One of the things that makes working with Mustangs so special, yet also raw and humbling is that they are some of the best lie detectors around. They respond to what they perceive rather than to what we would like them or others to believe.
In that way they are true mirrors of not only our horsemanship but also of all the other ‘stuff’ we bring into the pen with us. Just like with actual mirrors, we might not always enjoy what’s looking back at us.
A wild horse’s senses are so well developed from living on the range that he picks up on and responds to incongruence (i.e. a lack of consistency or appropriateness, as in inappropriate affect or as when one’s subjective evaluation of a situation is at odds with reality) much more acutely than many domestics that have been exposed to human shenanigans, bad days, poor timing and various different handlers since birth.
Nobody is perfect, that’s not the point. The point is that if we let these very perceptive and brutally honest horses crack us open and show us our blind spots, we have a chance to take their feedback to heart and give the horse what he needs from us, in turn also giving what we need to ourselves.
Situational, self- and other-awareness all go together. When I’m in my head, I can’t be present with and for the horse. With domestics that’s not particularly useful. With wild ones, that’s downright dangerous, for me, for the horse, and for others around us.
If I can have self-compassion, I can have compassion for the horse. If I’m tuned in to the quiet signals the horse is sending me, two things are likely to happen: I’m going to get fewer big reactions from the horse because I didn’t ignore the ‘whispers’, and I’m more likely to be intentional about and tuned in to the signals I’m sending to the horse as well.
I’ve seen horse training get pretty mechanical. Lunge 3 laps to the left and 4 to the right and then back up 10 steps for respect. Not because that’s what the horse needs but because that’s what the book/trainer/video said to do. A mentally checked out handler catching, brushing or working a horse. That’s doing things at the horse, not with him. That’s a monologue, not a conversation. A 12yo domestic may have learned over time to be tolerant, forgiving and fill in for us. A still partially wild Mustang has none of that conditioning.
Being present, being open, being vulnerable, willing to learn and try something different, to ask for help, to swallow our pride several times a day, to look inward at what it is I’m bringing to the horse, every day, and still keep going, that’s what makes getting along with wild horses and helping them become not-so-wild horses work. I often wonder who is gentling whom.
This handsome dun gelding is Storm, at 22yo the oldest – to date – wild horse we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know and work with. He is a Sand Wash Basin Mustang who is spending some time with us at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . He is learning how to safely interact with humans before joining the sanctuary herd at For the Love of Aria. He’s an old soul who spent 20years living wild yet he’s taking to gentling well. He’s calm and curious, reserved but not reactive.
I’ve been asked if I feel sorry for Storm, having to adapt to life off the range this late in life. He is playful and bright-eyed, adjusting better to being handled than a lot of much younger Mustangs I’ve met. Looking at his body condition he might not have made it this long in the wild. The free choice grass alfalfa mix he’s getting and not having to fight other horses over food or mares, walk miles to find water or dig for dead grass under feet of snow is going to make the rest of this winter easy on the old man. He’ll benefit from a dental when the time comes. Those are hard to come by in the wild. As is complete feed for senior horses that can no longer properly chew or digest grass.
He’s lucky enough to get to be wild with benefits for the rest of his days. Friends, food, space and having his every need attended to. He won’t need to live in fear, pain, hunger or thirst. That’s a pretty sweet deal.
Excuse the mud, mud season is the 5th season around here
PC: Linnea Helander
