*Sound on if that caption doesn’t make sense.*

I voted today for the first time in a presidential election. I (politely) said to the lady at the in person voting table that I wasn’t leaving until I got a sticker.

I told her I had just become a citizen and this was a big first for me. In return I received a warm smile and 3 stickers.

We’re buckling down for the first winter storm of the season. By midday tomorrow we’ll have something between nothing and a foot of snow on the ground. Or maybe two. You just never know.

Thanks to Tay Martin we’re ready and the Mustangs have plenty of hay to keep their bellies full and their bodies warm.

We have several wildies pending adoption and we’re so excited for them and their new humans

If you’re looking for a gentled Mustang, for help with one you already have or are planning to adopt, or you’d like to support our nonprofit organization Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in helping wild horses and their humans be successful and safe together, get in touch.

We’re based out of Guffey, CO. If you’re out of state or even outside of the US, that’s not a problem. We can travel, our horses can travel and we offer remote coaching.

You can reach us via PM, info@wildhorseoutreach.org or 719-377-8587

#BLMmustang#AmericanMustang#wildtowilling#mountains#sunset#adoptalivinglegend

#makingmountainmustangmemories

That first picture I took while sitting in the round pen and writing down some thoughts and enjoying the golden late autumn afternoon light.

Doc, with nothing better to do since he was waiting on a woman, glanced over his shoulder and looked his most handsome, slightly winter-fuzzy dappled palomino pinto Mustang self.

Watch for his adoption post. He will be looking for his very own person rather soon.

We’ve had the most incredible, long and warm fall here in Colorado this year. Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy has also had interns and guests back to back this fall, interspersed with some epic mountain riding.

It’s been an exhilarating, stressful, all-consuming, wonderful time. Yesterday afternoon I was working Mustangs by myself for the first time in weeks, enjoying being fully present, alone with my thoughts, and watching the dogs and cats bask in the warm sun one last time before it gets pretty wintery for the next week.

Jen from Nevada and Justin from Arkansas each spent nearly a week with us, helping out, learning, and in Jen’s case getting to know the wildies she’s considering choosing.

I’ve been teaching, watching, gentling, ponying, ground driving and falling asleep on the couch late at night while doing office work. Also sunset riding whenever I could.

Bareback ponying close-up taken by Tay Martin who is still figuring out the multitasking aspect of it all. I received formal driving training as a kid, both in Germany and Hungary. So handling lines, a whip, sitting up, looking ahead, steering and remembering to breathe come easi(ish) for me. Practice makes better, that’s for sure.

We’re working on offering more opportunities for people to learn how to gentle and bring along their own Mustangs. Part of that will be a Patreon membership with training videos. It’ll likely have a packing and backcountry riding component as well, and a way for our supporters to learn, enjoy , and help us help more wild ones.

We’re happy to take your input and answer your questions as we put that together here over the next few weeks. Things are finally slowing down and getting cold enough that I’ll be indoors enough to work on that.

Some of you have been asking, and we appreciate it: Yes, there will be 2025 WHOA calendars! They’ll be ready to order & and ship later this month. Thank you all for your continued support!

In our plentiful free time (ha!) we’re also working on a brand new online storefront, some new items and designs, and having everything in one place. Stay tuned. Progress on that may be slower but we’ll get there.

We do offer in person and remote coaching and we have several wonderful gentled wildies available for adoption. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado and dedicated to helping and inspiring wild horses and their humans in any way we can.

Check out w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . org for more and please reach out with any questions/input/feedback.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#mustangtraining#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#saveahorserideamustang#ridethebrand#makingmountainmustangmemories

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy (Piglet) and Tiny (Tigger) made their parade debut yesterday at our tiny local school’s Halloween parade.

The kids were excited to see the horses and the Mustangs were brave and calm surrounded by tiny humans, colorful costumes and fire department escort vehicles.

Eeyore and Winnie the Pooh ( Tay Martin ) appreciated the extra layer of silly softness on a crisp late fall day.

I love watching the smiles our Ambassador Mustangs bring to the faces of those who meet them. Lacy and Tiny enjoyed many polite pats and friendly face rubs from children and adults alike.

I’m grateful to live in a town that welcomes dressed up horses and their goofy riders to its Halloween parade.

We went for a short, scenic ride to an old cemetery (it was Halloween after all) following the parade, still in costume of course.

Normally I don’t love the idea of being caught on someone’s game camera. Yesterday was an exception

Share your horsey Halloween adventures/memories in the comments!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#saveahorserideamustang#adoptalivinglegend

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Long yearling Devil’s Garden (DG) Mustang filly is blossoming into quite the long-legged bay beauty.

She’s got lots of bone and is already nearly Lacy’s height (Lacy is all of 14.1hh), with lots of growing left to do. She string tests to 15hh mature height.

Rosie is an old soul with a lovely mind. She’s independent, sure-footed, sane and quiet without being lazy. The kind to safely gather wayward cattle with alone on a windy day once she’s old enough to be ridden.

Curious and easy to handle, Rosie likes people, going on adventures and is good with dogs. All age appropriate ground work has been done. She’s good to catch, leads, ties, loads, has been ponied and confidently leads and sends over obstacles.

She lunges, backs, moves hips and shoulders, stands for grooming, spraying and picking up feet. She has been trimmed and did fine.

Rosie came to us from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals . She is a Forest Service Mustang, Modoc National Forest in California to be exact. Unlike BLM, the Forest Service does not currently brand the wild horses they gather and care for. Rosie is microchipped and comes with paperwork from the corrals.

If you or someone you know is looking for a wonderful youngster who would be suitable as a first Mustang or for a capable young person with a support system, please reach out to us / send them this post.

You can reach us via PM, email us at info@wildhorseoutreach.org or text/call 719-377-8587

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. Hauling is possible, within as well as out of state. We work with reputable haulers for that.

Your engagement with adoption posts through commenting, liking and sharing them makes a huge difference. Thank you for supporting our work and helping wonderful wildies find great homes! Please do the same on this post!

Thank you Rowdy’s Ropes for the beautiful training halter and rope, Karyn Miller for the amazing Knotty Horse conditioner, and our guest and friend Sandra from Germany for handling Rosie.

#DevilsGardenMustang#AmericanMustang#adoptme#adoption#wildhorses#adoptalivinglegend#nonprofit#bettertogether#makingmountainmustangmemories

These eyes, ears and feet have covered some incredible country this year. After we thought that we might never experience another sunset on a mountain again.

Now I’m collecting sunsets and spending as much time outside as possible, sometimes sleeping outside even at home, just so I can see the stars.

I got Covid for the first time in the fall of 2022, and several times since. I felt the symptoms of long Covid through much of 2023.

In January of 2023, Lacy partially tore a ligament in her left hock. For a long time we thought she’d never take another sound step.

Just as I was feeling better last fall, I took a hoof to the head. Even though I never stopped working, that set me back a few months.

Right after Lacy was allowed out of a pen again last summer, she poked her eye and got a corneal ulcer that took forever to heal. We almost put her down then. She was – allegedly – lame on 3 out of 4 legs at the time, with no clear prognosis.

I started riding her again in late fall of last year, when her legs, eye and my head were feeling better.

In the spring of this year, we made the difficult decision to say goodbye to 2yo DG Cedar after she broke her coffin bone in a pasture accident. It was an articular fracture, meaning it went through the joint.

Between all of that, and some other hard hits I didn’t see coming, life’s brought me to my knees a few times these past couple of years. Between sometimes desperate resilience and the right people saying and doing just the right things at the right times, we’re still here.

I still have weird headaches and I get so sick now every time I catch a cold. Lacy has some permanent damage to her eye. Very occasionally she takes a funny step behind.

Life is fragile, fleeting, and good horses, dogs and friends are important.

I’m a scaredy cat by nature, always have been. I’m scared of something almost all of the time. I’ll let the video tell you the rest.

Let me know if any of it resonates with you.

From tonight’s ride with the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy and Tiny and the best second-hand German Shepherds Denali and Ranger.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#sunset#mountains#love#resilience#bettertogether#adventure#fall#makingmountainmustangmemories

2yo bay Twin Peaks CA Mustang filly Tillie is ready to find a lover of tall athletic mares who know what they want in life and are not afraid to express it.

