Beka Setzer Mustangs and TIP Training

10/04/2022

Day three of Ohio Equine Affaire is a wrap! The boys spent all day greeting and entertaining guests as they walked through the barns. Tomorrow Tempest will be showcased at the U.S. Wild Horse And B***o Association’s booth in the Voinivich Center, stop by and say hello if you’re there! 😁💚🐴💙 As fun as it’s been for me to meet and chat with everyone, I know Tempest and Raiden will be very excited to get back home to see their buddies and to run and romp through the fields!

07/04/2022

Tempest is soaking up the attention on this first day of the Ohio Equine Affaire! And Raiden is waiting for his next visitors. 💚🐴💙

27/03/2022

Fun little outing with the boys, Raiden and Tempest this morning! We were all very thankful for the fire ring - between the wind and snow, I think we all appreciated some warmth! Thanks to Mom and Annalyn for accompanying us! 💙🐴💚

25/03/2022

My best boys....💚🐴Tempest & Raiden🐴💙

I hope this colder weather doesn’t stall our shedding progress - still got a ways to go!🤞🏼😅 They seem to be enjoying the cold, dreary, windy day.

16/03/2022

Yesterday we had a great time meeting with Lisanne, Hannah and Lisa of the Mustang Discovery Ride - still in the early stages of the 5,000 mile trek across the USA! Their passion and mission to raise Mustang awareness and encourage adoption is very inspiring!

16/03/2022

Fun party trick... teach your horse to pick you up from the mounting block! Raiden is such a fun little Mustang. 🥰💙

P.S. please ignore my barn attire..... 😣 My horses don’t judge people in pj’s and muck boots as long as they get their breakfast. 😂😅😜🤷🏼‍♀️

16/03/2022

18/01/2022

Snow day! ❄️🐴❄️ Today we took advantage of the Level 3 snow emergency in style! Sledding with the horses and some happy, snow-loving Mustangs!

18/01/2022

Snow day! ❄️🐴❄️ Today we took advantage of the Level 3 snow emergency in style! Sledding with the horses and some happy, snow-loving Mustangs!

08/10/2021

Little Nancy got her tag off this afternoon and was introduced to a halter and lead rope. After accepting body rubs and scratches I finally worked my way to her ears. She about fell over in ecstasy when she discovered that I could scratch the insides of her giant ears 🤣😂 She kept following me around and hesitantly tilting her ears towards my hands so I would continue. LOL

She was very confused by the cats and chickens sitting in her space, but just kept a watchful eye after giving them a good sniff (cute video in the comments). What a sweet girl! Emmalee is head over he heels about her. 🥰

07/10/2021

WE’RE ALL EARS!!!

I welcomed a new wild BLM B***O to the farm today to be gentled! Everyone meet NANCY! 🥰 I’m so excited to start working with this girl, who is already proving to be incredibly sweet and curious! Once she meets her TIP requirements she will be going to live her life being spoiled by her new adopters!

She is already spoken for, but if you are at all interested in adopting a gentled b***o, please let me know! I’d love to make that dream a reality for you! ☺️🐴❤️

20/09/2021

17/09/2021

This beautiful little Mustang mare will also soon be available for adoption with an approved application. She is a 2 year old from the Sulphur HMA in Utah.

She is very sweet and inquisitive! She had a chicken land on her back from the barn rafters last night and didn’t bat an eye. (They learn quickly here that the abundance of farm animals is not to be fretted over 😜😆)

Reach out to me if you have any questions about this pretty little girl or the adoption process for one of these awesome horses!

09/09/2021

Exciting news!

I have two new Mustangs coming in tomorrow! After they are gentled, they will be available for an approved adoption!

The first is a 2 year old bay mare from the Sulphur HMA in Utah. Just look at that face 🥰

The second is a 3 year old bay gelding from the North Hills HMA in Utah.

If you are at all interested in the adoption process of one of these amazing horses, please reach out to me. I would be happy to answer questions or help you welcome one into your hearts and home!

09/09/2021

Hello, Everyone!

I have some exciting new news that I’ll share in a separate post, and a couple of brief updates on some of the Mustangs I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I apologize for not having posted any updates in a while - I am sure I can relate to many when I say it has been a whirlwind of a summer! 😅
However, I’ve still gotten the chance to bring in and place some awesome Mustangs!

Rowan went to his new home this summer where he and his owner are already riding and competing. I am always getting awesome pictures and videos of their latest adventures - both on the trail and in the ring! The beautiful dun mare, Raptor, also went to her new home this summer and is getting lots of love and attention! Legend was started under saddle this summer, and I have received several videos and pictures of him toting his owner’s granddaughters around. ☺️❤️

Getting pictures, videos and updates on these horses is always such a pleasure. I love seeing them thrive in their new homes!

06/05/2020

Sweet, young (and currently dirty) TIP Mustang, Legend, is looking for his new home! If you’ve considered adopting a Mustang he will make someone a nice horse, with some height to boot! How can you say no to this cute face!?

