# Warm Springs Tiger Lilly - 2020 Wild Spayed Filly Futurity Contender



## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I am interested to see how he does with her. I was disappointed with the first batch, and I figured the names who bought into the second round were going to put a bit more time in. Were they overall better trained?


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

That's a great story! I really can't wait to hear more about this filly... 

Pics, pics, pics pics!!!! lol Being subtle is not one of my strongest traits...


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> I figured the names who bought into the second round were going to put a bit more time in. Were they overall better trained?


In this year’s futurity, Andrew’s & Tyler’s filles we’re definitely better trained overall. Then There were a couple who looked to have a good start but were not near finished. The rest were not anywhere near ready for this competition. Definitely the trainer’s fault for not putting the time in. Andrew & Tyler definitely showed it could be done, but you have to put the time in.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

lb27312 said:


> Pics, pics, pics pics!!!!


They are coming! Unfortunately this thing called “work” is getting in the way. Hope to put some up soon!


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

People have more money to waste than I do I guess. If it were me I’d be placing my bets on the filly and putting my time in. I guess though most of them have paying customers and need groceries too.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Andrew had paying Clients. Tyler works for John Ward so you know his priorities is to ride horses for John. Neither has a Lot of free time but managed to squeeze out time to make a nice horse. Like Matt - he’s got a day job & a family but makes time to work the horses even if it means working the filly at 8 pm (which he has done the last three nights). But while he'd like to get the big check, he more concerned with doing right by his filly. No everyone in the competition is like that - sadly.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

OK, here's some pix and a short video ... this 1st pix is the sale catalog insert. I did not see it until AFTER I bought the filly ...










I really didn't see the filly much when they brought her in since I was concentrating on bidding. So really, when I bid and bought her, I had no idea how she really looked. These are some of the pix & the video I took when I first went to see her:


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here's some pix I took the day after I bought her. I spent some time out there just hanging out by the side of the corral. The black horse came up and sniffed me and Tiger Lilly was not far behind. The other horse did not come over at all. 

After Matt came to get her, he spent a little time trying to get her relaxed a little more. He did a good job, but with all the stimulus there, she would not get totally relaxed, so he decided to just get her loaded and try again at home. I have the video of that, it's about 15 minutes, but it's in the camera so I need to clear my phone so I can put it on there and edit. I have all of Scarlett's runs on there, too. Anyway, here's some pix of the 2nd day.

































And then off they went to Tehachapi:










I wish I could have gotten a better pix of this, but if I moved, the horses would have moved, LOL. You'll see in the background there is a horse in the other pen STANDING in the water trough. She was playing in it! Pawing it and having a grand old time, LOL:


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here are pix from Sunday - he's spending about a 1/2 hour/45 minutes with her every night just hanging out. This was the first they got home.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here was Monday ... she was alot more friendly; Matt said she's really looking for a friend and he was able to touch her all over, but not her feet. He even combed her mane out.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

She’s pretty colored. I like the way she moves in the front too. Her face is long, but that’s to be expected.  

I like seeing her be a bit of a bully. She showed expression for sure. I think you probably did a good job buying her!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> She’s pretty colored. I like the way she moves in the front too. Her face is long, but that’s to be expected.
> 
> I like seeing her be a bit of a bully. She showed expression for sure. I think you probably did a good job buying her!


Thanks @Knave! Agree on her face; hoping she'll grow into it a bit as she matures, LOL. Pi did with her little jughead! :mrgreen: Loving her color. Matt will get it "better" with good feed & grooming (look under the Sept. Pix of the Month for pix of what he did with his last competition mustang).

Matt also liked that she was a bit of a bully; thinks that she'll have no problem bossing the cows around. :tongue:


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

Thanks for the pics! I agree with @Knave... I saw that she was a little bossy with the other horses. I like her color.... Was he wanting to buy one of the horses that competed in this years competition? Or wanting to get one so he could compete. I don't see where you say her age, is she 2?


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

A think bullies tend to work out well. I will show you this picture of baby Zeus. Little girl was starting to play ‘follow the cow’ with him, and I was giving her a lesson in starting a cowhorse. Everyone teased me when I said a fjord was going to be cowy, but I was certain he would after watching him be such a terrible bully.

Anyways, Zeus was starting to really track the cow that day when she practiced roping, and then he figured out that he wanted to play with it. So he locked on and got much too dramatic and she panicked. “I don’t want to play with cows with him for a while.” It is hard to start a horse like that on a cow.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here's some info on Tiger Lilly's HMA:












> WARM SPRINGS HMA
> It is not known how long horses have grazed in the Warm Springs HMA. It is known that horses have been produced in the area by local ranchers since the turn of the century. The herd was first gathered in 1976. Within this herd are included a few burros and the occasional mule. The horses range in color from blue and red road, to palomino, buckskin, sorrel, brown, bay and several pintos. Burros are generally gray and dark brown. Horses range in size from 14.2 to 15.2 hands and weigh 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. A majority of horses have physical characteristics of the domestic saddle horse variety. Generally, they are heavier muscled horses with good dispositions. Genetic analysis determined similarity with Old World Iberian breeds followed by North American Gaited Breeds.
> 
> Location: Northern boundary is located 20 miles southwest of Burns, OR. State Hwy 205 lies along the eastern edge of the HMA.
> ...


Warm Springs HMA, BLM




> WARM SPRINGS CANYON HMA
> Horses within the HMA are descendants of ranch horses that either escaped or were released into the area and horses raised for the cavalry remount program. The majority of horses exhibit a bay, brown or sorrel color pattern; however, there are a number of paint and buckskin horses as well.
> 
> Burros within the HMA are the descendants of pack animals used by miners and sheep ranchers. The majority of the burros exhibit a gray color pattern; however, pinto burros are also found in the area.
> ...


Warm Springs Canyon HMA

This guy has pix on his page of WS horses/herds.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

lb27312 said:


> Was he wanting to buy one of the horses that competed in this years competition? Or wanting to get one so he could compete. I don't see where you say her age, is she 2?


He was willing to do either (there was only one 3 yo he wanted and she went for $6K, but with his teeny weeny budget, getting one for next year's competition was his best chance. AND they were first up in the sale. All the mustangs sold for next year's competition are 2 yo.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> A think bullies tend to work out well. I will show you this picture of baby Zeus. Little girl was starting to play ‘follow the cow’ with him, and I was giving her a lesson in starting a cowhorse. Everyone teased me when I said a fjord was going to be cowy, but I was certain he would after watching him be such a terrible bully.


That's an incredible pix! I've known fjords who were cowy ... people who say other breeds can not be cowy just shows me how much they know about horses, LOL. 

I can identify with a horse getting too dramatic on a cow. Star (my 1/2 arab) was like that at first. Pi can still be like that (hence, my recent broken ribs, LOL). 

Matt will get her tracking and working the flag and then cows. He won't let her get too strong on them. It will be interesting to see how she does when she actually gets put on cows. That's a few months+ down the road, for sure!


