The Eyes Have it: "Cueca" from Coppersmith HMAChallenge Painting #119

 Cueca and her working eyes.

"Her Working Eyes"
5 by 7 inch Watercolor
by LindaLMartinArtist

They say that the eyes are the windows of the soul. I think with horses sometimes they are the mirrors of their past. Everything affects a horse and from my experience they don’t forget.  Look deep into the painting and you will see the desert country of  North West California where Cueca is from.

This painting is Cueca in close up with her bridle on.

The Photo is provided by photographer Cecilia Steel  for the 88 wildhorses project.

You can read more about the 88 Wild Horses Project at http://www.88wildhorses.com/

Happy Adoption: "Cueca" from Coppersmith HMAChallenge Painting #118

Beautiful Bay Filly Trained by Gerry Gesell through the Trainer Incentive Program administered by the Mustang Heritage Foundation



"Cueca"
5 by 9 inch Watercolor
by LindaLMartinArtist



Cueca, a bay filly from Coppersmith, CA HMA, was hand-selected by Gerry Gesell for 88 Wild Horses, a wild horse training program developed to promote adoptions and showcase the talent and versatility of these horses. She was one of over a dozen horses selected during the Spring of 2010 which were then started and trained by Gerry until they were adopted into various disciplines in various states. From her energy and presence came the name "Cueca": the cueca is the national dance of Chile.

 

Cueca was started in Wyoming then moved to South Carolina where Gerry Showcased his string of  TIP horses. There Cueca was picked to become part of a polo string. After a season in South Carolina she was headed to Florida for the winter polo season and more training. This Summer(2011) she is scheduled to play in her first polo tournaments in  New York.

To read more about 88 Wild Horses go to:

www.88wildhorses.com
www.facebook.com/88wildhorses
www.gerrygesell.blogspot.com

Happy Adoption: "Primera" adopted from BLM Colorfest 2010 Challenge Painting #117

Primera
Her full name is Paisley la Primera. She is from Paisley Ore HMA. Gathered in Dec 09.Was the first Mustang ever adopted by Deb Moore McGuire.



Primera
5 by 7 inch watercolor
by LindaLMartinArtist



Primera wasn't the first horse Deb selected when she and friend Tracey Westbury went to Burns Ore for the BLM Colorfest Adoption Event in February 2010 . The Burns holding location hosts several adoption events a year to try to introduce adoptable mustangs to the general public. Primera was a second choice after the first horse Deb chose had an accident and wasn't available for the delivery date.

Primera
photo used by permission and provided by
Deb Moore McGuire.

As it turns out Primera was the 2 year old daughter of Deb's first TIP (Trainer Incentive Program) horse, CP. Deb also brought home a   CP and her new filly, also a grulla pinto. Prior to adopting Primera, Deb had been a quaterhorse breeder for years, before she fell in love with these three Calico HMA Mares. The three horses reside on her farm in Washington. Deb also has one additional mustang mare on the farm as well.

Deb says the mares love to bang on things such as gates, tipped over water tubs and anything that will make a loud noise when they strike at it. Another thing about Primera is that she loves water. Her favorite thing is to play in water tubs.
~*~*~
Help support the Challenge
Have your Horse painted:
The watercolor painting of Primera is a 5 by 7 inch ready to frame. If you would like to have one of these little paintings of your horse here are the prices for May 2011: 
1 horse $45.00
2 horses $65.00  
$3.50 will provided S&H for up to three paintings combined ship of this size.
Client provides Photos and  Story to be included in the Challenge. Proof of Copyright required on photography when requested.

"Fine Tuning" for the Ft Collins Extreme Mustang Makeover Robert and Watson Challenge Painting #116

"Fine Tuning" Looking towards the Ft.Collins Extreme Mustang Makeover

"Fine Tuning"
8 by 10 inch watercolor
by Artist Linda L Martin

Tonight's painting is called "Fine Tuning" Featuring Robert Carlson and Watson. (actually Robert's hands are putting in a cameo again) .
Several weeks ago the two trainers from R&M Performance Horses  put in their last night arena training time. The idea is to expose the horses to all sorts of things at night, as well as other horses. Robert also did some bareback riding as well.

