Wrong Way Corrigan finds his way to Sweetwater Ranch
I was standing under large oak trees where civilization seemed miles away – and I guess it is. I was faced with a jig saw of corrals with a wide variety of cobby black horses standing in them. I needed to pick one, take it home, train it for 4 months and then present it for a competition with 3 other trainers. How do you pick the perfect partner in under 30 minutes? This is the Vaquero Trainers Challenge – a debut program to try and promote this hidden treasure of wild horses in Southern California. They took applications from a variety of trainers and accepted 4. One trainer was not able to make it to today’s pick up. That left 3 of us. We each needed to pick a horse, and we would show it and work with another younger TMH in October. The winner will get a $1000 prize, a belt buckle and lots of bragging rights
I was standing under large oak trees where civilization seemed miles away – and I guess it is. I was faced with a jig saw of corrals with a wide variety of cobby black horses standing in them. I needed to pick one, take it home, train it for 4 months and then present it for a competition with 3 other trainers. How do you pick the perfect partner in under 30 minutes? This is the Vaquero Trainers Challenge – a debut program to try and promote this hidden treasure of wild horses in Southern California. They took applications from a variety of trainers and accepted 4. One trainer was not able to make it to today’s pick up. That left 3 of us. We each needed to pick a horse, and we would show it and work with another younger TMH in October. The winner will get a $1000 prize, a belt buckle and lots of bragging rights
Amber is an experienced mustang handler – she wanted to move the horses around the pens and see which ones might try to climb the rails – so she could avoid that sort of choice. Steve was concerned about which ones would be the most marketable. I was hoping to find a future lesson pony. For liability reasons, we were not allowed to go into the corrals. So I prowled around the edge looking for a horse that wanted to make a connection with me. There were two colts in the back pen that actually came up to me and sniffed my hand. I looked at others, but they moved away. Some were scarred and some had leg issues. Life on the range is Not easy, and it showed on some of the older horses. I kept going back to the two colts. One was true black; the other a dark seal brown. They seemed younger than the others, and I did get a glance when they yawned – and I think both are right in the process of losing their 3 ½ yr incisors. There were 3 geldings in a center pen that no one could really interact with – so the coordinators finally agreed to allow us into the pens. While the other trainers went to check out the geldings, I took the time to try and get to know “Blackie” and “Brownie”. It was a fascinating experience to walk up to true wild horses and have them react with some curiosity and very little fear.
Don’t get me wrong, they are not domestic. But humans have brought them hay and never chased them or harmed them, so these two seemed to consider me a curiosity and they were willing to see what I had to offer, so long as I didn’t push the point. I was able to hold them in a corner with very small body moves and even when I let them out, they didn’t bolt away, just moving off at a quick walk. It was definitely a choice between these two. But which one??? Brownie had the sweetest face and a very soft nature about him. He would totally have been my choice, except…(there is always an except or a but, right?) I kept looking at his right knee. It was ever so slightly swollen. Was it an old injury and it might limit his movement? Or it might make him lame if he had to work hard? And were his ankles a little big or was I just imagining it. Jack liked the black one, thought he was prettier. And I agreed. And he had cleaner legs. But I Loved the soul of the little brown one. And that was my choice.
By then the other trainers had picked their horses. Steve selected a very elegant little mare with a sweet face. Amber picked a solo gelding that was in a separate pen – they called him Lonesome George. He was the first one loaded and he made it look easy. He even stood quietly in the trailer for over an hour after while the rest of us got our horses loaded.
Steve’s little mare was not eager to leave her friends and they had to work to separate her from her herd. Once she was in the chute, she again hesitated and looked worried – but when she finally made the choice to enter the trailer, she just put her head down, looked at the ramp and walked in like a pro. Now we had to push the herd all around to get a path to move my two down near the loading chute. People kept trying to talk me into taking both of them, and it was seriously tempting. But I really felt that if I took both, then I would not have as good a chance at forming a good bond. So while separating them seemed hard; it would make my job easier. As they started moving Blackie and Brownie around, I saw the knee again. And a funny step. And I second guessed myself. And at the very last moment, I said, “Load the black one”. He had the cleaner legs and is true black and seemed very similar in nature to the brown one.
Steve’s little mare was not eager to leave her friends and they had to work to separate her from her herd. Once she was in the chute, she again hesitated and looked worried – but when she finally made the choice to enter the trailer, she just put her head down, looked at the ramp and walked in like a pro. Now we had to push the herd all around to get a path to move my two down near the loading chute. People kept trying to talk me into taking both of them, and it was seriously tempting. But I really felt that if I took both, then I would not have as good a chance at forming a good bond. So while separating them seemed hard; it would make my job easier. As they started moving Blackie and Brownie around, I saw the knee again. And a funny step. And I second guessed myself. And at the very last moment, I said, “Load the black one”. He had the cleaner legs and is true black and seemed very similar in nature to the brown one.
