tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post6197748857833907698..comments2024-01-03T03:28:48.980-07:00Comments on mugwump Chronicles: Horse Stories/Sonita/Chapter 4Mugwumphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487540636265322556noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-24260931101563166112008-07-08T14:14:00.000-06:002008-07-08T14:14:00.000-06:00MORE SONITA!!!!!(please?)MORE SONITA!!!!!<BR/><BR/>(please?)Charhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901638136431043360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-32088857874101300582008-07-08T13:43:00.000-06:002008-07-08T13:43:00.000-06:00This was my favorite installment of the story yet!...This was my favorite installment of the story yet! I can't wait to hear the rest of Sonita's story.spazfillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06165692758574924371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-41886399360433595442008-07-08T10:30:00.000-06:002008-07-08T10:30:00.000-06:00MORE...MORE...MOREAlso please a pic of this Mare o...MORE...MORE...MORE<BR/><BR/>Also please a pic of this Mare of yours!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-41862425056890713902008-07-07T14:51:00.000-06:002008-07-07T14:51:00.000-06:00I don't feel that a twisted wire snaffle should ge...I don't feel that a twisted wire snaffle should get a bad rap all by itself. Just like a gun (or a knife, or a baseball bat) its a tool in one hand, an instrument of abuse in another. I LOVED the part about "just pitch her away and let her do her thing." (I'm paraphrasing) I bet you were scared silly, but this time she had something to concentrate all that enegry on....your description of it was awesome.Smurfettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02025057533314547558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-70900588179614924222008-07-07T00:42:00.000-06:002008-07-07T00:42:00.000-06:00What a gas! LOVE IT!What a gas! LOVE IT!LatigoLizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00156135083831037517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-33572310537042110592008-07-06T15:41:00.000-06:002008-07-06T15:41:00.000-06:00I have a confession to make:I have this system of ...I have a confession to make:<BR/>I have this system of looking at websites/blogs. First i check out Fugly, then Training the VLC, then TB Friends, then Mugwump, then a few others. Well today, I just skipped ahead to Mugwump. I just love your stories. I'm not turning my back on Fugly by any means, I think I just wanted to read something a bit more, I don't know, literary. Your stories are inspiring. I'm not a proper trainer other than teaching my own boys, but I have worked with trainers in the past that didn't show half of the understanding and patience that you have.<BR/><BR/>I have a big ole soft spot for those horses that tend to test your last nerve and when you're nearly at your breaking point, they turn around an absolutely amaze you. Makes all the sweat and tears you've put into them mean so much more when you've helped them to find their niche. I rescued a TB/Draft that I intended to use for low-level jumping, and he just wouldn't have anything to do with it. He was clumsy in the arena, or would get lazy, overreach and pull off a shoe or just start being unruly. He would stop paying attention and one day I just had it. I rode him straight out of the arena and into the trails to get his mind in gear. He came alive. Out on the trail he's as sure-footed as a mountain goat, eyes wide, one ear always on me the other listening intently forward. There's no happier horse than Excell when he's out in the woods and he's incredibly aware at all times that I'm on him, he takes great care of me because he knows I'll unleash him on the open areas and let him go to his heart's content. But god forbid you try to do anything with him in the arena, he just hates it in there. He's the most content and responsive in the countryside and that's where I now intend to use him. <BR/>Just like Sonita, when I found what he enjoyed, what he was good at, he gives me 150% every time. <BR/><BR/>I'll be sitting here waiting 'patiently' for the next installment :) Now that you've found Sonita's niche I can't wait to see her fly.LolaJ724https://www.blogger.com/profile/04097531347370254291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-37021776050689139752008-07-05T15:19:00.000-06:002008-07-05T15:19:00.000-06:00mugwump:Thanks for answering my question, you expl...mugwump:<BR/><BR/>Thanks for answering my question, you explained it very well for me and I can picture it. I wonder if I can even do that now. Although, I must say I've never had a horse move out like that. So far they've all been very timid about moving. I use a bit of leg and wait for movement then release. After the release they often just stop, and then I press and release when they move. I have two mares to start, I'll try to test this out.austriancurlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015633298952678666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-64319274040766484142008-07-05T11:08:00.000-06:002008-07-05T11:08:00.000-06:00What an excellent story. Can't wait for the next ...What an excellent story. Can't wait for the next chapter.Joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00977898784588176802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-38850833775874838562008-07-05T06:51:00.000-06:002008-07-05T06:51:00.000-06:00Holy Cow! (LOL) Can't wait to read more.Holy Cow! (LOL) Can't wait to read more.SunnySDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07591623033468632399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-73840010737194831672008-07-04T23:56:00.000-06:002008-07-04T23:56:00.000-06:00I love this story because it reminds me of my favo...I love this story because it reminds me of my favorite mare of all time, Harmony. I still own her. She's 28 this year. She lives in luxury in Tennessee, on retirement board. <BR/><BR/>Harmony was like Sonita in that she had to have a job that she loved and had to focus on that...or she was a flippin' idiot. We got her cheap because she had just broken someone's collarbone. The first time I ever saw her, she was bucking off my not-yet-then-my-boyfriend into a mud puddle - and he was a damn good rider so that gives you an idea of her natural talents. She had been bred for polo, the daughter of a very expensive imported Argetine polo mare. But she just didn't want to get with the program. She bucked, she spooked, she propped on her front legs a whole lot.