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

You were so brave to pick out a horse and buy for someone else. Is Matt getting to love her? I think she's adorable. I have no problem buying for myself, but I'd be scared to buy for someone else. I did it once, and the person ended up not liking the horse and the horse didn't like him. I bought her from him and kept her all her life.

I am confused about the spayed filly part. I read the explanation, which makes perfect sense . . . if you are turning the mare back out in the wild. But these fillies are going to be trained and used. Why would they spay them? They'll never be turned back into the wild, will they?

I am really looking forward to following Tiger Lily's journey. I have loved following Scarlett's adventures. I remember when you were deciding to buy her. She turned out so fantastic.


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## Aquamarine (Aug 27, 2019)

Did he say that he was pleased with your choice? 
She's a nice looking horse.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

knightrider said:


> You were so brave to pick out a horse and buy for someone else. Is Matt getting to love her? I think she's adorable.


Yea, it was a gamble, since Matt is pretty particular/picky, LOL. But I was ready to pay for part of the filly if he really didn't like her and then she'd sale at next year's sale after the competition. He was unsure of her when I sent pix, but after seeing her and working with her a bit, he does like her and even said last night he may keep her - high praise from him! He has no problem selling horses (unlike me, LOL), so this early to say that is a good possibility she could stay with them after the competition.



knightrider said:


> I am confused about the spayed filly part. I read the explanation, which makes perfect sense . . . if you are turning the mare back out in the wild. But these fillies are going to be trained and used. Why would they spay them? They'll never be turned back into the wild, will they?


Protect the Harvest is the one who bought these horses from the BLM and funding the Wild Spayed Filly Futurity. Per their website:



> Wild Spayed Filly Futurity Goal:
> The goal of the Wild Spayed Filly Futurity is to showcase the significance and abilities of these resilient, tough and beautiful horses. It will also demonstrate their trainability and hopefully encourage more people to consider a horse from our American rangelands. A second and very important goal of the program is to help find economical, safe solutions in controlling the numbers of horses on American rangelands which will allow people to appreciate them in a healthy, balanced environment in the wild.
> 
> Benefits of Spaying Wild Fillies:
> ...


 Protect the Harvest - Wild Spayed Filly Futurity

So with these fillies, even though they are not being turned back out, PTH is trying to accomplish two goals - to show that spaying mares is a viable birth control option and that these horses are trainable/usable horses. These spayed fillies are much like geldings, so that may have an attraction to people who do not want to deal with "mare" behaviors or go through mare heat cycles and possibly make them more attractive for adoption. However, that is just my guess. Probably asking PTH would provide a better answer.




knightrider said:


> I am really looking forward to following Tiger Lily's journey. I have loved following Scarlett's adventures. I remember when you were deciding to buy her. She turned out so fantastic.


Thank you! I posted on my FB page just before the competition a baby pix of Scarlett - I was amazed that little stinker has developed in a very nice mare. More importantly, I was amazed that after her Reno experience ended, she was relaxed, sound and SANE! Can't wait when it's my turn to show her - which will likely be next year, LOL ...


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Aquamarine said:


> Did he say that he was pleased with your choice?
> She's a nice looking horse.


I have not asked him that question, but I asked him if he liked her and he said he did. Really, that was the ONLY choice, LOL, since everything else was out of his budget. I thought if he really didn't like her, I'd pay for part of the filly, he could take what ever money he won on her next year and she could be sold in the sale. But he seems to like her. He likes mustangs and I can already tell she will grow on him and he'll have fun bringing her along.


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## Sanzia (Mar 19, 2019)

I like her! She definitely wants to be the lead mare but she also seems pretty easy going and not super reactive! I can't wait to watch her progress!


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

not trying to hijack the thread but @kewpalace posted a link to the other futurities and RFD TV did show one early this year. It was a great program and for me personally I am all for spaying wild mares. It does help save lives as well as no mare dies in birth and no foals starve to death or are killed by rival stallions.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here's pix from yesterday and Matt's Post:



> Day 3: Introduced a saddle horse and TL tried to leave the round corral. Spent quite a while getting her settled and not panicking. Then worked on getting her brushed all over and picking up her her front feet. I won't be able to do much until I address the feet because she's likely to hurt herself if she has a repeat of tonight's initial reaction.
> 
> I will be sharing the first week in its entirety then probably post weekly or so thereafter.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

At the bottom of this link you can find videos, including the episodes from 2018 competition.

Here is how the sale for the fillies went. Most of the "buyers" are the ones who will do the training. I have not looked them up, but some may be like me - just the buyer's agent.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here's this year's competition results:


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Sanzia said:


> I like her! She definitely wants to be the lead mare but she also seems pretty easy going and not super reactive! I can't wait to watch her progress!


She is pretty reactive right now, especially after talking to Matt last night about her reaction to the saddle horse in the round pen with her, LOL. But she will get less reactive the more she begins to trust Matt & she matures a bit. It is all new to her right now and she has no clue what is going one, so her instinct is self preservation. But thankfully she is more a flight reactive than fight reactive. You'll see this in the video I did of when he first worked her in Reno. Hoping to get that up by next week .... 

PS @Sanzia, love your posts about Heirloom!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

While I was up at Matt's last night, I visited Tiger Lilly. She walked right up to me on the side of the round pen and sniffed me and let me pet her. She was so cute! Matt & his son were busy trying a new saddle on his son's horse for his son. Every time Matt started talking, Tiger Lilly perked up and looked in that direction - I did not exist ... yea, she's found her human for the moment:


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Matt's wife is the official documentarian for this project, LOL. She finally has time do it, so the following pix are from her (I have permission to post them). Matt picked up all four feet yesterday and actually trimmed her front feet. If you look at the pix I first posted her feet are atrocious. I was glad he got to that ASAP. 

Here are some before pix (although they don't look as bad as they were):

















After:


















Then he put the bareback pad on her. She was not so appreciative of the tight thing around her belly and did some Airs Above the Ground. Matt posted this with the caption:

"Pony rides. $5 a ride!"









Here is the full pix and some others:

































She didn't really buck so much as do the leap frog jumps, but after about 2-3 rounds in the round pen, she lined out and trotted along nicely. He tried to get her up to the lope, which she would pick up for a few strides and then break down to the trot. He's thinking she might take some work to sustain the lope (i.e., peddling). LOL ...