Madeleine LeClerc and Tango taking a breather
during their night areana time.

In exactly two weeks from Friday Watson (Robert Carlson) and Tango ( Madeleine LeClerc) will be headed for the Fort Collins Extreme Mustang Makeover. On June 12th both of the horses will be offered for adoption. If you would like to see Madeleine and Robert compete with these two  in Fort Collins, Colorado don't delay make arrangements now.  These next two weeks will be the final touches and fine tuning needed to compete and hopefully bring good adoption for these two amazing Mustangs.



Robert Carlson putting Watson through his paces
bareback in preperation for the Ft Collins Extreme
Mustang Makeover event June10th -12th



To Find out more about the clinics and to follow all the Mustangs currently in training you can go to  the R&M Mustang Program on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/rmmustangprogram

To Find out more about the Ft. Collins Extreme Mustang Makeover go to http://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/

Dolly, Second Chance Mustang at Alder Hill Farm Rescue challenge painting #115

Note from Blogger: Alder Hill Farm is no longer an active rescue.

Alder Hill Farm's Dolly is a Second Chance titled BLM Mustang.

She is ready to adopt into an approved home.

Horse Rescuer and Head Horseman at Alder Hill Farm Scott Litherland has been in this type of work for over 9 years. He also is an experienced TIP Trainer working with Mustangs.  For him its more than simply doing what is right. Its a heart wrenching sometimes heart breaking task for a man feels the pain and understands the communication of the horses. This passion for horses specifically and animals in general makes him a special asset in the field of Humane activities. And a special gift to the horses of Alder Hill Farm Rescue.

One horse that came with Scott to the Rescue was Dolly. Today Dolly is a 9 year-old  that  has blossomed into a beautiful girl and a complete love bug!  Dolly is the first of the titled BLM branded Mustangs that is being offered for adoption by Alder Hill Farm.  She was captured in California. She is fully saddle trained and should be ridden in a little S hackamore with a very light touch.



"Dolly" in fine form during the winter of 2010 at Alder Hill Farm Rescue.
She is now ready to adopt to an approved home. You can contact Alder Hill Farm
through their web sight http://www.alderhillfarm.org/
for more information on Dolly and all the Horses of Alder Hill Farm.
Photograph and Reference Photographs provided by Alder Hill Farm
and Scott Litrland used by permission.



When Scott rescued her from a KB auction the pretty mare was severely underweight, very frightened of people. Unfortunately the person who had Dolly had put shoes on her that had almost ruined her normally perfect feet. It took Scott nearly a year to get her feet back to what they should have been. With normal trimming, most mustangs, including Dolly don't need shoes.

Dolly is 15 hands high. She currently weighs 1000 lbs. Her approved adoption fee is $1000. If you would be interested in adopting Dolly, Alder Hill Farm is now taking adoption applications. You can contact them through  their website: http://www.alderhillfarm.org/

Or through the Alder Hill Farm's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Alder-Hill-Farm/143615622351535

Information about Dolly was provided by Alder Hill Farm and Scott Litherland through facebook.

~*~*~*~

Would you like to help out Alder Hill Farm Rescue? 
 
To order your painting just link in to  the MustangADayChallenge Shop in Etsy or contact me at LLMartisticServices@yahoo.com

The Fighting Stallions of Sand Wash Basin challenge painting #114

"Meet and Greet"
Cosmo and Davy G  Part 2

"Meet and Greet"
Cosmo and DavyG
8" by 10" Oil on Canvas Board
by LindaLMartinArtist

This particular painting I have shown Davy G with Cosmo. However the reference Photo's from John Wager probably show Brave and Cosmo.

