MissFire

Update....

2009-07-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long. My summer is flying by. I had to get through our state drill competition. My lovely drill pony, Surprise (MissFire's partner in crime), had been put on the back burner during the EMM and it sure showed. Every time I would saddle up and head to practice or a competition I would get a nice bronc ride! I don't mind a little bucking but this was full out bucking! Of course with some extra time under saddle she came right around and gave it up (at least I hope).

Well now that state is over I decided it was time to start working with MissFire again. It had been over 30 days since my little girl had seen a saddle and she sure acted like she had never seen one! Well I saddled her and took her out to the arena to lunge her and surprisingly there wasn't any bucking. There was some hopping but no bucking. I did this for a couple days. She was acting pretty "cinchy" and I didn't want to get caught in the middle of a mess.

Well last Sunday my drill team went for trail ride. I was a little nervous to get back on after the break. I played it over and over in my head and couldn't figure out why I didn't want to get back on. She has never given me any reason to be afraid of her even from the first ride on. She has always been great. So anyways I wanted for everyone to get one and head towards the trail head. I waited until I was off the road before climbing on. She felt solid! Not a care in the world. She seemed really happy to have me back on her back and heading down the trail. We rode for a couple hours and she was great the entire trip. Of course when I got home and went to unsaddle and hose her down she completely fell apart. She's such a drama queen!

Well on Tuesday I had her shoes pulled and her toes trimmed. She didn't know what to think of the farrier. He was goofy and when she would try to run away he would go with her. When she would sit on a single leg so he couldn't pick it up he would touch a different leg. He completely fried her little brain. It was so fun to watch. He was never mean or angry but he would call her bluff. He read her from the beginning as chicken and a chicken she is!

All in all she is doing great! She is a little (ok a lot) on the porky side. She really needs to get back to work but with all this heat there isn't much going on. I try to get out to the barn every night and brush the girls (yes I only have the two girls and the mini donk left) and Jr. MissFire pretends she doesn't like to be pampered as its tons of drama to be brushed, but I think deep down she does.

More Pics!

2009-06-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

So we are mostly recovered from the trip. We pulled in super late last Monday night. I gave her most of the week off but took her for a trail ride on Saturday. She was super thrilled to be out and about and not an arena.

Here are some pictures I got from the professional photographer Charles Brooks.

photo credit © Charles E. BrooksBROOKS Photography2009

Home....Well Almost!

2009-06-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday was unbelievable! My morning started early so I could get MissFire warmed up and ready to ride before my "Horse Course" class. MissFire appeared to be on edge from the second I said good morning. After our trainers meeting I waited patiently for our turn. We were 4th out so it didn't take long. MissFire walked in and waited like a champ. She went over the bridge without hesitation and trotted through the serpentine right into the box. Surprisingly her 360's both right and left weren't bad and the back through was rushed but clean. We loped out of the chute on our right lead (yes right we didn't have it before Friday!) and spooked in the center. That was a bummer because she had a solid simple lead change right to left, oh well. We then started our "At Best" part of the course. We did a series of circles, side passing, front hand turns, and some backing. She was great for this. I felt it was a clean ride but not great. I was very pleased with MissFire and her progress. We ended up 14th in the class. The good news is this was high enough to get us a spot in the top 10 (well 11 this time)!

That night I was so nervous. I went out to warm up and had a slight problem/change of plans. MissFire decided she only had one gear and that was stop and back. I wasn't sure how I was to preform my final performance stopping and backing the whole time. While I waited nervously at the gate I was able to have a short conversation with an all time favorite of mine, John Lyons. When I left his side to go in I ran backwards away from the gate. I had to have two horses and a person hand walk me in. Once in she walked hesitantly but quickly and easily picked up the lope. This is the first time I had really loped her with a flag and we still don't really neck rein. All was well then I went into this really weird bucking/kicking thing. I couldn't get it. I tried to lope a couple circles to calm her down but it didn't work. I finally pitched the flag and got two hands on the reins thinking maybe the flag was bothering her. Nope...Went back to the bucking thing. Well now what? I went to the center and did my required maneuvers quickly and loped/trotted some more circles. She didn't seem to be settling. I stopped in the middle and tried to calm her down. No luck... Well I heard one minute remaining over the loud speaker so I nodded for my cow to come out. Yes MissFire loves cows but she has only sorted them never tracked or followed especially in a large arena. Well she forgot about bucking and went right to chasing. I doubt it was very pretty but she sure picked up the speed after him and forgot she was afraid of the crowd and the far end of the arena.

Lets just say this was a very upsetting ride. I had never had MissFire act in such a way. I couldn't get it. Well they announced over the microphone and let me know that my number had come unpinned and was poking her in the flank the entire ride. Well that makes more sense (I didn't think it was all nerves). John Lyons was giving quick interviews with each contestant prior to riding over to the judges to get their feedback and scores. Well by this time I was teary eyed. Mostly embarrassed that I finally was meeting John Lyons and I rode like what? They announced it was my birthday. Then the entire crowed said happy birthday to me and then announced that John Lyons was my all time idol (or something along those lines) all while John is shaking my hand and giving me a hug (Charlie gave MissFire a sniff too)! Thanks Juliane for the great birthday present!! We had a short interview before we walked together to get my scores. On our walk he reached out and grabbed my hand. It was funny MissFire trusted me (or Charlie) and walked straight to the judges side by side with them. It was great. The judges had very positive feedback and my scores could have been way worse.

And so I sit alone in Salem, Or. at a hotel. MissFire is sleeping in the trailer in the parking lot (yes I pulled dividers and bedded it deep) and my truck is sitting down at the GM dealer waiting for the service department to open in the morning. We stopped for our last fill up before getting home and the service attendant (Oregon won't let you pump your own gas) put gas in my diesel truck. I caught it after there were 25.008 gallows of gas in my tank. Out of precaution I decided to play it safe and have a certified GM mechanic work on it as too not void my warranties. So my poor truck is all along, has a tummy ache, and I miss her very much. She is very special to me as we came on in January with only 400 miles and now we are over 13,000 (thanks to the mustang stuff)! I hope she feels better in the morning because I am lonely and want to go home as so does MissFire. Oh did I forget to mention I bought her and she is coming home.... Well someday when we get there....

One more thing as its past 12:30 and I'm exhausted...Would I do it again? Definitely! The people are so nice, the judges are nice, and the people at the expo are nice too. I always felt welcome no matter who I was talking too. They always kept everything positive. Besides these mustangs are way better than my other domestic horses.

