Kiger Shaman For Sale

 

If you are into mustangs you probably know about the Kiger Herd in Eastern Oregon. We have watched this heard for the past 12 years and in 2004 we adopted a weanling: Kiger Shaman. He rode home in our trailer calmly eating hay and laying down to rest when we stopped. He was cool, calm and collected and very pretty!

 He grew into such a pretty boy, sweet and well built!

He took easily to being saddled and loves ground work. He is fantastic at lateral work and can side pass over barrels or logs with ease.

Shaman like many Kigers is very Spanish. He is compact, built very square and is very strong backed and very quick. He can spin on a dime, rolls a barrel at a canter pushing it with his nose, and loves to chase anything - I imagine he would be fantastic on cows.

Shaman stands at 15 hands, his feet are rock hard, his neck is perfection. He is a dun, you can see zebra stripes on his legs and chest. His small hooked ears look dipped in ink. He is friendly and expressive. Everyone who meets him falls in love. He stands square and unlike many horses, it's hard to get a bad photo of Shaman. He is a beauty!

Like many Spanish horses he has a lot of Brio. He is very quiet, but when you ask for energy you get it! He is fine for children on the ground, but as a riding horse he is still very green and is still learning. He needs a quiet confident rider, who is experienced at this point or a professional trainer to bring him along.

 Shaman is experienced in Natural Horsemanship and was brought along slowly and carefully. He has been ground driven, lunged, worked at liberty, goes in and out of the trailer without a momen's hesitation, is great for the farrier, and goes on trail walks. He has been ridden very lightly, and is used to a bit, but ridden mostly in a halter to preserve his softness.

Shaman likes to play! He is full of beans and is such fun to watch. He's a character!

Shaman's canter is a dream!  He is round and light and can canter in very small circles without much effort. I have never ridden this canter, as he is not at that stage in his training, but it's not hard to imagine how smooth and easy it will be.

Shaman is used to all sorts of things being tied to his back and floating over his head.

Last fall he began some training under saddle. He is still anxious, but goes in and out of it. At 62, I don't think he's the boy for me.. I like my laid back Black Elk.. But, oh, what a picture Shaman makes!

I think with time, He could be awesome on the trail, working cows, showing or even in Dressage. He is made for the upper levels of collection. Cowboy Dressage perhaps? 

Sadly due to the economy and time, we are offering him to a good home for $4,000.

Who is training who?

I have been frustrated with getting a bit in Black Elk's mouth. Impatient. Yes, I admit it. Even though I firmly believe many of the issues with starting horses are created by people not giving  them the time they need to understand  what we are asking. Sometimes it's about a  threshold, they can go to a certain point and no further and we ask too much to fast. I know the secret to success and that is to break it down into tiny little pieces, steps that the horse can be successful with. 

Constantly I remind myself, how do I want this part of our relationship to be in a year, in 5 years in 20 years. So, I take the time it takes to do it right. This is the polar opposite of Get 'er done.. With Get 'er done.. you most likely will never get the Partnership you want. The horse may comply.. but is left with a bad feeling.. as you will be too.

I use a clicker. This is how I gentled Black Elk and he LOVES it!  He also 'get's it!'. Working loose in a round pen, he will continually come back to me to solve the puzzel. I always end before he gets bored or discouraged. So, I got out my clicker and my bucket of pellets. We started with a crop. Having him touch the crop with his mouth. Now keep in mind, Black Elk is an introvert, it has only been recently he'd take an apple from someone's hand, and he still prefers you put it on the ground. He does not liked to have his mouth fooled with.

For the past few days I have been gently playing with his lips and putting a finger in the side of his mouth. But whenever I tried to put in the bit.. oh, no.. he said NOT THAT!  I never let it escalate into a fight, but I was discouraged. So, I needed to back track.

We spent about an hour together, first with the crop and then with holding the bit and having him line his mouth up with it, then click and treat, hold out the bit, line up his mouth, wait a little bit longer and click and treat.. then finally line up his mouth, and have him open his mouth.. click and treat, and then line up, open, put in the bit, click and treat. YEP, you guessed it. It was successful!  Black Elk trained me to do it slowly and he got lots of treats and by the end I was tried so I gave him the rest of the bucket of pellets and fed the boys and called it a night!