It just shows you how difficult it is to indentify the horses of Sand Wash Basin when three or 4 look very similar. There are several bay stallions with small bands. Chief, Brave, and Davy G. From a distance or standing knee deep in sage and greasewood Its very difficult to tell them apart especially when there a lot of activity going on.

 Brave has white below the fetlocks on both hind feet. Chief has white below the fetlock on one hind foot. Davy G has no white feet. All three have little white stars on their for heads.

Brave and Cosmo Scuffling
Notice Ginger ignoring them while she grazes.

Brave has one additional identifing factor. He has a hernia on his abdomen. It is very pronounced when you see him  in profile. When I was choosing the photography I noticed that  on the bay I thought was Davy G his feet are not shown and one cannot see the hernia because of the angle of the action. Fortunately John had a great collection of shots from many different angles. There is one more aspect of this that one cant over look. That is Ginger, Brave's dun mare.  She is in the photography quietly grazing in the background.

John's Photo of Brave. Cant see his
hernia in this one.

These photo's were taken by John in 2010. One of the first things we discovred in April and May is that Ginger and her 2010 foal Frisk are still with Brave. However in addtion Bear's mare Ellie  and yearling filly, Flirt, are with Brave too.

Sally Wright another Photographer and really good at identifying horses on the Sand Wash Basin had a great affection for the Band Stallion Cosmo. It was Sally that identified him as the one fightingwith Brave.



John's Davy G  
John posted his one in Oct 2010.
He was really chubby
going into the winter.



Reference photo for The paintng.
All photography on this page is by
John Wagner and used by permission.



The Fighting Stallions of Sand Wash Basin challenge painting #113

Davy G or Davy Greasewood

Meet and Greet
Unfinished
Featuring Davy G
8 by 10 Oil Painting by LindaLMartin, Artist

Tonight's painting will actually be the subject of two posts. One post tonight features Davy Greasewood and tomorrow the stallion who he is sparring with. The painting is of course unfinished.

The topic tonight and tomorrow is of the boundaries that stallions set for their own territory and how close they will allow another stallion.  This is an invisible line of demarcation that stallions for the most part observe during their every day range life, however should the opportunity arise they will  breach that line in order to add more mares to their harem.

The dance usually starts with stallions meeting at the invisible line. They will sniff each other in greeting. There maybe be some head shaking. Usually there will be  some squealing, usually some striking out while squealing, a little foot stamping  and the dramatic dance of mirroring each other with intermittent squealing. Sometimes we call  it posturing however with band stallions it generally ends with one or the other stallion leaving a deliberately placed manure pile as a warning that if the other stallion goes over that line there will be a fight.

For some more tolerant stallions that line might be relatively close. For those who are more powerful and dominant they will insist upon more distance between competing stallions and their bands. Any stallion who disrespects the boundary will be severely punished. Generally a nip on the rump and a good chase is sufficient. But younger stallions will not only violate the boundaries, they will worry a patient band stallion until they provoke a fight.

The following video shows the young stallion Voodoo  invade the space of  The black stallion, Bear,  and a gray stallion that might be Centauro. There is also a brief cameo of Picasso who stomps and squeals as a warning not to even come near him. The Video was produced by Nancy Roberts on one of her  visits to the Sand Wash Basin. 

The Fighting Stallions of Sand Wash Basin challenge painting #112

Bear of Sand Wash Basin HMA Colorado



Bear Of SandWash Basin
5 by 7 inch Oil on Canvas Board
by LindaLMartinArtist
Reference Photo by Nancy Roberts
SOLD



When the first images of Bear started showing up among the photographers everyone thought he must have been a wise old knarly stallion with a lot of years of scrapping and fighting in his past. He had one mare and her yearling filly in 2010.

But then we began to notice that Bear has a brand. He was obviously captured at some point and branded with the idea of removing him from the range. However, evidently someone changed their mind and released him back into the Sand Wash Basin.