Friday

2009-06-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

What a day...We arrived at the barns really late this morning. I barely had enough time to try to clean MissFire up and get changed to my show clothes before we had to report to a trainers meeting. During our meeting we went through the course with the three judges and were able to ask questions. After the meeting I went straight back and get MissFire since we were third out. As we entered the arena MissFire felt confident. She stood patiently for the judges to acknowledge and walked great into the shoot and we backed around the corner. It wasn't great but alright. She did step out and hit the poles before finishing the obstacle. She immediately started trotting with me and trotted around the cones great. She hopped right into the trailer, stood great, and backed out. We walked over the poles without hitting one (first time ever!) and picked up the bag and carried it to the next barrel. Then came the not so pretty 360 and picking up our feet. MissFire let me pick up the first one just fine but decided it was time to wiggle and would not allow me to pick up any other feet. When she finally decided it was time she was great! We headed over for the body conditioning where she stood great too! It was asking alot of her to allow 3 people walk around her at the same time but she did it. Overall it felt like a good go. I was very happy with her, it was way better than expected!

Our places overall we great. We tied for 4th in Body Conditioning and tied for 10th in the in hand competition. A very good day!

This evening I pulled the poor thing out of her stall and went out to ride. She was pretty good for the most part. She felt pretty fresh but handled herself. We worked on our leads and stretched our legs. She was thrilled to be out.

We Here!

2009-06-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

It was a long drive yesterday. We rolled out of Buckley at 3:01 am on our way to Sacramento. The trip was uneventful and I drove the entire way. We slept in Arbuckle with some friends so we could have a nice stress-free morning.

The day has been busy. Between bathing and working the girls. MissFire is completely attached to Sangria and won't quit screaming for her. There is a ton of commotion and people everywhere! I think MissFire will do alright for the competition. She still doesn't have her right lead but her left lead is great! Sorry for the short update its already 11:30 and I'm heading to bed!

Lame...

2009-06-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

So we had a very productive week. We hit the trails, went to drill practice, sorted cows, ventured down the road alone. We worked hard and played hard. She loved all of it. I think the cows were her favorite. Saturday we went to drill and loped with the team. It was so fun and she was great! That evening we hit the trails again and went for a very low key ride. On the way back in I notice she seemed a bit "off" but I figured she was tired. Sunday I took her for another ride but noticed her leg was sore and very swollen. When I tacked her up for practice Saturday morning it appeared her bell boot had removed the hair and a small sored the skin a little but nothing to worry about so I put some stuff on it and left her boot off. Well Sunday this seemed to be a little infected but her knee seemed to be bothering her. The swelling around her pastern and the swelling above her knee seem to be two separate injuries so I made an appointment for the vet. After leaving the vet it was determined she has scratches. She said by tomorrow night I should see huge improvement so lets cross our fingers she gets better quickly.

A Lovely Weekend!

2009-05-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

I have to start out first by letting MissFire know she is a smart pony for deciding to take a nap before the weekend. We are both exhausted now but it was great!
We headed down to Vancouver, WA. to the Quicksilver Drill Competition. It was a super long day as the alarm went off at 3:30. We hit the road around 5:45 and started the drive down. Both the Rowdies and Cowgirl Spirit rode very well. One of our quads took first! Juliane and I decided to take our Mustangs into a quad (four man drill) so we did a mostly walk and a bit of jog. There was a small crowd, music, and a super scary arena! The first pictures are from us warming up. The next few were from the drill. It was so fun! MissFire was great! She was unsure of the judges sitting in the back of the truck. She seemed very happy to be away from the trailer. We arrived back in Buckley just before 11 that night. Super long day. Hubby and I quickly unloaded and got the trailer ready for the next day and crawled into bed around midnight.

Saturday morning the alarm went off a little later at 4am. We needed to be on the road by 4:30 to head to Ellensburg. We were going to work cattle all day. Juliane and I ended up giving apx. 75 cows shots. It was interesting. They were ran into a squeeze shoot that would shut their heads in so you could give them shots. A few of them got out too far and I had to give them shots in the neck when they were only stuck by their hips. It was fun! I miss playing with cows. I used to show cows in high school.

When we were done Juliane and her family headed home. We went for a ride in the hills. The views were so pretty! We saw a herd of elk, a few deer, and a wild turkey that flew over our heads. Very cool. The wind was howling (surprise, its Ellensburg!) so I was worried MissFire would be on edge. She wasn't from the beginning. My hat went to fly off and I caught it with both hands and she didn't care. She was so tired by the end. The hills were huge! I was even able to take pictures off her back. This little mare is great! So solid! We all crawled back to Buckley around 11 again. Super tired!

We had plans on Monday to go to the ocean. After our two early mornings and getting home late again we decided we would rather stay home than go fight traffic. We played around the house for a while then hit the trails. Another great day. We cantered and played. We crossed our first bridge. We walked up to it, pawed it a couple times, then just walked over it. I let her play in the river for a while. She just ran into it. Then soaked me! She was considering rolling but luckily she didn't. I love her! She is always great! I am so glad I stuck with her and didn't give up on her back in the beginning. I would have never guessed she would have turned into such a great girl!

First Shoes!

2009-05-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

So I had to bite the bullet and put front shoes on MissFire. Her feet are really hard but with all the extra trail riding she has been doing they are getting sore and chipped up. I was afraid if I waited any longer I would end up with a sore lame horse. My farrier wouldn't do it, he is afraid of getting hurt so I used Juliane's farrier, Greer. She was great! Quiet and patient. I couldn't ask for a better first set of shoes. MissFire was perfect for the filing and nailing but when it came time to pull her leg forward she wouldn't leave it forward. It was a challenge to her. Greer was quick and quiet. Every time MissFire would pull her leg back she would catch it before it hit the ground. If MissFire tried to dance away she kept with her.

So now we have new shoes and we are ready to go out and play some more! I briefly rode last night after practice. She didn't take any sore steps and was ready to walk out and go to work. Tonight we are going back to Fall City for quad practice so we will see how that goes. She sure loves being a horse and getting out and going places!

What A Great Weekend!