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Such an interesting read.
I wonder what sort of results a DNA test would come up with? She wouldn’t look out of place in a British Riding Horse showing class.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

jaydee said:


> Such an interesting read. I wonder what sort of results a DNA test would come up with? She wouldn’t look out of place in a British Riding Horse showing class.[/quote @jaydee, I was doing some reading on the HMA Tiger Lilly is from and talked to Matt a little about it (he talked Tom Hagwood a few times I guess), and there are a few separate bands of mustangs in that HMA, one of which are appy descendants! Then there is one run by a bay roan stallion and a paint one (I haven't seen pix of that one) and the one Tiger Lilly is likely from which includes duns. Post 16 has a description of the horses they are likely descended from (saddle horses). The BLM description had this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

She does have an Iberian look to her head, you see that to some extent in some Irish Draughts and Connemara’s too, supposedly the results of blood from Iberian horses that swam ashore from shipwrecks.
I’ve seen similar profiles in lots of British show ponies, just smaller heads due to welsh and Arabian influence.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Well, things aren't all roses for Tiger Lilly and Matt. He got her saddled; she was fine with it on her back, but did NOT like the cinch. He got her to a good place and then took it off of her. The next day it was worse. He thinks he was moving just a little too fast for her. She did not want the saddle anywhere near her and he had trouble just putting the saddle on her back; it kept falling off and she kept kicking at it, but would have hit Matt had the saddle not been in the perfect place while falling. She ended up breaking the cinch hobble. So, he's slowing it down quite a bit.

It's a little hard, since Tiger Lilly, being the last minute replacement filly when the other one was pulled, has not had the handling that any of the other mustangs have had. One trainer is posting pix of her riding her filly already. That day for Tiger Lilly is still quite a ways off. But going slow now means Matt will be able to move faster later; and he did Luna in 90 days, so he has time with this filly. I'll post some pix later.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

First day Saddling:

















2nd day:

















He ended up just doing this for the day:


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

BTW, you'll noticed in the last pix Matt has a flag. He said she did great with the flag all round her feet and body. But if there is a rope hanging down on her body, she'll kick and strike at it. So, just lots of hanging ropes for her future ...


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

That's pretty typical of the mustang types-- be fine with something one day, then regress. I wouldn't worry about it. Matt is doing just fine with her.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

SilverMaple said:


> That's pretty typical of the mustang types-- be fine with something one day, then regress. I wouldn't worry about it. Matt is doing just fine with her.


Yea, he knows that, but stressing cuz of the other competitors who are doing so much more with their horses. He knows mustangs. He's just getting caught up in the mind games. He knows (and I remind him, LOL) to just follow his program and don't get caught up in keeping up. 

It's certainly a fun process to watch - and to compare where the other trainers are. Even though all the other horses have had some handling before they were auctioned off and Tiger Lilly didn't, I'm still waiting for the "oh oh" moments that you know are coming with the mustangs. Wonder if we'll actually hear about it though (as they tend to post only positive things - which is normal, LOL).


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Yeah, they may post that they are riding their fillies, but fail to post that they got bucked off a few minutes later, or that the horse won't let them back on after the first day.....


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## 281187 (Sep 19, 2019)

She's very cute and the Warm Springs HMA is a favorite of mine (Because of it's Appaloosa patterned horses, although I do have a soft spot for sorrels as well!), so it'll be really interesting to see how she progresses over the next few months. Here's to hoping that she'll do well in the futurity!


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## dustywyatt (Aug 19, 2019)

She's very cute! I've seen several horses out of the WS HMA and they've all been really nice horses. A friend of mine has done a bunch of mustang competitions and her favorite of all time was a pretty little flaxen sorrel from that HMA. I love seeing the pics and hearing about Tiger Lilly.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

PahsimeroiFuzzy said:


> She's very cute and the Warm Springs HMA is a favorite of mine (Because of it's Appaloosa patterned horses, although I do have a soft spot for sorrels as well!), so it'll be really interesting to see how she progresses over the next few months. Here's to hoping that she'll do well in the futurity!


Thanks! I think she'll do good; whether or not she wins. Matt's riding Scarlett in the Reno Futurity this year gave him a HUGE education on what the judges are looking for and what the horse needs to so. It's one thing to read about what's required. It's another to train and ride to achieve that. We'll see how it goes!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

dustywyatt said:


> She's very cute! I've seen several horses out of the WS HMA and they've all been really nice horses. A friend of mine has done a bunch of mustang competitions and her favorite of all time was a pretty little flaxen sorrel from that HMA. I love seeing the pics and hearing about Tiger Lilly.


Thanks! Glad you are enjoying her journal! Hoping to make it up to Matt's this week to watch him work with her. Other than when he came to pick her up, I haven't seen her being worked at all. Just the pix and a little video.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I think it’s just like watching people put up stuff about their kids. People don’t include pictures of tantrums and attitude, but they put up the photos of perfect clothes and hair and smile... I think it’s especially cool that he’s putting up the bad parts too.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> I think it’s just like watching people put up stuff about their kids. People don’t include pictures of tantrums and attitude, but they put up the photos of perfect clothes and hair and smile... I think it’s especially cool that he’s putting up the bad parts too.


Too true, LOL. I'd love to see the pix of the kids on FB of the women I saw this weekend - oy, they were always sniping at each other; the kids were not "bad" just being kids and my impression was the Mom was just extremely weary of it. But it was painful to hear/watch.

I always like to post the bad with the good; gives you a realistic view of the situation and with mustangs, people who don't know them tend to get a romanticized view of them. They can be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing with them until they are gentled. One of Matt's clients was all hell bent to come up and cuddle on Tiger Lilly; she saw the bad when she got up there and has a healthy respect for what they can do.

With Luna (his 2008 competition mustang) and Scarlett I would post the good & bad (although with Scarlett the bad was usually her trying to figure out what Matt was asking for or just being a baby, so wasn't that bad, LOL). Maybe some of that rubbed off on Matt so he's showing both too.


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

I hope he doesn't get too frustrated with how it's going... when does he have to show her? I think she's so pretty. Like you said she hadn't been handled as much as the others and that really does make a big difference.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

lb27312 said:


> I hope he doesn't get too frustrated with how it's going...


he’s not frustrated with her or how it’s going; he’s frustrated with himself for going too fast for her. He has TONS of mustang experience; he was frustrated that he got caught up with trying to keep up with the Jones’ rather than following his regular program. So he’s backing way off & see where she’s actually at & best way to go forward.

He shows her next year, so there is PLENTY of time!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

I went and saw Lilly last Friday. Matt has been having to go EXTRA slow since, unlike the other Futurity Spayed Fillies, who had at least 30 days of handling, Lilly had none. So he started off being behind them; some of them have been riding their fillies, but Matt's had to start at the beginning. 

He got her saddle but she ended up breaking the cinch hobble and nearly destroyed the saddle; was clearly not ready to move with the saddle. He knew then, he's have to essentially start from scratch. He went back to a saddle pad and the bareback pad until she gets comfortable with that. 

He's working her every day, catching her, currying her, bending, picking up all four hooves, moving around the pen, then putting the pad/bareback pad on/off her and moving her out with it on; and jumping up and down next to her; and jumping up against her. 

When I was there, she bucked with the pad/bareback pad, but it was not frantic or panicked. It was a "relaxed" (LOL) buck about once around the pen before she lined out. Matt said that was nothing like she did before, where he was certain she was MAD at it. Right now, he is not her best friend, LOL ... she's a little mad at the world.

She did NOT care about him jumping next to her or against her - unlike Scarlett at this point, who would move away from Matt's body, Lilly braces against it. 

