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Day Sixteen: This is a day that took me about four days to overcome. It is a day where I learned to follow my intuition and my heart. A trainer came to Last Chance Ranch to work with one of the rescue horses. The trainer heard about the rescue and wanted to donate some of his time and expertise. A wonderful Quarter Horse was recently donated to the rescue, but he needed some ground work before being adopted out. I watched the trainer (who shall remain nameless) work with Jesse, the QH and like what I see. The trainer asks if he can work with Samson - my gut reaction was to say no - I just didn't want anyone else working with Samson yet, however there were other people there who were curious to see how it would go, so I agreed.

At this point in time Samson is not yet yielding to lead rope pressure. I have tried to get him to walk with me on the lead rope with very little success. The ground inside the roundpen is very muddy due to snow thaw and rains, etc. and Sammy does not like walking through the mud and I have not pushed the issue. The trainer decided to take Samson out of his pen and into a larger area behind the barn. He walked over to Sammy and put a rope halter on him - no problem (I knew that). To take him out of the round pen we made a chute to connect to the larger area outside the barn (Oh, this is making me so nervous!). The trainer PULLS on his 25 foot lead rope and Samson charged out of the roundpen bucking and kicking. After 10-15 minutes Samson started responding to the lead rope. This freaked me out!

Now it's my turn! I start to work with Samson while the trainer works with me. At one point Samson starts pulling on the lead rope and backed away from me - very quickly - I held on to the lead rope and he settled down. I start walking forward (with my back to Sam) and was able to lead him with side to side, zig zag motions. Next, out of the corner of my eye I saw Sammy rear up at me (or so I thought); he was about six feet away. I turned towards him, raised my hands and shook the lead rope in the air to back him up. He settled down and then allowed me to lead him back into his roundpen. My nerves were shot at this point; I wanted to be able to lead Samson without making him (or myself) afraid. I was told by several very experienced observers that the reason sammy reared was because he wanted to initiate "play" with me. The trainer had unnerved him and when the lead rope was handed back to me, in his mind it was time to play with "mommy" (his only herd buddy)to ease the tension. I didn't know Sammy well enough back then to understand that but now that we are best buddies, I know that he was only trying to play - this colt does not have even one mean, nasty, aggressive bone in his body...the poor little guy was as scared as I was!

I was very numb for the rest of the day and for the following three days. In my head I was thinking, "I made a mistake, I'm not ready for this, I should call the BLM and tell them they need to take Sam back." Well, it wasn't Samson...it was me, I was just plain scared and I was beginning to doubt my commitment. I'm 50 years old and not looking to get seriously injured. Boy, have I come a long way from that day!

Ryan, my trainer warming up his client's Swedish Warmblood 3 yr. old stud colt

The next day Ryan Coaxum called to see how I was doing with Samson. I told him what happened with the other trainer and asked him for advice. "Ryan, would he have taken Samson out of his pen, knowing he was not yet leading inside the pen?" His answer was NO! He said this trainer may be excellent but not necessarily the trainer for me, and he may not have ever worked with a mustang before. I have since come to the conclusion that this trainer did NOT have any mustang experience (of course neither did I until I adopted Sammy :-)) and that was why he wanted to work with Sammy so much - to give it a try. Well, no more experimenting with MY mustang! Ryan encouraged me to follow my own gut feelings and take it slow, I have the next 30 years to train Samson. I asked Ryan if he had time in his busy schedule to help me with Samson and the answer was "absolutely, when do you want to start"?

Day Nineteen: I am working to overcome my fears. Maria Wagner, friend and Equine Dentist is also helping me work with Sam. I am now putting a rope halter (I had previously been using a nylon breakaway) on and off Samson to get him used to the process. I take the lead rope and rub it all over his body to get him used to the look and feel of the lead rope. I spoke to friend who has about 35 years of horse experience, and she advised me that the only thing she has ever regretted while training a horse was moving too fast. She said I have good instincts and to just follow them. I am now looking at the day with the trainer (buck and kick day) as a minor setback. (Update: As it turns out, looking back a few months down the road, it really wasn't a setback at all - just a learning experience and a turning point in my adventures with Sammy).

Day Twenty: Today Lori, the owner of the rescue helped me with Sammy. I have been trying to get him to move forward on the lead rope. He is very good at moving sideways - back and forth in place, but not forwards. Outside the roundpen, Lori climbs up a rung while I try to lead him - inside the pen; he finally starts some forward motion. He moves with me into the center of the pen and takes another another few steps forward. I reward him with some rubs and sweet talk. Lori then tells me to leave him on a good note and not let him leave me, in this way I establish myself as the leader. She tells me that herd leaders always leave first and stop grooming sessions first.

Preview of things to come MUCH later down the road...
Photo taken for a Local Non - Profit Service Club Calendar

Day Twenty-One: Samson has now been part of my life for three weeks. This morning I arrived at the ranch very early and was greeted by a smiling Lori who tells me that there has been a little excitement. It seems that Samson was loose! He was able to jiggle two chains loose on the roundpen enclosure with his mouth. In order for Samson to get loose he needed to jiggle two chains on the same side of the same panel! When Lori found him he was visiting with the other horses at the fence line of the back pasture. She was able to shoo him back into his pen with very little trouble. He was just lonely and wanted to make some friends! I worked with Samson on the lead rope a little more and am feeling much more confident that he will not be rearing or pulling me all over the pen. I was able to lift his front lips and play with his gums and teeth and run my fingers across his bars and his tongue. Breakthrough #10! This will be important in the future for dental work and wormings.

Day Twenty-Two: This is my favorite day so far! My Sister-in-Law came to visit Sammy for the first time and just fell in love with him. Mary Anne was absolutely amazed that I am able to go inside Samson's pen and groom him. He was very affectionate today with Mary Anne and her friend Julie. I decided to show Mary Anne and Julie how much Samson loves being groomed. He was being so agreeable that I decided to get the lead rope and work with him. Mary Anne, who does not know much about horses, but is very intuitive and loves animals, gave me some great advice. She said "It's apparent that Sammy loves you, so move closer to him when you pull on the lead rope, I think he is afraid of the distance between you..also, instead of rubbing him as a reward when he takes a step forward, use the grooming tool he loves so much and groom him as a reward." Well guess what? in 30 seconds he was allowing me to lead him all over his pen! Breakthrough #11!
Thank you so much Mary Anne! At this point, I was feeling so good about my progress that I decided to take another important step. I started moving my hands down Sam's left front leg and pulled slightly...all I really wanted to do was accustom him used to a little upward leg pressure, and to my surprise, he lifted his front leg for me. I am now able to lift his two front legs! Breakthrough #12!
In a matter of three days we have made a lot of progress. I am feeling so much more confident right now. My one bad day has worn off and now the excitement is back!