Curly Girls ~ Cherished Hope and Winsome Rose

[Tockita]

2001 BLM mare from Silver Peak HMA, Esmerelda, NV. Adopted 2/20/07

[barbpurple]

welcome to your new home "winny"

[Tockita]

We aren't liking Whinny so much. May just stick with Winsome. Angi still wants to stick Jade in there as well but since it means a vicious horse I don't think thats going to happen!

[caryn]

Congratulations again!!!! That little mare is so lucky you found her. I cannot wait for updates and more pics

[Tockita]

She may get picked up tomorrow. We were looking at tuesday delivery (WA trip, and all) but they are getting ready for the temecula adoption next week, and monday being a holiday..

So Kendall is going up in the morning and they might put her on. It's a 3 horse trailer so it's up to BLM if they will run them in together or not.

Beth wants to call her Foolish Valentine, or Rosie Valentine so we will run them by Angi tomorrow. Nothing will be official until she gets here. Angi hasn't seen her in the flesh yet. It really was a joint decision to get her with Laurie and James in on it as well. I could have left her and made Angi go adopt her but since I was already there.. I went ahead and did it. ;D

[cybercat]

I like her one white sock... somehow she looks like she was dipped in Valentine chocolate and one foot was missed.

How about the name Truffle...(I must be hungry this morning)

[Tockita]

Ok we have discussed MANY names, and combinations and I think we finally have a winner. (One everyone likes) It's...

Winsome "Rose"

Rose is enough to satisfy the Valentine adoption mention, it is Isabelles middle name, and was my Grandmas middle name as well... it's a good Irish name, a name with character and strength!

[Tockita]

Rose arrived today! We had her pen almost done then had strong winds/rain and couldn't attach the cover. So since we delayed we thought and we pondered and we wondered and Angie had a dream about Rose, and her surrounded by like 6 people petting her and she said she KNEW Rose was going to end up all mine.. so we ended up setting up 2 pens and Rose came home with a friend.

She is a 2 y/o curly black filly with 2 hind socks and a crescent moon. We saw her out in the big pens when we took pictures of Rose after the last adoption. Being 2 and a cutie we figured she would be mine and Angi could keep the red rose.. except Angi had another dream on sat night. She dreamt that Hope was hell on wheels and was going to be hers.

I think she is right. Rose went in to the trailer with some animation but not bad for a 6 y/o recently gathered wild one. Hope followed kicking the entire time they were removing her neck tag in the chute. She went in the trailer, out of the trailer, tried to duck back into the chute.. loaded her front, jumped back, spun, and loaded her rear.. jumped out again, and after trying 6 times to reenter the chute... loaded her right side and she jumped back out again! She finally got all 4 feet in the trailer and promptly sat back and lifted her fronts off the floor held it for abotu 10 seconds and then spun around twice! She managed every "air above ground" she could possibly do in the back of a stock trailer, and then we headed for Angi's.

I told Angi she had totally jinxed that little filly (who is really a long yearling and not so small for her age.) She liked Rose's confo and declared very quickly that she was very Symphony like, curious but reserved. I crouched down in the pen and she kept talking little steps towards me trying to figure out what I wanted and why I was down there, she would turn away but kept turning back. Hope on the other hand wanted not much to do with either of us.

When we researched the HMA we discovered they had zeroed it out due to drought in the 90s and that horses from a nearby HMA keep moving in... and it looks like this time it was a band of curlys! There are not enough of them to remain without compromised genetic diversity and it's a tough area they are looking to keep burro only. So the plan last october was to gather what there was in Silver Peak. Rose and Hope were gathered on the same day from an HMA that held perhaps 35 horses... so are probably related. We ended up opening the gate between the pens becaue Hope is "just a bitty baby" according to Angi and needs a mommy to make her feel safer.

Angi has worked with a lot of mustangs at Lifesavers but this will be her first adopted from BLM for herself. She called me tonight laughing to say she was (oh the horror) sitting in the stall bribing Hope to come closer with food. LOL I told her when you are a mustang mommy and not "just" the mustang trainer the loving and bonding is a must, and that bribery is OK!

We did take the camera but child never told me she killed the last set of batteries in the case yesterday so no video and no pics of Hope... yet!