Rascal the Teacher

Saturday the little wranglers from the Permaculture Farm down the road came over for a horse lesson. Ki has been brushing Rascal and learning some of the basics in the round pen. Rascal is so good with him, standing quietly engaged and attentive. At 8, Rascal is showing a  level of maturity that is quite different from even a year ago. I cringe when I think of those who start riding and even showing 2 year olds. They are BABIES!  They do not have the physical maturity, the balance or the emotional maturity to do as they asked. I wish so much that people would give their horses time to grow up!

Here is Rascal at 2 and a half.. such a baby.. Uncertain and into everything. At 3 I got on him a few times and we did some walking for 5-10 minutes. He was unbalanced and unsure.

Ki is 9 and used to handling tools on the Farm, he is so very tuned in to the horses, noticing everything. Like how relaxed the horses muscels are.. the way the hair forms cowlicks, and what direction feels best for Rascal to be brushed. He holds the rope so naturally, giving Rascal room to move.

 Up and down the driveway they went.. Ki leading Rascal better than many people I see at fancy shows!

I think he was pretty proud of himself!

Niah likes Shaman.. she brushed him a bit, but he is so furry and dirty it was a huge job!
She too has been learning about backing the horse and teaching him to stand and circling. Shaman is a firey guy, but sweet with the kids.

Naturally she wanted to lead a horse too. Shaman had different ideas.. like grass, but she did really well and he only got an a few quick bites. Niah is crazy about horses and even though she is only 5, I know this is a child who will ride!

Ranger from Beatty's Butte HMA

Ranger is our BLM Mustang from Beatty's Butte HMA in Oregon. It is the largest herd in the state with tremendous genetic diversity. Ranger happens to be very Spanish but different than the ways Shaman is Spanish. Ranger is longer backed, with a curly mane, large eye and fine bones. He is more like a Passo Fino  Shaman is like an Andulusian. There are many gaited horses that come from Beatty's Butte. But, Ranger is not gaited.  My friend Tracy from Mustang Diaries has just gotten a Beatty's Butte horse too. Ranger traveled a long way with his buddy Rascal to come to our farm on Orcas Island. Someday we hope to do some back country riding with those two, east of the Cascades.

Ranger picked Ken out at an Adoption in 2003 down in Burns. He's the alpha horse here even though he's the smallest of the bunch. Unfortunately between Real Estate Sales and building homes and managing our farm, Ken has not had much time for Ranger.  I have worked with him some over the years, but really had my hands full with riding Rascal and working with Shaman, and then of couse Black Elk.

So, the big news for Ranger is that he has a new friend. It's a heart connection between Sarena and Ranger and they are building a relationship. Sarena is working on leading and having Ranger pay attention to her body language..they both seem to be enjoying the game.

Sarena is new to horses and new to Natural Hormanship but she's a natural! Of course Ranger is a pro! 

 

As for me, I am happy that Ranger has a new friend, today she actually got out all the  witch knots in his lovely long wavy mane. 

Life Lessons With Horses

On Sunday, my young friend Aurora came over for a ground school lesson with Shaman. She is 12 and longs for her own horse, but it is not just horses she is learning about. These are life lessons about using your energy, maintaining good boundaries and paying attention. For many young woman it is about finding your voice and being heard.  I remind her she is in charge and help her to find that place. She is learning about body language. The horses are masters of that art. She likes to work with Shaman, who is crazy about her. When she arrived, Shaman got up from his nap and came and stood at the gate watching her, then went over and rolled the barrel in a circle at a canter..(surely this will get her attention!)

 

Aurora usually cleans the corral prior to her lesson. Then she uses her body language to encourage Shaman to come to her and lower his head for the halter. We use a rope halter as it provides clearer information for the horse. Grooming is one way of establshing a relationship and Shaman loves the scratching and brushing! Aurora is working with him to stand still on the black mat and after two lessons with her, he is being very cooperative. 

  

The first few lessons Aurora worked in the round corral, but this week we headed out into the arena for some lunging. Shaman was happy to move out at a trot and canter, listening attentively to Aurora. It was really fun for me to see how well behaved he was. 

  

That seemed so easy, we set up a course for Aurora and Shaman and he loved that!  Aurora had to jog and she had roses in her cheeks when she was done!

 

Shaman is a Kiger Mustang. We adopted him at 6 months of age. The Kigers are the most well known of the herds in Oregon, and are highly sought after as they are very Iberian in origon. You can see from this photo how he tucks his butt under him and brings up his back, arches his neck and carries himself with pride. Yet, on the ground he is quiet enough for a complete novice. (with Supervision)  Kigers are known also for the dun factor: dark points, spider webbing on his legs and chest, hooked ears that looked as if they were dipped in an ink well, thick dark mane and tail, fine boned, hard feet and easy keepers. He has never been shod and never been lame.

