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Right now, in the United States, the number of wild horses has far exceeded the capacity of our public lands.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, there are 55,000 wild mustangs in need of homes. The issue is that wild horses require gentling in addition to training. And while many people love horses, not everyone is prepared to gentle a wild mustang. This is why it is difficult to find homes for these horses and why there is such a need.
Three months ago, I took a leap of faith and adopted one of these wild mustangs. I wanted to open my home, but I was afraid. Even though I have been riding horses all my life, I had never gentled a wild mustang and I did not know if I could provide a good home. I was afraid a wild horse would not bond to me or accept a domestic life with me.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. The iconic wild mustang is not wild at all, but rather a feral or free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. Although Tobias was born in the wild, he has bonded to me - looking to me for direction, running to me for comfort, choosing me for connection - and he has embraced our life together.
The way I work with him, Tobi always has a choice and he chooses to be with me. What we do together doesn't seem to matter - grooming, exercising, playing. It's the process of learning and growing together that he loves - that we love. I suppose every creature wants a place to call home and someone with whom to share it.
In the spirit of connecting more mustangs with forever homes, I applied and was selected to compete in a Mustang Heritage Foundation event, made possible by the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program. The purpose of the competition is to showcase the versatility and trainability of mustangs to increase their likelihood of finding homes. Over 9,500 mustangs have been rehomed through Mustang Heritage Foundation events since 2007.
As a contestant, I will have 100 days to gentle and train a mustang, before we compete in-hand (as opposed to mounted) and showcase our skills in a series of classes such as leading trail and leading pattern. For those 100 days, I will be responsible for the mustang’s well-being and at the end of it all, I will also be responsible for finding the mustang a suitable home with someone committed to providing continual growth and learning - and play!
And so, on January 12th, I will travel to the Bureau of Land Management in Ewing, IL to pick up my randomly selected, untouched mustang for the challenge. I will spend the next 100 days gentling this mustang using natural horsemanship and non-dominance based training methods. The mustang will be kept next to Tobi at Medicine Horse Program in Boulder, CO where he can also learn through osmosis. At the end of the 100 days, we will travel together to the Midwest Horse Fair Mustang Challenge held April 12-14, 2019 in Madison, WI. To us, it will not matter if we win or lose. What matters to us is how we touch each others lives and that we will be forever changed.
I want to express deep gratitude to everyone in my life who has encouraged me on this journey. Especially my father who, in my childhood, read me Misty of Chincoteague and helped me sponsor a wild pony by mail-in donation. Of course I dreamed about it from a young age, but never imagined I would have the opportunity to directly impact the life of a wild horse. I am fortunate in my life to have time to give freely. The funds I am raising are for the mustang's board (food and shelter). Anything above and beyond will be used for routine medical expenses such as monthly hoof trimmings and our travel expenses. Thank you for support, monetary or otherwise!
According to the Bureau of Land Management, there are 55,000 wild mustangs in need of homes. The issue is that wild horses require gentling in addition to training. And while many people love horses, not everyone is prepared to gentle a wild mustang. This is why it is difficult to find homes for these horses and why there is such a need.
Three months ago, I took a leap of faith and adopted one of these wild mustangs. I wanted to open my home, but I was afraid. Even though I have been riding horses all my life, I had never gentled a wild mustang and I did not know if I could provide a good home. I was afraid a wild horse would not bond to me or accept a domestic life with me.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. The iconic wild mustang is not wild at all, but rather a feral or free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. Although Tobias was born in the wild, he has bonded to me - looking to me for direction, running to me for comfort, choosing me for connection - and he has embraced our life together.
The way I work with him, Tobi always has a choice and he chooses to be with me. What we do together doesn't seem to matter - grooming, exercising, playing. It's the process of learning and growing together that he loves - that we love. I suppose every creature wants a place to call home and someone with whom to share it.
In the spirit of connecting more mustangs with forever homes, I applied and was selected to compete in a Mustang Heritage Foundation event, made possible by the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program. The purpose of the competition is to showcase the versatility and trainability of mustangs to increase their likelihood of finding homes. Over 9,500 mustangs have been rehomed through Mustang Heritage Foundation events since 2007.
As a contestant, I will have 100 days to gentle and train a mustang, before we compete in-hand (as opposed to mounted) and showcase our skills in a series of classes such as leading trail and leading pattern. For those 100 days, I will be responsible for the mustang’s well-being and at the end of it all, I will also be responsible for finding the mustang a suitable home with someone committed to providing continual growth and learning - and play!
And so, on January 12th, I will travel to the Bureau of Land Management in Ewing, IL to pick up my randomly selected, untouched mustang for the challenge. I will spend the next 100 days gentling this mustang using natural horsemanship and non-dominance based training methods. The mustang will be kept next to Tobi at Medicine Horse Program in Boulder, CO where he can also learn through osmosis. At the end of the 100 days, we will travel together to the Midwest Horse Fair Mustang Challenge held April 12-14, 2019 in Madison, WI. To us, it will not matter if we win or lose. What matters to us is how we touch each others lives and that we will be forever changed.
I want to express deep gratitude to everyone in my life who has encouraged me on this journey. Especially my father who, in my childhood, read me Misty of Chincoteague and helped me sponsor a wild pony by mail-in donation. Of course I dreamed about it from a young age, but never imagined I would have the opportunity to directly impact the life of a wild horse. I am fortunate in my life to have time to give freely. The funds I am raising are for the mustang's board (food and shelter). Anything above and beyond will be used for routine medical expenses such as monthly hoof trimmings and our travel expenses. Thank you for support, monetary or otherwise!