Deets and Woodrow, our 5yo NV Mustang boys, an appy and a silver bay, earned their roommate privileges yesterday.
They were in a pen together when we picked them up and are really good friends, zero drama and personalities that mesh well. We separated them for gentling when they got here and they’d been living fence to fence since.
When the 4 new Mustang mares came to Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy last Friday, we first kept 2 and 2 together, before separating first one pair, and yesterday the other. We tried keeping them together for their benefit and realized we really weren’t doing them any favors.
I think we can all agree that horses need the company of other horses to thrive.
In the short term however, if it’s going to take me 10min to separate horses, and another 10min for those upset horses to calm down, the one that’s with me and worried about where his friend is, and the friend that’s left behind in the pen and considering jumping, crashing or digging out (welcome to the world of unhandled Mustangs) and then however long to get something accomplished now that everyone is exhausted, we’ve found it better, and safer, for everyone involved to opt for separate bedrooms.
We’re not talking solitary confinement here. They have neighbors – we make sure everyone has neighbors they can at least peacefully tolerate, even if it’s not a deep friendship – and free choice hay, some room to move around and regular training sessions. And we’re talking temporary.
When they get here, most Mustangs have never lived by themselves. That’s a whole new experience for them and an important one if they’re going to make it in our world.
After seconds or minutes of WTH?! they usually find their food and water, make sure their neighbor is in sight and start eating.
When I pull them for sessions, they might at first still be looking for their friends but there’s no added stress from sorting horses and it’s easier for them to turn to me for interactions because, like humans, they are social creatures.
Once Mustangs are relatively easy to catch and if we have someone they get along with but not so attached to that they lose their minds, we put them together in one of our larger pens.
Husbandry – aka care – is an important factor in training any horse but there are some special considerations we need to make when working with wild horses to set everyone up for success and keep them safe.
This is not a black and white issue, the answer, as with many things, is “it depends”. We’ve kept horses together that we thought we wouldn’t and we’ve separated some we figured would be fine. I appreciate Tay Martin ‘s input and watchful eye and we decide what’s best on a case by case basis, prioritizing their safety and ours and making sure the Mustangs are mentally in a good place to learn.
How well do you learn when you’re hungry, stressed and just got forcefully separated from your best friend who’s calling of the top of their lungs for you? Exactly.
These two boys are happy this morning and the four princesses seem to accept each having their own palace for the time being.
All of these kids are available for adoption. Located in Guffey CO. Please PM or email if interested.
Thank you to all who have participated in and donated to our naming fun-raiser! There’s still time if you haven’t, so go back to Tuesday’s post and take a look.
We’re happy to hear your experiences in the comments.
