Cooper was feeling his oats today!

He and Cache had a grand time running around like the colts they are!  It was great to see him being able to enjoy being a horse but still being domesticated enough that he kept running to us as well.


Cooper is doing great!  He is so calm and gentle and is so smart.  He loves people and loves attention.  Cooper has a few people who are interested in him.  Someone is going to be very lucky to get this guy!

Cooper feels like he is one of the herd

Today Cooper got to go to the big pasture with the other horses.  He did fantastic.  He is very social and loves the others.  He cruised around with them and enjoyed stretching his legs.  When I went out to get him, I found him muddy.  I asked Cooper who had been splashing in the water trough but he didn't know.  :-)

Cooper came right to me when I went out to the pasture and will definitely be outside in the pasture more often.

Cooper is such a mellow boy.  He is fine with anything you introduce to him and he is going to make a fantastic family horse.  He just needs his forever family!

Cooper's Progress!

Cooper has been making monumental improvements!

We had a set back a couple of weeks ago when we discovered an injury he sustained at the BLM.  We noticed a small seroma on his chest and called the vet immediately.  The vet was so impressed by Mr. Super Duper Cooper.  He allowed her to take his temperature, perform an ultrasound on the seroma, and take a bit of fluid to make sure it was a seroma.  She thinks Cooper sustained an injury at the BLM that manifested when he came home.  She thinks he will make a full recovery and and he is well on his way.  According to the vet, seromas are common and usually fully resolve over the period of a few weeks.  It is almost gone now!  This never set him back since he has never shown any discomfort with the seroma at all.  He is just enjoying all the extra attention he is getting!

Cooper is such an amazing guy.  He has allowed us to do so much simply because he trusts us.  I really wish I had the room to keep him since he is going to make a wonderful horse.  Nothing bothers him and he just loves his family.

I can't say enough about him.  You can't tell the difference between Cooper and my domesticated horses.  He is a truly a gem and I hope he finds his perfect home with a family that loves him.

Cooper, Week 3

Cooper is still moving right along this week.  He has discovered that he loves the trailer.  We have really been working on his forward motion and he thinks the trailer is his own personal stall.  Like I said, he has a ton of personality!

Cooper loaded in the trailer and we shut the divider.  He couldn't have cared less and had to be prompted to get out of the trailer.

Cooper is learning to tie.  We tied him for the first time this week and he did well.  He got bored but when he went to walk away and realized he was tied to something, he stepped back to the trailer so there was slack in the line and looked at me as if to say "a little help here would be nice".

Cooper also got a bath this week.  He wasn't sure about being sprayed but did well.  If you give him enough time to figure things out, he does very well. 

Cooper had a visitor this week.  My friend that owns a Mustang came to visit him.  I was very happy to see that he wasn't too concerned about a new person and allowed her to approach and pet him.  My other Mustangs have been a bit concerned when approached by new people, but Cooper is my social butterfly and loves people.  

I am very pleased with his progress and I am excited to see what is next for him.

Here is Cooper with a saddle pad and surcingle.  He did absolutely wonderful with this introduction.  Next on the list is ground driving. 

 Standing in what he thinks is his "portable stall."  He now loves his trailer. 

 Standing tied to the trailer. 

Some ask what is the typical training program for a Mustang going through the process we are going through.  A lot of trainers focus on being able to catch the horse, pick up their feet, lead, etc.  I focus on those as well but I feel other things are just as important.  To me, it is very important that Cooper will load in a trailer and stand tied.  What if I need to evacuate?  That certainly is not the time to teach trailer loading skills and I can't take him too many places if he won't tie.  I want Cooper to have a happy life when he goes to his forever home and I take his training very seriously.  What I am doing now will help him the rest of his life. 

Cooper, Week 2!

Cooper has had many firsts this week:

•  Cooper is allowing us to pick up his hooves.
• Cooper took his first walk outside of his corral and handled it like a champ
• Cooper learned about the trailer.  I felt bad the first time he saw it.  He looked as if to say "Oh no!" but he did walk up to it and put one hoof in.  He had spent 6 hours in that rolling cage coming home from Litchfield and he was a little concerned.  He quickly overcame this and learned the trailer is a good thing.
• Cooper is learning to lead well.  It is difficult to teach him to basically follow you, stop when you do and back up.  He stops and backs up fine.  He is doing much better about moving forward when asked.
• He learned that being groomed is just heavenly.  
• I placed a saddle pad and surcingle on him.  He handled this like a pro and will be driving around with driving lines soon.

Cooper is doing so well and is continuing to improve on a daily basis.

So, a Mustang. Can I really do this?!?!?

The statement I hear most frequently about Cooper is "Wow, a Mustang.  I don't think I could ever train a Mustang!"  I was one of those individuals before my first Mustang.