She currently stands 14.3hh tall and string tests to 15.3hh. She has a freezebrand, it’s under her mane.

Tillie has all the heart and grit one could ask for. She’s spirited and a quick study. Things that are scary the first time are not that way for long.

Tillie is level-headed without being lazy, an effortless mover and a joy to work with. She is also young and has opinions. She does take feedback in stride when she’s trying something that’s a less than great idea and is easily redirected.

This pretty lady is friendly, curious and easy to catch. She likes attention and mental stimulation. Once she’s old enough to find a job she enjoys she’s going to be unstoppable.

Tillie halters and leads, lunges, crosses obstacles, is a cute little jumper, moves hips and shoulders, backs, is good with strangers and dogs, stands for grooming, spraying and picking up feet. She’s had her first trim, she ties, ponies and goes for walks in hand. She’s being introduced to tack and taking it in stride.

Who is going to love her for the princess she is (the last photo says it all) and foster her athletic potential in and/or outside of the arena?

We believe she would excel in endurance, on the trail and/or in English disciplines. Movement videos available upon request.

Tillie is at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey, CO. Hauling in and out of state is possible. We work with reputable haulers who get the wildies we gentle safely and happily to approved homes when adopters aren’t able to pick up in person.

Please comment, like and share and send this post to friends who need a lovely young mare in their lives. Your engagement with our adoption posts makes all the difference for finding these guys great homes.

Our adoption application can be found at

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

PM, call/text or email if you’re interested in adopting Tillie. 719-377-8587

Halter & lead: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#adoptalivinglegend#mustanggentling#wildtowilling#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

I recently went on a lovely ride with a friend whom I hadn’t ridden with in way too long. She was taking me to a lake I hadn’t visited before. I’m always grateful when people share their favorite places with me.

We got to the lake and sat down for lunch after letting the horses and dogs drink. Looking at my favorite GPS app, I said “You know there are 3 lakes here, right?” “No…”

We looked at the downloaded topo map (always always ALWAYS download the map for the area before you go and be generous about its size) and decided reaching at least the next lake looked attainable.

A friendly lone hiker reached the spot near the lake where we were getting ready to mount. Curious, I asked him about the route to the lakes. He readily provided helpful information (footing and trail quality are near impossible to judge from a map, that’s what reviews, friends and fellow trail users are for) and then some:

“There’s a waterfall up there too, look up to your left when you get back there. I only found it by accident.” We thanked him enthusiastically and went on our way to explore further.

The ride would have been lovely and totally worth the rock scramble for the first lake. The other two and the waterfall (pictured, I wish photos had sound!) made it an epic adventure.

I did do a silly thing that I finally realized and rectified at lake #1: My external GPS with satellite tracker and two way messaging capability was off and in my saddle bag. That’s bad practice.

I promptly and guiltily activated it and shoved the precious device into a zippered inside vest pocket.

Anymore I like using 3 different apps to navigate and see what’s what. I find that I learn more and miss less that way. And it’s just fun to notice the differences in information each app provides.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy and Tiny and the happy German Shepherds were good sports for yet another epic high country adventure.

If you’re looking for your very own once wild horse to build a partnership, grow and explore with, check out our adoptable Mustangs at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h.o r g

We have long yearlings to 5yos available and waiting for their adventure partners. PM, call/text or email us with questions! # 719-377-8587 , email address on website.

Hackamore (bosal, hanger, mecate): The Colorful Cowgirl

Best Ever Pads saddle pad: Karyn Miller

Packing halter: Outfitters Pack Station

Lead rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

Saddle bags: Rawhide Gear LLC

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#explore#adventure#backcountry#mountains#fall#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

If I had a dollar for every time someone has contacted me, saying “I want Nash”…

Don’t get me wrong, Nash is super cool. He’s also taken a long time to let his guard down and he’s not for everyone.

The hard facts: He’s a grey 4yo (5 next spring) Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding. He’s already over 15hh and string tests to 15.2hh mature height.

The “softer” stuff: Nash is a thinker. Not just that, he’s a sensitive overthinker sometimes. That makes him a horse that needs a human who can appreciate and guide the nerdy, delicate professor type horse.

He’s very Spanish in both mind and body, making him a less than ideal first horse or first Mustang unless you’re very comfortable with Spanish horses/Arabians/Warmbloods/Thoroughbreds or other independent thinking, spirited breeds.

This video contains some of what he can and loves to do as well as additional info on Nash.

Not shown: He’s good to catch, ties well, lunges, moves hips and shoulders, backs, has practiced standing next to a human on a mounting block and has been introduced to objects on his back. He stands for grooming, spraying and picks up all four feet.

Have other horses here learned more faster? Absolutely. But he’s not other horses.

Our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy gives every horse the time they need to be and feel safe around humans. We find them the right human partner because we want our adopters to be happy and our wildies set up for success.

*It would mean the world to us and Nash (literally, because his future depends on it) if you comment on, like and share his video far and wide to help him get seen and find his person!*

He is located in Guffey, CO. Hauling in and out of state can be arranged through reputable haulers we work with.

Please PM, email or call/text us to adopt. Phone: 719-377-8587. Email in video.

Thank you for your continued support, you are making a difference!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#adoptme#adoptalivinglegend#adoptamustang#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Here’s a super fun little clip from an incredible recent ride with the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs, Tay Martin and the two rescue German Shepherds Denali and Ranger.

Sand, mountains, water, snow, good horses, happy dogs and a friend. It was a fantastic, memorable day.

What draws many adventurers into the backcountry?

No people, no cell service, beautiful scenery, closeness to nature’s forces. Time slows down and we finally feel at peace.

Sounds perfect, right?

Yeah. Until it isn’t.

Too many people this year alone haven’t come back, riders, hikers or climbers. Things can go sideways fast, whether you go solo or not.

Without getting too preachy here, I put some info in the video on how to do the fun things while taking important safety precautions. Let me know what you think!

Share this video with anyone who needs the info or would enjoy it!

I take solo trips too. I try to be smart about it. I owe that to myself, the animals I’m responsible for, the people who care about me and all first responders.

Share your questions and your backcountry trip safety measures in the comments below!

Looking for your own once wild Mustang to go adventuring with? We have incredible gentled horses available and looking for you! Check them out on

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. Hauling can be arranged.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#wildtowilling#saveahorserideamustang#adopt

#mountains#desert#adventure#safety#fun

#makingmountainmustangmemories

There’s something special about young people and Mustangs. They’re not just our future, they’re who we hope will treasure, protect and enjoy wild horses, on and off the range, when we are long gone.

This kiddo has been helping us with chores for a few months. She’s tough and gritty and wasn’t at all horsey when she first started.

I’m not known for being easy to work for if you ask youngsters who are used to playing on their phones rather than doing physical work outside.

That cracks me up when I look back at the hundreds of hours of barn chores I did just to be around other people’s horses as a kid, forget about getting paid.

What I am though is willing and happy to teach someone with tenacity because that’ll outdo talent and previous experience every time if they maintain it.

She’s learned to halter and brush some of our gentler wildies and I’ve tossed her up on Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang Lacy a couple of times.

The first time I led them around the 25ft round pen, the next time she rode in there by herself, at a walk, with me standing close-by. Each ride bareback in a halter.

Tay Martin and I can communicate with hand signals, head movements and grunts when needed, so using those fine methods of information transfer, I suggested she introduce the kid to Tiny.

After meeting the colossal (compared to Lacy) teenage Salt Wells gelding went smoothly, the next bit of communication – I was in the middle of a session with another Mustang – meant to have her halter him and hop on.

Kiddo’s eyes were the size of dinner plates when she heard “Stefanie said you’re getting on him. I don’t think that was a question.” This kid is brave, so she didn’t refuse.

It took every one of the 3 steps of our big mounting block for her to climb on. We let her sit and relax on the wide red couch for a few minutes, leaning forward to hug him and back on his butt.

I’m not actually here to scare anyone, only to push at their comfort zone a little. Tiny slept through most of the kid’s acrobatics.