Like most horses he looks better in the summers!

Breaking Their Spirit

For years I have struggled with the 'right' way to treat a horse. As a young woman I was very confident with horses and there were times when I asked too much too soon and there were disasters. Sometimes I followed the mantra of that time: "just make him do it!"  But, mostly I was sensitive and gentle, preferring to maintain the relationship rather than force the horse.  I  rode Thoroughbreds and other hot blooded horses, and like me, they were sensitive, and I knew they could not tolerate rough handling. Sometimes I was told I was too soft.

Ten years ago when I got back into horses I wanted a quiet trail horse or a sensible dressage horse. While horse shopping, over and over again I met horses that had 'checked out'. I looked in their eye and they were 'hidden'. Dissociated.  So many horses with a dull, blank expression. The laid back trail horse seemed impossible to find,  many people seemed to think 'trained' meant a horse would follow his buddy down a trail. God help you if a bike went by, or a plastic bag flew up in the air. So many horses who had been bullied and pushed too fast. Ruined before being fully grown.

Eventually I discovered Mustangs and they were definitely NOT checked out! They were alert but not flighty, curious, intelligent and they wanted to interact. They enjoyed playing with people and one another. Their spirits were intact. I have come to think that what many of us seek in our horses is their Spirit. As their caregivers it is our job to protect their spirits, their joy in living, their desire to engage in life.

As a young woman I was sent to Catholic Schools and eventually a Convent School. Life was rigid there, prayers starting at 5 am, bells signifying what we were required to do throughout the day. The Rule of Silence for some reason was extended to the girls, only teens, most of us not planning on being nuns.  We were not allowed to visit or talk in our dorms, all but two hours of the day were scheduled for us, nor could we go home most weekends. You may find this hard to believe, but there was chain link fencing surrounding the school. I begged my parents to be set free. They ignored me. I was incarcerated. There were many ways that School and the Church tried to break my spirit. We were not allowed phone calls, our letters were opened and read, dressed in uniforms we were told how soiled we were by simply being young women.

Eventually I learned how to check out, how to dissociate, how to create a glass wall for protection.  Recently I read these are ways institutions try to break your spirit.  When I read that I thought oh.. Now I know, now I see why I chose the wild ones, the mustangs, the Horses with their Spirits Intact.

My Sweet Black Elk Dumped Me!

Wonder where I have been? Well first my daughter and I went to Mexico to sun ourselves on the beaches and laugh and have a bit of an adventure. It was great..we had a ball. Snorkled off of Playa Morelles north of Play del Carmen at the most pristine reef loaded with all kinds of colorful fish. Spent days bouncing in the surf, walking the beaches and eating guacamole. That was fun!
Came home to sunshine in the Pacific Northwest.. and then rain. Not much horse time in the rain, so it was a quite a while between rides on Black Elk. He seemed as mellow as usual. I did my ground work routine, I lunged him and then I got on. He was fine. Or so I thought. We rode around calmly for about ten minutes, then my foot hit one of the barrels we were going around, he spooked and starting bucking, I think I acually fell off when he took a sharp turn to the right. OWWWW!
Fortunately Ken was home, as this was not one of those brush your britches off and climb back on kind of falls. I knew I'd broken ribs.. a bunch of ribs and I could barely breath. Somehow I mustered up enough breath to call for Ken and he came out and helped me into the house. By then I was begging for pain pills...now, I am not a pain pill kinda gal, but that's what I wanted. Ken cut off my muddy sweatshirt and got me to the couch. Little did I know that is where I'd stay for weeks! 
It's not been that much fun, as I like being out of doors and not laying around. But now.. eight weeks later, I am getting back to some kind of normal. Not that I am riding yet, but I did garden today in the 55 degree sunshine and that was wonderful.

 

The boys had other ideas on how to spend the day.

Black Elk at age 4 is coming into his own. He is much bigger than his buddies and challanging them all of the the time. Where as last year, he struggled to canter in the arena, now he canters small easy circles while playing. He is also much more forceful and likes to play charger with Rascal and Shaman.Would you ever guess that by this photo?

 

Rascal ( standing) and Black Elk