Second Chance Ranch

This adorable little creature is a Mustang named Shady who was sent to Second Chance Ranch for a month of restarting work ❤️Shady was gentled by an ***amazing*** teen with far more competence and knowledge than I EVER had at her age 🤯 In the past year, Shady has come up with a few questions that have been hard for her current owner to answer 🧐 She has been struggling with trailer loading and confidence under saddle — that’s where SCR comes in 🙋🏼‍♀️The biggest component of having your horse feel safe and confident in uncertain circumstances is their own ability to self-regulate their stress levels. What I am looking for in teaching horses how to load into a trailer is 1) curiosity—setting them up to engage with “the thing” on their own terms, in their own time, 2) sensitivity—their understanding of what certain cues mean, and their trust in following those cues and 3) finding “the release” (I.e., the moment of releasing tension and stress) 👏 on 👏 their 👏 own 👏. In this video, you’ll see Shady lick and chew while looking around the trailer. That is GOLD. She is engaging with her surroundings, and finding her own internal source of relaxation while doing so. Our job as handlers is to set the horse up for success. This is my first time working with Shady specifically on trailer-loading. Shady and I have spent this whole first week of her month restart with groundwork—working on things like yielding her shoulders and haunches, being “sent” in any given direction over obstacles, and respect for personal boundaries. It is amazing to me how this all correlates to something that could so easily be considered unrelated, such as trailer loading. At the end of day, a horse’s success depends on the commitment of their humans. I am super honored to be able to help this sweet horse who already has an incredible home. The knowledge Shady is gaining is going to set her up for success no matter what life throws at her. I lov

Something happens in my tiny pea brain when it comes into contact with tiny cute things. All higher functioning stops, and nonsensical jumble starts coming out of my mouth in the form of baby talk. 🤯 If you saw this adorable Mustang pony in person, your brain might just shut down, too. I wonder if Pip knows the level of control she exerts on this lower species 🤔 Lucky for us humans, Pip wants to use her powers for good, and is willing to postpone world domination so long as the cookies keep coming. 🍪 #littlestmustang #cutenessoverload #adoptdontshop #wildhorses #coloradohorses #piceancemustangs #horserescue #horsewoman

Vincent is our coming 5 year old Mustang from the Triple B HMA in Nevada — baby boy made me very proud for what he accomplished at @skijorpagosacountry this past weekend ❤️ Vince has been under saddle for 6 months. 1.5 weeks ago, my husband realized that he had this weekend off from both NP school and his job as an ER nurse at our local hospital… so, naturally, we decided it was an amazing idea to sign up, for him to ski and for me to ride. I felt like it would be a fun training challenge for Vince and me to see if I could get him sufficiently prepped in that short amount of time to make it happen. Long story short… it WAS a great idea 🤣 Vince was an absolute legend on Saturday and gave both Will and another skier amazing runs. I could not have been prouder for him for his performance or level of try, despite the amount of pressure he was under. My incredible husband actually ended taking home 3rd place for our division with his other rider — not bad for a first timer! I think he shows real promise as a Skijoring champ 😜 Yesterday was a much harder day for Vincent. After spending 16 hours in a stall in frigid temps—something he’s never had to do in his life—and a huge amount of adrenaline the day prior, he just wasn’t able to down-regulate to a level that would’ve been safe for us to get back out on the snow. That, and some very slick terrain that had Will’s first horse of the day slip/fall leaving an injured rider, left us both with the realization that it wasn’t our day to get back out there. So, we decided to scratch on our second day. I was super bummed to have to call it, but I’m stoked to have an entire year to train for Pagosa’s next event — we’re also committing to riding in Ridgeway’s competition and might add Silverton the calendar, as well 😉 So much fun to get out there and expose us all to something brand new and AMAZING!!! #skijoring #mustangsofinstagram #triplebmustang #nevadamustang #aspiretoinspi

