Right now we might as well call him “Muddy” but that too shall pass. This little palomino cutie is a yearling Mustang gelding, facility born to a Triple B NV mare.
Buddy is here for gentling for a client who adopted him through the internet adoption and who wanted to make sure he was prepared for domestic life when he got home.
I have a lot of respect for anyone who thinks these decisions through and does whatever it takes to set their Mustang up for success.
This was Buddy’s first session, a whopping 15min or so, including little breaks, because baby brain is real.
We took tags off – he came with two – put the neck rope on, then the temporary halter, touched him all over, practiced giving to pressure and leading, then ended on a calm, good note and shared space for a bit.
He went from “Yeah I’ll sniff you when I want to but ew don’t you reach for me” and “Why does this thing have my head and how can I get rid of it?” to “Ok, I’ve got this, what’s next?” with the help of some basic training tools and techniques to break it down into manageable steps for him.
A lot of issues arise when we ask them for things but don’t know how to follow through or when we can’t help them move beyond what they offer on their own. That’s where timing, tools, techniques, being able to read the horse and knowing when and where to ask for help are important.
Buddy is a brave, independent, level-headed little guy who bravely explores the world around him – including carrying his halter around before it was ever time to wear it, and calmly sniffing every object within reach – and just needs a little help understanding that he’ll need to accept input from and look to the human for guidance.
He’s going to make a great trail partner for his adopter one day, who is well versed in bringing youngsters along who have basic handling skills.
Thank you for giving Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy the opportunity to gentle this boy for you!
