Pick Up Day

We picked up the new mustang at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines, OR December 5th. I was excited to get a 15.2 strong gelding. He was a nice looking bay mustang. After bringing him home and working him in the round pen the first few minutes, I realized he wasn't sound when he was turning directions. Something that you couldn't really notice unless worked with. Sadly, I returned him back to Hines 7 days later and they will put him in a sanctuary.





My family made the first trip with me and my girls were very excited to see all of the mustangs. My five year old liked the baby mustangs the best.

After returning the gelding, I received a new mustang that is a little black filly. She is quite a fireball. My wife thinks Dynamite is a good name for her, but nothing has hit me yet. I'm thrilled because she is very athletic. I can't wait to ride her and see what she will excel at. She is a pretty little thing and quick! I'll have to get a picture soon and post it.

NORTHWEST EXTREME MUSTANG MAKEOVER

I have been selected to train a mustang for the NORTHWEST EXTREME MUSTANG MAKEOVER. It will be held March 20-22 2009 in conjunction with the Northwest Horse Fair and Expo at the Linn County Expo Center. 36 Trainers have been selected to compete in the Northwest Extreme Mustang Makeover click here to view the list of trainers. Trainers will train their wild Mustangs for approximately 90 days. At the event, they will be judged on body condition (overall condition, hair coat, mannerisms, weight - not body conformation). There will be a class called 'In Hand' where contestants will lead their horses through various obstacles. The second day, contestants will have a class called the 'Horse Course' in which they will ride through various obstacles. Those making the finals on day three will compete in a freestyle phase where contestants have about two minutes to showcase their mustang's best talents. After the finals, all horses will be available for adoption.

5th Place At the Western States Mustang Challenge

Ali during the in-hand course, picking up her feet and being ground tied

The Mustang Challenge officially started on Friday morning. The mustangs were judged by a veterinarian for body conditioning, which was 20% of the overall score. Immediately afterwards the mustangs competed in the in-hand course where you lead your horse through an obstacle course. This was 30% of the overall score and was judged by All Dunning and Guy Woods. Ali was very relaxed going into the arena. Instead of picking through the rails on the ground, she stepped over 2 at once with her long old stride of hers. This marked her down on pints. Also, through the poles she stepped on a pole while backing up and over. She got an average score instead of an excellent. She did good in the trailering part and even backed out. She finished the rest of the obstacles fine and did a great job on picking up the feet. We finished 7th that day. That's not too bad considering I have never shown a horse before. The things I messed up on were trivial but they cost me points.

Throwing the rope around Ali's back legs in the 90 second free-style.

Crossing over poles during the riding portion of the challenge.

Saturday morning, I was very first to go through the riding course. Part of the course was 90 seconds of freestyle. We could only use props that were attached to our saddle, luckily my rope and whip are attached. I cracked the whip, stood up on her and cracked the whip, side passed her, and put the rope all around her. Then Ali and I started the riding part of the competition. She did well. We lost points on backing up over the poles again and breaking pattern on the figure 8. By the afternoon when the results came out, I made the top 10 finalist by 2 points. The top 10 selection was an emotional event.

Cracking the whip during the Finals.

That night was the Mustang Challenge Freestyle Competition. The trainers started with a clean slate. This event was a lot of fun to watch! Everyone's creativity was great! Mustangs did things from barrels, balls, jumps, bareback rides, cattle work, and even a homemade recycled can horse apparel. Everyone did good. Ali and I placed 5th (it paid $500) and I couldn't have been more pleased with her. She was extremely relaxed and comfortable and did pretty well. I forgot to pull the harrow during my routine and she was a little nervous about getting on the box that was a little tippy (hadn't been smashed into the ground) but she still got up there eventually. Corinne Elser from Burns, OR won the event. She did an excellent job and deserved to win! Joe Misner from Johnson Valley, CA received reserve champion and also did a tremendous job.

My little girl, Ali, and I after placing 5th.