2009-05-18T06:19:00.001-07:00

Friday as soon as I got off work I headed out to saddle MissFire and hit the trails. This was the first trailer ride in quite some time she was by herself. She was great, not a care in the world. When we arrived at the dump in Enumclaw there were trailers everywhere! We pulled off on a corner and unloaded. While I was waiting for Nora and friend I went to the gravel area and hopped on. She was ready to go. Standing is not her favorite thing although she is getting better. Anyhow this lady came over to see her so I hopped off. Good move on my part. I explained to the lady that she doesn't like her nose touched so this obnoxious lady goes straight for her nose. Ticked me off! I have been ignoring the nose issue and it has become less of an issue. Then she was roughly patting her up by her ears. I just love rude obnoxious people! Well my little girl took it all in stride and handled it all well.

Nora and friend finally hopped on and we headed down the trail. MissFire was solid! We lead the entire first half of the trail and would have continued to lead but Nora wanted her younger buy to lead part of the way. On the way back we trotted some and I kicked up into our first lope! Well you know how a nice easy lope gets when your on an open stretch...yep your right we went faster and faster and made it to a slow gallop! She loved it but when I asked her to slow down she went right into a walk.

When we were finished I was feeling so good I took down to the South Prairie arena for cow sorting. The cattle were fresh and they were very large (MissFire's size!) Holstein heifers and bulls. Nora rode her in and played with her for a while but we tied her up when it was time to sort. I used Mufasa mostly but on my last go I took MissFire in. I just lead her in the pen and hopped on. She worked the gate (to the best of her ability and was great in the pen. After we sorted all of our cows I went back in and moved some of the cows alone. She is very "cowy". At one point she hopped up to get the cow.

Saturday morning she went to Cowgirl Spirits drill practice. We did walking warm ups and some pair work. She loved all of it and was great. After practice we decided to use our mustangs in a quad so Juliane and Sangria joined us (with the help of two seasoned drill horses) and we walked our quad. Both girls were really good. Another successful day!

Sunday was another great day. I took her the Rowdies drill practice. I rode her around with a couple solid horses in the outdoor arena but the ground was so hard out there we went and hit the little trail around the property. When we got back there were horses everywhere loping but we went in anyways. She didn't care. She wasn't worried about loping horses or anything. After practice I hopped back on and went to the indoor arena. There were only a couple horses in there but we walk/trotted around both directions. Then we rode out to the trailer before I remembered we forgot our lead rope in the arena so back in we went. She was so good for everything. What a great weekend for us!

Last Night...

2009-05-14T06:25:00.000-07:00

I took MissFire up to the local arena. I brought her inside and worked on her ground work. I was picking up her feet and came across a nail embedded about 1/2" into the bulb of her heel. Well the vets were closed and she seemed to be fine. She was sound prior to finding the nail so I pulled it and went back to work.

She was great tonight. We were able to walk and trot all over the arena. We even went around the barrels and over the pole. She was really good. Once on she is ready to go. She stands quiet while mounting and for her bending exercises but as soon as you ask her to walk shes ready to go.

When I got home I unloaded and took her into the barn. I gave her a tetanus shot and soaked her foot into Epsom salt. She was surprisingly good. She stood quiet for about 15 minutes with her foot in the water. Well thats about it for last night.

First Trail Ride!

2009-05-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! The weather was beautiful, the sun shining, who could ask for more! We went to a drill competition in Ellensburg. MissFire is very accustomed to traveling but this will be her first overnight stay in a stall (except at home). I was able to ride her quickly Friday night at dusk in a scary little arena. I was a little hesitant to get on since I didn't have my flag or tarp to check for problems. The next day she spent most of the day in her stall. I did snatch her up late afternoon to pass her off on my little sister to walk around with. She was thrilled to get out to see what was going on.

On Sunday I woke up with the itch to go for a ride. I had planned on riding Grace and pony MissFire and if everything went well I would ride MissFire. Well my hubby said "no just ride her, she's fine" so I took her. I knew Mud Mountain is a very safe place for young horses. The ground is very soft and there is plenty of room if you have an issue. You can put the horses to work if needed. Its a great place!

Once we arrived I unloaded MissFire and got on. I didn't do any warm up before getting on and she was great! At first we stayed in the middle of the pack while heading down the gravel road. Once we hit the soft clay/sand footing she took 0ff at a brisk walk. She passed all the horses and went out into the lead. Once we hit the trees I asked her to slow down and move back to the middle of the pack. She went down a hill across a creek and back up the other side. Solid through all of this. We went through some really nasty brushy places. Nothing but logs and brush for 50 feet. At one point the lead horse wouldn't go and she listened and went up and around all by herself. She is such a trooper! So another success story and successful weekend!

Another Ride

2009-05-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

I hauled up to the Tacoma Unit last night. I took MissFire to the small covered arena to work with her. I quickly went through all of her ground work. She is getting really good about it. She seemed a little distracted with all the commotion in the parking lot with unloading horses and cars driving by. I mounted up and did some bending to the left and right. I walked around a bit but didn't feel secure. She wasn't focused on me at all but she felt good at the same time. Well I let the nerves get the best of me so I dismounted and took MissFire back to the trailer and unsaddled. I rode another horse quickly and told myself to quit being a weenie and to get back on. So I saddled her back up and took her back to the small arena. This time Juliane and Sangria were there and so was her daughter on another rescue. I briefly addressed the ground exercises and climbed on. She felt great so I rode off. It wasn't a long ride but it was short and sweet. Oh and I took off the lead rope and rode with just a bit no halter! She's getting there, by next week we will be loping and doing flies (hahaha)!

Arena

2009-05-05T07:47:00.001-07:00

So last night I hauled up to a covered arena to get away from the lovely Washington weather! I wasn't sure what to expect since I have only been on MissFire in a round pen. She was pretty wet from the rain so I rode Surprise first. She was a total snot and actually tried bucking. When I finished with her I saddle MissFire up and started doing ground work with her. She is going through all the steps pretty quick these days. She wasn't sure of the tarp tonight. She decided it was scary!

Once I finished my ground work I decided to hop on. She was solid like normal. We just walked around tonight but I used mostly the bit for turning and stopping. She was a champ! I am hoping to take her to the unit to ride her tonight. Hopefully shes good!

Here is the only picture that turned out tonight....

We Trot!

2009-05-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day! I feel really good about my progress with MissFire. I got off work and headed straight to Juliane's so we could have a Mustang play party. It was a great idea. I couldn't feel better about my day with MissFire. I was able to clean all four feet including her back feet. She wore front SMB's for the first time. She was great with both of these things. Next was saddling which went smoothly and then to the bridling. Well long story short (remember I can't touch her nose), with a little patience it was done.

