Yukon is a 4yo Black Gelding from Twin Peaks HMA. I’ve had my eye on this guy since last year and so finally decided to pick him up! He is such a chunky monkey!! Super sweet and exceptionally quiet! Yukon stands 14.2 hands tall but seems bigger because of his body size! He is being gentled and is available for adoption for $125!

Yukon has been adopted!

May 18, 2014

Yukon went home with his adopter today. They brought a two horse slant load with no escape door so we worked with Yukon to help him to feel comfortable getting into a smaller trailer by himself. When we started we walked in with him as we normally would in the stock trailer. We’d been practicing during the week and he was good at that!! With Joe in the trailer and the trailer being so much smaller than our four horse stock he wasn’t sure about getting in. We used a longer line to run through the window so we could still pull forward on him but it would just be him in the trailer. He was really confused at first, reared and set back a few times but soon figured out what was being asked. Once he did he was able to load up without much encouragement. We loaded him a few times till his adopter was comfortable with the way he loaded. Once in the trailer he stood relatively quietly. We wish him and his adopter luck as they both start their journey together!

May 6, 2014
Training Day 8

Start to finish trailer loading for Yukon on training day 8. For just 8 days TOTAL training this guy is pretty darn smart don’t you think!! We will continue to practice with him in the trailer because he is still nervous when he is in there but gotta love how hard he tries!!

May 4, 2014
Training Day 7

Another leading lesson for Yukon today. He enjoys his walks around the property and thought the goats were fascinating. Here is a picture of him with his toys. We started with one but my other mustangs weren’t interested in playing with theirs and he LOVES them so I gave him another. He prefers bubble gum to peppermint although I don’t think he cares about the “smell” but the bubble gum (pink) one has a little bit less air so he can more easily pick it up and toss it around! At least once every other day I find the ball outside his pen!

May 3, 2014
Training Day 6

Worked with Yukon today on leading. He did very well, was respectful of my space leading behind me 90% of the time. When leading up beside me I was sure to remind him that he should not crowd my space. He also was tied for about an hour. While he protested by pawing he never set back. Overall he was a very good boy today!

May 1, 2014
Training Day 5

Yukon was out and about on the obstacle course for his second time ever with his adopter. The went over the bridges, mattress and step-over logs. His adopter was able to halter him and practice working with his feet as well. Once he is ready to go home this sweet boy is going to love getting the one on one attention he craves!

April 29, 2014
Training Day 4

Today we introduced Yukon to the obstacle course for the first time. He’s super funny. Had no real trouble with any of the obstacles he was presented but it was very funny to watch him investigate the bridge and the mattress for the first time. He wasn’t sure if he should taste them or paw them or what but he was sure they were interesting! Great lesson for him and he did really well!

April 26, 2014
Training Day 3

Today was quite eventful at the ranch. We had a crew working to straighten our existing pipe panels and help assemble new pipe stalls that arrived earlier in the week. Because of this all of our horses needed to be removed from their pens and tied elsewhere while the guys worked. That meant today Yukon had to learn to tie. He already leads softly and picks up all four feet so we didn’t think tying would be much of an issue. He did set back mildly a couple of times but overall didn’t throw too much of a fuss. Aside from some pawing he was relatively no trouble at the tie rail. He is standing in a ditch here…he did not dig it! He is not THAT much of a pawer. This is just a ditch that was created by the multitude of other horses that have also been tied in this spot.

April 19, 2014 – Day 3 
Training Day 2
Today’s plan with Yukon was more getting to know you stuff. From his first day we gathered that not much bothers him. With mustangs like that it is hard to gauge what kind of reaction they will have when something DOES bother them. So today I worked with Yukon and the plastic bag. That was mostly a non-issue. I say mostly because a couple of times he decided he was annoyed and trotted off but he never bolted or appeared spooked. He was fine with the plastic bag all over his body.

OK so the plastic bag went well, the weather was nice and his coat extremely dusty (to be expected for a 4yo who has never had a bath!). So, I decided to try and bathe him. As a precursor I brushed him out with my dandy brush. He didn’t care. All over his body, front legs, back, butt, back legs etc. Well that was a good sign! Next it was time for water. WOW did a lot of dirt pour off with just the first rinse off before we even started with shampoo. That was great though because he wasn’t very thrilled at all with the hose. Trotted around his pen in an effort to get rid of the water. When he wasn’t succeeding he just stopped and stood. Every once in a while he’d try again and soon figured out standing still was soo much easier!

Once Yukon was rinsed off on both sides I lathered him up. Once again a non issue. Rinsed him off and he’s clean as a whistle! Since he is so quiet, calm and approachable I went ahead and took his halter off. While he was drying I decided to get some more video of his friendliness and approachability. He was doing so well and so unconcerned with me I decided hey, might as well try picking up his feet to. Talk about a good boy! The video shows his first time EVER being asked for his feet. We didn’t rehearse or practice beforehand (I had touched, scrubbed, rubbed all of his legs already so I knew that wasn’t going to be an issue). Really impressed with this guy! I was alone most of the day today so I got some pics and a couple of video clips below.

Day 1 – Training Day 1

Worked with Yukon just to get an idea of his personality / temperament. He is a very quiet, curious kind of guy. Not spooky at all and interested in his surroundings. We were able to start teaching him the basics of leading which he picked up very quickly. Can’t wait to see how this gelding progresses over the coming week!!