Yes, gentling might not be the easiest thing in the world.  I learn so much from each horse I work with and I enjoy the gentling process.  That is part of why I gentle them.  The other part is that they are fantastic horses and there might be the perfect person for Cooper that doesn't have the resources to gentle him.  With my help, he might find his perfect match. 

If you look at adopting Cooper from the standpoint of "what a great learning experience!", your chances of a successful relationship are much higher.  You will need to learn with Cooper.  There are so many wonderful Mustang trainers and there are many clinics and workshops you can attend with your horse.  If you invest the time and resources in Cooper (or any horse for that matter), he will repay you tenfold with his trust and dedication.  It has been an amazing journey that my first Mustang and I took together.  I had (and am still having) an amazing experience with him because I found a trainer that works for us and I seek his guidance about more complex training techniques.

So if you invest the time and resources in Cooper, you will have a fantastic horse.  I have had the opportunity to work with a few Mustangs and I still have a lot to learn.  That is why I still seek out professional advice when needed.
I love working with Mustangs.  They are such trusting and willing animals.  You are guaranteed an experience of a lifetime when a Mustang enters your life.

Week 1

Cooper has been a busy boy this week!  The day after he got his lead off, we changed his halter.  We didn't realize we were picking up such a big boy from the BLM and we didn't bring a full size halter.  His halter fit, but it was a bit tight and rubbed on him.  He let me easily put a new halter on and remove his old one.  What a good boy!  He was so thankful for the face scratches he received after. 

Cooper is becoming quite the people lover.  He meets me every day and seems happy to have the attention.  If I am working with one of the other horses, he is never far and is usually more than willing to get more attention.

Cooper and his new halter:

Cooper Day 3

Today was a big day for Cooper!  He got his lead off this morning.  I made sure I could approach him and handle his halter without too much effort.  He seemed happy to see me and let me scratch his face (his new favorite thing in the world).  We worked on throwing the lead all around him and he couldn't care less.  He had it over his head, around his legs and over his back without much concern from him.  I unhooked his lead and attached it again many times until I left it off.  I am sure he will be very happy to have it off.

This afternoon I approached him and was able to attach his lead without any trouble.  We began working on desensitizing with ropes again.  We worked on having the rope around his front legs and lifting his leg when pressure was applied.  He handled it like a pro.  I noticed the flies were bothering his eyes so I decided to try the fly mask.  We took it slow and gave him time to adjust.  He never got upset and it took about 5 minutes to get the mask on him.

I am sure we will continue to make improvements with every session.  He has a great mind and it is amazing to see him work through the new challenges we encounter. 

Cooper Day 2

Well, Cooper has adjusted well to his new home.  He is such a sweet boy and is so curious.  He has the kindest face and the softest eye.  He has been a joy to work with so far.

One Mustang I gentled had a lot of movement.  He had so much in fact that I could not touch him for three weeks.  One day I went out to start our routine and he walked up to me and allowed me to do anything to him.  He has been the same steady horse since that day.  Another Mustang I gentled was the opposite.  He met me at the gate for our first lesson and let me immediately touch him.  He was a dream to gentle but when something really bothered him, he wanted to run for cover.  Cooper is a nice mix of the two.  He is very gentle but still has some movement to him.

Our morning session consisted of picking up his line, giving to pressure and facing up.  He did very well and I began rubbing him down with my carrot stick.  He was okay with that and I ended our morning session.  When I returned for our afternoon session, I found a horse that was VERY curious about me and had lost his fear about approaching me.  He sniffed me once and I stepped away to give him a release.  He perked his ears up and marched up to smell me again.  Once he realized I was not going to eat him alive, he took his time inspecting me and letting me pet him.  Definitely not an experience for the faint of heart!

I bought a fly mask for him today and my goal is to get it on him in the next few days.  Cooper is going to make someone a fantastic horse.  He has a very very kind personality. 

Cooper's Journey Home

Cooper's journey began today.  We arrived at the Litchfield BLM corrals this morning and we knew that Cooper was our next project horse the moment we laid eyes on him.  He has such a kind eye and approached us immediately to conduct a food inspection.

He got a hoof trim and a halter was placed on him before he was loaded in the trailer.  He wasn't too sure about loading in the trailer but he went in calmly.  He began approaching us and sniffing our hands before we even started the long drive home.

Speaking of the long drive home, it took about 5 hours to get from the Litchfield corrals to our home in Napa.  We stopped frequently and checked on him.  He ate calmly from our hands and was happy to see his new home and his new horsey friends.

Cooper already shows a lot of promise.  He is a BIG horse and the first item of business will be to measure him.  I say he is 14.3 or 15 hands.  And he is only 2!

Cooper is a 2 year old gelding from the Red Rock Lake Herd Management Area. This is a small herd and they are known for their large size.  Click here to find out more about the Red Rock Lake HMA.

Check back frequently to see Cooper's progress.  We are certain he is going to a fantastic horse.