So, with a little commotion and one false start, they had the black colt separated from his friend and started pushing him towards the entrance of my trailer (actually Rachel Ward’s trailer- thank for the loan – my 2 horse was not acceptable for this process.) He was not eager to go. Backing up repeatedly. I was able to put my hand on him to stop the backing – maybe I added pressure I should not have. Or maybe it is just his nature. But he tried to climb the rails and then he actually managed to turn around inside the chute. They had to let him out of the chute, reconfigure the rails and we tried again. He was hesitant but finally he made the leap into the trailer and then again, turned around immediately – for a moment I thought he was going to jump back out. “You are going the wrong way, again” I told him – and there was his name “Wrong Way Corrigan”
But he was loaded and we were ready to roll. And we rolled Very Slowly. The road is very washboard and I didn’t want to panic this colt. I could not even begin to imagine what was running through his mind. The day before he had been enjoying the meadows of Tehachapi. Now he was isolated, stuck in a small metal box and being bounced around. It is a miracle his head and legs were not flying out the small openings. And I looked in the rear view mirror a LOT looking for just that.
Instead, we arrived home without further ado. We did a bit of adjustment to the stalls. I wanted Corey (as I was already calling him) in a middle corral, with old wise geldings on either side. This was for a couple reasons – one it would make him less likely to try and bale out over the side rails – and if he did, he would just be in a corral with another horse, not loose on property. Second, I feel that the other horses can role model him – showing him that humans are OK.
But now we had to get Old Wrong Way OUT of the trailer! Since I was going to have to put pressure on him, I might as well have it be useful pressure. So I climbed into the trailer with him with a halter in my hand. I figure one of two things would happen; I would either get a halter on him, or bug him enough that he was willing to jump out of the trailer. We had some nice moments in there. I started out feeding him bits of hay. Then I was just moving my hands over the air around him. I believe that horses can feel the aura around them – or they have an energy field around them, and if you run your hands over the edge of that field, they can Feel you without feeling invaded. He was irritated at first and gave one single VIOLENT kick to the side of the trailer. I was glad it was Not my knee. It made me respectful of how quick he could react. But Gradually, very gradually, I got to touch him. I petted his shoulder and his cheek. Then I touched him with the halter. And very slowly, I put my right arm over his neck and slipped the crown piece into that hand. I actually had him in my arms. It is hard not to get greedy at moments like this. I held still, breathed out, excited that I just MIGHT get a halter on the very first day.
Instead, we arrived home without further ado. We did a bit of adjustment to the stalls. I wanted Corey (as I was already calling him) in a middle corral, with old wise geldings on either side. This was for a couple reasons – one it would make him less likely to try and bale out over the side rails – and if he did, he would just be in a corral with another horse, not loose on property. Second, I feel that the other horses can role model him – showing him that humans are OK.
But now we had to get Old Wrong Way OUT of the trailer! Since I was going to have to put pressure on him, I might as well have it be useful pressure. So I climbed into the trailer with him with a halter in my hand. I figure one of two things would happen; I would either get a halter on him, or bug him enough that he was willing to jump out of the trailer. We had some nice moments in there. I started out feeding him bits of hay. Then I was just moving my hands over the air around him. I believe that horses can feel the aura around them – or they have an energy field around them, and if you run your hands over the edge of that field, they can Feel you without feeling invaded. He was irritated at first and gave one single VIOLENT kick to the side of the trailer. I was glad it was Not my knee. It made me respectful of how quick he could react. But Gradually, very gradually, I got to touch him. I petted his shoulder and his cheek. Then I touched him with the halter. And very slowly, I put my right arm over his neck and slipped the crown piece into that hand. I actually had him in my arms. It is hard not to get greedy at moments like this. I held still, breathed out, excited that I just MIGHT get a halter on the very first day.
But when the noseband touched his face, he startled backwards, and I didn’t want to force it. He had changed positions and it was harder to get beside him, although I tried a little. The pressure was just enough to make him decide that maybe OUTSIDE was a better choice. And since that was the Main goal, I pushed him just a little with touches from a rope and finally he jumped out.
So, Now I have a young wild stallion in my corrals. A BLACK stallion in fact. Every little girls dream, I think. He looks like a small Friesian. He has a great deal of wisdom in his eyes for a young horse. He would rather go backwards than forward, and that might be a bit of a challenge, but that is the name of the program – the Vaquero Trainers Challenge. And I am on the road. It may be a long and winding road, but come October 10th, we will be in Tehachapi to strut our stuff.
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