Bear's Brand
Photo by Sally Wright
copyright2010

Photographer Sally Write was the first to photograph his brand so it could be read. Many of the horse watchers of The Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses club were surprised that Bear was actually only an 8 year old. In 2011 he is now 9. Sometime over the winter his Mare, Ellie and her filly, Flirt had been claimed by another, prominent band stallion, named Brave. And so far this year Bear has not been sighted.

Fighting Stallions:

The best way to show the Challenges that Stallions go through on a daily basis is to show this photo series by Nancy Roberts.  A dominant stallion like Corona will not tolerate a mature stallion too close to his band and frequently the band stallion will go after the offender never letting them come too close. Corona’s ability to keep his family together for over 6 years through 2 roundups is proof that allowing any challenger too close is to invite disaster and upheaval.

This may be one of the reasons that Bear lost his mares. He allowed a tag or satellite stallion, Cimarron, to tag his band for most of 2010. It appears that Cimarron wasn’t strong enough to actually steal the mares, however, he also may also have been the stallion that had the mares first and was so attached that he couldn’t leave them. (Because of the color of Cimarron, silver chestnut, I wouldn’t be surprised  if he was Flirt’s father.)

 Having Cimarron so close, tagging the band might have been a sign to the other stallions that Bear was a weak band stallion. A Strong opportunistic stallion Like Brave may have seen this as an opening to take the mares because Cimarron was still aloud to hang around.

There is one other things that has been reported  regarding satellite stallions. A Satellite stallion should not be confused with a lieutenant stallion. A Band stallion with a large number of mares my allow a satellite stallion to be his subordinate in protection of the herd. This lieutenant stallion will help the dominant band stallion defend the herd. On occasion this lieutenant stallion is a younger stallion under the age of 4. But in herds where there may be 10 to 20 mares,  the lieutenant  will be a mature stallion who has earned the right to a place in the herd but is still subordinate to the stallion. He rarely if ever breeds one of the harem mares.

In the Sand Wash Basin HMA herds of mares that large are mostly unheard of because of management and population control.

You can read more about the horses of the Sand Wash Basin on Facebook by liking the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses Club. And by following the horses on the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses Blog http://sandwashwildhorses.blogspot.com/

"Looking to the Future" Challenge Painting #111 Madeliene and Tango

"Looking to the Future"
Madeleine LeClerc and Tango
8 by 10 inch Watercolor
by Linda L Martin

On May 13^th 2011 R&M Mustang Program announced that since they started making over Mustangs in 2010, they have helped adopt out 20 Mustangs. On June 13^th They will add two more to the list when Tango and Watson are offered for adoption at the Fort Collins Mustang Makeover.

Tonight’s painting is  called: “Looking to the Future”

This post was scheduled for Tuesday, May 17th. However due to violent spring thunder storms it was posted on 5/18/11

The very poignant thing about Amy Spivey’s reference photo  is that Madeleine and Tango have bonded together so tightly that Tango’s complete attention is on Madeleine. He is poised and waiting to see what she will request of him next. There is an important bond of trust there that will take this young mustang very far. Teaching a horse what is what and how to use his body is only part of it. The trust is what will make the horse excel and move into the future with every option of potential at his feet. Every thing a trainer and coach tries to do is to build that trust between horse and rider and to make them into a formidable and unflappable team. Both Tango and Watson are ready to move to that next level, still green and still experience and polish that time will give.. but they are ready to begin. The persons who adopt these two will be getting special horses indeed.

Robert Carlson and his new  Supreme Extreme
Makeover Mustang at the May 13th Clinic on
How to Start your Mustang.
Photo used by permission.

New Beginnings:

Friday May 13^th was  a new beginning. Lots of new beginnings with these mustang Trainers. That morning Madeleine LeClerc and Robert Carlson picked up their three Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover horses that will be exhibited in competition in September.  This time there are a few twists in the training program.