He is coming along nicely and seems to enjoy working through and playing with different obstacles. I am having my husband and daughters spend more time around him to show him that humans can be pretty handy to have around! 🥰❤️

15/04/2020

Raiden and I finished 11th overall in the Mustang TIP Challenge against some awesome trainers from all over the US and Canada!

As I suspected, a lower Freestyle score bumped us down quite a bit, and makes me resent my broken foot even more than before, 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🤣 but I’m not any less proud of the solid horse he has become and what I’ve learned from my first ever competition like this! I now have some ideas for future Mustang competitions. 😁

Raiden has made quite the transformation, both mentally and physically! ****I can not thank you all enough for encouraging, supporting and following our journey these last few months!*** 🙏🏼 Just know, you haven’t see the last of this handsome guy - He will be staying with me for good! We’ll see you on the trails! (And maybe a a show or two as well) 😜

Here are a couple before and after pictures that show how much he has grown and filled out!

11/04/2020

The scores from the 2nd round are in! Raiden and I placed 4th in this class, which puts us in 5th place overall thus far.

This week has brought a flood of memories back, as it was when Stormy the Blind Horse and I competed at Equine Affaire many years ago.

Aside from one small obstacle class last fall, I have been not been in any judged horse shows for 9 years, the last one being with Stormy at EA in 2011! Regardless of the placings tomorrow, it feels good to get back into that competitive spirit again and to have such a cooperative and fun horse as Raiden has been. He is one awesome guy! 💙🐴💚

Tomorrow the freestyle class videos and scores will be posted, along with the final placings for the Mustang TIP Challenge. Freestyle was my least favorite, as I didn’t get to do what I had planned, due to a bad broken toe 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️, but I’m still very excited to see all of the entries! 😁

09/04/2020

2020 Ohio Equine Affaire Virtual Mustang TIP Challenge:

Raiden and I are currently sitting in 8th place after the first round of judging - the Pattern Class. Here is our video of that class. Very excited to see the rest of the competition as it comes available.

Conditioning and Handling class scores and videos will be released Wednesday, April 10th.

Freestyle class scores and videos and also the final placings will be released on Sunday, April 12th.

Stay tuned!!!

09/04/2020

The first round of judging is in! Raiden and I are currently sitting in 8th place after the “pattern class” and I’ll post our pattern video after this. We have to wait until Friday to see the second round of judging and then the third judging and final placings will be announced on Sunday. ☺️

I was very excited to see how well everyone has done with their Mustangs! Congratulations to all competitors and I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the competition!

06/04/2020

You know what is a pretty incredible, humbling feeling? Having a tremendous amount of support from not only friends and family but from an entire community - including countless people you haven’t even met! That is how I feel right about now!

As many of you know, just over 100 days ago I embarked on a journey to train a completely wild, never handled Mustang horse and have him ready to show at one of the biggest horse expos in the entire country. While the expo was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition continued on in the form of a virtual show. This past weekend, we filmed and submitted for judging the patterns that all trainers received and also a 3 1/2 minute freestyle routine to music.

Raiden has been so much fun throughout this entire journey! He just might have more personality than any other horse I’ve ever worked with. Just to give you an example, when we were filming one of our classes, we had to start over countless times for no reason other than he kept picking up and holding the cone that he was ground tied next to and would play a game of tug-o-war when I’d try to take it back. I’m incredibly happy with how he did, and would’ve been thrilled to have been able to show him off at EA!

On a somewhat ironic/funny/frustrating (because all of the emotions were there) note, our freestyle didn’t end up quite the way I had hoped. We spent about 3 hours setting everything up in the arena, making changes to costumes, lighting, etc, and made one full (practice) run through. On the very last obstacle during this run, completely by accident and through no fault of his own, Raiden stepped on one of my toes causing a pretty bad break.😖 Now while broken toes are not anything new to me, the major problem was the fact that I was supposed to run through over half of my freestyle in my cowboy boots, which were now nearly unbearable to wear.

Hahaha, I have to laugh, because what are the chances of that, right? 😂🤷🏼‍♀️ So because I could not run (and could barely walk in my boots), the freestyle had to stay as it is from that run through, and not have the finishing touches and include everything I had prepared for and intended to include. Thankfully it was a clean enough run that I at least had something to submit for that particular class! 🤦🏼‍♀️😂 If you notice limping in one of my patterns, it’s because it was actually filmed with a broken toe - I tried to hide it the best I could. And if you’re wondering, my toe looks pretty nasty and still hurts like the dickens, but will heal up just fine. 😂🤣

I can not wait to see all of the amazing things the other trainers have done with their Mustangs, and I’m very bummed that I didn’t get the chance to meet them in person. I will keep everyone informed with the class/video postings so you too can watch these incredible horses, only about 100 days out of the wild!

No matter how the placings turn out for this competition, I have built a pretty incredible bond with an awesome horse and had a blast doing so! I feel I have already won!

