By Steve Stevens 

So after a five year hiatus from Mustang competitions, we have decided to do another one.

We are planning on competing in Lexington, Kentucky, at the Extreme Mustang Makeover in early July.

I am currently on the 22nd session with our draw. We named this little draft cross with a flaxen mane “Miracle.” He gained his name due to the fact that we got the wrong mustang. He was not the one we drew for the competition. There was some sort of mix up that wasn’t figured out until he was half way home to Texas from Illinois. We also named him Miracle because of our long and hard but blessed journey we have traveled on since the last time we competed in a mustang competition.

The cool thing with working with untouched mustangs is that the trainer is fully responsible for how the mustang is, how he will become. Meaning that everything he does is because of me or his own mental and physical ability. I can’t blame the last owner or trainer.

There are no excuses.

It is a great honor and responsibility to be the first one to touch, handle and ride a wild mustang. They have very in- depth sensorial survival skills. They are also more toughened from their prior environment, so that human-horse connection can be a difficult barrier to break.

But if you can connect with them, the rewards can be extraordinary, and the bond can be tremendous.

To start, Miracle has been a little spooky, which is to be expected. But in the grand scheme of things he is really smart and has been trying hard. We spent the first three weeks just doing groundwork: teaching him to be caught, basic lunging, desensitizing, picking up feet, leading, saddling and driving. He has had six rides on him.

Steve and Miracle. (Photo courtesy of the Stevens)

He seems to be learning something new every day. We will just have to wait and see how far he can go. Right now the main goal is getting him as trained as possible.

We are working on him just being able to walk, trot and canter in the bridle, and then we will go from there. I am always doing my best to put him first and not allowing the competition to rush the process.

I truly believe that working on becoming the best trainer I can be means that I have to keep educating myself, to never stop learning. Working with mustangs can certainly widen your education and keep you humble.

We will keep updating you guys on my journey with Miracle.

By Steve Stevens 

So often we get horses in training or have someone ask us what to do about their horses that throw fits with their farrier. The horses won’t stand still, pull back, won’t pick up their feet or even can strike and kick. Their farrier is always upset, doesn’t want to work on their horse or even worse, because the horse is giving them a rough time, the farrier takes his frustration out on the horse.

There are a few factors here that need to be dealt with.

The first is for the owner to understand that for a lot of horses, having their feet worked on can be very stressful and overwhelming. Most farriers don’t have the time and/or patience to go slow and help train your horse. The only way they can make a living is to hurry up and move on as soon as possible to get to the next horse. So it now becomes OUR responsibility to prepare our horse. If your horse won’t stand still for you to pick up all four feet, and clean their hooves out with a hoof pick, they probably aren’t ready for the farrier who will be in a rush, will have multiple clanging tools and will be asking your horse to get into fixed positions.

We must be consistent with picking up our horse’s feet and letting them get comfortable with that. If your horse is giving you a rough time or you are scared to pick up their feet, you must find a professional to help.

With all the problem horses I have worked with, one of the most important philosophies we have learned and practiced is a very simple concept:

IF YOUR HORSE WON’T STAND STILL FOR YOU TO PICK UP HIS FEET, GROOM HIM OR SADDLE HIM NOT BEING TIED, THEN HE IS NOT READY TO BE TIED UP.

See, when a horse is tied hard, we take away their ability to move their feet.

So if they get scared, they are trapped and most often will fight, pull back, fall down, kick and get worse at the task at hand. How many times have you tied up your horse hard and he got scared and fought it, got through it for the time being, but then when you come back another day he has the same issues?

We need to understand how horses process their thoughts. A horse feels safer when he has the ability to move his feet. It’s easier for him to work through things. Once we take that ability away, he will most always fight if he gets scared or bothered. So before we ever tie him up, we must learn how to do these tasks with him untied.

I know this goes against all the old school techniques. But trust me…we get the horses in training after the old school techniques don’t work…after horses have pulled back, broke multiple halters, split their heads open, nearly killed the farrier and/or yourself.

The second factor is that owners need to have the courage to stand up to their farrier if they see things are getting out of control. If a horse is getting more scared, and the farrier is getting more upset, it is ok to say, “That can be enough for today, let me work with him a little bit more before he or she gets anyone hurt.”  So what if your horse’s feet get a little long and you have to pay a bill?  It is better than the alternative of being scared to death every time he gets trimmed.

If you have a farrier worth his salt, he will be appreciative that you don’t want him to get killed today trimming your horse. If he tells you otherwise, it’s probably time to find another farrier. I can’t tell you how many times clients have brought me horses that have foot issues, can’t be tied or go running to the other side of the pen when the farrier comes. The client often tells me something like, “I knew it was getting worse every time my horse got trimmed, but I just felt bad to stop using my farrier. He is a really nice guy.” We must find the strength to do what is right for the horse and if you have to go through five farriers to do so, that is fine.

