In the trailer buddy, you're going to jail!!!!!

As I tell my kindergarteners, it was a sad day, a sad day indeed. The sad day was Tuesday September 8th. After a good training day on Monday (and remember Monday's are sort of scary) Matt worked with Mojito in the round corral and then saddled him anticipating another good training day. He started out by riding him around the corral, and practicing stopping and turning. Then Matt kicked him into a lope. They came around the turn and Mojito saw the tarp waving on top of the haystack. Mojito freaked! He went into a dead run, straight to the end of the round corral bucking all the way. He bucked Matthew onto the round corral metal pipes.

Long story short---and it is a long story, Matt's "good knee" has torn ligaments and tendons. His shoulder was dislocated and the biceps and triceps are torn. He'll be having surgery sometime soon.

So what does this mean concerning the Extreme Mustang Competition? The options are to drop out or show him "in hand"--which means, Matt won't ride him but will show what he can do on the ground.
The goals were to:
1. Get Mojito adopted and live happily ever after.
2. Have Matthew show the world--or whoever views the competition --what an amazing trainer he is.
3. Win lots of money.

We're still hoping Mojito will get adopted and of course Matthew is an excellent horse trainer (just not much of a bronc rider :0) I'm sure folks will recognize that at the competition...........But winning lots of money? That is definitely "iffy."

So now we are doing more ground work--reviewing past lessons (sound like a teacher don't I?) Yesterday, I had him get in and out of the trailer and walk over and through some obstacles. He balked at the trailer entrance but once he decided to get in, he did it with no hesitation--same for the obstacles--no hesitation. We are still expecting great things from this horse.

What about Matt? You know, even the best riders get thrown and even the best horses can spook. That just comes with the territory!!!

One Month Today!

It's Monday, Labor Day, and Mojito hadn't been ridden for two days. Mojito has a habit of bucking if he hasn't been ridden for one day. So we were a bit anxious. As Matt says, Mojito "thought" about it but Matt had him under control and it turned out to be a very good day.

Mojito needs to get used to being in unfamiliar environments so on Friday, Matt took him to the Spanish Fork fair grounds indoor arena to train. Mojito was leery of light shining through the doors and some spooky picnic tables but he settled right down. Amazing horse-Amazing trainer!!

Matt is teaching Mojito to cross over with his front legs and pivot off the back.

Buck, Bad Luck!

Mojito and Uncle Jed

Yee-Haw

So what are Matt and Mojito up to? Plenty. I've been busy with school and haven't been able to take pictures. However, Matt's Uncle Jed has been taking pictures,watching Matt train and helping him out too. It's nice to know someone is there............just in case. Matt and Mojito are still doing the basics but have progressed to trotting, loping and working on stops and backing up. Matt explained that "in the wild" horses rarely have to back up so this is new to Mojito. Mojito is still mellow on the ground, let's Matt get in the saddle but when he asks Mojito to move it's anybodies guess as to whether or not he will buck.