who came back to CWER and why we are not only willing but anxious to let an adopter return a horse home if the problem is a fundamental one rather than a matter of owner education or mild changes in circumstances.

Finally, we shared that I hope to purchase shappa at Wisconsin and return her to CWER. Either she will grow to become my life partner and be a permanent resident and ambassador for CWER and for the mustang programs, or if we don't find that to be a long term fit, then she will simply have time to finish maturing physically, to go farther with her training and expand her world at a pace she can understand, and then we will work to find her
the right partner -- rather than risking her selling at the auction to someone who won't be patient with her and who will mistake her fear for disobedience and turn into a nightmare for horse and human both.

Several folks have offered to help with Shappa's purchase price at Wisconsin. What we are asking is for folks to pledge an amount they would be comfortable putting up -- whether that is $25 or $250. This will give us an idea of the budget we can tackle to win her at the auction. Then, when we get home, we will let people know her actual purchase cost and will work out a reasonable way to balance folks donations. Or, if folks are willing, you could choose to donate whatever isn't needed for Shappa to go toward Ennapay's expenses. Her medical bills thus far have topped $1,000 and we know we've not seen the end of it yet.

Well, that was our big day today! We sure had a great time and we can't say enough thank yours to Denise and everyone at Pemberley for having us, for donating the facility space and the time, the helping hands and even covering the county permit costs and so on to allow us to do this fundraiser. It means the world to us.
4/17/09 Shappa has been panicked since arriving at Wisconsin.
We spent sever hours with shappa this am and it paid off. Mike held her in the holding area until it was time. I led her in to the body condition judge and she screamed the whole time but we kept moving forward... Huge progress over last night. We entered the big arena and she danced a bit but was ok. Maybe just maybe we will do this.

The tears were dripping off my face as we succeeded thru the poles n into the shoot to back. We overshot n had to start over but she backed the l where atleasr 5 others did not. We overshot the serpentine but succeeded and loaded the trailer very well. She fussed for one hoof and finished the course...me bawling all the way. I was so proud of her!

She just might ride tomorrow... And if she does not its all ok...
4/22/09 -- EMM (extreme mustang makeover) contest writeup...
The writeup the day after we got home...NOW on to Wisconsin:
 
When we arrived Thursday, it was immediately clear that Shappa was overwhelmed by teh surroundings. Thursday eve, with limited people around, she was still afraid inside the inhand couirse area, the samller indoor arena -- barely able to lead, let alone handle any obstacles. When strange horses were there, she was panicky. Friday at TWO OCLOCK (2am!!) mike was back at the fairgrounds, taking shappa for walks all over, trying to help her get over her fears. He worked with a variety of approaches, and had her managable before he ever brought me back to the barn. When he took me to the barns at 6am, she'd come light years from wehre she'd been the evening before. He handled her all morning until it was time for me to enter the arena.
 
INHAND:
When it was time for the inhand class, I had doubts whether shappa would even enter the arena. Mike did his best to keep her calm until it was our turn -- handling her himself, walking her, calming her, reminding her that she knew what to do. Once I had her into the arena, Shappa fidgeted the entire time for the body scoring while the horse before us completed the test, and never really stood still, but she wasn't panicked or screaching, just firmly whinnying to anyone who would answer her.
 
Our turn came, and we entered the arena. she walked through the gate with a modicum of sanity, and i thought, wow, we're actually going to pull this off.
  • I saluted our judges and we walked the first obstacle without panic.
  • We trotted to the second obstacle, but sh was distracted and trotted right out the end of it, so we  had to circle and return. That's ok! try agian.
  • she halted and backed surprisingly nicely, then trotted out well.
  • i considered switching sides to lead her through the cones from her right due to the hard right turn at the first cone, but was unsure she'd handle that change (we did things like that a lot in practice), so i didn't try.
  • She was losing focus and pushed past the first cone, forcing me to stop her completely to make the turn, but she completed the cones.
  • At the trailer, she hopped her front feet on, hesitated, and got in!! she turned 180, and let me sing to her a moment so we got a 3 count inside the trailer. we were both too uptight ot even think about our 'trick' of stepping just front hooves off and pausing. we were off the trailer.
  • next was hooves. she was distracted but standing for her first feet, but pivoted about 120 degrees before allowing me to pick up the right side. agian, better htan i could've hoped for how panicked she was the night before.
  • walk over th jump rail that was rised 6" off the floor, no problem.
  • entered the box to do our pivots. they weren't perfect, but she gave me the pivot to the right without trying to blow past me.
  • exit the box, trot to the cone, halt. WE GOT A PERFECT SCORE from one judge for this manuever !! :)))) she even allowed me to salute our judges.
Did i mention i was both smiling ear to ear and bawling the entire test??? i was just so thrilled that she tried for me.
 
We placed 18th in hand, and 25th when including our body scoring. shappa scored as a 4-5 heneke score, which was worth 30 points less than a 5-6, the desired scoring. The points differences for that is huge and really insurmountable, but outside my control. We put weight on her as fast as we felt we safely could, particularly given that she's still growing, losing teeth, and often nervous and pacing off feed.
 