Finally kid said with a hopeful look aimed at no one in particular, “Miss Stefanie [ugh] showed me how to go around the round pen by myself…”

Grinning, I handed her the whip I was holding and told her to gently tap his large behind if he chose to ignore voice commands and leg pressure.

Tiny has the work ethic of a geriatric house cat most days, so that scenario was highly likely.

Right around that time he brought his giant head around to face her. Kid was rather perplexed when the horse she was sitting on was also looking back at her.

“Oh he wants to get paid” said Taylor who supports Tiny in his adorable laziness, handing kiddo a handful of alfalfa pellets. I don’t argue anymore. All I ever hear when I try to remind everyone of his many quirks is “Tiny is perfect!!!”

Taylor then added “It’s like putting quarters in the rocking horse at the grocery store”. I was at a loss.

Around the walking pen they went, Taylor leading the way the first time to show kid where to go and how to steer clear of the Mustangs that stood tied, watching the goings-on. Then the big lug and the little girl rode alone with both of us keeping an eye on them.

Every time they came back around Tiny would park himself at the mounting block and turn his head. Dutifully, kid handed over the goods. Then off they went again.

This went on for a while until she proclaimed, “No more quarters!” giving us the ‘fix it’ look. We all but died laughing and offered a refill.

A little while later I called “Hey kid, time to get back to work!” from inside the round pen, receiving mild protest in return. “Hop off and put your horse back out to pasture”, I insisted.

Reluctantly she did as I’d asked, or tried anyway. Tiny wasn’t done getting attention and he might have liked to examine the walking pen for some loose hay. Some very tender moments occurred over trying to send him out and shut the gate.

I enjoy investing in these horses’ future. Not just by turning out friendly, easy-to-handle Mustangs that have a good chance to thrive in our often crazy world, but also by sharing our Ambassadors with others.

If you’re looking to adopt or get involved, please let us know in the comments.

A list of adoptable Mustangs is available on

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

On our website we also have a “How you can help” section for those who would like to support what we do. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that depends on your kindness to continue to do what we do.

We’ll be showcasing more available horses, sharing stories, rolling out a new way to help Mustangs and their adopters, and bringing immediate needs to your attention over the following weeks. Stay tuned! (As I muster up the courage to bring all that to life )

Thank you to all of you who follow us, whether you’re new or have been here for a long time! It means a lot, to the horses and humans alike!

*I want to make abundantly clear that as soon as this young lady is ready to do anything more than amble around small pens on soft dirt at a snail’s pace, she’ll be wearing a helmet whether she likes it or not. She’s riding seasoned Mustangs with a horse-savvy adult only a few yards away.*

If you’ve read this far – or skipped to the bottom – we’d love to hear about your favorite memory involving horses and kids (possibly you as a kid?) in the comments!

Halter & lead rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#ridethebrand#adoptalivinglegend#adoptamustang#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

The weekend before last, on a gorgeous, crisp and sunny Colorado fall morning, 2yo Twin Peaks CA Mustang filly Echo left for her new home in Idaho.

Jennifer, her adopter, spent several hours with her the day before, getting to know her new friend, asking questions and receiving guidance on how Echo learns, responds to new things and what she knows.

Echo was quiet and kind, taking well her new person and eager to explore and hop into a new-to-her trailer. It was bittersweet seeing her go, knowing she’ll be so very loved, well taken care of and have a job as a pack and trail horse, doing what she loves, as she matures.

Thank you to all who have liked, shared and commented to get her seen, it worked! Thank you also to all of you who continue to support us so we can gentle and place these wild horses on their time, not ours! Last but not least, many thanks to Wild Spirit Mountain Lodge for always taking such wonderful care of our guests, the planned as well as the not-so-planned ones.

Looking for a Mustang of your own? Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy has several incredible gentled ones in search of their forever humans.

Check them out under the Available Mustangs tab

at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We’re located in Guffey, CO. Hauling can be arranged, some of them can travel to approved homes outside of the US.

Have questions or want to adopt? We look forward to hearing from you via PM, email or phone.

We also offer remote coaching sessions for owners and adopters of Mustangs who are looking for suggestions on how to move forward with training or get through a rough spot. Reach out to us if that’s something you’re interested in!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorse#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

4yo Arapaho Creek WY Mustang Chief, or “Chiefy” as Tay Martin calls him, is looking for his own human to guilt trip.

He’s like an oversized shelter dog and lives to make us feel guilty when we’re giving attention to anyone but him, following us with his big, soft, expressive eyes and looking rather defeated until it’s his turn at last.

He’s one of the quietest, kindest horses we’ve had the pleasure of gentling at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . If you raise your voice at him, he deflates and stops whatever naughtiness he was in the process of committing, looking hopeful that we’re still friends.

We love his imperfect little ears (likely frost bite) and his stunning wild looks that hide a teddy bear character.

Chief stands 14.3hh tall and has the personality of a colorful Eeyore. He needs a little encouragement sometimes and some guidance at others but all he really wants is a friend.

Chief would happily not be asked to win the Kentucky Derby and go Eeyore speed wherever he’s headed. Not a runaway and if he ever does, it shouldn’t last more than 20ft before he goes “that was silly, I’m sorry”.

He’s friendly with other horses and good with dogs. People and attention are his favorite thing though and he will walk away from his food to get some people time.

He’s been saddled and bridled and took it in stride. I’ll be ponying him soon.

He’s ridiculously easy to catch, crosses obstacles, ties, picks up his feet, stands for grooming and spraying, leads and loads. Chief will move hips and shoulders, back, lunge and go for walks. He has not been ridden yet but has the temperament to make that an easy task.

Chief is SA and can travel.

Located in Guffey, CO. Hauling can be arranged. If you’re interested in giving Chief an amazing home and allll the cuddles, please send PM or email (comments can get lost).

If you can’t bring him home but you’d still like to help, please comment, like and share far and wide, so he can find the wonderful home he deserves!

*Yes he’s branded, it’s hard to see because it’s on a white area. His color is pinto, please don’t ask about the “paint”. Paint is a breed, so by definition that’s mutually exclusive with being a Mustang.*

Thank you to Rowdy’s Ropes for the training halter and lead, Karyn Tessman Miller for the Knotty Horse spray and Sandra Burger for holding Chief for these pictures.

#BLMmustang#wildtowilling#adoptme#adoptamustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptalivinglegend

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Earlier this week I went on a somewhat unplanned solo 13.5mi backcountry day ride.

Unplanned in the sense that a friend who was going to ride Tiny couldn’t make it, leaving me to decide whether to stay home or still go.

Fall, especially fall color season, in Colorado is fleeting. In a way it’s the highlight of our year.

The skies are at their bluest blue, the days comfortably warm, and a cool breeze keeps (wo)man and beast(s) from overheating and biting insects at bay.

The aspens and undergrowth are wearing their most colorful garments and the last few wildflowers are hanging on. A thin vail of snow contrasts the still green grass, making it hard to believe that winter is so near and yet another summer past.

I decided to ride anyway, loaded up the horses, dogs and our gear, drove 2h to the trailhead and had an incredible day venturing into the – somewhat – unknown as I hadn’t ever made it all the way to the lake before driving home again at night.

I felt good about going after researching the trail, downloading the map on 3 different apps, letting someone know where I was going, where I would park, and when I was expected back.

For a day ride I pack extra layers, rain coat, gloves and silk scarf, hand and toe warmers, a first aid kit for me and another for the animals, a two way satellite communication device with SOS button, headlamp a whistle and a Lifestraw, plenty of water, enough food to spend a night out there if need be, an emergency blanket, a multi-tool, my phone and two power banks to keep important electronics going for several days.

I carry a small but mighty hand saw on my riding horse, hobbles, halter and lead rope for each horse, a spare set of hobbles and lightweight leashes for the dogs. Everything that shouldn’t get wet is in dry bags.

I typically know what the wildlife situation is where I ride. That makes a difference for what to do to prevent a potentially dangerous encounter.

The 5 of us had a lovely day riding to and relaxing at a high mountain lake. The dogs and I wandered to a waterfall while the hobbled Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs grazed.