Please check out the pictures of the final event by clicking on this link:

http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/mustang_challenge1.html

The placing went as follows:

1. Corinne Elser Burns, OR Dolly $5,500 (Corinne bought Dolly back)

2. Joe Misner Johnson Valley, CA Loredo, $3,400

3. Matt Sheridan Tehachapi, CA Luna $4,400

4. Madelyn Wagner Valley Center, CA Handy Hank $10,000 (Madelyn bought Hank back)

5. Matt Eric Zimmerman Adrian, OR High Rock Ali $3,000

6. Matt Replogle Las Vegas, NV Jennifer $5,800 (Matt bought back Jennifer)
Jennifer was named from a contest that the City of Las Vegas put on. Jennifer was named by a little boy whose sister is serving in Iraq.

7. Beverly Vreeland Livermore, CA Diamond $5,000

8. Janet Titus Mammoth Lakes, CA Chato $4,100

9. Jenna Nelson Loma Linda, CA Domestic Aim $2,000

10. Keith Danielson Hooper, WA Tina Turner $1,400
Keith took 1st overall on Friday and 2nd place on Saturday. His horse showed VERY well during the competition.


I want to put a special thank you to those who came to Sacramento and supported me over the weekend. My parents, Dennis and Linda Zimmerman, my mother-in-law, Patti Price, my grandparents in-law, Merrill and Betty King, Aunt Mary & Uncle Mervin, our friends, Heather, Clint, and Aubrianna Johnson, our friends, James, Kerry, Jackson, Ryan, and Hailey Irvine, our "adopted family" Jerel, Sandy, and Ashley Bowen. A special thanks to my wife, Kelsey and my kids Mesa and Mylie for all of the extra time put into this. Thanks to Kurt Nielson for holding down the fort at home while we were gone. Also thanks to everyone for the phone calls and e-mails! It was a great time!

Western States Mustang Challege Top Professional Trainer Award

One of the highlights besides placing 5th was getting voted Top Professional Trainer by the other competitors in the Mustang Challenge. (Or the "Miss Congeniality" award as someone called it...there were several excellent trainers in the competition.) The Non-Professional Top Trainer Award went to Jenna Nelson from Loma Linda, CA, who was also in the top 10.

This challenge was a wonderful experience for me. It was awesome to see the progress of Ali and to see how relaxed and calm she was in all the buzz that was around at the Western States Horse Expo. As Matt Sheridan, a fellow trainer, worded these horses..."From Wild to Mild" this truly explained all of the mustangs at the expo and it showcased their adaptability.

I also had the privilege of meeting some of the top trainers that I have always respected and learned from via books and videos. I was personally congratulated by Al Dunning, John Lyons, and Chris Cox. I also made new friends and opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for my future.

Matt Zimmerman & Matt Replogle "Hollywood"

Check Out These Websites of my Fellow Competitors:

Matt Replogle http://mattreplogle.com/index.html

Keith Danielson http://www.hooperhorseman.com/

Matt Sheridan http://www.mattsheridan.net/

Meet Hail Mary

Ali sold at the mustang auction for $3,000 to Ray Ariss who owns the infamous mustang, HAIL YEAH. Ray competed in the 1st Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth, TX last year and his horse was bought for $50,000 by the city of Norco, Ca. and the Mustang Heritage Foundation. Hail Yeah is the sponsor horse for Horsetown, USA (Norco) and used to promote the adoption of mustangs. Ray told me he needed a Hail Mary and Ali would be a great match for him. He'll use her most likely in dressage and she may have a possibility to be shown throughout the U.S. It's exciting that Ali will be in training with Ray and she will continue on to be a phenomenal horse! Check out his website at http://www.StarBriteRiding.com

And We're Off

I got to ride Ali one more time on the home place today, between the drenching rain showers. We leave very early in the morning tomorrow. We'll sure miss having Ali around! We'll see how she handles all of the comotion of the horse expo the rest of the week. I'm sure she'll be fine. She's very easy going. I'll write a post about how it all went at the challenge and where Ali ended up after adoption when we get back home. She's been a wonderful horse to train.

A BIG THANKS

Thank you to the following who have

helped along the trail...