Anyway, here's the video of her when Matt came to pick her up. It's long and he quit before he wanted to since there were so many distractions that he didn't feel he could get much more done. This video starts about 10-15 minutes after he first started working with her.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here's some pix from last Friday:










LOL, posted too soon ... more pix below ...


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I hope he’s not getting discouraged. He’ll catch up. I’m sorry she’s seeming so temperamental, but in the end it might give her an edge over the competition.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> I hope he’s not getting discouraged. He’ll catch up. I’m sorry she’s seeming so temperamental, but in the end it might give her an edge over the competition.


He's a little discouraged, but he's been on this road before. I, too, think it'll help him and her out in the competition a bit. She'll fall in line, he just has to "go slow to go fast". Once she does something that tells him she is with him, he'll feel alot better. Right now, he's still working on getting her trust.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

I have video of Friday, but my computer is being temperamental, so may not be until tomorrow until I get it up.


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## dustywyatt (Aug 19, 2019)

I REALLY like her. Those legs and feet! I think once she grows into herself she is gonna be a knockout.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

dustywyatt said:


> I REALLY like her. Those legs and feet! I think once she grows into herself she is gonna be a knockout.


Thanks @dustywyatt! We really like her, too. Can't wait to see her develop.

Did go up to Matt's late Saturday afternoon, but he worked Lilly in the morning, so I missed that. I did get her come over to me twice (different times) with a little hay bribed. LOL ... Matt said she seems to be turning a corner now and not as defensive as she was. Hoping to get out there next Saturday to see him work her.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Some pix I didn't post from the previous time I saw him work her:


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

She's the type of mare that is going to 'flip a switch' one day and realize she's in a good place, and will then work until she drops for Matt. Her eye is getting softer and you can see her thinking.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

SilverMaple said:


> She's the type of mare that is going to 'flip a switch' one day and realize she's in a good place, and will then work until she drops for Matt. Her eye is getting softer and you can see her thinking.


I thought the same same on both counts! Her demeanor was definitely changed for the better when I saw her on Saturday and when ever Matt would talk (he giving a lesson), she'd ***** her ears up in his direction. He's back to being hopeful again and really likes her build and temperament. Glad things seem to be turning in the right direction, but also think that switch is going to flip and then she'll be his pocket pony, LOL.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Went up to Matt's on Saturday to watch lessons, watch him ride Scarlett and work Lilly (he calls her Tilly). 

Here is a video of his work with Lilly (I have not yet gotten used to calling her Tilly ... LOL):






And some pix:


























































He put the snaffle on her for the 1st time. After the initial bobble (see video), she took it like a champ and packed it around for a while. 










I think she has definitely turned a corner, but as I told Matt last night, she needs the breakthrough ... LOL ... she's not quite there yet.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Matt called be yesterday about 4 asking if I could come up and photo/video Lilly's 1st ride! I was all for that (and luckily was home) so went up. He had a nearby trainer, Maurice Thibault (who is actually a Parelli Certified Trainer - Matt is not a Parelli trainer nor follows Parelli) to come up to help him (snub Lilly from horse back if need be). This video shows what Maurice's roll would be had Matt gotten on - this is Matt and his Dad (in the roll Maurice would play) putting the ride on Matt's Western States Mustang Challenge Mustang:







Matt worked with her first, but she was a bit bothered. Then Mauriced worked her from horseback and she was REALLY bothered (although she doesn't look like it in the photos below - they were taken well after he started working her - may 1/2 hour after?), so there was no 1st ride last night. I have video and some pix; video will be up tomorrow; until then here's some pix:


























Matt has to work to get her to lope, LOL









She is not impressed









Maurice & Lilly:


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Wild horses sometimes really object to someone above them-- not only due to predators (especially in cougar areas) but their first experience with people is often a helicopter and someone above them in a chute doing unpleasant things like branding, vaccinations, etc.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Definitely @SilverMaple. In addition to what you mentioned, Matt thinks she was roped and snubbed hard when they caught her for the auction, since he can see rope burns on her neck and said her neck was swollen when he picked her up. So those rope guys did not give her any kind of positive experience for sure.

Matt has done some work from horse back with her, but Maurice scared her at the start when they were warming up the horse he used (Matt's horse, Rowdy). Lilly was in the pen at the end of arena (you can see in the one pix) and Matt had told him she was scared of riders on horseback (although she did good on Saturday with the lessons). Maurice rode over there and she liked to have crawled up over the pen. Even then he didn't give her space to calm down a bit. Then when he came in the round pen, she was NOT.HAPPY. She got away from him a few times and when Matt would come in the pen to catch her up, she'd run right over to him. She almost nailed Maurice at one point (I caught the tail end of that on the video, which should be done by tomorrow). 

Plus Maurice, of course, has a totally different feel than Matt, so it took her a little while to adjust. It seemed like he was treating her more like a domestic horse than a feral one. I'm not sure what his experience with mustangs are. 

Anyway, they all survived it and he's the only one available to help Matt out with the first ride. I wish I was handy in that respect, but I'm not and would likely get us both killed. 

Matt's going to do more work with her from horseback, including ponying out at some point. They will try again next week for the first ride ...


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

One thing that helped with a spooky colt I had was to feed him his grain from the back of another horse-- he had to approach while I was mounted to get a mouthful from the bucket I held. Once he was ok with that, I'd sidepass up to him while he was tied at his feeder and toss him his grain while next to him, then while leaning over his back from the other horse. That really helped change his mind that people above him were bad things. He got the point where he'd nicker and come over when he'd see me ride up to his pen. After that it was pretty simple to do some rides ponying him, then one day I just stepped across from my saddle horse to him and we made another few laps with the saddle horse leading next to us, and after that he was fine. I hauled him to a few ropings and tied him in the alley with a haybag of alfalfa next to where the guys waited for their turn on their horses, and that also helped him realize that people alongside and around him on horseback wasn't a bad thing. 

If she ran over to Matt when afraid, she's coming along. She sees him as a 'safe place' and that's half the battle.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Last night Matt called me and said he laid Lilly down. It's not something he really likes to do and he does it very rarely, but he felt she really needed it so he did. From what I've seen of her, I agree with him. This is what he posted 



> Tilly is one of the toughest horses I have ever started. That ultimately will be to her advantage and mine but not right now. She is making progress but pretty slowly. I had hoped to ride her this week but when we went to snub her on Monday we rapidly discovered just how tight she was holding on ie sudden and unexpected bucking when challenged. It was enough that it was and is dangerous. I decided to work on getting her to turn loose completely by going as deep into her world as I needed to. That is a hard decision when many of your competitors are riding their futurity fillies and few problems if any seem to be evident.
> 
> Tonight I decided to lay her down. Laying a horse down properly requires patience, timing, more patience and a lot of understanding. To add to things the wind is blowing about 40 mph and dust was blinding me and probably her too.
> Being a horse that holds on so tightly I anticipated it might take more than the typical 15-20 minutes before she laid down. Tilly did not disappoint. Almost 2 hours later she finally laid down. Not flat out like I like them to but with the howling wind and now total darkness I took her effort. It will get better. It always does.
> ...