We hardly saw a soul all day, nobody once we were more than 4 miles in. Everyone was friendly and looked longingly at Tiny’s empty saddle. Lacy, who’s been known to dislike strange shapes along the trail, never missed a beat and seemed to enjoy the views as much as I did.

I hope this helps you prepare for and feel good about venturing into the backcountry on horseback! Questions? Ask away!

#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#backcountry#wilderness#highcountry#mountains#fall#fallcolors#explore#adventure#makingmountainmustangmemories

I’ve wanted to visit Durango for years. Ride the train, see the fall colors, explore the town.

I enjoy going to events that bring like-minded people together. I love meeting, getting to know and learning from makers, other professionals and horsemen and -women in their natural habitat. And like live music, especially when there’s dancing involved.

Thanks to friends and connections in the Mustang and backcountry horse packing community, this year it’s all coming together.

I’m headed over the pass to the Durango Cowboy Gathering next week. I look forward to listening to the Bar D Wranglers on Wednesday night, watching the horseback social, street exhibits and cowboy parade on Saturday, and listening to as many cowboy poets and singer/songwriters as I can!

The weather should be perfect, the fall colors in full swing and the line-up is great.

The cowboy way of life, backcountry riding and wild horses all deserve to survive and thrive in our modern world and in order to do that, they all need us to show up.

I hear there will be Mustangs in the horseback social and the parade on Saturday!

I hope to see many of you there and maybe even meet in person if we’ve only connected on social media so far. Bring your friends, loved ones and your good riding horse.

The Durango Cowboy Gathering starts next Wednesday, October 2nd, and concludes on Sunday, October 6th.

Check out the schedule, performers and get your tickets for the ticketed events at durangocowboygathering.org

I’m officially and finally an American citizen. As part of the naturalization process I had requested to change my last name to Schaefer. That request was granted at the oath ceremony in Denver on Thursday.

Wolfgang Schäfer was my maternal grandfather and in many ways my childhood hero. I hope I can grow up to be half as adventurous, educated and well traveled as he was. Half as quirky would be plenty, too

Many thanks to Wendy Dillenschneider , Greg Liverman and Kelly Strong for making the day even more special by spending it with me.

I had stubbornly decided to wear a western dress, boots and turquoise jewelry to court. The dress code said no jeans, shorts, or flip flops, so I figured I wasn’t technically stretching any rules.

The judge was glad to see a room full of smiling faces. A civics class from a Colorado Springs high school welcomed the new citizens with hand written letters, flags and happy cheers. Among many moving stories, there was also talk of Mustangs and Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in the courtroom that day.

Another pleasant surprise, the silverware at our lovely lunch spot had horses on it. When I got home tired and happy at the end of a long and emotional day, even the sky was red, white and blue.

I’m grateful to be(long) here, for the opportunities, adventures and incredible people I’ve encountered since moving to this country and excited for what’s to come.

Onward!

#grateful#sunset#makingmountainmustangmemories

Our goal at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA) is to adopt out Mustangs that are easy to handle, happy to interact with humans, pleasant to work with and safe to be around.

That takes time, a variety of approaches and good help.

We’re happy to welcome another visitor, this time from Germany. Sandra is helping us out and learning her way around Mustangs for the next week.

She met and worked with several of our adoptable wildies today. Sandra is pictured here with

Nash, grey 4yo Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding, 15+hh, string tests to 15.2hh.

Aerin, bay yearling Devil’s Garden Mustang filly.

Eowyn, sooty buckskin yearling Devil’s Garden Mustang filly.

If you’re interested in adopting, you can view our available Mustangs here: https://wildhorseoutreach.org/index.php/available-mustangs/

We’re a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. We’re happy to guide you and help you find a Mustang thats a great match for you.

We work with reputable haulers who can bring your new partner to you anywhere within the lower 48. Some of the wild horses in our care are Sale Authority and can travel outside of the US. Approved adoption application through WHOA required.

Please comment, like and share to help these 3 lovely young Mustangs find excellent homes!

Halters and lead ropes: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustangs#wildtowilling#wildhorses#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptamustang#adoptalivinglegend#makingmountainmustangmemories

We’ve spent the better part of this year introducing 2yo dun Twin Peaks CA Mustang filly Echo to all the things that set a young horse up for success. Now it’s time for her to find her person.

Echo ground drives, ponies and packs (think pack horse on a pack trip) like a champ. She hobbles (2 and 3 leg), highlines, follows along loose in the backcountry, has spent several nights camping both in the backcountry and at the trailhead.

She’s tall (we measured her earlier this year, can again now). She was 14.2hh in March and has grown taller since. She string tests to 15hh and the way she’s growing she may surpass that.

She’s worn light saddles and has carried light packs. She’s worn a light and work harness and pulled a tire and the stoneboat (which isn’t a boat made of stone).

She’s been around cattle and mules, crosses water and obstacles both in the wild and in arenas.

She gets along well in a herd setting, is good with dogs, easy to trim, and has seen and experienced more than most 2yos.

Echo is friendly, curious and ready to find her own adventure human. Due to her age she has not been ridden or sat on.

Plenty of photos and videos available of her on adventures.

Available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . Located in Guffey, CO. Hauling within the lower 48 can be arranged. Please PM if interested.

*Echo is the taller horse with the lighter colored saddle in these photos. She’s an almost perfect match to our Ambassador Mustang mare Lacy.*

Please comment, like and share to help Echo find an incredible home!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

Our goal when working with Mustangs at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is to help each horse get to the point of being both gentled and gentle.

Gentled, meaning they know the basics of being handled and have skills to carry them forward.

Gentle, meaning they trust and accept humans and enjoy being around us.

We can’t make a horse be gentle, that’s an attitude shift that must come within.

For some, being gentle comes before being fully gentled, and vice versa.

Both are important for once wild horses to thrive in their new homes and lives. If we have one without the other, we’ll eventually hit a wall in their training and dangerous situations can arise.

Chief, 4yo sorrel pinto Arapaho Creek WY Mustang gelding, on the other hand is by nature a gentle soul. He begs for attention and walks away from his food just to be with humans.

He’s so eager to get along that learning skills comes easily for him. A horse like that still needs us to teach him the skills required for him to thrive with a human partner

For Nash, 4yo grey Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding, learning the skills came easier than the internal shift to accepting and craving human interaction.

Being gentled only got him so far, becoming gentle is doing the rest. He is pictured looking very relaxed, enjoying some people time with our intern Kyle ..

Both geldings, along with several other incredible wildies, are available for adoption.

Sometimes a horse can be gentled in mere weeks and take months of handling to become gentle. Some horses are gentle and struggle to learn certain skills.

The timeline for each horse is different. The end goal is the same: To find just the right homes for Mustangs that are both gentled and gentle.

We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. We send horses to approved, suitable homes across the country.

Thanks to your support, through donations, volunteer work, sharing our posts about adoptable Mustangs and following us on social media, we can continue to help wild horses on their time, not ours.

If you’re looking to adopt or for ways to help us help wild horses, check out our website www.wildhorseoutreach.org

Training halters & leads: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#mustangtraining#mustanggentling#horsemanship#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Lacy the sea (ok, pond) monster reminds you that if you have an area of difficulty with your Mustang (or domestic equine), don’t give up just yet.

Most people who meet the now 9yo Divide Basin WY mare, one of the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs, comment on how willing and well behaved she is. This is true. What’s also true is that I’ve put 7 years of work into her AND me.

Lacy was a 2yo unhandled spitfire when I first picked her up for gentling. All things considered, she was mostly good.

When she wasn’t, she would rear. She reared about a great many things, including not being allowed to go back to her friends, ditches and water.

Lacy hated all water that dared to exist outside of a trough. Her signature move was to rear and throw herself down. Not over backwards, down on the ground like a toddler at the grocery store. Big drama. We worked through it each time.

After the first few months and many conversations she stopped throwing herself down. The rearing and jumping so the scary wet stuff wouldn’t touch her feet took longer to move past.

I remember the last half rear at 11,000ft when she was 4yo. I had just started riding her bareback a bit before adding the weight of the saddle. We needed to get across a creek to go above treeline. She was having none of it.