Once at the round pen I grabbed a jug of rocks and played with them. MissFire was less than pleased with it. Whenever I would throw it next to her back left she would kick at it. Not firing or trying to kill. It just irritated her and it was more like shaking her foot at it. Next I tied it onto the saddle horn to drag it. That was fun. She didn't like it much but tolerated it. When I tied it shorted so it would bounce off her side she showed her displeasure. At one point she was kicking out (mad) with her left hind. Very comical! Sorry we couldn't get the camera out fast enough...The ball was funny too. She just really doesn't want to be bothered by it. She would let it bounce all over her but when it would bump her from the back she would kick out at it. Mostly light kicks but sometimes she would nail it too! What a brat, it was fear just plain attitude! When I climbed up on the rail to do exercises over her head she was pretty good. Not really sure about all the commotion above her head but got over it. I was throwing the tarp all over her, out in front of her, and behind her.

Next was getting on! I had been taking pictures of Juliane knowing I had to get on when she was done. I started getting nervous when I thought she was getting close to being done. When I finally got ready to get on she felt solid. There was no hesitation on my part at all. When I asked her to bend she did it easily to the right and decent to the left. I asked her to walk off and she was great. She felt solid in all ways. When I asked her to trot for the first time she was solid as well. A few times I let my nerves get the best of me and a couple strides into it I would pull her up. She was great! I had a great night! After the pics there is a video (thanks Juliane!!).

http://www.youtube.com/v/aGOyWf50IRM&hl=en&fs=1

Week's Progress

2009-04-30T08:45:00.001-07:00

Well here we are at the end of another week. MissFire continues to make progress everyday but its baby steps these days. For some reason she still hasn’t let her guard down. This mare has a very tough exterior. She really tells a story. I have managed to get a few more rides in. They all go uneventful and she is quiet and willing. I won’t go into detail of the past week but here is a bit about last night.

I went out and caught her without trouble. She is much better with being caught now. I brushed her out, cleaned her front feet, and picked up her back feet (for the first time). She was great for all of this. So I was excited thinking we were going to have a good day. I took her to the trailer to tack her up. She was a nervous wreck. Went I went to put the saddle pad on her she started trembling. So I took it back a few steps and rubbed her down with it. After that I put the saddle on her and cinched her up. I was busy trying to get things ready for our first drill competition of the season so I had her stay tied for a bit.

When I was ready to put her to work I started to untie her and she blew up. Rearing, striking, running around (well trying). She really lost it! So I calmed her down and pulled her to the tack room so I could sit down and pet her. She was doing great, she let me touch her nose like 4 times and before I knew what happened she jumped backward and ran over the sidewalk and into the flower bed. I asked her to come forward and as soon as I went to touch her forehead she ran backwards across the yard. So I kept her backing all the way to the arena and around the round pen. By the time she got to the round pen she was done backing. I’m sure her muscles were hurting but I was tired of her rearing backwards at me. She stood quietly and let me touch her face and nose. I then bridled her and put her in the round pen. I went back to the trailer to get my goodies (ball, tarp, flag, and rope) and let her get used to the bit idea.

She was great for the flag tonight but nervous about the tarp. I had her drag it for a while then had her carry it. The ball was another story. She was scared and kept evading it. At one point she jumped and tried running through the panels of my round pen. Not sure what she was thinking, she didn’t try to jump it just run through it.

So we are now both exhausted and tired. But I still really wanted to ride her. So far we had only had very short rides; they were only a couple minutes at a time not really riding just hanging out on her back. So last night I crawled up on her a couple times then did some exercises off the panels and getting her to bend. When I finally was big and brave I asked to take a few steps. We rode for approximately 30 minutes last night. She was solid the whole time. I had the tarp, ball, and flag in the middle of the round pen and she kept stopping and staring at them. Pretty cute! She would also stuff her nose into the rope I had hanging on the rail.

By the end of the night I was feeling pretty good. The middle of the night was pretty discouraging. It still is. She really seems to be “happy” carrying a rider. She has her ears forward and moves willingly. She is a smart girl I wish I knew the key to her heart. She is always happy to see me but is always on edge.

Weird Pony!!

2009-04-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

I looked out my window to see MissFire doing more strange stuff. She loves to go to the top of the pile of dirt (behind her) to eat grass or to just hang out. She has always been a water fanatic. Anything to play in it. She loves it! Well its hard to tell in the pictures but she is rolling in the pond. She didn't go all the way in but put the front half of her body in it! She's a nut what can I say....

All Clean!

2009-04-20T06:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was so nice! I just love sunny weather! I went to the barn without a game plan. All I knew was I wanted to be outside and I wanted to play with the ponies. I decided I wanted to work on an obstacle course, so I set up a few obstacles in a little back pen I have. Next I went to the barn and turned out the other horses and went in to catch MissFire. I thought she needed a bath so we went to work on her first bath. She was great! She really loved the scrubbing in her mane. Here are some pictures of her after her bath.

While she was drying so we went out back and played with the obstacle course. She was really unsure about the tarps which drives me crazy. She has been worked with the tarps several times now but some day the light bulb will come on (I hope). She did the backing well and trotted around the cones. When I was leaving the obstacle course I decided to throw her in the trailer for a second. I then decided to leave her there for a bit to finish some hay in a hay bag. I then moved on to washing Surprise. When I was done I tied her to the trailer to dry. I was listening to MissFire lightly paw the trailer for a while then she got quiet. I was pleased until I walked around the corner to find this......

She was just hanging out. I never heard her panic and do anything stupid. The hay bag is pretty old with a ratty piece of twine holding it together. A little pressure would have snapped it so she must not of cared. I unclipped it and she let me pick up her foot and remove it. What a good girl!

Slow Week

2009-04-17T10:25:00.001-07:00

This has been a pretty slow week for MissFire and me. I spent Monday and Tuesday working with her face. I was able to play with her mouth on Tuesday and halter her! Haltering has been a pain. I have been putting the halter around her neck and walking to the the trailer to put it on. Once she was loaded she would stand quietly and let me put it on. Well now I can catch her and put the halter on her. Wednesday and Thursday I took her to Fall City and played with tarps and balls. She was less that pleased with all of this but tolerated it. I have a few pics that Juliane took but I forgot my computer so I couldn't take them. Oh well. Last night Nora played on her bareback for a bit last night and that was about the extent of the week. Slow but steady. We will see what this weekend brings.

Quiet Time..