*Flynn's Saddlery---Boise, Idaho for the protective boots for Ali
*Jerel and Sandy Bowen & Black Jack Butte Ranch---for ALL the help along the way and the use of facilities
*Mark and Danette Bowen & Stuck on Vinyl---Adrian, Oregon for making a performance box for Ali to stand on.
*Jim Thomas, cattle rancher---Homedale, Idaho for donating corn for feed
*Jaci Weishaar & Victory Acres---LaGrande, Oregon for showmanship help
*Lonnie and Amy Bezona & Amy's Hair Design---Ontario, Oregon for clipping and trimming Ali
*Bret & Jen Neilson---Adrian, Oregon for music and cattle to practice on
*Steve Breshears---making a competition CD

*Ryan and Stephanie Etter--Wilder, ID for the use of the spur straps
*Rod and Patti Price---for helping take care of my girls, helping out with everything, and for being great in-laws
*Joel and Heather White---for helping set up our arena at our new location
*Patti and Tom Johnson----Marsing, Idaho for helping set up our facilities
*Sage Bowen---for being the best 7 year old water boy in a 50 mile radius
*Neighbor kids---for desensitization of Ali
*Kerry and James Irvine--- Rockland, CA for a place to stay and for the help building the round pen and catch pen at our new place
*Merrill and Betty King---West Sacramento for a place to stay during the competition this coming week
*Dennis and Linda Zimmerman, Tillie and Evan Zimmerman and siblings--- Nevada, Illinois, Texas for their love and support

*Lisa Johnston---Adrian, Oregon for helping fix up my website http://www.zimmermanhorsetraining.com/

*TO THE BLOG READERS! Many of you I have talked to in person or you have called me up saying how you were tracking Ali's progress. It's been fun.

We leave for the Western States Mustang Challenge Wednesday, the 4th of June. There will be some tough competition down there. Wish me luck and give me prayer or two. On Friday there will be an in-hand competition and on Saturday there will be a riding course. Ten out of 30+ trainers will be selected to compete in the finals at 7:30 pm on Saturday at Cal Expo. After the competition, all of the mustangs will be auctioned off and Ali will be headed to a new home. Who ever buys her will get one heck of a horse! It's great how many well trained mustangs will be up for adoption. If you would like to adopt one of the mustangs or even Ali, the Mustang Heritage Foundation asks the potential adopter to fill out a little paperwork. Even if you are not able to attend the event in California, you may have a representative at the adoption or bid by phone. I know Ali is going to go to a good home, and someone will really enjoy her. It's been fun having her around the last three months.

She's Got LEGS!

The other day Ali took a short trailer ride with the family to the horse stylist to get primped for her big debut. Thanks a lot for your help Amy and Lonnie Bezona! (Amy is Kelsey's hair stylist.) Amy and Lonnie both compete in rodeo. Ali wasn't too sure about the clippers but Amy got right in there and shaved up her muzzle. Ali did just fine. The briddle path was the next shave and she seemed to be a little more nervous about the clippers above her head. (Before this day her bridle path had been cut by scissors because it was a little less intimidating for her.) Her fetlocks were next. Lonnie did a great job of cleaning her right up. I had to hold Ali, she seemed to be more relaxed if I was right up next to her. She looks great now. We appreciated the help from the Bezonas!

Flag Day

Bathing

Tracking Cows

Fun in the New Arena

Staying in a gait on a loose rein.
Side Passing--a work in progress
Ali is one cool horse. She has a gentle spirit about her. She still has some quirks, but so does every horse. We got our arena in this week at our new place. It's been a lot of extra work doing things on weekends and after work but it sure is nice when it gets done. I should have my water system to sprinkle down the dust going here soon. And maybe the lawn can get put in as well! That will be nice.

