Roan vs. Grey

    Earlier today, we were sitting in a dinner in North Dakota, and we noticed a painting depicting a cowboy and a herd of horses. My dad pointed to a bluish grey and said " Look a roan! " Puzzled, I looked and the picture and said , " Nope that is a grey." My dad asked me how I knew. I explained to him an he thought you guys may like to know also.

   A roan is scientifically known as one of the three "base" colors with a roaning modifier added. These three bases are chestnut, black, and bay. Bay is considered a base even though it is the "agouti" modifier on a black base. But that isn't of the point so enough on that. A roan is characterized by the legs and head of the horse being the base color, no roaning occurs on these areas. The rest of the horse with have white hairs mixed in with the base creating a lighter, mixed look. The three main colors of roan include: Blue roan, ( black based) Red roan, (chestnut based, also called strawberry) and Bay roan ( Bay based, also known as red.)

   Grey is entirely different. I didn't do too much research into on genetics, but the grey gene affects a base coat of black, bay, or chestnut, and makes the horse more grey over time. The difference between a roan and a grey, is that a grey will get progressively more white / grey. Their coats change year to year in amount of white hairs, while roans' coats do not change with age. Also, the greys' greying with cover the face, while the roans' roaning does not. These are basic differences between the two colors.

  This was a quick post so the grammar may not be perfect, hopefully the point was conveyed though! Good Night from Minnesota!

Montana Mustangs!

Hello from the road! I am currently relaxing in gorgeous Montana! I thought I should post some stuff about the mustangs in Montana. Montana only has one BLM documented herd area. This herd area is rather famous actually. It is located in the Pryor Mountain Range and is home to "Cloud," the mustang documented on the PBS series. This herd area is very well known and is the last remaining herd area in Montana. I am very honored to be in such a cool state with such a cool band of horses! I will do different updates, probably not much more on wild horse herds because eastern states don't have wild herds. Oh I have an idea!! More tomorrow or the next day!

Catch- Up Blog!

    Wow! Life has gotten busy all of a sudden. We are going on our road trip soon, so I figured this is a perfect time to post a catch-up blog before we go! I have been sick for two weeks with either Pneumonia or Bronchitis. Terribly fun.

     Let's see, what have I not posted on. Oh! Yesterday, I went to a monastery and gave a presentation with Vesta to the local nuns. They loved her!! Vesta also did her pedestal trick! It was amazingly cute. I also babysat all last week. The girl I watched was very polite and loved horses! I took her on a trail ride and she helped me out with Vesta. It was quite fun!

    I am rather sad, my employment with the Mustang Heritage Foundation is drawing to an end. It has been a fantastic experience and I would/ will do it again! I am thrilled I was able to meet Vesta and experience Mustangs! 

   This is the last piece of this blog. It isn't to brag at all, but mainly to share an experience. By training Vesta, I have experienced a trust and a bond that I have never seen before. I feel contacted to that horse, I can tell what she will do next and she looks to me for leadership. Not only does she look to me for approval, she walks on step with me frequently. When I have her jog next to me, it is not uncommon for her to be on the same stride as me, even if she started out on a different stride. I feel like I am dancing when I work with her. Most magical thing ever.

Pictures!

 I love sharing Vesta with everyone! It makes them happy and I get to do what I love.

She finally go up on her pedestal! My dad made
it especially for her! It has her name on it.

She was very loved!

Auction Review!

Hello Everyone! This blog is early because I stayed home sick as opposed to camping. This past Saturday, there was the final auction for the youth Employment Program. In the program there were 12 horses and 8 were to be auctioned off. I was still able to go with Vesta even though I was keeping her. It was loads of fun and really cool to see everyone and their horse. I believe there were 7 or 8 horses there. A few people couldn't make it due to complications.

The auction was a lot of fun! It was up at Cabela's, which is a large hunting / outdoor related store. Vesta was perfect! She trailered great and was very calm the entire time! She didn't mind the other horses what so ever. She also fell asleep which was adorable! For our presentation, she behaved wonderfully and wasn't scared a bit! She backed up, led, and picked up her feet so nicely! She was also the only horse to load in a straight load! We ended up adopting her that Saturday as well! So she is officially mine!

Unfortunately, no horses were bought during the auction. The good folks at Lightning Auctions decided to pay the adoption fee for any trainer wanting to adopt their horse in honor of a dear friend that passed away. I would like to say thank you to them for paying Vesta's adoption fee and would like to express my condolences to everyone affected by the loss.

 Here we are at Cabela's! We were out front with cars, blowing flags, people, and lots of other factors! She was great!

She was chilling and meeting up with Heather's horse.
These two were picked up on the same day! They both
turned out amazing!

This horse was named Princess, she was very well trained and gorgeous!
She had one blue eye and one brown eye, she was also extremely leggy.

 Vesta loved all the people and attention! She was by far the smallest there! Her size was mainly due to her being a lot younger than the other horses there.

Here is Heather and her gorgeous horse! She wasn't able to keep Calico,
but she is able to foster her until she finds the perfect home!

This mare was very well trained, her trainer wasn't able to attend
but she was very calm and also very big!

 This palomino filly was still pretty feisty. She was only able to be pet 1 week ago, I'd say she did pretty well.

This was a very nice little filly. Well she was actually pretty big. She was very nicely trained.

Vesta sleeping on the job.

 Vesta had many visitors through out the day!

Vesta loved everyone!

Now, I have pictures of most of the horses and people! All the horses were wonderfully trained!

                            ** Edit**
Heather ended up adopting Calico! This is thee perfect home!! The big bay and white tobiano has also been adopted! What a good result!

What a difference 12 weeks can make.