2009-04-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

So last night I had the vet out for routine check ups. I also wanted him to check MissFire's teeth. Well after a couple sedatives we still couldn't get to her mouth. He said he would try again in a couple weeks when he comes out to castrate the mini donkey (sorry Jr). So he spent some time playing with her. She was still super reactive and wasn't letting her guard down. Well after he left I took advantage of the situation and proceeded to "attack" her face. I rubbed and rubbed her nose, nostrils, inside her mouth, the works! Yes she was sedated but she was still super reactive. I did notice that she had some super sharp edges in there after he left once I was able to get my hands in there. She feels like her top jaw overhangs both sides of her bottom jaw. It felt like her teeth might cut me they were so sharp.

While she was in her sleepy state I took even more advantage and put a bridle on her! It was still a huge deal but she allowed me to put i ton and take it off several times. The faces she made were priceless! She couldn't figure out why this hunk of metal was in her mouth. I left it loose so she could hold it on her own.

By the time I was done with her she was clipped (bridle path and trimmed the outsides of her ears), bridled, and her nose and mouth were rubbed. So was it just because she was sedated? Today we will see... I did go back out several times last night and to keep reinforcing it. I was able to rub her nose still. She wasn't nearly as quiet but she is getting there. Oh and if you look in the pictures I was able to put a blanket on her. Back leg straps and all. She didn't mind at all!

Progress?

2009-04-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

That's what I ask myself everyday. The past few weeks have been challenging. MissFire has a very strong opinion about most things. I knew this coming into it from the first second I laid eyes on her. Some days I think I have made great progress and other days I feel like we don't progress at all. This has been one of those weeks. I worked quite a bit at home in the round pen. Going over all the basics checking for holes. Sometimes she decides I can't catch her or can't touch her. She just won't let her guard down. You can tell she wants me to work with her. She hangs her head over her stall door begging for me to come in. When I enter her stall she will hang out until I approach her then takes off to the paddock. Its so frustrating. Once caught she is alright to work with. I can brush her entire body, pick up her back feet, swing ropes around her, play with tarps, and go for walks. She loves her walks, she is so bold and not afraid of anything. I was able to get a couple more rides on her this week. She is still solid under saddle or bareback.

So I guess all in all she does make progress every day. In four short weeks I have made huge progress and am very happy with her. I would have never guessed that I would be on her back this early or completed as much as I have. She is a very smart mare that learns (good or bad) very quick!

Crazy Weekend

2009-04-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

So the last couple of days have been crazy. I decided to go to Juliane’s for a Mustang get together. Both of us felt we needed to set some extra time aside just for the Mustangs. So Friday I took a half day from work and headed to Juliane’s.

Once we got to the arena we took MissFire to the round pen and began working with her with the tarp. She was hilarious! She acted like she was scared but was busy looking at something else. It didn’t take long until she was wearing it. That was pretty boring so Juliane took over and addressed her mouth issues. It was a long battle for both of the girls. MissFire wasn’t having any of it and Juliane wasn’t giving up. For the first time ever MissFire took to striking out (several times) at Juliane. When that didn’t work she would drop her head to the ground (still evading) but allow Juliane to put her finger in her mouth. She is so irritating when it comes to her mouth. Next we worked on laying over her and putting our leg over her. She was pretty boring for the most part. It didn’t surprise me to much since her major problems go along with her mouth. Once she was cooled down we called it quits for the time being.

Oh what to do with you?

Later that night we headed back to the round pen not certain what to expect. To my surprise we found a calm quiet MissFire who was standing completely still and allowed me to do mounting exercises. She was great, I even got brave and swung my leg over a couple times. She never acted scared, nervous, or anything but quiet and relaxed. I was a little worried because my little fireball doesn’t typically take new things so quietly. So I quit for a bit and let Juliane have a turn with Sangria while MissFire sat around soaking it all in. When we went back to working with MissFire we were able to ride small circles at a walk. She was so light with the halter and was bending and giving with a light touch. I couldn’t be happier with her first ride. She was so calm and quiet. It was like I had a new horse. I kept asking “where is my horse?” Don’t get me wrong I loved the “new” MissFire but it was a little scary not getting any reaction out of her.

Well my fire ball was back on Saturday. She was a pill to halter on, not surprising at all. When we got to the arena I saddled her and tied her to the rail while we practiced. She stood mostly quiet. I did look over at one point and watched her reach out and touch a perfect stranger with her nose. Crazy pony! Anyhow when I went and got her from the rail I proceeded to mounting exercises. I will admit I was being a weenie! I didn’t really want to ride her in such a large arena with so many other horses. So after some peer pressure from the team (thanks guys) I swung my leg over and walked around a bit. Of course she was great! Not as quiet as yesterday but still not worried. I rode her a few different times before I took her to the river. She dove straight in, she has issues with water and they are she has to be in it or drinking it at all times. I wonder if she didn’t have much of a water source where she came from. Well Skippy and MissFire soaked me before we left the water. They pawed so much and so hard they were getting water up on my head. Lets just say they had a blast!

And if she hasn’t been through enough I took her another sleep over tonight so she can go to a 4-H show. When we arrived I was put to work working the in gates and judging so I left her in the trailer for a couple hours. She doesn't always stand still at the trailer and with so many little kids I wanted to be there when she was out there. When I let her out and tied her to the trailer she was very happy to be out. She eventually tied quietly. We walked around eating grass and meeting new people. I had some kids play with her (older ones that I know) and she just hung out. I didn't try to ride her today. I figured with all the kids and wasn't sure if I would be allowed so it was an easy day. MissFire was so happy to be home tucked into her stall last night. She is exhausted!

Busy Night!

2009-03-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

What a day! I was sitting in the house today working on the computer and I got a phone call from hubby who was out in the barn that he needed help. So I hopped up and went to see what was going on. Well it appears my "good" ponies decided they wanted into the arena with MissFire and tore the fence down. This means that the mares were out together and they do not get along. They think they need to get into serious kicking wars. I was able to catch Surprise and move her to the front field for the day.

When I was done with work I headed out to work with MissFire. I have addressed the desensitizing work on a very minimal level and wanted to work more aggressively on it. I couldn't find a tarp but I found this nylon sheet that made noise. Once she decided it wasn't going to eat her she settled down and let me play with her all over her including throwing it at her.

For cool down I decided to take a walk. I wasn't sure where we were headed but we started in the front field. She jumped right into the pond and started nibbling the grass along the edge and playing in the water. She loves water!!

Can I soak you?!?