[MustangAppy]

Those carrots are a good thing, LOL, and anything else you can think of to ply them with!! Paladin had serious trust issues when we brought him home, not because he hadn't had any contact with humans, but because he had already been through 2 owners, neither of whom understood him. The turning point for the trust issue between us came about 1 month after I got him. We were boarding at the time, and the owner of the property was doing fence repairs that week. On this particular day, a piece of bent fencing wire found its way into Pal's run somehow, and he had stepped on it. I came out as usual to try and work with him, and found him limping on his right hind. Mind you, at this point I had not been successful in picking up his feet. I could see the bright wire as he held up his foot, so I knew what I was dealing with, but was terrified he wouldn't let anyone help him and would panic and try to run on it. He let me approach, but wasn't happy about me moving my hand down his leg, and started to hop off. I stopped, waited, and he turned back. I just looked him in the eye, and told him, tears streaming, that I would never hurt him, and that he needed to be a good boy and let me help. He sniffed my breath, something he now does every time he greets me, and let me touch him. This time I was able to run my hand down his leg, and, miracle, he let me pick up his hoof. The wire was in a bundle, and had wedged between the hoof wall and frog, and was poking him when he stepped down. It was not embedded, but did take a bit of tugging to remove, and he did not pull away or try to kick. Thank God it didn't do any damage that required more than light cleaning for a week. I have never had him refuse his feet to me again. It really is about the trust, and if cookies and carrots start the ball rolling, I am all for it!

[Tockita]

Rose took one bite of hay from Jensen bur Hope is not being as kind to Angi. She can't wait to get home today and go sit with them.

[Tockita]

Here they are, THE curly girls...

Rose is six and Hope is coming 2. They were gathered in Oct.
Rose was going to be a joint project and then we were going to fight over her. Since we adopted Hope as well.. None of us has been able to choose between them. I lean towards Hope because shes a baby (and I love babies) Plus she'd be easy to hide if I don't let Chester and her run loose together
But Rose is really neat! She's very calm, and while she may take longer to touch I think she's going to be a very stable minded beastie. She also has some strange white patches... Appy type spots.. but she has no other Appy markings? No skunk tail and it looks to be more then roaning, so not Rabicano.. One is in the shape of a heart up on her rump.

[Tockita]

I'm going to go play with the curly girls tomorrow afternoon.
Angi said Hope looks uncomfortable with our heat wave (its been 80+ this week)
I told her to get her butt out there and brush her so she'll shed those curls!! LOL

She does have really thick curls.

[Tockita]

I spent a couple of hours sitting in the pen watching her interact with Hope. Was not able to engage Rose until I closed the gate between the pens. Upon arrival she allowed Hope to hide behind her and played the protective mare, now we can see clearly that Hope is the stronger, braver one (and less trusting one) Rose hides behind and takes her direction from Hope, even to the point of following her away from food. Once separated Rose was very curious, ate treats, approached and sniffed my chair and sniffed my hand.

It really is SO hard to choose just one! Rose, when I saw her at BLM was obviously not an alpha or even a beta.. So I figured that even though she was captured at age 5 she would be looking for a kind leader to follow. I was searching for the perfect word to describe what I see when I looked in her eyes at BLM and the closest word I can think of is forlorn...

Adding Hope into the mix has made it an interesting adventure.. I've only had one new stang at a time, so I think they would tame faster apart, but coming from the same HMA I feel like they know each other and find comfort together.

[caryn]

I'm glad that you are keeping them together. It's got to be soooooo confusing for them. Losing their herd and forced to deal with strange 2-legged predators!!! Yikes, I'd be scared too. I agree that you'd probably gentle each quicker if they were separated, but I think you'll get even more out of it this way. Just my uneducated opinion, but it feels right to me too. The day Rose chooses to be with you rather than a herd mate will be epic!!! When Rose finally trusts you, I'll bet you will have a soul mate on your hands It doesn't sound like an effort, but sitting on your butt waiting for a horse to come to you for several hours takes perseverance. It sounds like it was more than worth it. Congrats and can you tell that I think Rose should be your next baby? It must be hard to choose, but it sounds like you have a connection with Rose. Have you ever adopted an adult mustang before? This could be an experience of a lifetime...okay, it'd be an experience of a lifetime regardless of their age, but you know what I mean

[Tockita]

I know what you mean. Everytime I look at Hope I see this young, ever so cute, fuzzy, fire breather who is so full of life and thinking thinking thinking.
Rose is so different, she is cautious, yet curious. She will sniff, look, think, I think she will be first to accept "us" and yet she sometimes she has such a far off lost look sometimes it breaks my heart.