<BR/><BR/>I have never, before or since, hit it off with a horse the way I did with Harmony. When we met, I was 17 and she was 5. I figured out about a week in that she needed to be BUSY. If we were shortworking (cantering down the rail with frequent rollbacks), she was fine. If we were hitting the ball around, she was fine. Try to trot or canter on a loose rein and just exercise her? She was batshit crazy. She did things like jump the bar of sunlight on the arena floor.<BR/><BR/>So I did all kinds of stuff to keep her from being bored. She did play polo, and a few years later was good at it (although much to my GREAT amusement, she still gave my by-then-my-boyfriend major grief, did things like rear if he tried to take a neckshot and cheat violently when he was hitting on the nearside...she did none of this with me, it was hilarious). She also jumped. She ran barrels. She ran poles. She turned out freakin' excellent, never took a lame step and retired sound. Almost lost her to a bad colic at 8 but I stayed up with her all night, walking, and she pulled through. <BR/><BR/>Something about those tough ones...if you can just CHANNEL it, if you can find out the magic solution, the thing that makes them happy, you wind up with the best damn horse in the world. For Sonita it was cows and she's very lucky you gave her the chance to discover what she was good at instead of "sending her down the road."<BR/><BR/>P.S. I really believe the twisted wire snaffle should be illegal to manufacture. How many horses has it contributed to ruining? A LOT.fuglyhorseofthedayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14748297520774828265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-50263406872794616102008-07-04T23:10:00.000-06:002008-07-04T23:10:00.000-06:00You're an excellent storyteller!I know that feel o...You're an excellent storyteller!<BR/><BR/>I know that feel of a whole-lotta-horse, too. Nothing like it in the world.Accendorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921488611107115464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-81748600486631416322008-07-04T22:48:00.000-06:002008-07-04T22:48:00.000-06:00Wow! I love your stories. Thank you for posting ...Wow! I love your stories. Thank you for posting them.One is Enoughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02780327773570882896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-80645389383643653662008-07-04T22:09:00.000-06:002008-07-04T22:09:00.000-06:00Agree 100% with Laura Crum. It's sorta sad, isn't...Agree 100% with Laura Crum. It's sorta sad, isn't it?<BR/><BR/>Mugwump, I'd love to hear you talk about what you do when it comes to bits and bitting. On your younglings and your more finished horses. I'm sure you have fantastic hands and haven't ruined any horse's mouths lately [;)] but I'm curious to know if you've ever gotten hard mouthed horses and what you do for them??<BR/><BR/>That is, if you have the time to talk about it!loneplainsmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13872076354276714175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-50790426673795823972008-07-04T22:08:00.000-06:002008-07-04T22:08:00.000-06:00laura crum- I never got to meet Tom Dorrance, I go...laura crum- I never got to meet Tom Dorrance, I got to be yelled at by Ray Hunt at a clinic though.(my daughter was cutting up) <BR/>I just know the term NH came later, an advertising term.<BR/>And your right, the "horse cenered approach does not a competitor make. <BR/>I love to compete, and I love to win. I love my horses. I have to train because I won't let anyone else train them.<BR/>I'll never have what it takes to go all the way to the top, and only part of it is because I argue the training methods.<BR/>I love trying though.mugwumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00319060800328355056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-77312952563073529932008-07-04T21:15:00.000-06:002008-07-04T21:15:00.000-06:00mugwump, I knew Tom Dorrance and also practiced an...mugwump, I knew Tom Dorrance and also practiced and showed cutting horses with and against his wife, Margaret, and I agree with your point. Tom Dorrance would be aghast at most of this NH stuff. I have to say that in my opinion Tom was a good horseman who paid attention to what a horse was trying to communicate and had spent a lifetime at it--such a person can seem to be working magic for sure. But in general, his methods didn't make for winning horses in the cutting pen--at least not at a very high level. I think you will understand this--what it takes to win at a high level in that sport can not be acieved by any "horse centered" methods (this is not a criticism of horse centered methods). I think you've referenced this point already in your blog when you say that your horses are "behind the industry standards" A great deal of the reason that I got disenchanted with both cutting and reining (at least the way the industry practices these events) has to do with the pressure put on 3 yr olds to win fururities, but that's a whole nother story.