Sisters Horsing Around

Part Three of Wild Spirits, Gentle Hearts: The Story of Two Mustang-Crazy Girls

October 21, 2021| Nicole Lakin| in category Uncategorized No comments yet

Part Three of Wild Spirits, Gentle Hearts: The Story of Two Mustang-Crazy Girls

By Emily and Sarah Harris

Ever since we were younger, it was our dream to adopt a wild mustang. Every year we would look at the Bureau of Land Management’s mustang auctions, always hoping that one day… just maybe… we would bring one home.

This year our childhood dreams became reality.

Read Part One here!

Read Part Two here!

For the conclusion of our journey, read below.

From Sarah:

Choosing Our Final Two Mustangs

After deciding to choose another horse instead of the one we bought on the online auction that turned out to have a lump on her stomach, I searched around, longing to find my next equine partner. We were all set with our first filly, and we knew we were approved for a total of three mustangs, so we could choose two more. I looked at the other horses in the pen, and my eyes stopped on a large sorrel gelding. He was the second-tallest one I’d seen, but his plain coloring caused him to be overlooked. He hadn’t been chosen yet, at least I hoped. The clipboard said he was five years old. I made a mental note of his tag number.

I still wanted to find one more horse and suddenly I saw her. She was a faded black color, and boy, was she a tank! I knew Emily would love her. The list said she was two years old and “brown” in color. I made a mental note of her tag number as well.

Emily and Hope

While we stood in line to fill out new adoption applications, Emily and I went over our plan for securing our next best friends. We would still get the sorrel filly we had won on the online auction, and then we would try to get the sorrel gelding and the brown filly I had seen. Now we had to wait. As each minute passed, the knots in my stomach got tighter. I prayed they wouldn’t be chosen by someone further up the line. Behind the adoption table was a list of all the horses there. When one was adopted, the BLM workers would cross out their tag number. My heart would lurch into my throat every time a worker stood up to cross out a listing.

We finally reached the adoption table and finalized the papers for our “internet horse,” received a refund for the filly that had a lump on her side, and completed our in-person adoption application for the other two. After paying $25 each for the two we found that day, it was official! We were bringing all three home!

After the horses were haltered, the BLM workers took off their neck tags and handed them to us. It was like being handed keys to a new car or home, but we were being handed the ownership of three beautiful wild horses! We watched our newest treasures load onto the trailer, then as we drove home, we felt them shake the trailer like we’ve never experienced before! We realized we were in for the time of our lives with this new adventure and, if we are honest, we almost second-guessed ourselves.

Bringing Three Mustangs Home

We have had experience training green horses, and we have raised a yearling and broke her to ride. We have had lots of “project horses” because that was mostly what we could afford, so we were used to working with inexperienced horses. But this was going to be the ultimate challenge; we would be training three completely wild, untouched, and untrained horses.

Sarah and Blaze

Emily and I decided to name the five-year-old sorrel gelding Blazin’ Wildfire, “Blaze” for short, because of his fiery sorrel color and wild nature. We can say that his name totally fits him! His health record showed he was from Chloride Canyon, Utah, and had been brought in only three months prior and was gelded the next month.

As for our two-year-old sorrel “internet adoption” filly, we named her Bold Faith and “Faith” for short. Her name was symbolic because she was the first mustang we bid on and won. Getting her was an act of faith. We noticed how confidently she walked up to us when we got her home. Her health records indicated she was from Antelope Valley, Nevada, and born in a holding facility because they listed an actual birth date instead of a capture date, which would explain her willingness to approach us and her open-minded nature.

Last, but certainly not least, we named the two-year-old brown (faded black-looking) filly High Hopes and “Hope” for short. We noticed she was very inquisitive and curious. She always had this hopeful look like she wanted to check us out, but she was hesitant. Since she was a replacement filly for the one we had passed on from the auction, we had “high hopes” she would be a good choice. We learned from her health records that she was from North Hills, Utah, and was rounded up in 2019. She had been in holding for two years.

Creating Partnership and Trust

We have had our mustangs for a few months, and we are completely in love with them. From day one, we have worked on building their trust. We have discovered that despite their wild spirits, they truly have gentle hearts. To take a wild horse and win its trust to the point that it would let you touch it is such a special experience. If you have ever heard mustang owners talk about that “first touch,” it is truly an INCREDIBLE feeling. Emily and I can honestly say that having wild horses has made a huge impact on our hearts and lives; we are completely hooked on them as our favorite type of horses. We are mustang crazy more than ever!