Pip, 1/16/24 ❤️

Today marks a big milestone for Pip — her last session in the small pen. She’s officially graduating! 👩‍🎓 From now on, we’ll be working in the big round pen, and I couldn’t be more proud of this incredible little Mustang. Her heart is as big as her whole body! Many of you have asked about Callie, so here’s the reality: I’ve had to put her training on pause while focusing on getting Pip to a good place. From day one, Pip has been far more anxious and fearful than Callie, so prioritizing her has been essential for everyone’s wellbeing. It’s been 1000% worth it, and I wouldn’t change a thing. That said, Calliope’s time to shine is just around the corner! She’ll be getting the VIP treatment she deserves very soon, and I have no doubt she’s going to be an absolute rockstar. Stay tuned! 😉 Working with Mustangs is by far my favorite thing to do with horses. I can’t even put into words how fulfilling this journey is. Sure, most of my time and money goes into SCR, which means no fancy vacations or expensive dinners. But honestly? Who cares? 🤣 This is worth more to me than anything else. I feel incredibly grateful to spend my days doing what I love most in the world. Grateful, grateful, grateful. ❤️

Just an adorable video of Wynston and Vincent playing today, with Uncle BoBo overseeing the shenanigans 😂 I’m not going to lie, I’m actually a nervous wreck watching them run around like this — please nobody fall down! Of course, it happens, they shake it off, and continue to play 🤦🏼‍♀️ Typical boys! I love that Bo doesn’t change his spot once during the whole show, and Wyn & Vin end up on either side of him at the end. The love between these bros is real 🤣 Also enjoy the moment where Wynston is trotting across the pasture — holy CRAP this horse can move 🤯 #horses #equestrianlifestyle #aspiretoinspire #love #compassion #horsewoman #coloRADo

First river crossing for Wynston and Cora 👑 🌊 Crossing water can be a tricky thing for horses — it’s challenging for them to gage how deep water is by their eyesight alone, so horses need to rely on their own feel and confidence in their rider when approaching bodies of water. To me, a horse’s willingness to enter water really comes down to their individual confidence level, risk aversion/assessment qualities, and trust in their human’s leadership skills. Wynston and Cora both learned about crossing bridges today, as well. What fun! These are all skills that Wyn and Cora may or may not utilize in their lives after Second Chance Ranch — but that definitely correlate to their trust in humans and self-confidence in trying new things ❤️ Also — huge props to my husband who is always willing to help me get the horses out on new adventures 😻

First time trotting under saddle, with a thunderstorm rolling in. Cora is a STAR 🌟 She even mastered the “hand on the neck stop,” which is a fun little party trick 😎 I need someone on the ground to video that, it’s hard to capture from the saddle 🤣 What an incredible little mare this is, I’m so in love. She is going to make someone very happy and my heart is going to break a little bit watching her leave… of that I’m already certain.

We have some adorable new neighbors here at the farm 🤣 Wynston and Vince are both mesmerized. I’m glad that the ponies are getting some happy, healthy exposure to moos! 🐄🐮❤️ #equestrianlifestyle #horsewoman #colorado #arabianhorse #mustangsofinstagram #triplebmustang #rescuehorse #aspiretoinspire #compassion #love

Abigail 7/3/24 ❤️ Abbie is sensitive, trainable, and learning to find relaxation in the bridle. She was bred for the halter world, but damn — if there were a competent, kind dressage rider out there looking for a little project horse with all the potential… here she is! Abbie is looking for her forever home. Asking $2,500 as her adoption fee. Feel free to share far and wide, I’ll be here for this girl until her dream person knocks on the door 😉💕

Horses are getting fresh pasture for breakfast this morning 🌱 Been saving up this green stuff all summer long for a special day 🥰 They’re stoked ❤️ #mustangsofinstagram #rescuehorses #aspiretoinspire #compassion #arabianhorse #equestrianlifestyle #horsewoman