We ended up out on the street. I let her graze a little and tried to find scary things. Nothing bothered her, not even the cars this time. What a good girl. Once in the barn I wanted to brush her down really good so I went to work. I wasn't sure how far I would get but she was so relaxed I decided to attempt the tail. Yay for MissFire and me because she didn't even want to kick me! And for those of you that are going to make comments about my tail (or lack of) save it! The bottom is mostly ripped out and the top is growing in. When it is finished growing it will be a very nice tail so ha!

Missfire is getting to be such a nice girl. She is so smart and loves to do anything new! Oh and I almost forgot, last night after drill when I went to unload her she backed out of the trailer first try! I don't know that I have ever had a young horse back out of the trailer first try. So smart!

Look at my pretty tail!!

And a braid!

Snow.... Yuck!

2009-03-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I like snow. I just don't like the amounts we get in Western Washington. We get just enough to be a pain but never enough to make it fun. I was surprised to find so much snow this morning. Its almost enough to play in but its soaking wet and melting fast. And of course its all melting into my barn aisle. Its really irritating having a nice barn then having the aisle under water. The stalls are dry but the run off from the arena goes right into the barn. Another summer project!

Well enough about this, MissFire is almost there. Yesterday it only took about 45 secs to catch and halter and today was less than 30 seconds. She is realizing its not all bad to be caught or more importantly that I won't hurt her nose. She let me groom her without a halter this morning including her legs. Yesterday morning before practice I hosed her legs down since they have been so muddy. To my surprise this was not eventful. She just stood tied in the corner of the barn and stood quietly. The most she did was pick up her foot to get away from the water which didn't work.

I am very pleased with her progress the past two weeks. I can't wait to be riding her but she isn't quite ready for that yet. It will come with time!

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days!

Second Trail Ride!

2009-03-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

What to do with MissFire. She is still fighting being caught. I went out in kind of a hurry trying to get loaded and on the road. I know horses don't have time lines....Anyhow I played catch and release for a bit, approached her on both sides, and then finally attempted to halter. She didn't go for it. So I got serious, I'm done with catching games. I worked her in a couple circles before asking her to stop and face me. When she did she stood stock still allowing me to catch her. I put the halter around her neck and started petting her jaw and chin with the halter. After about five minutes she just stood there allowing me to pet her nose with the halter. I don't get it. I have been working all week to achieve this and get serious no more Mrs. Nice lady and here we are. I did this a while then haltered and took her to the barn.

After she was brushed I loaded her into the trailer. For the first time I closed the divider on the trailer. Mufasa had a couple good cuts on his legs yesterday and I am guessing she kicked him plus its time to learn. Surprisingly she accepted this and stepped over so I could close it. I then loaded Surprise and headed for the hills.

After both girls have been saddled I thought to myself, "What are you doing?" I brought a 4 year old feisty Mustang and a 7 year old feisty Thoroughbred/Quarter cross that do not get along. I let them out together once and wasn't sure if one of them was going to make it. They sat there butt to butt kicking each other. Neither one of them got hurt they were to close! Anyhow as I mounted my mare I wondered when the last time I had been on her that she was good. Its been a while. She was great! They both went up and down the hills and to the waterfall we went. MissFire sure loves the hills. She is so happy to be there and doesn't give me any grief. She has even learned that when you go around a tree the wrong way you really quickly back up and go along the other side. So smart she is!

When I was preparing to load her she moved away from my friend Nora. I told Nora to go pet her. Well forgetting Nora's personality she didn't quit until she was scratching her all over including between her butt cheeks! I haven't hardly touched her hind end and she gets how far. MissFire loved the rub down. She got nervous a couple times and moved away but she was always on a long lead attached to me and could leave anytime.

What To Do?

2009-03-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I only had a little time after lessons so I went out and caught her for the first time without a halter on her. She was great to catch but then evaded the halter by turning her head away. Within a few minutes she was caught and brought into the barn. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. It was late and my husband was waiting impatiently to head into the house. So I handed the lead over to him and told him to have fun! This was MissFire's first male experience since I have had her. Hubby tries really hard to be quiet and soft but MissFire didn't think it was soft enough. She did finally allow him to touch her all over a hang out with her. After he was done I put tucked her in for the night.

I had drill practice last night Of course MissFire tagged along for it. She is getting good at tagging along. She is great for loading, great for hauling, great at tying next to other horses, just pretty great. She is getting better at "new" people touching her and playing with her. my biggest problem is that darn nose. She does not for any reason want me to touch it. The flag can touch it a whip can touch it, but if its my hand or the halter she throws a fit. I have spent the entire week working on it. I know that when she is ready she will allow it but it is so frustrating not being able to touch her nose or get a halter on her. I can walk up to her and love her, hug her, whatever, until I go to put the darn halter on her nose. Once caught her I brought her into the barn and found her new favorite brush. Its one of those round curry combs from Oster. The one with the many little and soft bristles. She loved it! Next was saddling, not her favorite but improving everyday. Still no blow ups since the very first time. Threw her into the trailer and off we went.

I had some of the girls from the drill team take her to pet her all over. She is so full of drama. I even had to switch halters so I could have pictures taken with the Cowgirl Spirit halter. She did it with little problems. Practice was cut short no drilling tonight. It did give me time to do ground work with MissFire. She was full of herself. Not out of control but just feisty!

Catch Me If You Can!

2009-03-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

MissFire and I make great progress everyday. She is so smart she learns everything first time. Well on the flip side of this she learns how to evade me very fast too! From day one she has been hesitant to let me catch her. She stands and lets me approach her and I can pet and scratch her all day long. When I go to "catch" her she won't let me. She turns her head and "practices"
bending. She bends her nose around to her girth area. Monday afternoon I played catch and release for over an hour. I had a halter and lead and was rubbing her all over with them. She got to where she was very consistent on letting me catch her with little problem. She did walk down my long driveway to get the mail with me. She is so curious she didn't want to leave the row of mailboxes. The old phone books in bags were so cool! I put her straight int he trailer for a quick trip to town to run some errands. She loads and hauls great. She is a little impatient when the trailer isn't moving. But thats typical baby stuff.

Tuesday I went out to catch her and it didn't take too long to catch her. I saddled her and loaded her in the trailer to head to the Unit to ride. Tonight when I got there the arena was empty. Just Mufasa, MissFire, and me for the first twenty minutes. Then the others started trickling in. MissFire is not sure of the other horses and they make her very nervous. She didn't kick at anyone tonight so thats a plus. When my friend Jessica arrived she handed me her horse and took MissFire from me. MissFire hasn't had much handling besides Juliane and me so she wasn't too sure. Jessica rubbed her all over on both sides and just played with her for a bit. I finished riding and loaded her back up to go home.