Hope and Faith enjoying their new home with Emily and Sarah

What makes our adoption even more memorable is that 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act, which was unanimously passed by Congress to protect wild horses and burros from capture, branding, harassment, or death. The Act makes it illegal for anyone to remove these animals from public lands, to cause their death, to process the animals into commercial products, or to otherwise use them in any way for private use without government approval. This Act declares that “wild, free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people…”

We can certainly say that they have enriched our lives. We are very happy to have welcomed these three precious wild horses into our hearts and homes!

To learn more about Sisters Horsing Around, visit www.sistershorsingaround.com and follow them on Facebook,Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Find out more about the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Adoption and Sales Program on their website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/adoptions-and-sales.

Have questions about utilizing BarnManager or want to give it a try for yourself? Request a live demo here!

BarnManager is designed to be a part of your team, with the compatibility and credentials necessary to improve communication, simplify the management of horses, and get you out of the office, off the phone calls, and into the barn with the horses you care about! Click here to get a free demo and find out more!

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Part Two of Wild Spirits, Gentle Hearts: The Story of Two Mustang-Crazy Girls

October 8, 2021| Nicole Lakin| in category Uncategorized No comments yet

Part Two of Wild Spirits, Gentle Hearts: The Story of Two Mustang-Crazy Girls

By Emily and Sarah Harris

Ever since we were younger, it was our dream to adopt a wild mustang. “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” was our favorite movie. We wrote books about wild horses and played games about them. We watched documentaries about the wild mustang stallion Cloud and watched the movies “Wild Horse, Wild Ride,” “Wild Horse Redemption,” and “500 Miles.” In 2016, we met the winner of the 2014 Youth Extreme Mustang Makeover, Kirsten Mew, at an event, and she shared encouraging words about training mustangs. Every year we would look at the Bureau of Land Management’s Mustang auctions, always hoping that one day… just maybe… we would bring one home.

This year our childhood dreams became reality.

Read Part One here!

From Emily:

Finding a Filly

When the online auction started, we had already picked out several favorite horses that we wanted to try to bid on. The auction lasted a week with bids being placed on the horses throughout that time. There was a two-year-old sorrel filly that was approximately 14.2 hands that Sarah liked. We bid on her and got into a mini bidding war, but we came out on top with the winning bid of $205! We lost a bid on another mustang as her price was beyond our budget. There were horses whose bids had skyrocketed upwards of THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, which was WAY out of our price range.

With minutes left on the clock, we searched for another mustang to bid on, but by this time the pickins were very, very slim. Then we found her, a sweet looking two-year-old brown filly. She was a hand shorter than the one we were winning, but she was quite the looker! We placed our bids and waited. Another mini bidding war ensued. With only seconds left on the clock, we waited in pure suspense. Our web browser’s refresh button probably felt like a tennis ball getting whacked by a racket with how many times we clicked that button. 3…2…1… game over. WE WON! The little filly was ours for $110!

To say we were relieved would be such an understatement. We melted in our seats and let out all the built-up tension. It was happening; our dreams were becoming a reality. Now all we had to do was get them home.

Picking Up Our Mustangs

The closest pickup location for the mustangs in that auction was at an in-person BLM Adoption Event three hours away from where we lived. In addition to being a pickup location for horses sold in the online auction, the Adoption Event featured other horses and burros, all of which are unhandled and untrained, available for the public to adopt or buy for a flat price of $25.

The event was held at The Meadow in Doswell, Virginia, which was also the birthplace of legendary racehorse Secretariat. When we arrived, we immediately set out to find our two mustangs. Our hearts melted as we entered the huge covered arena where the event was taking place. Holding pens full of the sweetest faces you’ve ever seen were looking around, wondering what on earth was going on. Despite the many people milling around, the mustangs were calm and watched with curiosity. There were bays, paints, sorrels, blacks, buckskins, creams, duns, greys, and roans.

Since we weren’t told where our mustangs were, finding them was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Each holding pen had a clipboard listing the horses’ tag number, age, color, sex, and state of origin. It wasn’t long before we laid eyes on the first filly that we had won, confirmed by the tag number around her neck. We found our adorable sorrel filly in a pen full of sassy youngsters milling around her like a merry-go-round. She was the cutest little thing!