We took the time to cross the creek and she never reared again. Was I frustrated and scared sometimes during those first few years, even though she was doing great with most other things? Absolutely.

We got past it with persistence, patience and practice. I didn’t ignore, shy away from or sugar coat potentially dangerous behavior.

We’ve been crossing all manner of creeks and puddles effortlessly or nearly so for several years now.

Earlier this summer we encountered our first fast moving, fairly deep river. I asked, she went in. Two days ago we celebrated our first time riding into a pond deep enough to swim in and enjoyed playing in the water in just a halter.

I hope that gives some of you hope to keep moving forward.

That being said, if most things aren’t working right and you or your horse are in danger because of it, get help now.

If you don’t know how to address or move past the roadblock you’re facing, feel free to reach out. Maybe we can help.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling

#adoptamustang#mustangtraining#horsemanship#dontquit#summer#makingmountainmustangmemories

Some lesser known ways – based on some feedback I’ve been getting – Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy serves the Mustang community is through empowering Mustang adopters and those who are considering adopting via internships, workshops/private and semi-private clinics (at your facility or ours) and remote coaching.

With the large numbers of horses getting adopted unhandled via the IA and in person adoption events, supporting wild horses and their humans as they navigate the gentling journey is more important than ever.

If you’re interested in either feel free to reach out via PM, email, text or call.

Kyle Dobson has been with us as an intern for a week and a half now (time flies). He’s a veteran from Oklahoma who wanted to learn more about gentling Mustangs as part of building Pathfinders, an organization he started to help veterans, first responders and wild horses (3rd photo).

He’s been incredibly helpful and he claims he’s been learning a lot. Based on the progress he’s made with the wildies we’ve assigned to him, I’d say so. Today he made his first distance catch with the neck rope and put the temporary halter on a spicy young mare.

Kyle is pictured here with Nemo (pinto) and Rohan (dark bay). Both geldings are available for adoption.

Halter and lead rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#veteran#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

I passed the civics, reading and writing test as part of the naturalization process yesterday. I’ve rarely if ever had that much fun taking a test.

Especially in light of the fact that just 8 days prior I took – and passed – the National Counseling Exam. That one was decidedly unfun.

This country offers new citizens an opportunity for a name change upon naturalization. I will be changing my last name to Schaefer, my maternal grandfather’s last name.

Wolfgang Schäfer was an endlessly quirky, painfully outspoken, forever young at heart, relentlessly active and knowledge-hungry math professor, story-teller and adventurer.

I wouldn’t be who I am or likely where I am if it wasn’t for him. It’ll forever hurt that he didn’t live long enough to see me find my happy place in life, and that I wasn’t allowed to say goodbye before he passed.

Anyway, when you see my name change on social media, the website, etc, that’s why. I’m excited to trade my A number (alien registration number ) for an American passport, and I’m so grateful to belong here rather than merely being allowed to stay.

Another thing:

This is a professional platform. I ask that whatever you wouldn’t say to me in person, or whatever you wouldn’t say to your male or female physician, mechanic, or insurance agent, you don’t say on here, to include comments, DMs, replies to stories, texts and emails. Especially if you don’t know me personally.

Not every thought in our head needs to be expressed via our outside voice or busy keyboard fingers. If this German, soon to also be American, can manage to have some kind of a filter, so can you. We’re not known to sugar coat much and I sure don’t.

I want this to be a friendly place, for you all and for me too. Rant over.

Packing picture featuring the Shepherds (fun fact: Schäfer means “shepherd” in German), Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy and Tiny, and yours truly from earlier this month.

PC: Marcos Costa with 4 Corners Back Country Horsemen

#PSA#progress#makingmountainmustangmemories

What we do at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is mostly kindergarten and elementary school for wild horses as they find their way in the domestic world.

We’ve had some incredible Mustangs this year. Some took to doing “people things” like fish to water. Others, usually the more sensitive or “high octane” ones will try their heart out to do what’s asked but need extra time to relax into it.

With horses like that – Nash here, grey 4yo Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding , being one of them – it’s extra important to focus less on teaching lots of new things or expecting significant progress all the time, and more on breaking tasks down and getting the basics solid in order to set them up for success and a good life with humans

That looks like actually teaching them to relax their bodies and minds, to look to the human for guidance, to self regulate, to think and respond rather than react their way through a tough spot.

There’s a big difference in a horse – Mustang or domestic – that will merely go through the motions or tolerate something and one that’s truly ok and engaged with what they are asked to do.

It pays to take the extra time to get the foundation right in order to pave a smooth path forward rather than ignoring little things that later come back and cause bigger issues down the line.

Example: Rushing to ride a horse before he’s truly ok with touch EVERYWHERE, accepts tack, yields softly to halter pressure in and outside of a safely enclosed area and is relaxed about picking up all four feet, can get excited and calm down again, and stay responsive at all gaits from the ground.

If you’re experiencing difficulties with your Mustang or have questions about the gentling process, we offer in person – at your facility or ours – as well as remote coaching.

Nash and several other gentled Mustangs are available for adoption. Check them out here:

PC: Our intern Kyle Dobson

Halter and lead: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

That’s what wilderness travel is like with a horse dog human herd.

Horses looking to the dogs to find a barely visible trail. Dogs waiting for the horses to create a path through tall grass or snow. Horses or dogs finding and pointing out water to the rest of the herd.

The horses going out of their way not to trample humans or dogs in dangerous situations.

Horses and dogs looking to the humans for guidance and safety.

Interdependence is key in the backcountry. Fellow travelers, two- and four-legged alike, rely on each other.

On our last pack trip I said something to the effect of “These kinds of trips show exactly how stupid animals aren’t” as the Mustangs and Shepherds were confidently finding their way back to camp without guidance, after only ever having been on a particularly hard to discern trail once before.

Grateful to have these experiences with our Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang herd:

Lacy (9yo dun Divide Basin WY Mustang mare, my riding horse)

Echo (2yo dun Twin Peaks CA Mustang filly, following along loose in this video)

Griffin (bay Devil’s Garden yearling Mustang gelding, also loose)

Tiny (15ish yo sorrel Salt Wells WY Mustang gelding, on this trip camera woman Tay Martin ‘s mount)

With trips and videos like this we hope to inspire and encourage others to make their Mustang dreams come true.

If you’re looking to adopt a gentled Mustang, check out our available Mustangs here:

We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado. Thanks to reputable haulers, shipping out of state can be arranged.

BLM Wild Horse & Burro ProgramDouble Devil Wild Horse CorralsOutback Trading Company LTD.Rowdy’s RopesBest Ever PadsThe Colorful Cowgirl

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptalivinglegend#explore#mountains#adventure#backcountry#wilderness#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

This sweet, drafty boy who reminded us so much of Gus (Same age, HMA, gather. They could absolutely be related.) has found his person and has started his new life in California

These little clips were taken during his last couple of weeks here with us at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy

We’re so happy for him and his adopter and excited to hear about his future and the adventures that await.

We have several gentled Mustangs – 1 to 5yo – currently looking for their humans. Feel free to check them out at

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g , let your friends know who are looking and tag us on social media when you see someone searching.

We’ve been finding incredible homes for the wild horses in our care, let’s continue to do so. We appreciate your support, likes, shares, comments and donations so much.

We often have Mustangs that either need a little extra time to fully embrace life with humans or to find just the right person and situation. Thanks to you we can accommodate that!

Rope halters and leads: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#bettertogether#nonprofit#adoptalivinglegend

#makingmountainmustangmemories

That’s a bit how life has felt recently. Wonderful, unexpected, dramatic and a bit crazy.

Lots of great new wild horses, experiences, and opportunities, the tragic loss of our 2yo DG filly Cedar after a pasture accident, Lacy catching a bug, me getting Covid for the 3rd time – so annoying – and this past Thursday taking the NCE (National Counseling Exam) at long last. 4hours , 200 questions while sweating bullets, with hours upon hours of studying leading up to it.

It’s been a wild ride and I apologize for the balls I’ve dropped along the way. It’s nice having a little more headspace now. One more important test (immigrant stuff) coming up.

