100 day journey of the training of a wild mustang on his way to the Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover! Sponsored By: Tucker Trail Saddles!
Bad to the Bone, this week at least 
Well, Tucker is Bad to the Bone this week, but he came around and is doing better! Check out this wild video!
Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJszQ76N58E&feature=channel for Week 7 video!
So, this week was a week of ups and downs! We started the week at the vets, getting my sick Tucker medicine to make him better!! Light work was all we could do until he stopped coughing and felt better. So we worked on tricks and getting him softer from the bit at walk. By Thursday Tucker was feeling much better and came to a point in training where he had to decide to not only trust me, but to obey me to. He decided being afraid of something was a good reason to ignore my leadership and bolt. Not only bolt but not stop when the fence was coming!! And no, we weren’t videoing so my crash and burn did not get on video again!! Tucker is the only mustang out of all the ones I have trained that has actually made me crash, not only once, but twice!! I am ok, but had to reevaluate his training program to help him understand how to work through his emotions with out panic. He is so brave most of the time, but so unpredictable when he is going to be afraid. So, I made a plan to raise his emotions, find something he is afraid of and teach him with control how to listen and trust and obey even when he is afraid.
Off to Iowa we went. Friday Ryan, I , Joshua the Mustang, and Tucker the Mustang headed back to Iowa to teach private training sessions and clinics. First thing Sat am I sent Tucker off in the roundpen and he bucked like it was his first time!! UUUGGG almost 7 weeks into this competiton and he is still bucking!! Then I fixed that and went on to the plastic shavings bag desensitizing! Wowww, he still hates it! Up he went, striking, hitting my hand!!
This is the point in this process, where I step out of the round pen, shed a little tears and pray, pray, pray!! I do this it seems with every horse in this 100 day time frame. It is not easy to push the horse and yourself this hard and fast. However, these horses are tremendous and come around to understanding every time. I just get my human emotions up and frustrated and in that moment know I have to step back and pray. The time pressure is very difficult and now the added purse money is so big it adds to the pressure. But you know what? Tuckers response, my emotional break down, and my praying brought me to a place of intervention and re-focus of the task at hand. To teach Tucker to trust and obey and succeed. So, “Come to Jesus” for Tucker was the plan. We started a marathon of plastic bag work and took him through a process of teaching his feet to stop and face what he is afraid of and to accept it. It only took about six hours!! We stayed with it and he learned sooo much, so did I. I wasn’t going to be afraid of what he might do, because I had a plan, I have a plan, to help him succeed in his life. Success doesn’t have anything to do with a big competition, or a huge purse of money, it has to do with him and I developing a trusting partnership that we both feel safe in! That is the plan. And it is working! Saturday night after a long afternoon break, Tucker and I had a great ride. He even felt almost broke!!! His spirit is living free, his will is breaking. I teach the horse to keep his spirit and personality, but to give up his will to be in control. God does the same with me, accept God is perfect at it with me and I fail often. Tucker is forgiving and amazing!!
Go to www.cindybranham.com to learn more about Cindy’s proven training program! Does your horse need an Extreme Makeover? Clinics and More!!
Sponsored by Tucker Trail Saddles! www.tuckersaddles.com Check out the new Black Mountain Trail Saddle! I love it! It is close contact and fits me and more horses like a smooth leather glove!
a little under the weather!
Tucker has a cold! Just a cough, but sick enough to be on antibiotics and cough meds. This week light work only! He is doing good though. Doesn’t understand why he has to walk and jog only! He wants to go, go, go!
He did so great for the vet! After my vet drew blood, checked his temp, and gave him an exam you would think Tucker would be upset; however, when the vet was done, Tucker stuck his head in the vets chest asking to be loved on. My vet looks at me and says, “Oh, he is such a wild thing!” :0)
Hugs!
Hey, here is the Week 6 Videos! After having some insight from fans, some would like to have a shorter update (57seconds); however some of you still like the longer extended versions(5:33)! So I am pleased to produce a short update and a longer extended version video!
I hope you enjoy them! Tucker is really doing great! In the quick update you get to see a small portion of his successful 6th week of training. The extended version is an overview of my training program starting from the ground up! I explain the step x step lesson plan I put Tucker through on a daily basis!
Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0vRRnnuCeE For Short Version!
Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/cbrockinrc#p/a/u/1/-wz_MrWV780 For Extended Version!
Go to www.cindybranham.com to learn more about Cindy’s proven training program! Does your horse need an Extreme Makeover? Clinics and More!!
Sponsored by Tucker Trail Saddles! www.tuckersaddles.com Check out the new Black Mountain Trail Saddle! I love it! It is close contact and fits me and more horses like a smooth leather glove!
Week 6 has been great! I have been working on building Tuckers foundation in the saddle. The time clock is ticking in my head as the countdown to the makeover is getting closer. Though I don’t feel the tremendous preasure on my shoulders as I did last week. God spoke to me so clearly through a friend. A friend that called me from out of state just to check in with me. She had no idea I was struggling with discouragement; however felt that God was asking her to give me a pep talk. That pep talk is on the previous post, so take a few minutes and listen to what God spoke to all of us and so beautifully was put into words by my friend. My freedom Angel! It is amazing how life seems so much easier when we give our fears and worries to God and let him carry them. I still have so much work to do with Tucker, but I know that I am on the trail God wants me to be on and He is guiding my every step!
