… We offer those too and it’s always fun to meet and help new people and their wildies!
A couple of weeks ago I drove north to work with Willow, a pretty sorrel 8yo Desatoya NV Mustang mare with kind, wise eyes, and her owner.
She’d had minimal handling in the past and got passed a around a few times until finding a soft landing.
Willow leads a good life as part of a colorful herd of friendly trail horses and a few longears, thankfully on enough acreage that mother nature and the many rocks these here Rocky Mountains are (in)famous for are keeping her feet in decent shape.
She has not, however, volunteered to “self-gentle” and despite her human’s spending time and working with her has remained quietly aloof and evasive.
Her current owner wanted to know if Willow is trainable with the potential of eventually becoming a riding horse, or if she should find a sanctuary type situation for her as a long-term plan.
We set up a small pen for our session with Willow, coaxed her in with grain and, after some preparation, put the neck rope on her. She wasn’t touchable, so I used the same method as I do with the brand new wildies at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy that aren’t about to walk up to a person or let me walk up to them.
She quickly figured out how to yield to light pressure *See the “Walmart bag” metaphor in the video… We’re talking about a super thin plastic bag here, the kind that we used to have here in Colorado, not the big fancy tote bags that can hold milk or laundry detergent*
We worked on touch from a distance, leading, moving hips and shoulders, through her wanting to switch directions to put her “easier side” towards me and ended with a calm Willow who seemed happy to engage and receive some guidance on how to do this strange people thing.
An hour and a half of quiet, strategic work still doesn’t magically tame a wild horse with 4+ years of practice in walking away from humans, so with a bit of patience and finesse, the neck rope came off via the hook on a stick from several feet away.
It’ll take work – time, setting things up so that the desirable behavior is easy for her to figure out, and teaching her all the things she’ll need to know to get to the point of accepting a rider – but she’s a horse that can get there.
Her owner now has new tools in her training tool box to hopefully make good progress with her girl.
On behalf of the Mustangs, we’re grateful for adopters and owners who seek help and input when they reach a point with their wildie where they have questions or don’t know how to proceed with the tools they have.
Reach out if you’re looking for help or have questions. Remote coaching is available also, and we take client Mustangs in for gentling in Guffey, CO.
#horses#learning#coaching#mustang#wildhorses#teaching#outdoors#adventure#mountains#progress
