Follow my progress with an untouched mustang!

Meeker, CO

April 25th was a lucky day! I was second in the draw and chose #1256, a flashy little brown bay with lots of chrome. We stayed in Meeker to work with Nick Mantle and had some great trust building and first touches before we left for Lander. I couldn’t be more excited to work with this little guy for the rest of the summer. He’s a stunner!

Lander, WY

Welcome to the Rainbow Ranch, #1256! After a few days of deliberation, “1256” became “Frankie.” Pickup weekend saw the first of several bursts of much-needed precipitation in the region, so Frankie’s early days of training were characterized by fetlock-deep mud. In spite of the conditions, we made a good start, focusing on building connection and trust, basic groundwork, leading by front feet, standing tied, and saddling. Frankie is proving himself to be a curious, friendly, and willing little horse. He’s showing a fair bit of sensitivity which will likely make early training slower but will hopefully result in a responsive riding horse!

Lander, WY

By the end of the week, Frankie was happily cantering under saddle—what a progression! I put a first ride on Frankie on Day 10, and it was boring…exactly what I hoped for. With persistent mud and slippery footing in the round pen, Frankie started working in the local indoor arena straight away; while the first ride in the large open space was stressful for me, Frankie took it in stride. We also made a lot of progress with his feet: lifting them, picking them out, and starting to clean up his soles and frogs. The more I get to know this little horse, the more I appreciate his brain; he can have big reactions, but he moves through them quickly.

Lander, WY and Boulder, WY

Wow. The last couple weeks really flew by! Frankie and I and four other Rainbow Ranch mustangs drove to the other side of the mountains to spend a few weeks based out of the NOLS Three Peaks Ranch in Boulder, WY. In addition to living and working in an unfamiliar location, Frankie went on his first few trail rides (first being ponyed and then ponying another horse), gained enough proficiency with lateral movements that I could start opening gates while mounted, kept working on basic flatwork in the arena (walk, trot, canter) in the arena, and acted like a true professional in a two-day clinic with Micaela Love in Lander.

Boulder, WY

Frankie and I had another great couple weeks based out of Three Peaks. I introduced Frankie to a snaffle and, on the first ride, he started to accept gentle contact. In the arena, we’ve been working on transitions, leg yields, shoulder yields, and have started to jump over small obstacles. Outside of the arena, Frankie is leading out, crossing water, and riding calmly in a group.