Branding

I had a great opportunity to take Alli to a local branding. We gathered the cattle from the field and Alli wasn't sure what to think of the pivot that was irrigating the field. She was a little nervous, but with some encouraging, we rode under the pivot while it was irrigating. Once we had all the cattle in the pens, I was going to just let her sit in the branding pen and let her watch all the action with the ropers, ground crew and calves on the end of the ropes, but we were told to just heel the calves and bring them in to be branded. I thought if the calves were heeled, then there wouldn't be too much of a comotion so I just started roping and she didn't have a bit of problems with anything. Normally, a green colt will not want to walk through the ground crew, but Alli didn't have any problems with that. Also she did very well getting me into a good heel position when someone else had a calf by the neck. The buford has really helped her not be so nervous to get up to the calf. Before I decided to put Alli up for the day I roped a calf by the neck to see if she would get excited with the bawling calf on the end of the rope, but it didn't bother her at all. All in all it was a pretty positive experience.

Buford

Ali was learning to track on Buford the steer the other day down at a neighbor's house. Yesterday I started her tracking on real calves. It's been a long couple of days but she is learning pretty well. Today she was tracking off the shoulder. That is just what I want her to do so you can rope easily off of her.

The Muss-ing

Posted by Matt's Wife:

I walked around the corner, and found our little girl who is almost two, playing really wild. I asked her what in the world she was doing and she said, "I MUSS-ING." That's what she calls Ally. Her imagination cracked me up, so I went and grabbed the camera to show her dad what kind of influence he has on our kids. They are completely brainwashed to think HORSES!!! (He doesn't know I'm posting this...we'll see what he thinks!)

Cowboy Day at Pre-school

"Cowboy Day" at pre-school had all the pre-school kids just excited, because their teacher had told them that they were going to get rides on horses and a pony. Also, she mentioned to them that there would be a couple real cowboys show up. It was a hit and our daughter had talked about the wild mustang for quite some time during school, so I decided to take Ally "the wild mustang" to pre-school for my show and tell. We also provided the horseback rides with our pony and 14 year old mare. Everyone that wanted a ride was able get a chance to get on one or both kid horses. Ally was there just for the experience. When we were finished with the rides, some of the children wanted to see Ally ridden, so I mounted her and rode her around for a while. One student, asked if I could ride her fast, so I loped her down the dirt road. Also, I am sure that this was an experience for Ally as I used this as a great experience to desensitize her to twenty plus screaming kids. Everyone had a good time and it was a great experience for Ally also. Below is a video of her wild reaction from the pre-schoolers cheering.

Later that day, a local rancher called and asked if I would help gather some cows with calves on side into a corral to ship the next day. Ally and I went to help, and we had to cross a canal, ride up on a steep hill and ride through a couple hundred bawling cattle. It was a great experience for her as she was able to see several new sights, smells, and situations. Also, when we had the cattle in the catch pen, I rode Ally through the herd and there were cattle surrounding us completely and she wasn't bothered at all. The only thing that she looked twice at and had showed some concern was walking through a yard where there were sheep and goats in pens on each side of the road.

When we made it home, I let Ally pack some blue tarps that were tied onto each side of the saddle, that hung down and almost touched the ground. After a little while she wasn't concerned about them at all. It was a great day for everyone.

It has been a while since I have been near the computer, as it was having some problems for a while. Anyways, we are back on track and I have been out on the desert putting some time on Ali. She is navigating pretty well. There was only one thing that really got her attention out in the desert. It was the token appliance that someone threw out in the desert. You would have thought it was a mountain lion by the way she reacted, but after she smelled it, things went back to smooth sailing. There is still a lot of things that we have to encounter and get to in the next month or so. Gotta run.

Ride # 9...Doing fine!

Today was a great day. I finally feel like spring is here. The wind quit and it was great weather for training horses. Ally was great today. I thought I would push her buttons to see what would get in her head and I found out that she is going to be a pretty level headed horse. Between the whip cracking lesson, roping lesson, barrel desensitization, turning and stopping, and standing on the saddle, I wasn't able to get her into a frazzle. (I've add pictures of today throughout my blog.) She is really starting to travel well and is becoming a fun horse to ride.

Looks like I've got a shadow.

I put her in the round pen and walked over to pick something up and Ali was following me around the round pen and was in my back pocket. I've always thought this was funny about this horse. She's really turned loyal.