I probably sound like I am bashing farriers right now, but actually I have more respect for a farrier’s profession than anyone. It is not easy to have to get under crazy horses all day long in the elements. I have been blessed to know a handful of amazing farriers who are always on time, patient, knowledgeable and understanding. They know that if they are going to work on your horse for the next twenty years, that if they take their time the first couple of times, it should be easy for the next two decades.

The third factor is to do the training with a horse that is having a hard time. If a horse nips, or kicks, leans or won’t stand still, we must try our best to correct the issue.

The easiest way to do this is to move their feet, to make them work, hustle them by lunging, doing rollbacks, driving their hindquarters around.

I will give you an example. If I were holding a horse for the farrier and she kicked or tried to bite him, I immediately would start lunging that horse, making it work. That is how we can make the wrong thing difficult. So make sure your horse can lunge well, change directions and back up well on a lunge line.

THE NEXT TIME YOUR HORSE GIVES YOU OR THE FARRIER A TOUGH TIME, PUT IT TO WORK.

The more aggressive the behavior, the longer I will hustle them. The toughest part about this exercise is having the wind to really put some effort behind this and hang in there long enough that they get the point. Once you are done, bring them back to where you started and go back to work like nothing ever happened. This may take two to three times to really take effect, depending on your ability and expertise.

Just remember, if things are going bad when getting your horse’s feet done, it will only get worse if you don’t work on fixing the problem.

Have faith that there are amazing farriers out there and take the time to find them.

By Steve Stevens 

We laid to rest a truly beautiful spirit a couple of weeks ago, our twelve-year-old rescue dog, a mix of Australian Shepherd and Husky, “Scarlett.”

As I have spent some time reflecting on our loss, I know the saying goes a “Man’s best Friend,” but Scarlett was more than that. She was the “Family’s Best Friend.”

My wife and I came upon Scarlett during a time very early in our relationship. She was maybe our first choice of relationship responsibility. I had come across her during a random stop at a local shelter. Although she was a puppy, she seemed to have an old soul and appreciation for life. She didn’t seem phased by the road she had not chosen.

Scarlett looked directly into my eyes with a unique sparkle, and I knew we had to have her. I called Amanda and told her she just had to see her. The moment they met it was no longer a choice but a need to have this little big eared black, grey and white puppy in our life. We had to buy her in a bidding option and there was one other lady making her attempt to out bid us. Amanda grabbed my arm tight and twisted hard, and gave me a look I have come to know as “don’t mess this up.” We paid way more than we had expected on a rescue, but her value would soon become unparalleled.

Looking back, there was only one being with Amanda and me from the beginning of our relationship and that has been Scarlett. Scarlett was named after Scarlett O’Hara from “Gone with the Wind.”

Much like the character, Scarlett became the strength of our family, the one that held us together. She was beautiful, tough, a little spoiled.

The Stevens with their beloved Scarlett. (Photo courtesy of the Stevens family)

Our Scarlett was very kind, kind to all comers.

I started thinking how Scarlett had been there on all of our youthful adventures as we loved to travel the American West. We dragged her all over the place, to the mountains, to the desert searching for wild Mustangs, back and forth to Scottsdale, Arizona, to visit Amanda’s parents and family, to Gallup, New Mexico, to see my dear friend Sonny. She loved to play in the snow; there she was probably at her happiest. She also loved meeting new people. Sometimes people could be intimidated by her because of her size and bark, but she never hurt a soul.

She was with us when we left California to move to our first home in Texas to live our new adventure on a ranch. She chased wild turkey and ran with the horses there. She was there when we brought our newborn son home then when we brought our new daughter home. She protected them and I always felt safe when I was not there. I knew she would watch over. She cuddled up tight next to us when a tornado hit our home in Cleburne.

Training horses can be a very lonely job, a lot of time spent outside riding on your own. That would have been the case, but Scarlett was always there with me for nearly every ride. She loved being outside with me and the horses. I always felt safe when she was watching.

Scarlett was there in our most trying time when Amanda got diagnosed with cancer. I can’t tell you how many times I would get down on the floor and squeeze her and cry to her when no one was watching, as I felt she was the only one I could share my fears with with.

She greeted each new member of the family with joy. First Melanie, (also named from “Gone with the Wind”) the crazy sick kitten that showed up in the barn and then her best friend, “Woodrow,” the little funny corgi mix that we took in when we knew better.

She always smiled and wagged her tail with such appreciation when we would come back home after being gone for an hour or a week.

Scarlett introduced our young children to how beautiful owning a dog can be.

Scarlett walked this earth with Grace, love and pride. I can picture her now, running and hopping through lush fields of green grass, cutting back and forth as she did in her youth, like she is working a wild Corriente steer.

I know she is in a place where her pain is gone. We love you Scarlett.

The sweet, loving, four-legged best friend, Scarlett. (Photo courtesy of the Stevens family)