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-30535760101368460312008-07-04T20:42:00.000-06:002008-07-04T20:42:00.000-06:00Dang, I was just getting into it...... reminds me...Dang, I was just getting into it...... reminds me of when I was buying "The Green Mile" in installments. Looking forward to more.KDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062208340163864225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-68979415555343041582008-07-04T20:01:00.000-06:002008-07-04T20:01:00.000-06:00Mugwump, you truly are a gifted writer. Thank you...Mugwump, you truly are a gifted writer. Thank you for sharing your stories! I'm addicted.3ChunkyMonkieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12192922108611030121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-787119904681832932008-07-04T19:17:00.000-06:002008-07-04T19:17:00.000-06:00fd- you got it- the less I do those first few ride...fd- you got it- the less I do those first few rides, the better.I know a lot of you will think I'm nuts, but I'm ususlly at least trotting for several days before I teach the whoa. I just relax, drop my weight into my seat and stirrups, and wait for them to stop. Then I take my legs off and say Whoa. I don't ask them to stop until I'm ready for them to back.<BR/>It works for me...mugwumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00319060800328355056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-43427198743695142522008-07-04T19:00:00.000-06:002008-07-04T19:00:00.000-06:00Ah wow. You really are a good storyteller you know...Ah wow. You really are a good storyteller you know?<BR/><BR/>I've never sat a cow-horse in my life, but you did a damn good job of making me relate that feeling to the OMFG-I'm-just-a-passenger-here-oh-WOW feeling that I had at 15 when an acquaintance put me up on her 4* event horse and sent me off schooling on him... him schooling me mind, not the other way round.<BR/><BR/>mugwump'll correct me I'm sure, but I'd say that she meant that the first few times with babies, you do what what they need to do to cope with and explore the experience?<BR/><BR/>Or maybe that some horses you need to get on and get them moving, too busy to think against you, just about what's coming next...FDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01485030894416936129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-83651788250033019252008-07-04T18:58:00.000-06:002008-07-04T18:58:00.000-06:00Believe me, Tom Dorrance would roll in his grave i...Believe me, Tom Dorrance would roll in his grave if he heard you put him in the NH category.<BR/>He was a horseman. Not a showman.mugwumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00319060800328355056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-81813950276820344742008-07-04T18:56:00.000-06:002008-07-04T18:56:00.000-06:00laura crum-wait til you get to know the Big K bett...laura crum-wait til you get to know the Big K better...nice isn't in the description!<BR/>austriancurls-I have learned it is best to let the youngsters pick their own speed on my first few rides. If they walk off, that's what we do, if they scoot, I do my best to stay out of their way and let them scoot. Since I've started doing this I've had almost no bucking, sulling up, bolting, or steering issues. It's hard to just sit there, but it really makes a difference.<BR/>As far as mounting, they have to stand still, I'm too old, fat, and slow to just jump up and go..mugwumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00319060800328355056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-74918513673895621672008-07-04T18:05:00.000-06:002008-07-04T18:05:00.000-06:00mugwump:What does this really mean?"I had not yet ...mugwump:<BR/><BR/>What does this really mean?<BR/><BR/>"I had not yet learned to get on a horse and get it moving right away."<BR/><BR/>Most trainers say, when starting a horse to get on and wait, do a little giving to the bit and so on, so that the horse doesn't learn that mounting means move forward and that they don't anticipate moving forward and doing so before you're aboard. But...reading your stuff, I know for sure there's a reason and a rhyme for what you said, and I don't really know it. Of course, if Sonita's story explains this, and this is only the teaser for the future, then I'll wait patiently to read more :).<BR/><BR/>Also, about "NH" is it really so that NH means only these mega clinicians or is it really something else? I mean Tom and Bill Dorrance weren't mega clincians, made their own tack, and were excelent horsemen with feel. I would say they used NH, but of course that is different than Parelli or Monty (Hall? haha).austriancurlshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015633298952678666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-31863093772770420572008-07-04T18:00:00.000-06:002008-07-04T18:00:00.000-06:00That is really, wicked cool.You're making me want ...That is really, wicked cool.<BR/><BR/><BR/>You're making me want to go chase cows! <BR/><BR/>I agree with laura crum -- I think you need to keep writing and start selling it. I love reading the stories about your horses, especially.manymisadventureshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00269126419483167938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-81984141284182363032008-07-04T17:52:00.000-06:002008-07-04T17:52:00.000-06:00mugwump, I know I've said this before, but I'm a p...mugwump, I know I've said this before, but I'm a professional writer (people pay me for horse stories--can you believe it?) and in my "professional" opinion, you are really talented. What a great piece. Of all your blogs, I like the Sonita stories the best. They just really resonate for me. This one reminds me of the day that the reining horse trainer I worked for sent me down the fence with a cow on an extremely catty, sudden mare I'd never ridden before. He just sat there grinning, waiting for me to fall off. (He wasn't as nice as your trainer in the story, believe me.) I didn't fall off, but it was close. Biggest thrill I'd had horseback to that point, and yeah, I thought I might barf when I stepped off that little mare.Laura Crumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200878892304748308noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4380534023229200743.post-70492578673118252422008-07-04T15:50:00.000-06:002008-07-04T15:50:00.000-06:00I secound...er ... third selle francais and lonepl...I secound...er ... third selle francais and loneplainsman!!!autumnblazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14261052609848445921noreply@blogger.com