A Change of Plan

Now that we had found our first filly, it was time to find our second one. We walked around the pens, scanning them as we passed by and finally found her. She had a very distinct Andalusian-like body that stood out in the crowd of horses around her. We were beaming, until a large unsightly lump on her stomach caught our eye. Our excitement was dashed like a kite being struck by lightning. We stared in disbelief at her stomach. Could it be her? Or were we mistaking her for a gelding? Nope, her tag number let us know it was her, but the lump bulging out of her stomach looked very concerning. Something was wrong. It could be a hernia, or it could be worse: cancer.

We knew that once we signed off on her, we would instantly be responsible for her medical care. If there was something seriously wrong, then we might be in for potentially costly medical expenses right off the bat. Disappointed, we decided to pass on getting her and looked for another mustang. Saddened, we shuffled back to our first filly’s pen and tried to come up with a game plan.

Stay tuned for Part 3 coming soon when Emily and Sarah find their final mustang and bring them home!

Find out more about the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Adoption and Sales Program on their website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/adoptions-and-sales.

Have questions about utilizing BarnManager or want to give it a try for yourself? Request a live demo here!

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Wild Spirits, Gentle Hearts: The Story of Two Mustang-Crazy Girls

September 24, 2021| Nicole Lakin| in category Uncategorized 1 comment

Wild Spirits, Gentle Hearts: The Story of Two Mustang-Crazy Girls

By Emily and Sarah Harris

This year our childhood dreams became reality.

Emily:

Throughout the beginning of this year, I kept saying, “I am going to get a mustang this year!” I talked about it often and made plans. Whenever I bought things for my horse and pony, I bought extra in preparation for a new horse. Besides my childhood dreams to have a mustang, I had another reason that fueled my desire. If anything happened to my horse Amazing Grace, then I wouldn’t have a horse. She is my only riding horse, and she is heading into her senior years. Even though she may have plenty of time left, I didn’t like the uncertainty of it all. Anything could happen. I had experienced the loss of having to give my other riding horse, Stella, back to her previous owner because I realized that she wasn’t physically able to meet my jumping needs. That was heartbreaking for me. It didn’t help that the day I took Stella back was also my birthday. I don’t even want to imagine how I would feel if something happened to Amazing Grace.

With this ever-looming possibility in mind, I felt more eager to get a Mustang. Even when I was recovering from my concussion, I talked about having one, which seemed pretty ironic at the time. Here I am, unable to ride because of a pretty bad concussion, and I am talking about training a wild horse, knowing that it’s because of a green horse that I am even in this situation. It seemed like a recipe for disaster, but I was determined. My search for a mustang began.

Once again, we began to look at the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro online/internet auctions. There were several BLM internet auctions scheduled throughout the year. Each internet auction had pickup locations where you could choose to pick up the horse or burro that you had won during the auction. We waited until there was an online auction with a pickup location located in our state. Our chance had finally come!

All of the horses listed in the auction were unhandled and untrained. This meant that they had never been touched by human hands. Starting bids were $25. We scanned through the horses listed and looked at their descriptions, videos, pictures, and Herd Management Area locations. Wild horses and burros live on areas of public land known as Herd Management Areas (HMA). These are areas of land that the BLM manages. There are 177 Herd Management Areas across 10 states: California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico and the total amount of land that make up these 177 Herd Management Areas is 26.9 million acres.

In an effort to manage the wild horses and burros and maintain a natural, thriving, ecological balance of all species on the rangelands, the BLM removes a certain number of equines to place into private maintenance and care by interested individuals who are willing to adopt or purchase them. Unmanaged, wild horse and burro populations can double every four years, putting them at risk for starvation and thirst because of lack of food and water and at the risk of death. Increased herd populations also threaten the survival of other wildlife species because of competition for food and water resources and the damage to the land and habitat of other creatures.

I sent in my adoption application so that I could get approval to adopt or purchase. Application approval is based on one’s ability to provide humane treatment and care (including proper transportation, feeding, and handling) for a wild horse or burro. There are minimum facility requirements for the wild horse or burro’s living area (their pen, corral, stall, shelter, etc).