Angi and I were talking today and she is starting to play more seriously with Hope. She knows it would be so easy to fall for her awesome little blackness and she is SO athletic! We aren't gong to claim either, rather let them chose which of us they like/fits best.

[Tockita]

From Angi

It has been a few weeks that she has had to settle in and on Tuesday, March 27th, I look outside and decide that she needs to start learning how to be a domestic horse. So far all she has done is take hay out of my hand, and most of the time she is pinning her ears at everyone that walks by the pen. I move her into the roundpen (with panels as chutes) with Hayden and Dino.
Tuesday it is drizzling and breezy and for some reason I pick this as my day to start. I take my lariet rope and just toss it at her. At first she is scared, but the other two horses are unconcerned as she blasts past them full speed, so this helps Hope adjust. I wrap the rope several times around her neck by tossing it over her head. Then I start to put just a little pressure pulling on it. She bolts forward at first, I keep the pressure steady and finally she turns toward me accidently and I release the pressure. She looks curious. What did I do? She wonders......
After a few times of this, she starts to understand and I start to approach her with my hand out. I get close enough and she smells me so I back up and leave her alone for a minute. I approach and work on slowly moving my hand by her face until she lets me touch her. I back up. I do this in small stages until I am able to rub her down the side of her neck and scratch her itchy, shedding chest. Ahh! Her eyes half close and I unwrap the rope and approach her again to touch her. Hope has had her first touch.

The next day I notice that she no longer pins her ears every time she sees people

Loooookie how fuzzy (itchy fuzzy) she is!!!!

[atticus]

Look at that hair!! Wow those are some curls!! How sweet.

[Tockita]

LOL
I'm thinking Hope qualifies as an extreeeeme Curly!
Rose is shedding out must faster and probably didn't have 1/2 the curls Hope did.

Rose has been more curious and willing to approach us, but Hope has all the moves to match those curls! Rose is tasting grain and carrots but Hope has refused treats thus far. By putting her in a pen with 2 very people friendly babies (Hayden 3 and Dino 10 months) she able to see that they are not afraid of people. Angi tried adding Dyna, who is closest to Hope in age but Dyna is VERY strong natured and was attacking her so she is back in with the big girls where she still misbehaves but it has much less affect.

[caryn]

AHHHHH, great picture and congratulations on Hope's first touch!!! She looks like she's really enjoying it

[Tockita]

Life has been more then crazy lately. While Symphony and Chester have been comforting and a nice diversion. I visited the evil wicked pony at Lifesavers yesterday and Beth had her first lesson on Tiffany, but I haven't made it over to play with the Curly girls, maybe tomorrow.

[cybercat]

I want to see an update on the Curly Girls!

[Tockita]

WOW I have been very bad about updating the girls but have been keeping VERY busy.

Hope is in the big pen with the mares she can be haltered brushed thought she still tries to eat Angi on occasion.

Rose went to Boot camp in April and lived! LOL she did really well given her handling thus far. She started to enjoy the pole scratching her back but didn't want it anywhere near her poll, she gets a light and boucy when we were working on her neck.

She is SO curious and sniff/snuffles hands (must smell them with both nostrils!) But needs to gain some confidence before she will be ready to welcome me in her space.
I need to either bring her home or get over to Angi's more then once a week. (pricing sturdy 6 foot pipe panels.. )

This was taken at Boot Camp... Isn't she stunning? She is so soft and floaty when she moves! At one point I was asked if I wanted to trade her for any horse on the ranch!

[swissgrl]

wow, she is gorgeous!!!!

[foxie]

What a lovely girl!

I love the curls.

[Tockita]

Hope has crossed the rainbow bridge, but Rose seems to have picked up a bit of Hopes bravado along the way.

Our shy reserved Rose has moved her way from the most picked on horse at the BLM to a strong leader in Angi's herd. Angi has been spending some time tormenting her and yesterday morning Rose sniffed Angi once then nipped her the next time.. just like Hope used too!

Rose has not been acting spooked or flighty and actually gives Chester her heels and he has been respecting that. I had for a while wondered if I could ever bring her home because he might torment her.

So watch for news of her progress, She just passed the anniversary of her gather from the wild, and seems ready to move forward in her training.