And some Pix (that his 10 yo son took!) - sorry for the quality ... wind/dust was blowing and sun was setting:


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

Well darn.... so sorry to hear that he's having a really difficult with her. Hopefully this will be the break through needed. It's a bummer that he has to see the other people being so much further ahead than he is with her, that might be making him a little frustrated.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Hoping it will be the breakthrough, too. What ever frustration he feels about others being ahead of him has not, at this point, dictated what he does with Lilly. He is not one to rush the horse past where it is; but with Lilly, she pretty much has NOT let down at all, which makes proceeding with her dangerous/unsafe for both of them; at this point in time with other mustangs, they have let go and he didn't have to lay them down. He felt he had no choice with Lilly; he did not do it because he is frustrated with her. 

Just to be clear, when he lays a horse down, he does not force them down or throw them down. He picks up the one leg and asks them to go down on their own. That's why it took him two hours to do it with Lilly; she would not go down on her own until the end of that time. Even then, she would not give it up totally (laying flat). Her survival instinct is strong; even the strides Matt has made with her, she has not let him totally in. Hoping this will be the thing that gives her that breakthrough.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I like what he wrote about her. At the same time I feel for him in his discouragement. I have been there for sure. Comparison is the enemy of happiness, but we all catch ourselves doing it. Of course he has much to compare her to. His competition, and his past horses, and on all ends she is failing. However, I think that it could still go either way. She could end up spectacular, or worst case, she could end up having to be pulled from the competition. Either way, it will work out for him, and there is some reason she is there. Something is there for him to learn. He has a long time left. Hopefully he keeps himself safe and sane.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> Either way, it will work out for him, and there is some reason she is there. Something is there for him to learn. He has a long time left. Hopefully he keeps himself safe and sane.


Definitely agree with you @Knave. He has said already that she has taught him quite a bit. And he is very open to learning what she has to offer. I know he has quite a bit of knowledge before her; but I see that he is not letting that cloud his judgment on how to handle her. While he would love to be further along, he is moving at her pace; but when you hit a wall, you need to do something to get around it.

I think, too, he has plenty of support from friends/colleagues who he respects to keep him sane even though he feels so behind others. Also while some of the other competitors are way ahead of him (some are even working cattle and stopping their fillies!), there are others who are not yet riding theirs; I don't think (but don't really know) that is because those fillies are mentally tight (like Lilly); I think those trainers have never trained a feral horse before so are having some issues trying to get through the gentling process.

It's an interesting process for sure; it has shown me how much I've learned since I started riding with Matt (gosh, 16 years ago?) that I can actually talk to him constructively on what he is doing. I am all for taking the time he needs to with Lilly to get her through this, but keeping them both safe and sane. I thin he realizes that he's no spring chicken anymore and it behooves them both for him to take his time. Not to say he will dawdle; but he just won't rush her past what she is capable of handling. I also hope my comments offer him a little perspective and support, too. I know he has the skills to do it; I just don't want him getting ahead of himself or Lilly.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

Sometimes you go slow to go fast.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> Sometimes you go slow to go fast.


Can I like your post 5x?!

LOL, we've been repeating this endlessly every day, LOL ... SOOO true, especially in this instance.


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

@kewpalace - I hope you didn't think I was saying he laid her down out of frustration, if so I'm sorry about that. I'm terrible at expressing myself in words, tend to leave words out that I think in my head. I just felt his frustration in his writing. 40mph wind would have me calling it a day! That dust! The pics look cool. 

Again I hope this is the break through... it is scary that what if it doesn't happen? Nobody handled her prior and what if they don't put in the sales ones that they've had time to evaluate and feel they wouldn't be good? Just thoughts... by no means am I saying this is her.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

lb27312 said:


> @kewpalace - I hope you didn't think I was saying he laid her down out of frustration, if so I'm sorry about that. I'm terrible at expressing myself in words, tend to leave words out that I think in my head. I just felt his frustration in his writing. 40mph wind would have me calling it a day! That dust! The pics look cool.


 @lb27312 - it did sound a little like that, but I didn't take it as that; just wanted to clarify in case someone did think that. The wind was bad last night; but once Matt started he wouldn't stop until he got to a point where it would be good to stop. That's why he spent 2 hours doing it. 



lb27312 said:


> Again I hope this is the break through... it is scary that what if it doesn't happen? Nobody handled her prior and what if they don't put in the sales ones that they've had time to evaluate and feel they wouldn't be good? Just thoughts... by no means am I saying this is her.


This is not a BLM adoption. The fillies for this competition were bought outright by Protect the Harvest. The BLM is trying to get spaying as a means of birth control for mustangs out there in the public discussion and one way they are doing it is through Protect the Harvest's Wild Spayed Filly Futurity. So, the BLM has allowed Protect the Harvest to buy the fillies outright for the specific purpose of being in this competition, for which they then spay them and auction them off. 

The 1st two years, I'm not sure that they really looked at the horses to determine whether they were built to do a Cowhorse Futurity. Certainly Andrew's filly, who won this year, is not really built for it. I don't know how they determined what horses they took for the 1st two years. This year's fillies were all chosen specifically (with both organization having input, but mainly it's PTH's call) for build to do the job; in other words, they went to an HMA (Warm Springs, in this case) where the horses were more riding horse than draft horse. Then out of the available two year olds, they probably just ran the number of fillies needed from the herd. I would suspect there is little "evaluation" going on when they pick the fillies. 


Lilly was not in those first chosen; she was a last minute replacement. We have no idea how she got "chosen"; our best guess is she was the one of the acceptable ones that they got a rope over first. We guess she was brought in a day or two before the auction. 

This year they also purportedly put 30 days of handling on the fillies, while the 1st two years they had little or none. Lilly did not have that 30 days as she was a last minute replacement.

When Protect the Harvest auctions the spayed fillies off for next years Futurity, ownership is passed to the Buyer. So, in this case, Matt owns Lilly. If he does not compete with her next year, he won't get a check for being in the Futurity (everyone who competes gets a check - the lowest check this year was $1500). 
But regardless of whether he competes with her or not, he can keep her or put her in the auction next year after the next year's Futurity. Lilly is his to do what he wants. But even if she is not ready to win the Futurity, he may still take her for schooling purposes (by that time, I am sure she would be fine for schooling purposes) .... and he would get a check for "competing". 

I have no clue what he will do with her. I do know that he will not let her go to another home unless she is ready to do so; if, at the point he thinks she could go to another home, he will not let her go to a home where the owner has less experience than what she requires. So he would not let her go to a green owner's home if she needs an experienced owner. He has talked of keeping her, depending on where she is at the Futurity. 