When I arrived at home I unloaded the horses and took them to the barn. I spent quite a bit of work of just touching and rubbing her all over. Then practiced haltering. I made the decision to take her halter off last night. I haven't tried to catch her yet today but I think it will be fine. Tonight she gets to go with me to some riding lessons for some 4-H girls. Afterwards I might hit another arena to play with her.

This Weekend..

2009-03-23T08:04:00.001-07:00

I took off to Albany to watch the Northwest Extreme Mustang Makeover. I loved watching all of the horses and there was so much to learn. The horses were very nice and well trained. I left Friday Morning and we got home Saturday evening. This left MissFire untouched from Thursday until Saturday. She was so full of herself. She wanted to buck and run on the end of my lead. The hardest part was there was a horse in the round pen being worked so we had to wait our turn. She has no patience when she has this much energy.

When we finally got in there I put her to work. She is getting very consistant with her inside turns and good for stopping and standing and letting me walk up and rub her. When I would go to catch her she would take off. We spent two hours or so working on this. Juliane finally stepped in to try and eventually she was able to scratch her face and catch her. It was dark at this time so we called it a night. We had planned on starting her under saddle that night but she had other plans. No problem it can wait for another day.

Sunday morning I wanted to go for a ride. I got up and fed the ponies and took MissFire to the round pen. I grabbed my saddle and pad. She had no problem with either one. I grabbed the cinch and held it against her stomach and asked her to walk. She was fine so I cinched her up. It was snug but not tight. I walked her a couple steps and went to tighten it some more and I got an explosion. Her belly was over my the tops of my panels. She carried on for quiet some time. Eventually the saddle slipped and was hanging to one side. I got her stopped and caught pretty quickly and uncinched the saddle. When if fell she jumped away and looked at it. I imediately grabbed the pad and put it back on along with the saddle. I made it be no big deal and resaddled her right away. She never had another problem. When it was tight I sent her out and she was great. I put her back in her stall to finish breakfast.

When we made it to the trail head I unloaded and got the ponies ready. MissFire was pretty excited but really worried. This is the first time she had ever been near other horses while they were being ridden except me and Skippy. She took everything in stride and didn't have issues with anything. Skippy on the other hand was a total dork and decided to be herd bound and prance and dance the entire ride. He never acts like this. Well MissFire acted like nothing was going on and just followed behind. I unsaddled and brushed at the trailer.

I managed to unload and take a quick break at home (to set up night feeding) before loading up to go to drill practice. MissFire didn't know what to expect. All those crazy horses running around with people on their backs. She did kick a couple times when they would coming running up behind her and barely miss running her over. I completely expected it. That is her way of defending herself. She doesn't bite or strike, she runs and kicks. Its just her and she gets better everyday it will just take him. She got to spend the next two hours tied to my trailer. I have only tied her solid inside the trailer. Never next to it. She did great!!

She was so happy to be home in her stall last night. We even worked on haltering. Another day or so and she will have her halter off in her stall. Yay for MissFire!!

New Adventure....

2009-03-20T06:30:00.001-07:00

I decided to be brave yesterday and turn MissFire out in the arena with her friend Mufasa. They have spent a lot of time together in the barn and I thought they got along well. After MissFire established she was boss (yes that little thing kicked the snot out of him) they got along great!

So I loaded up yesterday and headed to the Tacoma Unit with the intentions of riding. To my surprise the High School Equestrian Teams had already moved in and taken over. With so many people and horses I decided not to take MissFire into the covered arenas. I did saddle up Skippy and pony her in the out door arena. It was so wet and thick we only walked around.

When we got bored with this we ventured out into the trees and went over logs and down a short trail. We then circled around and went past all the campers and people. The only thing she found sort of scary was the huge rock that was 1/2 her size. She wanted to hide behind Skippy when we passed it. I asked her to come forward and she faced it. When she finally passed the scary rock I thought she was going to kick it. She is funny like that. From the front she is all curious but from behind she wants to kick it.

Then we picked up my flag and went back to the out door arena and worked on flagging work. She was solid. She let me scratch and poke everywhere. Back legs, head, belly, flanks...everywhere. Then I worked on flagging her with the flag. She didn't care at all on the left side. She is still shy on her right side. When she would turn away from Skippy we would just follow. Shortly she stood and let me continue my work on the right side. She even let on of my friends pet her.

She loaded perfect into the trailer and stood quiet while I loaded the other horses. It was a short and sweet night but lots of new sites and noises. All the kids yelling and screaming. It was a perfect night for her!

Road Trip!!

2009-03-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I decided to take MissFire to Juliane's for a play date with the Mustangs. I also brought a couple different horses with me so she had to make her first trailer ride tied up. She did really well with it. No pulling back no nothing.

Once we arrived I unloaded and started brushing the horses. MissFire was still a muddy mess and covered in shavings. I did manage to brush most of her. She just gets better every day. After Skippy was saddled we walked the horses over to the neighbors round pen. This meant walking down the road past cars, mailboxes, motorcycles, etc. This was very scary! but she took it all in. She only spooked once and jumped forward but didn't get loose. As soon as she felt the halter pull she stopped and came back. Once at the round pen we stood outside and waited for Juliane to finish working with Sangria. We worked on leading and desensitizing work. She was alright with the flag on both sides of her including her rear.I was very impressed.

When we were able to get in the round pen I turned her loose, worried what I might have. For one this is the lowest fence I have had her in and two we didn't have the best day the day before. To my surprise she was great! No attitude just a working pony. We worked on basic round penning and she let me walk up to her a few times. She was great so I let her have an easy workout. The rest of the trip was a mental workout for her.

Back at the trailer we untacked Skippy and loaded her in the trailer and tied her in. She had to wait a couple hours before going home since there was a team meeting for Cowgirl Spirit. When I arrived back to the trailer she was standing quietly and my trailer was still in one piece.

She was very happy to be home last night. She went right into her stall and started drinking. This is the most water she has drank since she has been here. She only wants to drink out of mud puddles. I'm not sure why but I am very happy she drank last night! I think she really likes being a "real" horse and having a job to do. I think tonight I will be hauling her up to a covered arena tonight. I dont really want to play in my soupy round pen plus it would be good for her.