Friday the Fourth

Today was another great day. Ali and I worked on getting desensitized to things swinging overhead. I used my stock whip and rode her around the round pen then transitioned to a rope. I let the rope drag from behind until this didn't bother her anymore. Next, I pulled the rope to the opposite side so the rope was around her hindquarters and against her back legs as she was in motion. She was a little unsure about the whole process but she soon figured out that it wasn't a huge earthshaking experience. Once she was used to all the ropes being swung and drug everywhere, I began to throw a loop on the ground in front of her as she travelled around the round pen. Eventually, I threw a loop onto a plastic 55 gallon drum and drug it around the pen with Ali paying attention to the barrel for the first few minutes. I am heading to a branding in the morning and she will go with me just to make the trip, but she isn't quite ready for all the branding pen action. Maybe in a few weeks, we will be ready to drag a calf to the fire. She is beginning to stop fairly well and moves out well. At the end of the ride, as I was flexing her, I stood up in the saddle and stood on her and she just stood there. She makes huge progress everyday, and I am sure enjoying the experience.

Finally back to training...

Well, I didn't get to work with my mustang for the last week and a half. Between going to a Montana horse sale and building another round pen and corrals at a new location, that didn't leave any time to work with Ali at all. I had a vacationing friend from California help me build my solid wood round pen and a corral. Without his help it would have taken me a lot longer.

I rode Ali the last couple days and was very glad she did well and hadn't regressed any. I taught her to load into a trailer. She wasn't excited to go into the trailer at all...probably because of her last time in the trailer was a long old trip! But aftera stretch of time lunging her, she decided the trailer wasn't a bad place to be. She realized she could rest in the trailer and not have to work. After a 1/2 hour or so she was loading and unloading in the trailer. Eventually, she was turning around in the 3-horse slant and also backing out. She completely retained everything from the trailer loading lesson because the next day, she loaded into the trailer with ease and we headed to the BLM ground behind my house. While I was riding another horse she stayed in the trailer for a while and I was so proud of her because she didn't paw or wasn't impatient at all. You would have never known she was in there.

I rode her out on the BLM desert for a little over and hour. She was very cautious about all of the sage brush and navigating through steep empty canals. She was very watchy and would pause to check things out. We past some grates in the empty canal and she thought they were "the devil." She didn't spook, but she was very scared to walk by them. I had a friend that was riding with me and Ali was not too concerned about other riders. She didn't really want to leave my friend's horse as I tried to ride off on my own because the other horse was her safety net. We managed to go on our own independent route on occasion. She was pretty unsure where to put her feet as we were navigating up and down hills. It kind of suprised me because mustangs are known to be very sure-footed. I know she will be fine as time progresses and we travel out into the big wide open spaces. Tomorrow I hope to go out into the desert again with her.

A funny thing happened that I thought I would mention, I was laying Ali down on Tuesday right about the time the school bus came to drop off the neighbor kids. She went down right when the bus pulled up. All of the kids on the bus had their faces pressed against the windows. And the little neighbor girl ran up all excited, "Is your mustang dead, Matt?!" It was pretty funny. I guess Ali went down and was so relaxed all of the kids thought she had died right in front of them!

Lessons 6 & 7

It's starting to look like spring around here. The hills are turning from their dreary brown to fresh green grass. It rained this morning and early afternoon, but the good thing about living in a desert is that it dries up quickly.

I've been able to pick up Ali's feet and hold them instead of just pick them up. She is just mellow. She has tried to kick only on her back left leg. So when she does that, I think what she is telling me is, "Please, touch that foot a million more times so that I will stop trying to kick you."

Both days I rode her in the round pen and she stepped out great. She stayed in a gait until I asked her to change into a new gait. She was doing so well, so I decided to use my Aussie stockwhip to desensitize the air above her. It was amazing she didn't shy or get frazzled. She sped up a little bit the first time I cracked it, but that was it. I also used the whip to touch her front and back legs as I was riding her. Ali is also starting to stop really well and started to move off leg pressure. Of course none f these things are fine tuned yet, but that will come.