I don't know about all the trainers, but I know some (as I think I mentioned) do not have feral horse experience, so I think that Lilly ended up where she needed to be, as @Knave said. Matt was meant to have her and he will do right by her, regardless of being in a competition. She will, in the end, be a fantastic horse.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Here is Lilly from Monday 10/14/19. This was before Matt laid her down on Thursday (of course!).


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I like his rope work in the round pen. My friend here does a lot of that. I watched her work and thought that was so cool I’d come home and try. Bones was three or so at the time, but super gentle, and so I tried to work these magic tricks. It was so complicated in practice! I could not figure it out on the gentlest colt. Lol

Another guy here is very good. He said we should play colts together, and I really wanted to, but I didn’t figure my colts were the type he would enjoy playing. Zeus is good in the round corral, so maybe he would be pleasantly surprised if we ever do, and I could finally learn those dang rope skills.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Matt would say his roping skills were adequate, LOL. I'd say they were good; he'd say they could be good if he practiced.  Mine are sorely lacking, although I can look "good", ha!! My poor horses put up with me when I try to rope on horse back. I used to hit Star in the head 2-3 times every time I'd rope. She'd be like, REALLY?! LOL ... He does this with every single horse he starts. Guess it's just 2nd nature with him now.

I went up on Saturday and after all his lessons, he laid Lilly down again. She did NOT want to go down, but it did not take as long as before. Probably about 30 minutes? Then when she went down she came back up. He got her down and she stayed down although she acted a few times like she would come up, but he would gently hold the rope and she'd lay right back down. He rubbed her all over and then sat on her hip and massaged her tail. She laid there and licked/chewed a bunch.










Before he laid her down, her eye looked alot softer than before. And after, a little softer still. These are after the Saturday laying down:


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I've only laid a horse down a few times, but it makes a HUGE change for those who struggle so hard to trust. I think it will benefit Lilly immensely, and he's so gentle about it and giving her time to think, I suspect it will make a big change in her.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

Oh, my roping skills are merely adequate as well, but I meant those rope tricks in the round corral. Wasn't he using those techniques that allow for using the softer rope to teach some round pen skills? There is a certain trick (I say trick when I should say technique) I was obsessed with trying to figure out, the way you throw the rope over the horse's chest, but the hondo lays just over the one leg in the perfect position to help teach the mechanics of the spin with pressure and release. It was magic to me. I watched something so obvious and simple for creating that step over, but when I came home and tried to place the rope correctly, it wasn't as simple to apply. I couldn't get the hondo to lay where I needed it, and Bones was gentle enough to let me put it wherever I desired. He tried to do anything I asked, but I just couldn't quite figure it out.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

SilverMaple said:


> I've only laid a horse down a few times, but it makes a HUGE change for those who struggle so hard to trust. I think it will benefit Lilly immensely, and he's so gentle about it and giving her time to think, I suspect it will make a big change in her.


Definitely! I think so too; I think it has already, but he may have to lay her down again - she just does not want to give up control or give her complete trust. She was much much better about it on Saturday, but you could see she still doesn't want to. But Matt said after the first time, she meets him at the gate now to be caught and generally seems to be much better. Just needs her complete trust.
@Knave, I completely misread your post, I guess, LOL. Not surprising as to day has been the stereotypical Monday. ;-( Yes, the rope tricks/techniques he uses in the roundpen ... I could not do those at all; in that respect my skills are extremely lacking. Although I did get good enough to having a rope on a hind foot to get them over kicking out with that leg and leading with it. BUT, my horse was tied up, not loose in the round pen.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I hope the rest of your day went better!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

@Knave, it ended great. Thank you!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

No real news to report. Matt's dialed it way back and just getting her used to everyday things. Still not ready to ride, but getting there albeit slowly. Matt's brother Joel may come up and help him when he gets on to ride for the first time.

I did see Lilly when I went up to get Matt's Tackon Friday for Saturday's show with Scarlett. He had her tied up with the saddle on. He went to do something for a minute and I went over and gave her a couple of handfuls of hay. Se watched me like a hawk after that, LOL.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Lots of goings on with Lilly/Tilly ... Matt's been doing tons of ground work with her and ground driving her. He finally found his Monkey Boy, LOL ... our Farrier, Tyler, agreed to put the first ride on her (Matt's got some back problems that make it hard for him to do the first few rides with jerking stops/starts). So they did that on Saturday ... I was not there, unfortunately, but his wife got some video. Here's some highlights:






Matt took her up to his house yesterday for him to put consistent rides on her while he tunes up Scarlett for the show this weekend. I took hay up to him for Scarlett Sunday evening and he was getting ready to take her. He didn't know if she'd go in the trailer (he has not practiced trailer loading with her), but she followed him right into the trailer. 

He called me on the way home and said that Tyler put another ride on her while he was there and she was even better than she was on Saturday. She's going to be a really nice horse ...


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

That's awesome. Pretty uneventful 
All his slow work is paying off.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

He said she humped up once, but he moved her out from the ground and she lined right out. But other than the one kicking in the above video and the hump up, she was really good. You can see her thinking the entire time like,"What the heck are we doing?" LOL ... Sunday, he said she moved right out and did not kick or humped up at all.

Tyler really likes her. I think once she gets some rides on her, her confidence will just bloom and she'll advance by leaps and bounds. That's the hope anyway.


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

Yay!! So happy to hear about her first ride!! And that it was non eventful, I agree I think she's going to make an awesome horse!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Thanks @lb27312! I am excited for them ... FINALLY on the road! 😁


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Not too much to report but what little there is - it's good news! Tyler has been riding Tilly every day since she came to his house, sometimes twice a day. There was only one time where he said she bucked with him (per Matt Tyler said it was a glorified crow hop); Tyler used to ride bucking horses so wasnt' swayed by it and put her work after so she knows it's not a very productive thing to do. With the time change, he's riding in the dark. Matt went up last night to watch and sent these pix:



















Matt will pick her up after the last Ranch Horse Show on Saturday.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Matt went and picked up Tilly from Tyler's yesterday. He even put his first ride on her before they took off (I was not there ... not sure who took the photo):









And, PTH finally got Matt's Trainer Bio (go to the link to see the pix he chose - they are of Scarlett, LOL):



> 4975 WARM SPRINGS TIGER LILY
> 
> Warm Springs Tiger Lilly was purchased at the Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity by Matt Sheridan and is now in training with him at his Tehachapi, California facility. He is planning to show at the 2020 Wild Spayed Filly Futurity in Reno, Nevada next year. If you would like to learn more about the competition and the events, click HERE
> 
> ...


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

FINALLY, a Tilly update! With my health issues and weather, I have not been up to Matt's for a while. Went up Saturday and he rode Tilly a little bit; he been kind of reserved in his progress with her, but I was really pleased with how her demeanor has changed. After Matt saw the video I took, he was more positive. He stated that this is the hardest mustang he's ever started. But he's doing right by her and taking his time. Here's some pix & the compilation video I took - it was quickly getting dark, so sorry for the exposure.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Got to see Matt Ride Tilly on Saturday. Only the 2nd ride in Three weeks due to weather/footing. He did a little ground work (about 10 minutes) and then hopped on right on. I was impressed with her - she's moving out better and seems relaxed. She did crow hop a little bit when they first started loping but Matt shut that right down and she was like "OK, Boss, let's just lope". LOL.