And The Attitude Returns!!

2009-03-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

When I went to the barn last night it wasn't raining so I put MissFire in the round pen and turned some of the other horses out in the arena. She was happy to be out, but really wanted to play with the others. I don't think she is ready for that. She must be feeling more comfortable because I caught her rolling in the really wet soupy sand. She looks like a mess now!

Well after chores were done and the others were in their stalls eating I put MissFire to work. So far she has been pretty easy to work with but last night she took a turn. I was asking her to move out in the round pen and all I was getting was hind feet flying in my direction. I had a lariat in my hand that I would swing in her direction. When that wasn't working I would toss it towards her hind end. I finally had to get a lunge whip to get my distance from her. She was kicking to kill and running backwards to do it. All I could think of was John Lyons saying you will know who's in charge in the round pen, you or the horse. Well I wasn't! Once I got the lunge whip and could be aggressive farther away I finally got some forward movement and felt like I was taking the reins again. We worked quite a while before I asked her to whoa and let me walk up to her. Surprisingly after the intensity of the workout she let me walk right up to her and pet her.

We then took a walk around the arena to cool down (both of us), we checked out all the scary cones and barrels. She never turns and runs when something is scary. She snorts and leans back then stretches way out.

Overall it was a good night. It was something I saw coming, I just didn't know when. Oh and yes I know she is a muddy mess. If you think she is muddy you should have seen what I looked like! I think I was worse off. I was going to go back out after she dried last night to brush her but I never made it. When I went to say Good Morning she greeted me with both hind feet! Gotta love them!! Up until this morning she has been really good at only giving me her face. She hadn't even put her hind end towards me. Oh well....

2009-03-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I headed out to the barn to feed the ponies. After everyone was fed I stepped into the stall with MissFire. Not knowing what to expect from her. At first I just hung out in there. She was pretty nervous with me in there. At one point she tried to run through the bars on my stall and bent the re-bar with her forehead. I picked up her lead rope and started with basic sending exercises. Left to right, right to left. She picked this up really fast. Next was introducing the flag. After a bit she let me get the flag within 3 feet of her on both sides of her. We stopped for a bit and went to get something to eat.

When we arrived back to work with the ponies I went into Sangria's stall and braided her mane while Juliane worked with MissFire. She was working on touching and rubbing her with the flag. She came quit a ways in just a short time.

Later that evening I took MissFire out to the round pen with my trusty gelding Skippy. My goals were to just ride around her. Well out the window that went. I ended up picking up the lead rope and ponied her around the arena. At first it was basic turning circles since she wouldn't go forward. By the end she was coming right along and giving to the pressure. I then got off and tried it from the ground. She was great! She was following me and being lead. By the end of the night I was able to touch her neck just a little bit!

Sunday brought a really late start. I just couldn't get motivated. I made it out to the barn and took her lead rope off. She was pretty easy to catch. I took her out to the round pen and did some basic ground work. It was pouring down rain/snowing/hailing. It was miserable. I loaded her in the trailer in between down pours. That was about it for the day.

Monday brought a lot of firsts...She was able to spend the day in the barn aisle which made her happy. She was able to mingle with her new friends. At lunch I loaded her up in the trailer with her friend Mufasa and took her on a coffee run. I cheated a little and lead Mufasa and her together so she was most likely following him. This was her first trip out of the barn or round pen. When I got back I parked up by the house, unloaded, and walk the two of them across the yard and to the barn. She was great.

After work I went out to work her and did more basics in the round pen. We also walked around the arena (those cones are so scary). She is so cute when she spooks. She is so curious it kills her. So she is trying to run backwards away from the cone but her nose is stretched out trying to touch it. I will have to get pictures and show you guys. She then walked all the way across the yard and loaded into the trailer. Yes walked up smelled it and hopped in. I took off the lead and off to the feed store we went. She was quiet the entire trip. A bit nervous but quiet. She was very happy to get home. Then she was tied in her stall while I cleaned the other stalls. When it was time for her stall I tied her in the aisle. Not to bad for her first time. She is impatient and loves to throw fits. Before I tucked her into bed last night I attempted to brush her. Remember she has only let me touch he withers and a bit of her neck. She let me brush both sides of her neck, withers, back, and sides. Very impressed!

All in all I love working with this girl. She is very spunky and full of attitude but she is so smart and willing to work. If she can't find the right answer she keeps trying until she does.

2009-03-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

Well the trip was long and uneventful. We left Buckley at 9:30 Thursday night and drove straight through the night. We were both too excited to sleep and couldn't wait to get to The Litchfield Corrals.

Upon arriving at the corrals we headed to the office to fill out the last minute paperwork before checking out the horses. I was looking for a brown four year old mare with no white and a tag number of 9556. There was only a couple that matched this description but I couldn't find her. Juliane came over and took a picture of the tag to find her.

My initial thoughts on her was that she was super insecure and very defensive. She was running around the corral with penned ears and kicking at the other horses. The entire corral was nervous and running around. She seemed to be pretty low in the pecking order. Trying to be big and tough so she wouldn't be picked on. She appeared to be small not the large drafty horse the office said she might be. She seemed to have a smaller head and decent conformation. Unfortunately she didn't have that long flowing mane and forelock (no tail for that matter).

We stuck around to watch the horses for a bit before giving our paperwork to the guys to load them. Juliane's was loaded first (and perfect). When it was time for mine she was everything but quiet. Very reactive and didn't like what was going on. It took her a bit to calm down enough to even get a hold of the tag to take it off. When they tried to put the halter on she resisted by shoving her nose against the chute. After they got the halter on and finally opened the chute gate to load her into the trailer she shot like a rocket into the trailer. She was stomping and kicking, throwing a fit. Now that both horses were loaded we hit the road quickly trying to quiet the horses. All I could think was I had my hands full and this was sure to be a huge challenge. Juliane joked all the way home we should call mine Spitfire. It sure would fit her personality perfect!

We finally pulled into Buckley at 4 am Saturday. We drove straight through except a short nap just inside of Washington. We pulled into the arena and backed into the barn. Both horses ran out and into one stall with little encouragement. Juliane was the lucky one that got to try to separate them. Hers didn't care but mine was going to kick her head off. She is so full of spunk and attitude. We finally got them separated and tucked into the stalls in about an hour. I crawled into bed around 5 am and boy did it feel good! When I was almost asleep my husband suggested

MissFire for a name. It really fit so I agreed.