THE REST OF THE DAY...
I took shappa for walk after walk, all day friday. Mike often had to help me get her out of her barn, but we managed, 10 minutes here, an hour there. get her used to the grounds as much as possible. show her all sorts of things. Ironically, she would touch the most unusual tractors, carriages, first aid vehicles, 4wheelers -- but try to lead her down an aisle? even inside her own barn, she would simply plant her feet like an obstinate child and choose not to walk forward any longer, either going to or from her stall, wtih no apparent rhyme or reason. it didnt seem to be a psychological freeze but rather her way of expressing her displeasure at being here. i did all i could to make her comfortable, and to try to ease her fears. mike put a ton of work into helping with her on friday, and i can't thank him enough for it.
 
Friday evening, while everyone was at the rodeo in the big arena, shappa and i had a brief ride in the smaller arena. with wakanda in range, she gave me a very normal ride; without wakanda, she was panicked and flighty and there was no way i could've gotten a ride safely. it wasn't looking great for riding staurday morning, but perhaps it would be as friday morning had been.
 
RIDDEN TEST:
Saturday morning came, with shappa and i riding long before wakanda. no idea how she would do. i felt fairly sure that if she walked into the arena calmly enough to realize it was just another show ring (like going to pemberley), then she would be capable of riding her test reasonably and most importantly safely. If she got panicked in the shoots, then we would never be able to mount or ride.
 
We entered the arena, and she was realistic, managable! she was actually going to do this, i was in tears of joy again, and working to keep us both calm. she walked to the mounting block and posed perfectly beside it. at home, we use the mounting block maybe 1 ride in 10, and only if she settles next to it calmly on her own or if it is something i'm specifically working on that day. she settled in nicely, and i figured i might as well use it. As i stepped onto the top step of teh block, it rocked toward her and back again. So overwhelmed with the excitement, my brain was shut down and instead of thinking, stepping awya, an starting over, i tried to hop up quickly as it rolled toward her. Of cousre, she hopped away from both this odd blue plastic 'thing' coming at her hooves and at mom moving in a very odd manner. she hopped over the block as i landed on my rump in the sand, and proceeded to trot over to the judges, not coming to me when called as she normally would do.
 
I brought her back over to the mounting area, and picked up her reins. She danced away. i stroked her neck and tried again. this time she danced into me, a dangerous sign that i didn't have her attention at all. i rubbed her neck, pulled her reins over her head, and lead her through the course on foot, tears rolling in disappointment not at my little girl but in myself for having been sloppy and rushed and causing her this fear right now. She did all i asked in pattern, even halting on the bridge a moment at my request, and even 2-3 canter strides as we ran across the arena. I negelcted to do the final spins, as i was trying to convince myself i had the confidence to take her into the freestyle area and simply mount and dismopunt as my 2 freestyle moves. i waivered repeatedly, trying to decide, and finally asked shappa. i stood beside her and set one hand on her saddle, she sidestepped away and then nudged me to move forward, to go. she knew i wasn't capable of it, and she told me not to make the mistake.
 
And so i have the dubious honor of being the only rider to 'fall off' her horse all weekend. (four others failed to ride as well.)
 
THE REST OF THE WEEKEND:
 
Shappa was friendly and social with guests all weekend, happily visiting with people while she was in her stall. at times she got restless, and we would go walking when the crowds were smaller and in areas where there weren't large #s of people. lots of folks talked to me about my little girl and i got to explain the challenges we've had and what had caused the problems during our tests.
 
Shappa and I continued to walk off the weekend, with progress in some areas and new frustrations in others.
 
By time for teh auction on sunday, we went to the arena with wakanda, as we were close in line. This turned out to add to shappa's upset, not setttle her, as she now wanted wakanda at her side at every stride. We ended up having to trick her into the arena, and she danced and fussed the entire time we were in for the auction.
 
Patty (and then while mike was in teh arena she was on the microphone), the mastermind of this program, said very nice things about us and the work we did with our 3 girls. She thanked us for our participation in the program. it was much appreciated by us both, knowing that neither mare showed her best this weekend.
 
WHERE TO NOW? shappa will get some much deserved rest this week, and then over the weekend I'll begin again. we'll work to fix the walking on a lead rope challenges that blossomed over the weekend but were acatually rooted in her behavior the week after our crash when she stopped trusting people to show her what is safe outdoors and to follow where she is told without arguments.
 
shappa belongs to the BLM for the next 12 months, but under my care. If as she progresses we find that it doesnt make sense for her to become a permanent partner for me, then i will look for another  BLM approved adopter for her and transfer her, or wait until next april and once i have title to her, will then adopt her out under CWER's normal policies.
 

Sponsorship:  Shappa now needs a feed sponsor. The feed sponsor donates to cover the cost of her feed monthly -- $100 per month at this time. 

She also needs a medical sponsor. Recent expenses since the contest included an ulcer preventative ($85) and an herbal mix called Shen Calmer to help balance her Liver chi and her moodiness.