I appreciate everyone who’s supported, cheered me on and been patient with me through it all.

These photos are from the last day of our July pack trip. We were “just going to do a quick ride”, because we wanted to be back at a reasonable hour to pack up camp, ride out, sort our things and drive home. All during daylight hours, obviously. No problem, right? Ha!

We looked at this and then at that, and finally, while I was harvesting some particularly lovely bay boletes – yay for wild mushroom hunting – Tay Martin started acting rather strange and ran off into the forest, only to return with an enormous moose shed.

Once she was able to speak rather than squeal and sing, the question of “how do we get this thing down to camp?” arose. I offered to carry it if we could protect it (and me) a bit.

Taylor’s wilderness treasure traveled down the mountain cradled in my arm and wrapped in a sweatshirt. No trail, so it was looking at the app, directing my mount, climbing over deadfall and dodging low branches. Sounds safe, doesn’t it?

Not to mention the two loose young Mustangs and two German Shepherds that also all needed to be herded to our destination.

The first picture is me peeking over the shed, Divide Basin Mustang mare Lacy surrounded by the youngsters, Denali on a mission to go somewhere. Not pictured, Ranger, Taylor and the remaining Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang Tiny (Salt Wells).

We rode out of camp at 8.40pm that night (second picture) with the moose shed (3rd pic) secured under the lash rope atop Twin Peaks, CA Mustang filly Echo’s load. We arrived at the truck around 10pm. That was some kind of a ride, but we made it out in one piece. Mostly. SOMEONE had a sad headlamp and steering malfunction, yet is blaming 400lb yearling Devil’s Garden gelding Griffin for pushing 1200+lb Tiny into a tree, resulting in a bruised (human) knee…

Here’s to embracing life, good friends, good horses and slowing down to take it all in!

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#wildhorseswillingpartners#backcountry#wilderness#adventure#makingmountainmustangmemories

This handsome yearling Devil’s Garden Mustang gelding didn’t let a rough start keep him down. Pippin was facility-born and rejected by his dam. Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals staff kept him alive and raised him, through ups and down, until he was strong enough to travel. No easy feat and a huge commitment.

He arrived here earlier this year with several of his friends to get an education and find a wonderful home. Pippin – now Joey – has the biggest personality and is willing to grab life by the horns. There’s a lot of resilience and spunk in that little red roan body.

Pippin was adopted and picked up by one of the experienced haulers we work with. He took the long trip from CO to MI in stride.

The Champion Farm sent us these photos and made our hearts sing. That little guy found horse heaven on earth and it appears he’s embracing it. I think he’s sure he deserves no less. Happy trails with your sweet boy Taylor, thank you for giving him such a wonderful home!

Thank you to our amazing adopters, supporters, clients, haulers and everyone else who makes what Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy does possible. This is what we do it for. Keep the updates coming!

We have several incredible gentled Mustangs currently looking for their humans. You can view them under the Available Mustangs tab at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h. o r g

If you have questions, feel free to email, PM, text or call us.

We’re located in Guffey, CO. Hauling can be arranged and out of state adoptions to approved, suitable homes are possible.

#DevilsGardenMustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#nonprofit#bettertogether

#makingmountainmustangmemories

That’s what I think horse packing and backcountry riding do for us: We feel alive and present.

In a world where we are often numb, stressed, irritated, anxious or distracted (but utterly comfortable because in many ways our lives are easy… We get heat, cool air, coffee, fuel and millions of items online simply by pushing a button), exploring the backcountry with horses pulls us out of all of that.

Packing is time and labor intensive, uncertain, dangerous and if you want to save on weight and maintain some level of convenience, comfort and safety for yourself and your stock it’s rather pricey too.

The payoff? Being in the moment for as long as you’re out there. Seeing things not many people see. Experiencing nature in its raw form because you’re immersed in it, rain or shine. Having your character, gear, navigation skills and your animals’ training tested. Slowing down to take it all in, because that’s all there is to do.

These photos are from the same day ride out of camp, taken a mere few hours apart. It was a hot, dry, exhausting first few miles. We almost turned back because the animals needed water and some time to graze.

The vegetation was poor and all but one of the intermittent streams shown on GPS were dry. The one that wasn’t offered two tiny spots of water. One was muddy, the other required that they push their heads into and under a bush to drink.

The trail was growing fainter by the minute. The dogs and horses were getting tired and the humans worried.

The app said half a mile to water, down some steep-ish terrain. We said to heck with it, we’re already here. So we went.I heard Marcos promise his geldings “paradise at the end of this trail”. I grunted. I was just hoping for flowing water and some grass.

Turns out he was right. I walked Mustangs Lacy and Tiny down the canyon. The trail was so faint and overgrown in spots and so narrow in others that I felt safer that way. At the bottom we found grass almost to the horses’ backs, all the water we could ask for and incredible scenery. A perfect lunch and cooling off spot for the weary two- and four-legged travelers.

Riding back we tried and failed to outrun a storm. Watching it approach, hearing the thunder and finally seeking shelter from hail and rain in a small grove of trees was intense, scary and beautiful all at once.

I’m glad for the experiences and memories and thankful that both Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy and groups like

4 Corners Back Country Horsemen are doing their part in keeping backcountry packing with horses alive.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildhorses#wildtowilling#horsepacking#packhorse#mountains#adventure#explore#backcountry#bliss#nature#horses#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

I left for the wilderness practically right after we got back from Trinidad and haven’t had a chance to share any pictures.

We squeezed an unbelievable amount of oohs, aahs and adventure into a whirlwind 30h trip to the opening weekend of Cowgirl Artists of America ‘s art show Women’s Work at the A.R. Mitchell Memorial Museum Of Western Art in Trinidad, Colorado.

We saw incredible art work, met talented artists, enjoyed the museum and lovely gift shop. Seeing Sarah Dean Art ‘s beautiful oil paintings “Leaving a Legacy” and “Capable Hands” of our Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs, most notably the one and only Lacy alongside Tiny and DG Petrie, and forever goofy Ranger the “free on Facebook” younger of the two German Shepherds was both humbling and a bit surreal.

We’re grateful to the organizers and to Sarah for reaching out to and partnering with us and for giving Mustangs yet another platform to shine. “Capable Hands” sold that weekend, so Lacy, Tiny, Ranger, and the full moon over Pike’s Peak are going to be hanging in someone’s home soon.

For those of you who have a 2024 WHOA calendar: Look at your August picture and see if it seems at all familiar

We got up early on Saturday and decided on adventure over breakfast, knowing we’d want to make it back to the museum for the luncheon and awards ceremony.

Following a friend’s suggestion, we drove to the equally quirky and scenic mountain town of Cuchara, sat on a bench in the morning sun with iced coffee, wandered all around the tiny town and bought elk jerky for breakfast.

On the way back we made time for mountain lake wanderings and an impromptu swim, and still managed to be presentable and even punctual for the luncheon.

“Leaving a Legacy” won people’s choice award. That may be the only blue ribbon Lacy ever wins but it’s an especially cool one and she’s the best, toughest, fiercest pretty little branded mare in all the land in either case

If you enjoy artwork, beautiful scenery and horses, check out Sarah Dean’s work on social media, you won’t be disappointed!

If you’re interested, you can see all the amazing pieces through the end of September. The museum is worth a visit in either case!

Peep the branded Mustang on a boot that was also part of the show. It was neat seeing wild horses so well represented.

Also, Tay Martin rocking one of the pretty teal and cream WHOA hats. It’s my favorite color but being the dirt magnet I am, I wear the charcoal and blue one. Thank you to Western Skies Design Company for making them for us!

#BLMmustang#AmericanMustang#westernart#grateful#ridethebrand#sunset#mountains#adventure

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Last week I was on the phone with an old friend. She was my German teacher in middle school. Dorith is in her 80s now. I graduated high school 20 years ago (ouch). We go back a long time and she’s essentially my bonus grandma.

She asked what I was doing the following week. I replied “Going packing with a stranger from the internet.”

Dorith: “We’re not telling your mother, are we?”

“Correct.” I said, “Maybe afterwards.”

