Archive for Wild Horses

Jun
11

Yippee! At Last! No More Excuses!

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Finally. Enough days of dry weather sandwiched together to get the grading done and get the pea gravel delivered and voila! We have a round pen. Kathleen returns for the summer (another yippee) in a couple of weeks – with her cameras – and then work with Noelle will begin in earnest. No more excuses. A Join-Up and a lead rope are in her future :). Meanwhile she will spend time Read More→

This 6-pound stone was taken from the tummy of a horse. It was
given to
us by Dr. Matt and we keep it on a prominent
pedestal
to remind us how important it is that we get
the diet right for our horses.

By popular demand the next tele-workshop will be on diet and nutrition. A Crazy Little Thing Called Love (TW2) – OR – Why Would You Ever Let Your Horse Eat That? This topic is a slippery slope, like running a military obstacle course, but we have a super group of guests who know the subject inside and out. First Read More→

Cloud (on the right), mustang stallion of the
Pryor Mountains winning a mare

Ginger Kathrens’ motion picture camera has followed the life of Cloud since the day he was born – the day she named him – more than nine years ago. Across those years she has filmed three incredible PBS Specials on Cloud and his wild herd, but the latest one Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions (I call it Cloud 3 :) is truly the best compilation of the the most amazing footage I’ve ever seen that tells a story story so remarkable Read More→

You’ll love it. A short blog: Next Saturday, May 1 at 9pm Eastern (8pm Central, etc) Kathleen and I are hosting our first TeleWorkshop: A Crazy Little Thing Called Love. If you haven’t checked it out, please do: http://www.thesoulofahorse.com/Workshop1SignUp.htm

Also wanted to report our new The Soul of a Horse Fan Page on Facebook is now above 2000 fans. Many thanks to all of you who have become fans. If you haven’t and would like to, we’d certainly love to have you: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Soul-of-a-Horse/106606472709815 Oh, almost forgot… for reasons unknown Facebook decided to change Fan pages to Like pages. Somewhat less honest I’m thinking but if you’d like to be a fan, when you get there click “Like” :)

Joe

6-14-09JoeNoelleSad400

Yesterday I spent the entire day uploading 77 photos of Noelle and Malachi to our new Facebook fan page for the The Soul of a Horse. I don’t think I have the patience to do this. And I know I don’t have the emotional stability to do it when it means going back through all the photos of our wonderful boy horse Malachi. But do it I did, buckets of  tears and all. The one above struck me hard. It was taken Read More→

Mar
16

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love

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Pete'sHoof

Finally we’ve got the date set for our barefoot TeleWorkshop. Sorry it took so long. It’s called A Crazy Little Thing Called Love – or – Why Would You Ever Let Your Horses Go Barefoot? It’s not a “how-to” but rather a “why-to” workshop designed for people who are not yet convinced barefoot is the right thing to do, the loving thing to do. And for everyone who is already there but needs ammunition to ward off and convince all those friends and “not-so-friends” who think you’re nuts. This is a two-hour workshop with Joe, Kathleen, and Eddie Drabek, one of the foremost natural hoof specialists in the country, jammed full of facts, undeniable truths, and real-life experiences, with lots of Q&A after.  Send your farrier! Check it out.

A federal district court in Washington DC has granted a  Summary Judgment Motion Against Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar et al forbidding removal of the West Douglas Herd of Wild Mustangs from their range in Colorado. This could be huge for all mustangs.

