If there’s one thing that nonprofit work for Mustangs has taught me, it’s this: To have trust beyond logic or what one might call faith.
It’s jumping and trusting that the parachute will open. Sometimes it means building a safety net on the way down. It’s doing the thing and figuring out how along the way. It’s clinging for dear life to the belief that on the other side of doubt and turbulence, it’s all going to work out for the best.
Gentling Mustangs means working with people. Gentling Mustangs means learning, growth, hard lessons, laughter, humility and teamwork. Gentling Mustangs means embracing change and trusting the process, for both horse and handler.
It’s learning to ask for help, to build and rely on a support network when you’re more comfortable doing things on your own. It’s believing in the good in people even after some have proven otherwise.
Most importantly it’s showing up to do the best we can for these horses, over and over again, and getting better, more confident and a bit wiser along the way.
I was pretty nervous about finding a home for Topaz, a 4yo, 16hh dun Stewart Creek WY Mustang gelding (yes, he’s branded), not because nobody would want him but because first he wasn’t ready and then too many people did .
Not one of them asked what he was like, only what he cost and when they could get him.
He had been here for over a year by the time we felt remotely comfortable thinking about placing him. We’d gotten many requests about him because evidently it’s important to have a tall flashy once wild horse. And ideally it should be cheap.
He’s not a bicycle and Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is no online wild horse warehouse. My eyes were rolling madly at the mere thought of making an official adoption post for this boy.
Turns out I didn’t have to. A previous adopter unexpectedly found herself with a hole in her heart and an empty space in the barn. I’d told her that when she was ready I’d be happy to help her find a Mustang to fill both.
She’d have been perfectly happy to take on any ol’ brown horse, if it was a fit for her.
Knowing that it was a match-over-appearance situation and that she is competent, has help and can offer an amazing forever home, I told her about this big, delicate boy. After much deliberation and confirming that her support network is on board, Topaz will be moving in the new year. We’re so very excited and happy for them both.
I have so many “everything happens for a reason” stories thanks to this work. I’m so very grateful for those experiences and for the humans and Mustangs in whose lives we get to make a difference.
We have 15 more wild horses to gentle and place this winter, and your support means the world to them and us.
Today is #ColoradoGivesDay, the last of the big official “Giving Days” of the year.
Yes, I enjoy fundraising about as much as I do dusting but both have their place. And yes, it’s mid-morning the day of. I’ve been dragging tail with bronchitis for several weeks, the tired, brain foggy type so I’m just glad that the neurons are firing again.
If you’d like to support our work of gentling and responsibly placing Mustangs, here’s the l¡nk to do so, additional d0nation avenues are in comments. CO Gives lets you set up recurring contributions if you so choose, as well as one time d0nations.
https://www.coloradogives.org/…/Wild-Horse-Outreach-And…
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