Here's some pix - she couldn't figure out why I was standing there, LOL, so kept looking at me:


















































































They are way behind but Matt's not really discouraged. He's pretty excited for her future potential and is having fun with her finally. All good signs!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Tilly is looking good! Matt rode her on Saturday and Monday after we got done working the flag. Monday he rode her out in the big pen - she was a little drifty, LOL, but did really good. They almost biffed it in the round pen - he asked her to stop and she tangled up her front feet. Went down on her knees, to where she was crawling and Matt threw her the reins and she got up. A bit scary. They went right back to work. Got a good work out too! 

Matt's going to take her to Vegas when we go with Scarlett for the Stallion Stakes. He had a fun time at the CRCHA dinner on Saturday talking to Tyler Johnson & Andrew Stieger who rode in last years Wild Filly Futurity (Andrew won) getting tips and advice.

Some pix:


























on the phone with his Dad



























Short video of being out in the big arena:















And finally some "art" -


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

I haven't been up to see Till for a bit; will be able to do so this weekend. BUT Matt called last night and said she injured her mouth; much like Scarlett did in her 2 yo year. He had the vet out (the same one who did Scarlett) and he gave her braces, but thinks she'll be fine and it won't affect her teeth or mouth. She did lose both front teeth (temporarily). Poor girl. Matt said she was trouper while the vet worked on her. So awesome ... looking forward to seeing her this weekend.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

About time for a Tilly update ... She's really turned a corner and realizes how nice it is to be where she's at, LOL ... I have not been up lately to see her (being sick and going to TX), but Matt said she's become much more friendly and curious and his boys are able to run up and love on her all the time. 

Training wise, she's advancing much more quickly now; has a little stop going on, although her spins are not real "spinny" yet, LOL. She does them correctly, but it could be Christmas by the time she finishes a revolution. 

Matt is taking her (and his other horse, Rowdy which Matthew is going to ride this year in the Ranch Horse Shows) with him when he hauls Scarlett up to Clovis on Saturday for the CRCHA show. He will just ride her around a while to expose her to the show atmosphere. 

Some Pix:

Losing her winter woolies









Checking out what's new in the tack room









Matt's latest post:









The full pix ... she's got some stop in her ..


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

Soooo glad she's come around!! And she's doing good! Thanks for the update, I was wondering how she was doing and if he was making any headway.

She's such a good looking girl!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Thanks @lb27312 - can't wait to go up and see her, but I'll see her at the show on Saturday. Will hopefully get some good pix of her taking it all in. Yea, between being sick and going to TX, I didn't have time/energy to make it up there to see her.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

What a great weekend for Tilly! She took in the show environment extremely well, especially considering that since she got to Matt's last Sept., she has not been off his property.

She hauled like a champ; she got of the trailer nice and calm after the 3 hour trip. She was looky, but not spooky. Matt saddled her up and lunged her a bit to stretch her out after the ride then got on Scarlett to warm her up. 










At first, lunging, Tilly was a little heads up, LOL ...

















After Scarlett showed, Matt got on Tilly and rode her around the show grounds:
































(with his son, Matthew)









































The only real problem she seemed to have was if other horses got too close to her. She'd start dancing nervously around. But other things, like the golf carts, did not bother her at all. 

The other trainers were telling Matt she is broke enough now that he needs to get her on cattle asap. Andrew (who won the Mustang Futurity last year) told Matt he was brave to ride her in a Hackamore, LOL. He's riding in a hackamore since she tore her teeth out and is not all healed up yet. He's been riding her in it at home for about a month-6 weeks now, and she does really well in it. 

Matt was really happy with her reaction to the entire day. :thumbsup::wave:


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Awesome!!!

I've been lurking on this thread since it started. I'm so glad to see her doing so well!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Aw, thanks @ACinATX! Glad you posted ... I'm excited for Tilly. She's going to do well in the long run. :thumbsup:


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

She looks great! Glad she's doing well.


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I was going to ask about the hackamore and glad to hear she is going so well in it. I have also been lurking and am super excited by her progress - she looks amazing!! 

That last photo she looks super relaxed - alert, but really chill and just taking it all in. What a good girl!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Thank you @SilverMaple! They are FINALLY to a place where they can move forward. 



cbar said:


> I was going to ask about the hackamore and glad to hear she is going so well in it.


He will not ride her in it for long, since the competition will be in a snaffle. But he likes to (and frequently does) change between the Hackamore and snaffle. Usually when they are getting teeth in/out or he wants to work on something specific. Tilly pulled her front teeth out at the beginning of Feb; they have no idea how she did it, but likely (like Scarlett) got them caught on something and pulled back. But she's healing up great. 



cbar said:


> I have also been lurking and am super excited by her progress - she looks amazing!!


Thank you!! No need to lurk ... love comments!



cbar said:


> That last photo she looks super relaxed - alert, but really chill and just taking it all in. What a good girl!


She was a really good girl, I was really excited for her. She has never been in that type of environment - well, other than when she was auctioned off, if you want to count that. That was NOT a great experience for her. But she's come out of it now. She actually seemed to enjoy herself!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Matt sent me this pix on Sunday night:










That is his youngest with Tilly. Matt said his son told him he frequently went in her pen to love on her. :eek_color: At least he was smart enough to have waited until she liked being loved on. :smile: Sweet pix.


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

Love the photos of her at the show!! She does look like she's settling in nicely and going to be a good horse. Can't wait to see how she does on the cows. 

Love the above photo with Matt's son.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Thanks @lb27312! She did extremely well! I can't wait to see how she does on cows, too!! That Pix with Matt's son just melts my heart ... so cute.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Since Matt's been working from home for a week (going on week two), he's had lots of time to ride. Tilly has just been getting better & better and is looking like a "regular" horse now, LOL. Some pix from last week:










































working the flag


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Things are changing so fast in today's world, especially in the horse world. Tuesday, we received the following by email:



> On behalf of Protect The Harvest (“PTH”), we are extremely disheartened to inform you that the 2020 Wild Spayed Filly Futurity (“WSFF”) has been canceled. With the current circumstances in our country surrounding COVID-19 we feel that it is in everyone’s best interest to call off the event. This decision was not made lightly, and we are saddened that you, along with all others involved in this program, will be greatly affected by this change.
> 
> We will be refunding you the auction price paid less the fees and commission for Warm Springs Tiger Lilly along with an additional $2,500. The $2,500 is 1/10th of the $25,000 prize money and will be given in good faith to help cover some of the expenses incurred during care and training. We know that this will not cover the time and effort you put into your horse, but we hope you understand. Even if we are unable to have a competition, the bond that has been created between you and Warm Springs Tiger Lilly is a testimony to this program.
> 
> ...