This past week Tucker has struggled with plastic bags! He doesn’t like them around his face or front feet. He can be so brave at times and yet so fearful at other times! Just like me, I guess. He still has a way to go with being desensitised with scary stuff, but I know he will get it! On the side of building performance, he is doing great! I can’t wait for August to come, because I know he is going to be awesome! His quiet spirit and willingness to try to get the right answer can only add up to a winner! At least in my eyes!
Go to www.cindybranham.com to learn more about Cindy’s proven training program! Does your horse need an Extreme Makeover? Clinics and More!!
Sponsored by Tucker Trail Saddles! www.tuckersaddles.com Check out the new Black Mountain Trail Saddle! I love it! It is close contact and fits me and more horses like a smooth leather glove!
1-3 God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
the tremors that shift mountains.
Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.
3-6That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Even if it was written in Scripture long ago, you can be sure it’s written for us. “God wants the combination of his steady, constant calling and warm, personal counsel in Scripture to come to characterize us, keeping us alert for whatever he will do next.” May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!
10-12And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
1-2 I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
Guardian will never doze or sleep.
9-10“This exile is just like the days of Noah for me:
I promised then that the waters of Noah
would never again flood the earth.
I’m promising now no more anger,
no more dressing you down.
For even if the mountains walk away
and the hills fall to pieces,
My love won’t walk away from you,
my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.”
The God who has compassion on you says so.
26Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”
Cindy……as a little girl I longed to go out and see wild mustangs and dreamed of always having one. For years I have called my congressman and Pres. so they would protect these amazing horses. I belong to the Cloud Foundation and believed everything I read and heard.
After many long hours talking with a great horseman and getting to know many of the BLM through the Makeovers I have found my childhood dreams are no longer real in this world we live in. Yes I always want them free and running wild on the hills and valleys of this great nation…..but our west is not like it use to be. However I have found that my little ranch offers a new freedom that most mustangs only dream of!
You have that same freedom to offer Tucker…….freedom from hunger…..freedom from pain……freedom from thirst…….freedom from the elements……….you Cindy…..like me can offer the whole package…freedom to just be a mustang….wild at heart…and free at last.
With God’s help and guidance He will lead you step by step……and if you miss a step or 2 ….Tucker won’t care…..he will carry you right back on track. That TRUST word works both ways!
Cindy I am really too old to go at it like you!! I am living my dreams by hanging on to your spurs! You have a gift I would give anything to have…..so please ….you go girlfriend and take that Tucker to freedoms he has never known. You are doing this for all the old gals like me who are young at heart and cheering you on! When you doubt yourself and question…that’s ok…..just talk it out with Tucker…..he keeps secrets and will help you move on.
You can do this…..look how far you have come! (Both of you!)
Remember……freedom has many faces……
Lets rest a while!
Tucker goes to the Ultimate Horsemans Challenge Cowboy Race! See his journey continue as he learns to trust! Week five of training has been fun and exhausting! I think sleep is a figment of my imagination! Check out the week 5 video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX-fAEjAilQ&feature=channel
Go to www.cindybranham.com to learn more about Tucker and Cindy Branhams Training Program.
Go to www.tuckertrailsaddles.com to pick out your perfect trail saddle! I am really loving my new Black Mountain Trail Saddle! It is close contact and fits me and my horses like a smooth leather glove! I am loving it!
FEAR…..It has plagued me more than Tucker this week. Coming home from Iowa we passed a horrific accident with a fatality. It really makes you think about how short life is and how much you love your loved ones and fear loosing them. This past month I have been plagued with the worry of the people around me that I care so much about getting hurt or worse. From a concussion to a broken arm, to my brother cutting off part of his finger, to getting thrown myself and stepped on, FEAR IS PART OF MY SOUL SOMETIMES! Then my mom, my dear mom, had high blood pressure this last week that led her to believe she may be having a heart attack! She spent two days in the hospital going through test after test! All my loved ones are ok, including my mom. Thanks to the Lord for his healing touch and grace to get through our tough times. My biggest fear in life is loosing my children to harms way, I am sure it is most mothers fear. How do we work through that fear? I have faced different kinds of fear in my life, including the fear of getting hurt or worse from the horses. I was hurt extremely bad in 2007 right before I got Joshua the mustang for my first Extreme Mustang Makeover. Read this story of my recovery and the battle I fought to overcome my fear after my accident. http://www.cindybranham.com/fearstory.html
I find myself back sliding a little bit lately with the reality check that life happens so quickly. I want to stop time sometimes as the moments of motherhood pass by me. Letting go and trusting God with my life and my loved ones lives is not as easy as we all think it should be. God is our faithful Father always there to pick us up and carry us through life’s trails. Smooth and Rocky. However, I really struggle to let go. I try to think I can handle and control the safety of all those around me, including my students. REALITY CHECK!! NO I CAN’T! FEAR OF GETTING HURT YOURSELF IS ONE THING; THE FEAR OF THOSE AROUND ME HURTING IS SO MUCH WORSE!!!