First of all they adopted these three mustangs outright. And they are beautiful! Robert’s horse is an awesomely built athletic black horse from Tobin Range HMA in North West Nevada. This beautiful spirited horse comes from one of the most isolated HMAs and is as wild as a mustang can be. He is presenting all sorts of challenges. However, he is making progress with each day that passes.

Madeleine’s horse is a sweet faced beauty of a roan mare also from Nevada. She is progressing nicely. However I think the surprise horse is the amazing chestnut mare they bid on at the last moment. This little mare is very desensitized to humans and according to Madeleine it only took 5 min to teach her to lead.

I think that knowing where the wild horse comes from is very important when adopting a mustang. It helps a lot to talk with people who have adopted from that HMA.  Horses in the more accessible HMA’s have some knowledge of humans and are sometimes less frightened and trust easier in training.



Madeleine LeClerc on
Tango, prepping for the
Ft Collins Makeover
Photo used by permission.



So now Madeleine and Robert are on their way to competing with these three horses in The Supreme Mustang Makeover, after 4 months of training they will compete for prizes worth $50,000. Pretty awesome!

But here is the really cool thing: Starting on May 13^th R&M Mustang Program held the first in a series of monthly Clinics to show people how to start and train their Mustangs.  These are open to the public and have a reasonable fee associated with the participation. You can come, see how the training is done and it will not only help you understand and overcome the challenges in handling a  wild horse, but it will give  you a information you can even use with your domestic horses as well. 

Here are the next 4 Clinics being hosted by R&M Performance Horses:

Supreme Extreme Clinic 2 - Leadership and Body Control   June 25^th

Supreme Extreme Clinic 3- Controlling the Body Under Saddle Pt. 2   July 16^th

Supreme Extreme Clinic 4 - Confronting Obstacles   August 13^th

Supreme Extreme Clinic 5 - Advanced Maneuvers  September 10^th

To Find out more about the clinics and to follow all the Mustangs currently in training you can go to  the R&M Mustang Program on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/rmmustangprogram

Just word of caution:

If you have never trained or worked around a horse before, a few sessions of a clinic will not give you the experience you need to handle a wild horse safely and humanely. It is always advisable to have a professional do the ground work and guide you through the process for the sake of the horse as well as your safety. Madeleine and Robert are not only experienced horsemen and trainers who have worked with domestic horses of many different breeds, they are also approved TIP trainers for wild horses through the Mustang Heritage Foundation. Madeleine is also an experienced riding instructor and coach. Both Robert and Madeleine have excelled in a variety of Horse disciplines on all levels. If you want a wild horse,  Experienced Trainers like Robert and Madeleine are the kind of winning combination you need to get the most out of your mustang.

Photography  Provided by Lightning Bug Creek Photography for the Mustang A Day Challenge.

Please check out their page and photography Specials. Amy Spivey of Lightning Bug Creek Photography will be at R&M Performance Mustang Clinics and also the Ft Collins Extreme Mustang Make over event  You can contact her through her  Facebook page prior to the events for photographic services. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/LBCPhotography

The Fighting Stallions of Sand Wash Basin challenge painting #110

  Beau and Nick Bachelor Stallions of Sand Wash Basin HMA.

"Nick and Beau"
5 by 7 inch watercolor
by LindaLMartin

Today’s painting is of the beautiful gray stallion Beau and the young 2 year old butter cream palomino stallion named Nick. In this painting, that was inspired by the photography of Sally Wright when she visited the Sand Wash Basin in August 2010, The two stallions are play fighting. They are part of a larger band of brothers who very in ages.

There are so many myths that have been perpetrated for thousands of years regarding the behavior of horses, that to see horses reacting in the wild for the first time is both enlightening and surprising.

The first myth, brought about by these eons of equine domestication, is that you must keep all stallions separate or they will injure or kill themselves in fighting. Because after all these powerful creatures live to fight.

This myth is so prevalent in the civilized world that when unknowledgeable people, look upon a band of horses they really don’t understand what they are seeing. What appears for all intents and purposes to be a stallion with his brood mares, is often in fact a very complex family hierarchy that can involve not only one stallion, but several.