One of the most difficult things about a mustang is to gain their trust. I feel once you gain their trust then everything else during the training process should come easier because you aren't forcing them to do it... they are choosing to do the easy route. This actually applies to any horse.

Lesson 5

Yesterday Ali and I only got to work together for a short time due to the weather conditions and daylight hours. But today was a fun and productive day. I started the day yeilding her hind quarters and her fore quarters from the ground. She was responding to this exceptionally well, so I began flexing her head to gain control of her. I feel it is important to give to pressure before you get on, not only for safety reasons but because it gives the horse an understanding of what you are trying to do.

I desensitized her to the saddle pad and the saddle. She took this well because she already had a girth strap on before from the previous sessions. My first attempt in getting into the saddle, she jumped to the side and I just stepped down. After watching her jump to the side I flexed her a bit more before trying to attempt again. The second time, was able to get into the saddle. Once I was in the saddle she was fine. She did not buck or do anything. After a couple minutes she started stepping out and away we went. I noticed she has a long stride in her gallop. I'm anxious to take her outside in the hills because that is where the fun rides are. Maybe next week. If she keeps doing as well as she has been, she may end up being one of the horses I use during the branding season. We'll see.

At the end of the ride I was able to pick up all four of her feet and she was MORE than willing to be tied to the "post of knowledge" (in the words of Clinton Anderson.) She ended her day with a big bowl of grain.

Whenever there is anything earth-shaking around the place I tend to find her in my back pocket. This happened the other day and she's done it a couple of times since. When it happens it is a comical event.

Day 3

Today Ali learned how to yeild her fore quarters. I was also able to crawl on her and desensitize her from on her back. She did well. I also had the girth strap and buoys on her again to get her use to things flopping around her sides. A funny thing happened with her today. Ali was in the arena with the neighbor's horse who is hard to catch. While I was trying to catch the other horse, he started running around the arena. This whole commotion frightened Ali while the other horse galloped around to avoid being caught. She did not know where to go at this point so she ran up to me for protection. She was in my back pocket and almost in the way while I was trying to catch the other horse. It kind of suprised me because when horses go to running around, other horses usually join in.

Day 1 & 2

Day 1: I worked her in the round pen and she did well. She was very responsive and squared up to me nicely. Within the half hour she was basically following me around the round pen. I also was able to halter her and rub her down on the withers and neck. By the end of the session she was starting to lead.

Day 2: I'm still kickin' around different names for this gal. Nothing has stuck yet. I did more round pen work with her. I also was able to pick up a couple of her feet, rub all over her body, and get her desensitized to different objects. By the end of the session she was wearing a girth strap and I released her into the arena. When I went to take the girth strap off later on, I was able to walk up to her in the arena. Suprisingly, she just let me catch her with ease and take the strap off easily. She starting to show some of her gentle personality. Just watching her in the arena, she is very kind and gentle.

Pick up

I entered the Western States Mustang Challenge because I grew up in Central Nevada and loved watching the wild mustangs. As a kid everytime I would go to town I would stare out the windows in hopes to catch sight of a harem of mustangs. There was rarely a time that went by that I didn't catch site of one. I grew up on a large cattle ranch and have always had a passion for horses. One of the horses in the remuda that I rode was a mustang. There is something trilling about the freedom and proudness of a mustang in their native environment.

In the Western Horseman I saw an ad for the Extreme Mustang Makeover... I thought that would be a neat opportunity. So after applying and getting accepted as one of the 30 trainers, I was off to Sacramento to pick up the mustang project.

I got there to the pick-up spot and saw the mare that had been drawn for me. After her failed attempt to leap the fence, the wranglers loaded her into the trailer. She did fine in the trailer but I'm sure she'll always remember the Macks, Kennys, and Petes that thundered by on the freeway based on the rocking motion of the trailer as they passed by. The extremely long trip I'm sure was confusing for her, because we drove near the area where she ran free in her younger years.

As she got to her new home on Sunday she got the night off to rest up from her trip. Plus, Monday was a SCHOOL DAY. She needed to be ready for her first day of school.