To say we are disheartened by the cancellation would be an understatement. The trainers had a conference call on Tuesday night to discuss the options and all elected to take the $$ offered, while holding the $2500 in reserve for 30 days to see if they could find a sponsor(s) to pay for the Reno SBF's costs to host the Mustang Futurity. Matt is saddened he could not show what Tilly has in her, but will keep her regardless of whether they get to show or not. Some of the other trainers had put a lot of time and effort in their filly, and are very upset about the results. Others apparently thought the fillies would have more talent than they do and are ready to dump their filly and be done with it. But they will all wait the 30 days to see if a sponsor can be found. One of the trainers set up a GoFundMe page.

From what has been discussed between the trainers, one of whom used to work for Protect the Harvest, PTH has pulled out of ALL horse and livestock events, not just the Mustang Futurity, including the Reno SBF, the AQHA world show. It was a pretty bad thing to do after the trainers had bought and put the time/effort into their fillies, and blaming Covid 19, when rumor has it that that is not the real reason. The supposed real reason is that is that PTH did not want to sponsor horse/livestock events in the first place and only did so because Forrest Lucas wanted it. But he is now having health issues and they took the opportunity to pull out of horse/livestock events. What ever the reason, the manner in which they did it left a bad taste in may people's mouths for PTH.

I went up to Matt's last weekend and got video/pix of him and Tilly. They have really upped their game and she is really coming along. I made a video, which he posted on FB and Reno SBF shared. Who knew that a few days later, it would be for naught. Here is the video:






Matt's plan is to continue training for the next 30 days as if the futurity is still on (who knows, maybe a sponsor will step up), then after that, will give Tilly a long break and then pick up the training on a more leisurely pace.

If people are interested in her progress if the futurity does not go forward, I will continue to post updates. Otherwise, after the 30 day cut-off, if the futurity is off, I'll not update this post. 

Such a sad end.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I'm sorry to hear that.

I for one am still interested in her progress. I've really enjoyed it so far.


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## lb27312 (Aug 25, 2018)

Oh no!! That is very disheartening to hear. That's really bad that they did that, not right at all. Dang...


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I love seeing updates on this filly - I really like her and I, for one, would really like to see additional updates. It is very sad and disheartening and I really hope a sponsor steps up so that the even can move forward. 

She is such a pretty girl and has come a long, long way!!! Regardless of the outcome, it has been super interesting seeing the progress!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Thank you @ACinATX, @lb27312 & @cbar. I will continue to post updates about Tilly, then, regardless of whether the Futurity goes on or not. While it's not so fresh today, it still rubs me the wrong way, the way they went about it. Still crossing my fingers a sponsor will be found.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

New News ... Matt called yesterday and said a few of the trainers are NOT going to do any Futurity, regardless of whether a new sponsor or not. One of them, a current competitor in cow horse, her horse is going REALLY well and was a contender for the win. The other one, not so much. Without ALL the trainers, it is unlikely that the Futurity will go at all. And, with w/drawal of these two, it is is likely to spark other trainers to pull out. So sad ...


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

As expected, with the some trainers pulling out, any chance of a Wild Spayed Filly Futurity has been totally cancelled:










I would love to know what the horses end up doing (or not), but I don't think we will ever find out about them. At least Tilly has a loving home and will be living a good life.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Went up to see Matt & Tilly on Saturday. Tilly is looking really good ... just a shame there is no competition. Here's a few pix ...


























And she's getting a stop down ... :smile:


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

New Tilly pix .. she's gotten fat and a little spoiled, LOL ... so back to work with her. This is the first ride for quite a while (a few months I think). I was not there ... these are the pix Matt posted:


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

She did get fat!


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

@Knave ... :rofl: Yep. That she is. 

Hopefully, Matt will get a routine going with her and get her going again to shed some of those pounds off.

She's gotten a little attitude ... when I went up to see Radar, Matt got a handful of hay for the Momma Donkey (who is still wary of people). When he passed by Tilly's pen with the hay and she realized he wasn't giving it to HER, she turned around and fired off at the fence. I was like ....  She wasn't intending any contact, but still ... attitude.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

That is attitude! 

They just gathered our range, and I intend to go and buy a weanling from them. I wish they had an on site adoption, but I have to go to Palamino. Ugh. 

Anyways Dad was shaking his head at me because I want a filly rather than a colt. He discouraged it highly, lol, but some of my favorites have been mares. I do hope I chose an easier one than Tilly though; she seems made of attitude. Lol


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Knave said:


> They just gathered our range, and I intend to go and buy a weanling from them.


 SOOO COOL!!! I'm excited for you! Can't wait to see what you choose!



Knave said:


> Anyways Dad was shaking his head at me because I want a filly rather than a colt. He discouraged it highly, lol, but some of my favorites have been mares.


LOL, Dads ... gotta love them, but I agree with you. I am definitely partial to mares. I owned one gelding; he was a good guy, but for some reason mares just do it for me. 



Knave said:


> I do hope I chose an easier one than Tilly though; she seems made of attitude. Lol


I hope so too!! 

To be fair to Tilly, though, I think her attitude initially came from the rough start she had. You may remember Matt found rope burns on her neck and with her demeanor surmised that she was roped hard and manhandled probably to not only get spayed, but to get her on the trailer & up to Reno and then into the sale arena. She was a last minute addition to the sale, so all this was done in short order AND she did not have the handling (purportedly 30 days) the other mustangs had. Plus, she was younger than they asserted she was. They were supposed to be 2 yos, but Matt & the vets didn't think she was. No doubt she was scared out of her mind and had no clue how to react except in defense.

I am sure your little filly will have a better start than poor Tilly. And being younger, you'll probably have a better opportunity to get her gentled faster. Will keep my fingers crossed your picker-radar is is top working order when you go! :thumbsup:


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

That is fair. It is funny how long something like that sticks with an animal. Cash had a massive fear of ropes that I knew came from somewhere because it contrasted so dramatically with his other reactions (now he is so good with ropes that it’s the other extreme lol). 

Even the cattle are wild that had one thing or another happen in their past. They may be more serious about it than a horse. One of my leppies this year never would settle down. His mother had a broken shoulder and had to be put down, and for whatever reason they struggled to get him roped. He never did get over it even though he was handled twice a day. 

It makes a bigger difference than we assume I think.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

@Knave, so agree it stays with them a long time ... especially when they are very distrustful of humans to begin with. But, many do get over it ... I went to Matt's on Saturday to watch his lesson and to ride Scarlett. When I got there he was doing the lesson on Tilly ... I got a few pix, but he changed to Scarlett shortly thereafter so I only got a few, not great, pix of her:


















After I went to love on her and she's gotten so affectionate. So good to see not only her being ridden, but what she's become. Hope he takes her to a few of the local ranch horse shows next year.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

Update on Tilly ... Matt's been so busy with things (including a few of my things), but posted this last night:












He also posted a lot of pix, most of which are in this thread, but here is a new one ... I LOVE it ...


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