"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

"Luck of the Draw" with Madeleine and Tango Challenge Painting #101

Madeleine and Tango "Luck of the Draw" 

Training for the Ft Collins Mustang Makeover



"Versatility"
Tango and Madeleine LeClerc
8 by 10 inch Watercolor
by LindaLMartinArtist



Madeleine LeClerc is training the mustang Tango for the Fort Collins Makeover in June. Tango is showing some possible characteristics that would make him not only a great trail and pleasure horse but he has some athletic ablitity that suggests dressage as well. 

Madeleine is part of the R&M Performance Horses, The partnership of Robert Carlson and Madeleine LeClerc. Roberts horse for the same makeover evernt is Watson. Each week leading up to their compitition, I am alternating a painting between Tango and Watson

Each mustang makeover event, sponsored by the Mustang Heritage Foundation, is a bit different. In this makeover event the trainers are give 100 days to train a mustang from the wild  and take it to show case compititon so that the horses can be auctioned off to the highest bidder.  The goal is to put a lot of basic training and handling into the horse so that they can be assessed for thier potential, handled safely and then specialized later.



Madeleine and Tango  working on the bit.



All the horses are  what horsemen call "very green" when they reach the auction stage. Meaning that a beginner or intermediate rider cannot begin to find the mustangs useful unless there is addtional training put on the horse and the rider.  It is Madeleine's and Robert's job to expose the mustang assigned to them, to as much as possible so the potential adoptor can see what the horse might be best suited for.

Added to the challenge is that each of the horses is matched up to the trainers in this challenge in a blind number assignment, so that until the number is revealed and matched to the horse; the trainer really has no clue what his horse lookes like, its personality, its athletic ability or where it came from spacifically.

The interesting thing about mustangs is that  because of the historical circumstances surrounding the release of domestic horses from time to time into the original Spanish indigeonous stock, the horse could exhibit any trait introduced by  European settlers. 



The  training of the horses for  the compititon takes this into consideration by the type of tests that are set up. There are certain basic things that every horse must do to make it safe in any circumstance. Then there is the free style part of the exhibit that allows the horse to show case its spicific abilities and unique experience. This can be anything from draft horse, to gaited horse, to thoroughbred or arabian to any other purebred horse brought in by European settlers, plus other more American developed breeds like horses that drive such as pacers or trotters, to cattle horses with short little burst of speed gaits like quarterhorses, and even horses that might have potential as dressage horses, hunters, endurance or polo ponies.



Madeleine and Tango working on trail
obsticals.



The  trainer opens up the possibilites through assessing the horse, then  builds a freestyle program that would showcase those special tallents that could be developed into a competive edge, or a great service animal or a wonderful family pleasure horse.

It is important to notice that again, these are just the beginings of training. Keep in mind that some of these disciplines take years to polish. More importantly to the new owner, is that a wild horse has some special needs, because it not only is a horse, but it is a horse that learned to think for its self in the wild and learned to problem solve.*



This is the reason that R&M Performance Horses offer as part of the adoption package additonal training for the new owen to put polish on the horse and train it for the specific needs of the owner. Robert said it this way: " We want a successful happy partnership for every horse we train, but also our reputation is on the line." Robert and Madeleine want the best of their horses and the best partnership for the person who adopts them.

You can read more of Robert's and Madeleine's training blog on facebook:

2011 CO Mustang Makeover with R&M Performance

Also for those who would be interested in learing how to start a Mustang R&M Performance will be offering a two Day seminar: Supreme Extreme Mustang Starting Clinic on May 13th and 14th

You can also link in and contact Robert and Madeleine at their website:  http://www.westernclinics.com/



Robert and Watson



Side Note: Wild horses arent nearly as dependant on humans, thus an example might be that if  you are late to the barn and the horse is out of water, a horse raised in captivity will wait until you get there to give him water. A mustang will try to figure out how to get to the water and give himself a drink. This might mean he already knows that the water comes from a faucet and that to get to that faucet he has to unlatch his stall door. You can imagine the rest. It has also been reported that since mustangs have the herd experience that not only will he get water for himself he might make sure the entire barn has it too.

While this can be comical there are times that it might be really inconveint for an ower when his mustang hasnt bonded with him into a working partnership. Putting in the extra training and miles will give you a common history and help you bond so that you have a dependable life time Mustang friend.