I was approved to get three horses based on the space that we had available for their corrals. A person may adopt no more than four wild horses or burros in a 12-month period, unless permission is given for more based on one’s ability to care for them.

When the online auction started, we had already picked out several favorite horses that we wanted to try to bid on. The auction lasted a week with bids being placed on the horses throughout that time. It was a total nail biter! On the last day of the auction, during the last hour, most of our favorites were picked. Every time we looked, one or more of our favorite horses’ prices shot up like a hot air balloon on the fourth of July! Time was ticking, and we had to make a decision fast.

Visit the BarnManager blog next week to read what happens on Emily and Sarah’s journey to adopting wild mustangs!

Find out more about the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Adoption and Sales Program on their website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/adoptions-and-sales.

Have questions about utilizing BarnManager or want to give it a try for yourself? Request a live demo here!

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Time Management: How To Make the Most of Your Time

March 19, 2021| Nicole Lakin| in category Uncategorized No comments yet

Written by Sisters Horsing Around

Time.

There are so many expressions and sayings about time, but most boil down to the fact that time is a precious part of life. Life is measured in the passage of time. But how do you “race against time” and “beat the clock” to get everything done, when there is so much to do, and so little time? Well, we wanted to share with you something that our Mom has talked to us about all of our lives and that is time management.

Our mom taught us a practice that she called “POD.” POD, in her mother wit, was a little acronym which stands for Prioritize, Organize, and Discipline. We call it a “practice” because it is something that we are always having to practice doing. She broke down time management like this:

P: Prioritize.

Prioritize the things you need to do in order of importance. Mama would always get on us for what she calls “doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.” The basic concept is to learn to take care of the most important things first. Prioritization can keep you on the right track if you maintain the mindfulness of what needs to be done in order of importance.

Evaluate your life, identify your responsibilities and the things that you need to do, and write these things down, listing them in the order that they need to be done. Making to-do lists is a simple and helpful way to gather your thoughts and focus your attention on the tasks at hand. This is where you start with knowing how to manage your time. Prioritize first. That’s the P.

O: Organize.

After you have identified your priorities and listed them in order of importance, then organize everything needed for each priority. For instance, say you need to pack for a horse show that you know is tomorrow, but when you go to pack, you have everything everywhere. You are having a devil of a time finding what you need because everything is disorganized.

Being disorganized slows progress because you have to spend extra time trying to find things. Often this can result in getting stuck and not being able to move on to your next priority. Organizing can help you streamline and get right to what you need when you need it.

Additionally, organizing can also mean realizing when you need to get rid of clutter. Organize your life to transition smoothly between your priorities and help you get things done in the smallest amount of time.

D: Discipline.

Discipline simply means training. Just like in our horse world, where we have equestrian disciplines and train our horses for a specific activity, we must discipline, or train ourselves, to prioritize our lives and get organized. Do this until it becomes habit.

Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. The best-trained horses can do their jobs without allowing themselves to be distracted. Be like that and stay focused. Then periodically reassess your life and decide the adjustments that need to be made. Perhaps something that was high on your priority list before needs to readjust to allow for something else to take its place because something else needs more attention at that time. Once your priorities change, repeat the process of prioritizing, organizing, and disciplining yourself to stay on target and make the most of your time.

There are 24 hours in a day, which equates to 1,440 minutes and 86,400 seconds to accomplish everything you need to get done. That time can disappear in what seems like an instant, so we have to make the most of the time we are given. We hope these basic tips will help you get everything done in no time!

If you are in charge of managing horses and seeking ways to better manage your time, BarnManager is a great time management and organization resource to help you keep your sanity and save your precious time. For those seeking organization in other aspects of life, there are tons of apps and online resources to help simplify your hectic life and organize things all in one platform, such as Trello, Todoist, and even the Reminders app on iPhones.

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Meet Emily and Sarah, the Sister Duo Behind Sisters Horsing Around

March 4, 2021| Nicole Lakin| in category Uncategorized 2 comments

BarnManager is excited to welcome new guest bloggers Emily and Sarah Harris, a.k.a. Sisters Horsing Around, to provide exciting and informative content to our blog readers and horse fanatics everywhere. Emily, 23, and Sarah, 16, are horse-crazy sisters who want to share their passion with the world.