Thank you all again for your support and prayers! Especially my husband, Marc Setzer, who rallied the entire community behind Raiden and I! Who also is always on board with every crazy notion I get - “Oh, wow, Beka! You want to make numerous trips West to bring countless completely wild horses to our farm so you can train them and adopt them out to other horse crazy people? - That sounds awesome, go for it!” “You want to enter a 100 day wild Mustang training challenge with a new horse that I know you will fall in love with (though you say you won’t) and not be able to rehome afterwards? - Sweet! I know you can do it, what do you need to enter!?” Among so many other things!

Special thanks to the following people who also helped make it happen: Karen Weaver, Julie A. Setzer, Matt & Taylor Anne Weaver, Kat & Ryan Elliott, Robert, Pam & LaTicia Jeffers of Natural Freedom Wellness Center in Albany, OH, Tom Wheatcraft, Jeremy & Mandi Knowlton-Cain, and especially Brien and Judy Burke of Rock Cliff Ranch in Albany, OH! And I’m sure many others I can’t think of at the moment because my mind is exhausted. I love and appreciate you all! ❤️🙏🏼💙

Raiden and I will see you on the trail! 🌳🐴 🌷🌳

25/03/2020

Tempest was having none of Raiden’s rotten shenanigans this afternoon! ❤️🐴💙 I sure do love these Mustangs!

21/03/2020

Raiden has definitely filled out quite a bit since I picked him up! 🧡🐴💛

For those wondering, we are still trucking along preparing for the Mustang training challenge. Although the Equine Affaire where the event was to occur has been canceled, the competition will still take place - virtually! Each competitor will be given the class patterns the night before the competition would’ve been held, and we will video ourselves performing the 3 classes then submit those videos for judging. It’s something entirely new to me, but so was a 100 day wild Mustang training competition - so what do we have to lose!?

I’m very happy to still have the opportunity to compete, and though I was beyond excited to take him to the Equine Affaire, this is the next best thing, given the circumstances. Everything happens for a reason. 🙂

I have started Raiden under saddle and am really looking forward to continuing his training! Just as much as that though, I am excited to get through the competition so I’ll have more time to spend with Tempest! 💙🐴💚

18/03/2020

Sweet Legend had a walking tour of the farm today! ❤️ He handled being outside of his comfort zone very well and enjoyed some hand grazing after his work and adventures. I introduced the tarp and some ground poles today and after a short minute he had already started playing with them. He has a very young and curious mind.

And just look at this sweet face! 🥰 🌼🐴🌸

16/03/2020

The new TIP Mustang, now known as Legend, had his first lesson in leading today! He did great - such a trooper!! ☺️
~ Day 2 ~

15/03/2020

Had some great moments with this handsome boy today! I got his tag removed - so he is no longer a number! (Though his name is still pending 😉) I introduced the halter and he got lots of satisfying scratching and some hand fed alfalfa. I worked with him in 4 separate sessions today and this last one he was much quicker to relax and enjoy being rubbed and scratched. What a sweetheart he is!

He will learn quickly to accept and ignore all the commotion on our crazy farm - between the goats, chickens, dogs, cats, other horses, and kids, he’s bound to understand that, though noisy and sometimes a bit annoying, none of us are out to get him. He wasn’t very impressed with the chicken that flew out of the hay loft and landed on Raiden’s back. 😆 But just as Tempest and Raiden have, I’m sure he’ll soon learn that it’s just part of the daily farm life. Haha I can already tell I’m going to enjoy working with this young guy.

Side note, I rode Raiden around in the barn this afternoon! 💙 He was quite the gentleman! 🥰

14/03/2020

The newest wild Mustang on the farm! This is the new TIP horse that I have in for gentling. He is a cute 2ish year old bay gelding from the Miller Flat HMA in Nevada - recently rounded up in September 2019. So far he seems cautious but curious and very interested in me. He was comfortable (or exhausted) enough to take a snooze while I was sitting just a few feet away and I did get him to eat out of my hands and he nuzzled my hands several times, then I called it a day. That way he’d have some time to settle in and relax a bit. I can’t wait to see what he looks like under all that dirt and winter hair! ☺️

This TIP Mustang does already have an adopter and she’s excited to see his progress, as am I. I was thrilled that she got the first curious nuzzle on her hand after he was loaded into my trailer. His name is still pending. Any suggestions I could pass along?

13/03/2020

I left early this morning to go pick up a new Mustang for TIP training. I’m very excited, I’ll keep you all updated on what I pick up!. 😁

11/03/2020

The weather and temperature finally cooperated enough for a bath yesterday! He did great - looks and feels so much better!

Here are some pictures from during and after his bath and also one from before. ☺️💙 21 more days 😱

03/03/2020

I’m not really one to post pictures of my butt on the internet for the whole world to see......

But look at this butt!!!! 😍😂

❤️ My handsome Raiden! 💙