Stefanie Skidmore
Author's posts
Feb 27 2024
The Sensitive Horse
People like all kinds of different horses, all for their own reasons. They all will make us better humans and horsemen and -women if we let them. I’m fortunate to have a lot of horses – all Mustangs now – in my life, many only for a short time on their path to hopefully becoming …
Feb 27 2024
The DG Kids
It’s been so much fun watching our youngest Ambassador Mustangs DG Cedar (filly, coming 2yo) and DG Griffin (colt, not quite 1yo) grow up and their personalities develop. They came to Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy last year from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals in California. I’d never before owned a horse this young. …
Feb 27 2024
The Hook on a Stick
In the caption on a recent video I suggested not putting anything on the horse when you don’t have a plan for how you’re going to remove it. Here’s how I remove the ring rope aka neck rope as well as put on and remove the leg rope in the early stages of gentling: The …
Feb 26 2024
The Leg Rope
The leg rope is an important training tool for us when gentling Mustangs. While I’ve met a select few that understood the idea of picking up feet better without it, we use it on most of the wild ones we train and I personally do leg rope work with all of the Ambassador Mustangs, the …
Feb 26 2024
Tiny for Mayor!
Many of you have met Tiny, if not in person then on social media. The 16yo sorrel gelding from Salt Wells Creek, WY is by several 100lbs and at least a hand the largest Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang, and arguably the one with the biggest personality. What people typically notice when they …
Feb 26 2024
Back from Elko
I may not be rich in the conventional sense, but to lead a life rich in experiences and people you love, there’s something to be said for that too. The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering was a blast, so was spending time with Rachel Toler . We rode horses, looked at horses, talked about horses and …
Feb 26 2024
A friendship made in the mountains
I’m in Elko again this week, for the 39th The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and to spend time with one of my favorite people, Rachel Toler . I met Rachel during the summer of 2019. We didn’t get to chat all that much because we were busy moving cattle through thick timber back to where …
Feb 26 2024
Driving Mustangs
Coming from Europe, I’ve been driving horses and ponies since I could count my age on two hands. Sled races, dragging fields, cutting grass, driving just to drive because it’s fun, skidding logs, I even drove a wedding once. I’ve never had the money for a nice horse, so I either worked my tail off …
Feb 26 2024
Removing the Neck Tag
Removing the neck tag This is 6yo buckskin Devil’s Garden Mustang mare Luna, dam of DG Bibi who found a home a while back. Here we are, taking her tag off, a special “unwilding” ritual that makes me light up even after doing this dozens of times. It marks the transition from wild to handleable …
Feb 26 2024
Sharing Space
Sharing space When we’re working with Mustangs, the four components of a successful session l’ve found are: Learning while moving Learning while standing Moving together Sharing space They are all important. And what’s also important is that the horse you’re working with is at least reasonably happy and comfortable. Pain, hunger, loneliness, boredom, lack of …