How does this relate to Tucker? FEAR is present in his life to. He is looking to me to trust, so he doesn’t have to be afraid. Sometimes though he challenges my authority and thinks he knows best. “That plastic bag will hurt us, so I will not let us get hurt, so I want to control the situation!” says Tucker. REALITY CHECK!!! IT IS JUST A PLASTIC BAG! Do you think God looks down at us sometimes and chuckles because we worry about so much, even though the majority of our fears are just “plastic bags”? I learn so much from the horses, especially the wild mustang’s process of becoming trusting and willing partners! I need to trust God and not worry about things that are out of my control and let God lead the way down all the trails of my life!
Tucker was so great this week! Getting out of the round pen has been fun! I have been enjoying riding him outside in the sun! I took him to a Ultimate Horseman’s Challenge Assoc. Cowboy Race to expose him to crowds and more traveling! He did great! He was quiet and trusting and very observant. He greets people with gentleness and trust. I think I could learn from Tucker how to let my soul be quiet and rest and accept the things in my life. Hopefully his peaceful heart is contagious!
Prov. 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understandings! In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your trails!
Go to www.cindybranham.com to learn more about Tucker and Cindy Branhams Training Program.
Go to www.tuckertrailsaddles.com to pick out your perfect trail saddle! I am really loving my new Black Mountain Trail Saddle! It is close contact and fits me and my horses like a smooth leather glove! I am loving it!
Check it out! Cindy & Tucker aren’t in Kansas anymore! Tucker is coming along great! See the amazing Tucker in the great state of Iowa! Also, special sneak peak at Josies free style idea for Cindy! Shhhhh don’t tell Cindy she is letting these secrets out!
See video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLassS6o3g0
Also check out Cindy”s new Black Mountain Trail Saddle on the Video! All the awesome same reasons to have a Tucker Trail Saddle with the BONOS of Close Contact and new color design! This saddle ROCKS! www.tuckersaddles.com
Go to www.cindybranham.comfor more information on Tucker the Mustang and Cindy Branham
Here We Go Again!
Tucker has found Peace
Last week I talked about the “heart change” that Tucker was starting to make! Well, Tues. morning, Tucker was a mess. He was spookier than I had seen him in the previous three weeks! Three hours later into the lesson, he finally calmed down and I rode him for a short ride. Both of us EXHAUSTED! Afterwards, I visited with Ryan about my morning and I wondered if Tucker was starting to realize he had to let go of his fear and the control he thought he had of his life. I thought maybe it was his last battle he was having with himself about his new life. I actually laughed at myself, thinking I was crazy to think he could be rationalizing things this way, brushed the thought off and put Tucker away for some R&R.
That evening back into the round pen we went and he was better, not great, but better. I had a pretty good ride on him and went to bed feeling better about his training progress.
How does a horse think? What emotions, thoughts, processing, goes on in there brains? The more horses, especially mustangs I work with and train the more my mind boggles on the intricate learning patterns, personality traits, and relationship motivated behaviors I see in horses. They think and process way more than the majority of us think is even possible and we keep our expectations so low, that we never help our horses reach there potential. What is possible from our horses?
The next morning I got up ready to go back to work. Tucker was waiting for me at his gate, one of the first times he greeted me there. I said good morning, haltered him up, and headed to the arena to teach a couple of lessons. He stood quietly waiting for me to get done. When I walked him over to visit with a few people, including my four year old daughter, Tucker reached over the fence and nuzzled Matty softly with his nose and mouth! I was surprised because he has always guarded his muzzle and kept very careful who he allowed to touch it and did not greet people with it. Then he continued on down the row of people as if to say, “Hello, My name is Tucker the Mustang, nice to meet you!” The fear and apprehension he had just the day before seemed to have melted away in his sleep. He had let go of his fear, just like that! He changed over night!!! This doesn’t happen so drastically like this usually; however every horse I have trained gets to a point in the process where they “decide” to give in to whatever is holding them back. Once this decision is made, the horse is a different being. Still the same personality, but free. Free to find peace!
Here I am in Iowa, at Painted Prairie Acres, a beautiful barn and riding facility with Joshua the Mustang and Tucker! AND Tucker is still at peace! He traveled great and when we got here settled in like a pro. This solidified to me that he really has made a drastic change of heart! It is amazing! Tucker has dropped the weight that has been holding him back, reached for my hand, and has decided to trust me to carry him on through the next 8 weeks and then on through the future!
I have made that heart change to, have you?
Prov. 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
Cindy's Black Mountain Tucker Trail Saddle
Check out my new Black Mountain Trail Saddle! I have had it for a week and love the upgrades it has from my previous Tucker Saddles! The close contact skirt really opens up the ability to communicate to my horses better with my seat and leg! And it is so comfortable for me and my horses! Go to www.tuckersaddles.com
Go to www.cindybranham.com for more information on Cindy Branham & Tucker the Mustang!