That’s where I’ve been these past few days, in a new to me wilderness area, with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy (Divide Basin, WY, under saddle) and Tiny (Salt Wells, WY, pack horse), German Shepherds Denali and Ranger, and Marcos Costa – the stranger from the internet – and his horses.

Marcos is an instrumental part of 4 Corners Back Country Horsemen as well as the Durango Cowboy Gathering . He wanted more packing experience. I wanted someone to pack with because going solo can get sketchy fast. A slightly awkward “I don’t know you but I guess we’re doing this” turned into a win-win situation and a new friendship.

Over the years several internet strangers have become some of my closest friends, mentors and adventure buddies.

That’s another thing Mustangs and a passion for exploring wide open spaces do for us. Connecting interesting people. Wild horses and wild places also go exceptionally well together.

Another monsoon season pack trip with the wild ones is in the books, more box hitch practice, more learning where I can improve and fine tune gear, planning, prep and routines. More making great connections and character building.

In a way the – hopefully not – dying art of horse packing needs just as much help and attention as do Mustangs and I’m beyond grateful to be involved in and continue bringing awareness to both. That’s only possible with the help of our friends and supporters.

I’m thankful for all of you. Thank you for making what we do possible through your input, questions, donations, volunteer work, the horses you adopt, the workshops and remote coaching sessions you book, the merch you order, by spreading the word through shares, likes and comments and referring your friends to us.

If you have questions, want to help us help wild horses or are interested in learning or adopting, feel free to reach out via email, phone or PM. You can also contact us through

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#ridethebrand#horsepacking#adventure#backcountry#mountains#courage#learning#makingmountainmustangmemories

This video is too funny not to share. That was 5yo Stewart Creek WY palomino pinto Mustang gelding Doc’s second session and his first time getting the “real” halter on, over the temporary halter.

What was supposed to be a serious video on a long, warm day turned into impromptu playfulness and laughter. I think that’s important too.

The wild horses in our care need to learn all the basic skills to thrive in life with humans. They also need to learn that people are weird and that we don’t always ask them to do hard things.

Doc is a handsome, calm and gentle guy and we’re lucky to have the opportunity to get to know him and facilitate his start into a successful life with humans. He and his friends are available for adoption. You can find our available Mustangs and adoption application at

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . org

The last video about him and his friends accidentally went a bit viral and just about shut down the system here. We’re a small team and taking care of the horses – and ourselves so we can continue to help Mustangs – takes precedence.

So if I’ve posted less frequently or taken a bit longer to respond, that’s largely why, we’ve been getting inundated with messages and comments.

That’s great, bringing awareness to Mustangs and finding them wonderful homes is what we’re here for. Thank you all for understanding that we’re also only human.

We would like to know how we can best serve our followers. Do you want to see pretty backcountry riding pictures, more videos, learn about packing or Mustang gentling? Do you have specific questions?

Let us know in the comments or via PM or email. We’ll write it down and address it as soon as we can, even if it takes a little while.

We do teach in person – at our facility or yours – and offer remote coaching, so if you need help or know someone who does, let us/them know.

Thank you all for your support and welcome to our new followers. Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado, can only continue to exist because of you guys!

All our rope tack is made to order by our friend Nancy at Rowdy’s Ropes and we wouldn’t want to buy it anywhere else.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling

#mustanggentling#makingmountainmustangmemories

Our summer high country pack trip with the entire Ambassador Mustang herd (3 from BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program and one from Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals ) and the Shepherd boys was a fun and laughter filled, occasionally slightly unhinged adventure.

We experienced frost, dew, sun, wind, hail, rain, and thunderstorms. We camped at over 11k ft and rode above treeline daily. The young horses ran free most of the time, following and sometimes leading Lacy and Tiny. Ranger and Denali had a blast too.

Tay Martin wanted to see a moose almost as badly as I didn’t – I’m still holding a grudge from last year’s too-close-for-comfort encounter – so we compromised and she found a giant moose shed instead.

We may or may not have cooked mushrooms (not the trippy kind) in a jetboil with beef jerky as an oil source at 9.30pm.

We accidentally packed out in the dark but thanks to Colorado Pack Company LLC ‘s guidance earlier this year our box hitch held and the light but bulky load rode like a charm, moose treasure and all. Echo did wonderfully as our pack horse.

Packing isn’t rocket science but it does take grit, resilience, flexibility, some knowledge and good horses. Taylor rocked her first ever pack trip and Tiny took excellent care of her.

Spending day and night with these incredible animals was a wonderful reminder for why we do what we do: So we can help and inspire others to make their Mustang dreams come true while finding amazing homes for once wild horses.

Have questions? PM or email us! We have amazing gentled Mustangs available for adoption, we can gentle a wild horse for you, we offer various learning opportunities, workshops and remote coaching.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. If you’re interested in helping us help Mustangs, please get in touch!

I’m catching up on emails and messages, requests for videos and photos over the next few days.

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#backcountry#adventure#mountains#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Tay Martin and I took all 4 of the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs (pictured, look closely!) as well as both German Shepherds and headed for the high country.

It’s Taylor’s and Griffin’s (he’s supervising) first pack trip. I’m typing this on a ridge at just under 12,000ft elevation.

We’ll be back before the end of the week.

I apologize for the delay in responding to some of you. No cell service.

Thank you all for your support and understanding!

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#wildhorseswillingpartners#backcountry#mountains#adventure#makingmountainmustangmemories

This past week the double duns, aka Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Divide Basin WY mare Lacy and Twin Peaks CA filly Echo, went on yet another mountain adventure.

Michelle Moreland and I had decided to take our trusty steeds and dogs back to a familiar trail to finish what we had set out to do earlier this year. The weather was lovely with hardly a cloud in the sky that morning. In typical monsoon fashion that was supposed to change later in the day.

We were equipped with rain coats, GPS and determination to watch the weather so as not to do anything overly stupid. Getting hit by lightning wasn’t high on our list of things to accomplish that day.

It was an area I had ridden many times before so I played tour guide until we decided to do a little exploring instead of continuing to follow the known path, which turned into hours of aaaaahs and ooooohs as we rode to the top of another ridge and then another, keeping an eye on the now much darker sky.

Looking for a way to connect the known area with our new discoveries, we navigated some steep stretches and led our horses up the worst of the loose rocks to this plateau.

As it turned out it would have taken mountain goats to get to where we had hoped to go but the view from the edge was breathtaking and so worth it.

We had just enough time to take it all in when we noticed distant thunder and turned our horses around to get to a safer spot before we would inevitably get pelted.

Mission accomplished: We had first lunch under a tree in a hail storm with lightning just a bit close for comfort, our wet disgruntled horses also seeking shelter under trees and soggy dogs hopeful for a snack or a stick to get thrown.

Second lunch was much nicer, in between storms on warm rocks surrounded by content horses enjoying lush grass and sleeping dogs drying their coats in the afternoon sun.

I’m grateful for Mustangs that are always game for adventures and reliable even when the unexpected or uncomfortable happens, loyal happy dogs and friends who love horses, dogs, wildflowers, mountains and exploring just as much as I do.

We’d love to hear about your favorite summer adventures with your horses, Mustang or domestic, in the comments!

#BLMmustangs#wildhorseswillingpartners#exploremore#adventure#friends#makingmountainmustangmemories

These photos are from the second session with Doc, Chief, Tillie and Hondo (in order). They’re also a good example of a typical Colorado monsoon season day. It’s like April, only warmer.

We’re so happy with and proud of these four. We picked them up last Friday from the Cañon City BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program .

They’re honest (How can a horse be honest – or dishonest for that matter – you ask? An “honest” horse feels comfortable letting you know how they feel, what’s too much, whether they’re scared, uncomfortable, curious, relaxed or any number of other things. The alternative is a horse that’s shut down, looks calm and then seemingly without warning has a big reaction.), calm, curious and gorgeous in equal measure.

The Wyoming pinto boys – Doc (palomino pinto) is 5yo and from Stewart Creek, Chief 4yo from Arapaho Creek – are the more outgoing horses in this group. They quickly accepted touch, halter, yielding to pressure, fly spray and grooming.