Holy Cow. The auction is coming up! I am able to bring Vesta thankfully! Twelve weeks ago, I picked up a little filly. Twelve weeks ago I never knew about training a wild horse. Honestly, twelve weeks ago, I was a different person. This experience has been so rewarding, and I am thankful for every aspect of it.

Vesta has been rather lovey and adorable lately. She loves putting her head in my arms and resting her head against my chest. She also enjoys doing this to other people as well. What a sweetie! I thought we should do some fun stuff, so I set out a block of wood and taught her how to get her front feet on it like a pedestal. She finds this very amusing and just loves standing up there. I think she feels mighty! I also taught her how to jump. Let's just say she is not the most graceful and will probably never be going to the olympics in jumping!

Today, I took Vesta down to my High School! I did this so she could get some practice on asphalt and concrete before the auction on Saturday. She did really well! She was slightly edgy but was very respectful and wary of my bubble. She handled "scary" bicycles, dogs, people, wind, screaming, echoes, stomping, buildings, changes of surfaces, and the whole situation very well! I was impressed! She also would trot and lope after me on the grass! This was the first time she has done this and I thought it was adorable! She never once trampled me or got too close! What a rocking little horse!

I will post the pictures eventually my weekend is packed! But I have many awesome photos to share with you guys! I bet I will get more at the auction also! I can't wait to see all the other horses. There were twelve given out and eight of those twelve are going up for auction! Vesta is one of the lucky ones who is getting adopted by the trainer! I am sure all of the mustangs will find a great home! Super Exciting stuff is going on! I need sleep!!

Up and Up

     Vesta has been remarkable the past few days. On wednesday (my last day of school!! :) ) I tried to load Vesta. She was stubborn and snobby but eventually went in. On Friday I went to load her again and she jumped right in! We took her for a brief ride which didn't startle her too much. Then we unloaded and I went to load her again just to show her there was nothing wrong with the trailer, and she jumped right in when I pointed!

      Today, I turned her out in our big pasture and she had loads of fun running and exploring. After, I loaded her in the trailer again and we took her down the road to my neighbor's arena. I was slightly nervous! This was her first new place she'd ever been trailer to! She was a little spooky getting out, but calmed down right away! I took her up to the arena and we played around on the horsey "playground." She did great and was very calm. The first time I took Sheila to that arena she was super high strung and hard to handle! After some time in the arena we decided it was time to load up and go home. She hesitated slightly but then jumped right in the trailer! Way to go , Vesta! She made me very proud today. The auction is in one week! Thankfully I am able to keep this wonderful little filly!

Proud Parent Moment

      So as you all know, I have been struggling with getting Vesta in the trailer. On Saturday I spent a solid 45 minutes on getting her to just put her head in the trailer. At the end we were all fed up and ready to put it aside. I intended to work with her yesterday, but the weather proved to be terrible here in Northern Nevada.
      Today, we caught a slight break in the weather, I seized the opportunity. I went outside with a positive attitude and hoped for the best. Vesta led easily up to the trailer and put her head in, so far so good. I tried to urge her in but the step up was too daunting for her. So I decided to walk her around a bit after she put her head in. After our short little break, my dad put a decent sized board inform of the trailer. This board would serve as a step up for her.
      We tried again and she stepped up n the board and stretched a front leg and pawed the bottom of the trailer. She did this 3 or 4 more times. I walked her around again as a reward. The next time, she walked up fairly easily. I asked for her to take a step and low and behold she took a step in. She eventually put both front feet in. I let her relax then had her back out. Another rewarding walk later and we were ready to try for the full thing. I asked her to get in and she put two feet in. I urged her some more and waited about a minute, then she gradually picked up a back foot and put it in. Once the one back foot was in the other went in. She went in the trailer! She also found a nice flake of hay sitting in there.
        We let her rest in the trailer, she was relaxed and very, very well behaved. After about 10 minutes we had her back out, which she did surprisingly well! We went on a short walk again. I wanted to reinforce the loading so I had her load, relax, and back out two more times. She wasn't as well behaved, but still got in. It was such a fantastic day! Now I can relax about training and do some fun stuff such as practicing with having a saddle on ( I won't sit on her of course,) jumping, and other fun obstacles! Maybe even some bowing!

We managed to snap a few pics!

Biggest moment of relief ever! I was so happy and so proud. I can't believe I was actually able to train her to do this. It has made everything worth while.

           

A fun picture. my dad was lucky enough to snap this. He captioned this
"She 'blew you away' once she got in."

Alright so I may have been blinking, but I love this picture anyway!





Proud parent 
            moment . . . 

She constantly puts 
            a smile on my face.

My wild best friend.

Happy Two Months!

Can you believe it? Because I certainly can't! Two months ago I went to pick up a yearling filly. Two months ago Vesta was known as Horse 4872. In two months we accomplished so much! Here's to many more months! I will post some before and after updates in tomorrow's post.

Fabulous 4-Hers.

 Yesterday, my 4-H club came to visit my house and see my little mustang! It went fantastically I am I so happy I was able to share my experience with them. They seemed to think Vesta was a big sweet heart. She did very well with lots of people and small children. In fact she loved all of the attention and especially liked the smaller girls. Overall it went very well and I am so happy they came over. Here are some pictures!

My club loved her!

 She handled all the people very well and loved all the attention!

These girls loved Vesta! Even better is the fact that Vesta adored them!

Alrighty, more good news! I finished my media project and wanted to share it with you. It promotes my mustang and I. I wanted to do a video because I felt it captured her attitude and would be more exciting to work with. I had a vision in mind that I wasn't able to achieve with my editing system (iMovie) but, I am still very happy with how it turned out! Hopefully no typos in the words!

Here is a link to its location on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJJEjDbcPpo

Ciao!