In the case of Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition vs Ken Salazar, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior, Read More→

Categories : Mustangs, Wild Horses
Comments (19)

Patience is not a concept I’ve had much contact with in the past. Like so many homo sapiens, I’ve always wanted everything to happen right now. I think it’s genetic. The shortest distance has always been a straight line. We humans tend to be that way. Especially in this millennium of instant gratification. But since my introduction to horses, I’ve come to learn Read More→

Jul
21

No More Salt Blocks

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Noeele-Joe-7-20-09

I have never been licked by a horse before. Lots of sniffing, nudging, lip nibbling, and just hanging out close by. But never a full-blown, full-tongue lick on the arm. Especially by a mustang who’s never even had a lead rope on. Until yesterday. Kathleen and I (and ALL of the dogs) were sitting in the play pen Read More→

Jul
11

Keeping Your Head

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Patience has never been my long suit. And the ability to panic at the least little thing seems to be embedded in my genetics. So maybe you can imagine what was going on in my tummy the morning that Noelle, our unhandled wild mustang, decided she would take a walkabout out in the free world. Read More→

Below is a portion of a chapter from my next book, which might give you a hint as to why we adopted Miss Noelle, who was pregnant with Malachi when we brought her home.

I was astonished when I learned that we were at risk of losing America’s wild horses. How could that be? These horses are not only a living laboratory, as a group they are a legendary icon of Read More→

Categories : Mustangs, Wild Horses
Comments (2)

A friend asked us if we had a name for the foal yet. We said no, and he said, “Well, the mom is Noelle. How about Foelle?” I threatened to send his email address to all of y’all :)

Today was a good day. Perhaps not the best day Noelle and I have had, but still good. And Kathleen did take some photos and video. It was an unseasonably Read More→

Feb
18

Omigosh y’all! Noelle is bagging up!

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Day 60 – Dr. Matt was here this morning and pointed out that Noelle is bagging up and will probably foal within the next 30 days… at least two months before earlier predictions!

Holy moly! The best laid plans and all that. Did I ever tell you that this is our first, as in FIRST, experience with birthing a foal, never mind one from a mustang who has never been touched (willingly) by anyone but me! Gleep and gulp! Even this morning when Dr. Matt got too close Noelle had to leave my side.

Since the last note I have been able to rub and scratch on both her right and left sides, down to the withers and down the leg to the knee. This morning on her right I even reached down her side toward her flank, and down her spine a bit. And I’m cleaning out eye boogers on both sides ?

I’ve begun a bit of halter desensitization, putting just the weight of my hand on the halter loop. At first, of course, she pulled quickly away. But the first time she didn’t she was instantly rewarded with a bite of hay. Now she rarely pulls away and – on occasion – she’ll even drop her head a bit, or give to a slight tug to the right. Again, instant reward. A rub, a good word, and a bite.

Today I’ll begin trying to approach and get approached without hay in my hands. And we’ll begin a new supplement for mama and baby.

Now, to shake off the sudden onset of tension and pledge to embrace whatever happens and deal with it at the moment. As you’ve heard me say before, God has obviously never felt obligated to let us know what’s in store. He does keep things interesting.

Joe

This morning Kathleen said to me, “Do you realize that you’re always saying, ‘I wonder when I’m going to be able to do this or do that with Noelle.’ Just a few days ago you were saying you couldn’t wait until you could scratch her on the neck. Seriously, just a few days! And here you are scratching her neck, her chest, her leg, her ear, her face and are you satisfied, even just a little bit? Have you taken a moment to just sigh happily Read More→

Day 15 with Noelle, our new pregnant Mustang who had never been handled before arriving at our place is coming along beautifully. Today she and Benji actually “joined-up” completely on their own. They sniffed noses and touched each other. Unfortunately we didn’t have a camera in the paddock at the time, and the funny thing is that Benji won’t Read More→

From the journal January 3, 2009 – On the evening of December 20th, 2008, we arrived home with my Christmas gift from Kathleen, an untouched pregnant Mustang adopted from the BLM in Reno, a six-year-old buckskin lady who chose us – well, chose Kathleen. I had missed her completely in our survey of the 150 or so mares in the five-and-over pasture at the BLM facility the week before.

Just imagine being the very first person ever to be touched by a wild Mustang, and being the first person to touch her foal. Shivers skitter up my spine every time I think about it. Two horses Read More→

Comments (4)
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