Here is the thing that surprised me: At some point after the young stallions are chased away by their band stallion, because they are herd animals and very gregarious, they do not live in isolation alone, they form a band of bachelors that can range in age from weanlings to very old stallions.  These Bachelors form a band with a stallion hierarchy that has all the dynamics of a normal mixed sex band with the exception of breeding. Previously I had always been led to believe that these young and or rejected stallions simply lived a life of isolation waiting for their chance to steal a mare.

Sometimes, as we have seen, in the Sand Wash Basin, there are very often young mares who have not yet matured who come into the band and find protection, companionship and shall we dare say it, a form of High School for wild horses that prepares them for life.

In previous posts I have discussed the behavior of protecting and nurturing young mares and colts in regard to our favorite little underdog, Sparrow, who as a yearling from Eagle’s band, showed up one day with a bachelor band. They took in this little sister and protected her and made her the jewel of their band. This year she would be a 2 year old on the Sand Wash Basin. You can read more of her story here: http://mustangadaychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/sparrow-of-sand-wash-basin-hma.html

The focus of this week is Fighting Stallions. The real truth is not that stallions live to fight, it is that they live to breed. And they use fighting as a last resort, only when necessary to accomplish the purpose of having access to mares or to defend their mares and other members of their herd from being taken. Do not be deceived, a stallion when he perceives a threat will with all this strength go after that threat. So getting between a stallion and any member of his band is indeed a dangerous thing. And is the first thing any wild horse observer must respect while visiting an HMA.

In the Bachelor bands in this high school for wild horses the young horses learn skills and test each other with posturing, wrestling matches, chasing games, and a lot of practice vocalization in clouds of dust. These games are the next step in building courage, technique and most importantly strength.

Mostly in a boys will be boys scenario, on occasion one may become a little over zealous and a serious fight will break out. But generally when that happens the young stallion is ready to challenge band stallions and will make is move to leave and build his own harem of mares. I have heard of young stallions beginning  the challenge process as young as the age of 4 but most begin to strike out on their own between the ages of 8 and 10. 

Currently one of the most respected and powerful stallions on the Sand Wash Basin is Corona who has been estimated to be around 20. He is a fearful power house with a dedicated band of mares that have been documented with him since before the 2005 gathers.  His beautiful honey dunalino color weaves through many of the bands like a brilliant golden thread.

You can read more about the horses of the Sand Wash Basin on Facebook by liking the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses Club.

And by following the horses on the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses Blog http://sandwashwildhorses.blogspot.com/

A portion of the proceeds for the sale of this painting will go to the  photographer

to offset the cost of the continued documentation and preservation of

the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses. 

This post was scheduled for Monday, May 16th. However due to violent spring thunder storms it was posted on 5/17/011

~*~*~

Help support the Challenge

Have your Horse painted:

The watercolor painting of Nick and Beau is a 5 by 7 inch ready to frame. If you would like to have one of these little paintings of your horse here are the prices for May 2012: 

1 horse $65.00

2 horses $85.00  

$5.00 will provided S&H for up to three paintings combined ship of this size.

Client provides Photos and  Story to be included in the Challenge. Proof of Copyright required on photography when requested.

Happy Adoptions Challenge Painting #109 "Sky"

 Sky,  A beautiful  gelding from Beaty's Butte HMA in Oregon:

Krissy Matterson's own words about her Extreme Makeover Mustang  horse:

" Sky is a 5 year old  gelding, caught on November 8th of 2009. He was my first EMM horse, and boy was I a lucky lady!

"Sky"
5 by 7 inches Watercolor
by LindaLMartin

He never questioned me, only tried, and tried harder. I competed in 2010 with a Beatys Butte Gelding named Sky. He was the most beautiful creature.  I competed in the Albany Oregon Expo Extreme Mustang Makeover with him..