You may remember them from a previous article on the BarnManager blog where they recalled meeting Stacia Klein Madden and visiting her barn, Beacon Hill Show Stables. If you have a hard time remembering who is who, Emily has curly hair and is a diehard purple fan. Sarah has straight hair and loves the color blue. We are thrilled to have this dynamic duo back again. Without further ado, we will allow Emily and Sarah to introduce themselves:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1B4LirUoh8[/embedyt]

About Us

We are from Virginia and we consider ourselves an anomaly because of our unlikely obsession with horses in combination with our family and racial background. From a racial perspective, not only is it unusual to be a young black girl who loves horses, but it is also unusual considering our family background that our parents would have not just one, but two daughters who are absolutely horse crazy. None of our family members have ever been involved with horses.

Our parents don’t know where this love came from at such an early age with no family influence, but it certainly seemed that we were born with a passion for horses. With our parents’ support throughout childhood, we both read tons of books and magazines and watched videos of well-known horse trainers until our parents gave in to the request for a horse, which was a present for Sarah’s eighth birthday. Our second horse came as a gift for Emily at Christmas three years later.

Since then, we have owned several horses during our horse journey, including Allie, Amazing Grace, Genesis, Rowdy, Dancing Shadow, Stella, and Promise. Our current horses are Amazing Grace, Rowdy, Genesis, and Promise. Rowdy is the only gelding in the herd, Amazing Grace was a former rescue horse, Promise is a pony, and Genesis is our youngest horse with the others being in their late teens. Despite the stark differences between all our horses, they all have taught us valuable lessons that we still use today.

We are are 4-H alumni and served as President and Vice President of our county’s 4-H horse club before Emily aged out. We are both members of the United States Pony Club with USPC certifications in all of the certifying disciplines. Emily is currently a delegate of the USPC National Youth Board and is Co-Chair for her Regional Youth Council. Emily is also a certified Open Horse Show Judge.

Now onto the big stuff.

We started Sisters Horsing Around in 2018 in an effort to put into motion the things our mother had spoken to us about when we were younger, such as how blessed we were to have horses and how not many black children had the same opportunities we did. She would often tell us that she wanted us to remember those in our black community and when we “got big,” meaning make it big in life, she wanted us to provide an opportunity for others to get involved with horses.

Sarah, who was around 9 or 10 years old at the time, responded, “why do we have to wait until we get big?” Because of those conversations, we thought of ways to put that in action and not delay, and the idea for Sisters Horsing Around was born. We have been trying our best since then to provide an opportunity for others to learn about and get involved with horses.

Our Goal

We use our Sisters Horsing Around YouTube channel, website, and social media accounts to educate non-equestrians about the horse world. As passionate horse enthusiasts, we hope that the content we create will help bridge the gap between those outside the horse world and those inside the horse world.

Being first generation horse people, we didn’t have the privilege of having someone hold our hands and guide us as we navigated the equestrian world; we just dove right in. Because of our plunge into the horse world, we had to learn everything firsthand. Now, we want to make it easier for others to get into the horse world. We want to be for others what we wish we had when we first started. We strive to be your equestrian “tour guides.”

When it comes to riding, we both have an understanding of multiple disciplines. We ride Western and English in multiple disciplines in each. Because of our experience in multiple disciplines, we strive to bring awareness about the different disciplines to help dispel the prejudices incurred by misunderstanding. We want to help others see the good in each discipline and are always ready to engage in conversations on the topic.

Giving Back

We also partnered with a 501c3 nonprofit organization called The STAND Foundation headquartered in Washington, DC. STAND is short for Strengthening Thoughts and Nurturing Dreams and the foundation works to reach children and young adults in underserved communities and also endeavors to inspire youth to pursue positive decision-making skills through nature and equine-based programs. Because of our like-minded goals, we joined forces with the organization and actively participate by providing equestrian instruction for the equine programs and camps facilitated by the foundation.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n48axxMnng[/embedyt]

As the voices behind Sisters Horsing Around…

…we want others to see what makes the equestrian world so exciting. The horse world is enormous, and we want to explore every inch of it and take you with us on the journey. We want others to experience the joy that one can have with horses and to encourage others to embark on a horse adventure of their own.

If you want to learn more about us you can visit our website, http://www.sistershorsingaround.com/. You can watch our videos on our YouTube Channel, Sisters Horsing Around, and see what we are up to on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

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