We were 11th place in The Albany Oregon Extreme Mustang  Makeover, by one point....boo. He now lives in Washington with his adopter and her daughter, the daughter has fallen in love with him and is going to hopefully be doing 4-H with him this year. Sky is the easiest going trail horse I have ever ridden, He has made a very big impression on every human that he came in contact with. Just to look at him made you sigh."

Reference photo supplied by Krissy Matterson.
Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.

When trainers compete in the Extreme Mustang Makeover they are randomly assigned a horse, which they train for 100 days, then exhibit then auction to the highest bidder. Unlike the Supreme Extreme Makeover where the trainer can choose to adopt their horse outright before training begins.

If the Trainer decides they like the horse and want to keep it they must bid with the rest of the public in order to adopt the horse they trained.   Fortunately, many trainers offer additional training and are a part of the horse's life  until the new owner and the horse are both comfortable and relatively safe under most conditions.

To read more about the Extreme Mustang Makeovers and the Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeovers go to  www.mustangheritagefoundation.org.

Happy Adoptions Challenge Painting #108 "CP and Dulce"

When Quarter Horse Breeder Deb Moore-McGuire  went to  see some mustangs with Mustang U TIP Trainer Tracey Westbury she didnt expect to come home with a mustang. And she didnt. She came home with three, eventually. 

CP and Dulce'
5 by 7 inch Watercolor
by LindaLMartinArtist

The Story in her words:

"Tracey and I first saw this palomino mare in Feb of 2010 when we went to Burns Ore for the BLM Colorfest adoption. In a pen of mostly dark or pinto horses the "little" palomino mare with the LONG mane really showed up. With a grulla tobiano 2yr old that stuck to her like glue. We dubbed her "Miss Cranky Pants" because she seemed to always be crabbing at someone getting into her space.

I ended up adopting the shy 2yr old grulla pinto that was her daughter. (how that happened is another whole story)  But the palomino mare with all the mane stuck with me thru the spring and summer. I would see her pictures come up on my computer screen and think about what a nice looking mare she was and ALL that mane. ;o)

Then Tracey Westbury and Maggie Rothauge came home from the corrals the end of August with photos of Miss CP (we shortened her name so it didn't sound so bad) and her 2011 loud overo filly.

I thought it would be fun to have 2 sisters that were so different. Since the filly was not quit ready to wean in Sept. I decided IF I could find someone who wanted to sponsor and adopt CP I would bring the pair home. Since CP had been at the corrals for over a year and was 8yrs old she was allowed to come out in the TIP program.

So off we went the end of Oct to Burns to get them. I adopted the filly whom we named Dulce' (Sweet). Altho when we picked them up Tom kept calling her "Tiger" and informed me I would have my hands full with her. She came around very quickly and is now halterbroke and very friendly.

Dulce' is a silly goose and always looking for something or someone to play with. CP now is very talkative and all three of them (CP. Primera and Dulce') love to bang on things. Gates, tipped over water tubs, or anything that will make noise. I think they are wanna be Mustang "rockstars". And they all love to play in water tubs.

My Friend Lisa has adopted CP altho she will live at my house until she is fully gentled and ridable. Her mane is still amazing long and she is shedding out a pretty dark golden palomino. And the "little" palomino mare is a big stout 15.1hds. Nothing little about her.)"

The reference photography,images and story were provided by Deb Moore McGuire.

All rights reserved.

A portion of the proceeds of this painting go to Mustang U

This post was scheduled for Thursday May 12th. However due to problems with Blogger it was posted on 5/13/011

~*~*~

Help support the Challenge

Have your Horse painted:

The watercolor painting of Dulce and CP is a 5 by 7 inch ready to frame. If you would like to have one of these little paintings of your horse here are the prices for 2014: 

1 horse $75.00

2 horses $85.00  

$5.50 will provided S&H for up to three paintings combined ship of this size.

Client provides Photos and  Story to be included in the Challenge. Proof of Copyright required on photography when requested.