Tilly and Hondo, the Twin Peaks CA 2yos are a little more leery of humans, in the calmest and most manageable way. They are trying hard to figure out what’s asked of them and to be brave.

Both have worn the temporary halter, practiced lungeing, disengaging shoulders and hind quarters, accepted touch and started leading.

We’ll continue to keep you guys updated on their progress. I’d encourage you to watch our stories for updates also.

They are Sale Authority and available for adoption to suitable homes. They will be gentled before they go home to set them and their adopters (adoption contract through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy applies) up for success.

In the meantime, we have several incredible wildies currently looking for their adventure buddies. Feel free to email, PM, call or text us with questions.

Thank you Rowdy’s Ropes for incredible training halters and lead ropes and Tay Martin for 4 out of these 5 photos.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#mustanggentling#makingmountainmustangmemories

July is a glorious time in Colorado. The grass is green, wildflowers are blooming, the horses have shed their winter coats and the humans their long underwear. It only snows until June around here…

Having two young Mustangs, 2yo Twin Peaks CA filly Echo ponied) and Devil’s Garden yearling gelding Griffin (loose), as part of our Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador herd has been a source of joy and laughter with all the baby antics.

9yo Divide Basin WY mare Lacy is used to the shenanigans, as are German Shepherds Denali and Ranger. Griffin’s new favorite game is jumping in the trailer uninvited and joining the older horses on rides.

He’s a happy and independent little guy who loves to go exploring a bit without straying too far from us. Echo is content out on the trail and unbothered by the commotion that a loose youngster and 2 dogs cause.

All the time on the trail, following the example of a seasoned mentor – Lacy or teenage Salt Wells WY gelding Tiny – is setting them up to become confident, eager and safe riding partners when the time comes.

If you’re looking to adopt, are adopting an unhandled Mustang through the Internet Auction (IA) or want help with a Mustang you already have, we can help you.

Reach out via PM, email, call or text. We also offer private workshops and lessons at your facility or ours.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based out of Guffey, Colorado. We operate nationwide and beyond.

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptamustang#nonprofit#ridethebrand#makingmountainmustangmemories

Tay Martin and I went to prison yesterday.

That’s a full sentence around here.

The local BLM holding facility is on Department of Corrections grounds. We get our vehicle searched and phone taken away along with everything else that’s on the lengthy contraband list because we very literally go to prison to pick up wild horses.

It’s always an adventure and it’s fun once it stops being intimidating.

We wandered and discussed, petted soft noses, made notes, laughed and negotiated. The end result of a 90+ degree morning behind bars is what you see here:

4 new incredible, adoptable wildies and the slowest, quietest unloading we’ve ever seen.

All 4 were born on the range. They were calm and curious while keeping their distance in holding (I really prefer gentling the ones that don’t come up for scratches in the pens). They appear to have great minds.

We weren’t planning on naming them ourselves. When we finally sat down in the shade and watched them explore their new pens and check us out, names came to our heat-exhausted minds, so we went with them.

In order of unloading, please meet:

Doc, 5yo palomino pinto gelding from Stewart Creek, WY.

Hondo, 2yo pangare bay gelding from Twin Peaks, CA.

Chief, 4yo sorrel pinto gelding from Arapaho Creek, WY.

Tillie, 2yo bay filly from Twin Peaks, CA.

All 4 are Sale Authority and can travel. Located in Guffey, CO.

We don’t yet have current heights, they were all measured as babies and I’m not about to put them in the chute just to measure them. We will post their photos and heights on

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g as soon as possible.

Since they are already named, no naming fundraiser this time. We just wrote a check for 6-8 weeks worth of hay for the Mustangs we are gentling and adopting out (not counting the Ambassadors): $3078.

If you are interested in helping Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, help wild horses successfully transition from holding pens to loving homes, please consider donating towards feed, our largest expense. Every little bit helps. Donation info in comments.

If you’re not able to give at this time, please share, like and comment on our adoptable Mustangs posts to help them get seen and find the wonderful homes they deserve.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#bettertogether#makingmountainmustangmemories

This one was bittersweet.

We’re both incredibly happy for Gus, the tall, dark and handsome 4yo Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding, who is very loved in his new home and already under saddle, and so sad that the big, friendly goober is no longer here for us to hug.

He loved getting out on adventures ponied off of Lacy, asked everyone he could reach to hold his head and was forever curious and part of everything.

He took new things in stride and thoroughly enjoyed exploring our world. So much so that he tried to climb into a hammock and I jumped out in the nick of time before he crawled under it instead. He was so happy to have it all to himself that he played with, rubbed on and drooled all over it.

We’re grateful for lovely wildies and wonderful adopters and for dedicated BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program and Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals employees who go above and beyond to help us help wild horses.

We get so excited every time we receive an update on how our “kids” are doing in their new homes. It’s a joy and an honor to be part of their journey.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado. We are dedicated to helping wild horses successfully transition from holding pens to loving homes, sustainably, with compassion and competence.

We have several gentled wild horses, yearlings to 5yo, looking for wonderful homes of their own. We’re happy to help you find a good match. Feel free to reach out via PM, email, or phone.

We also offer private gentling workshops at our facility or yours, gentling for outside Mustangs, remote coaching, volunteer and internship opportunities. Let us know if you’re interested in any of the above.

We encourage you to watch our stories for more news and updates. If you’re checking today, there might be an exciting sneak peek

Thank you to all who support us in various ways! We couldn’t do this without you and together we’re making a difference for so many Mustangs and their adopters.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#adopted#ittakesavillage#makingmountainmustangmemories

Calling Nash anything short of spectacular would be doing him an injustice.

I picked him for his kind eyes and curious expression and only later noticed how tall, handsome and athletic he really is.

Nash is a 4yo Stewart Creek WY Mustang gelding. He is grey, and will continue to grey out as he ages. Currently measuring 15hh tall, Nash string tests to 15.2hh mature height.

Nash is not your sleepy trail pony, not a good first horse for a novice and generally not for the faint of heart.

He is however smart and kind, athletic and willing and will make an excellent partner for someone who appreciates the spirited, intelligent and sensitive nature of a Spanish horse or Warmblood.

Nash effortlessly crosses obstacles – leading and sending – , leads, loads and ties, stands for grooming and spraying and picks up his feet. He lunges, backs, moves hips and shoulders.

He learns new things quickly, is curious and age appropriately playful, and has been good with dogs as well as horses from yearling to mature, both mares and geldings.

He can get nervous when he’s unsure and will do best with calm, confident, kind but firm handling.

Nash is available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey, Colorado. Thanks to reputable, experienced haulers he can be transported anywhere within the lower 48 should his adopter prefer to have him picked up here and delivered.

If you aren’t already, a good first step is becoming approved to adopt through us by electronically submitting an adoption application on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

If you have questions, feel free to email or PM, text or call us and we’ll get back to you as soon as we are able to.

Thank you all so much for your continued support! Please share, like and comment on Nash’s post to help him find the best possible home.

For the best training halters and lead ropes we thank Rowdy’s Ropes and for top quality mane & tail care and detanglers Karyn Tessman Miller . Contact them directly to order yours.

Thank you Tay Martin for holding this handsome boy for his find-a-human photoshoot.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

Some moments and memories from May (time flies!) when the double duns – Mustang mares Lacy and Echo – and I joined in on Colorado Pack Company LLC (CPC)’s Edventure.

A week-long immersion into all things packing was an incredible experience. Especially since we did it with Twin Peaks filly Echo less than 2 months out of holding.

It was also Divide Basin mare Lacy’s first big outing since returning to work after having much of last year off due to injuries.

The first part of this video is our first ever river crossing together and Echo’s first time packing a super light load.

I was terrified of the fast moving water, worried about whether Lacy’s legs would hold up and not sure what Echo was going to do. Thanks to Gabe’s friendly encouragement and Tanner ‘s cheerful optimism, we made it to the other side and felt mighty accomplished for feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA) Ambassador Mustang mares Lacy and Echo made me proud. We learned a lot (I love learning, it’s one of my favorite aspects of horsemanship, there’s always so much more to discover and improve) and I’m grateful for the friendships forged during that week.

Packing season is here. The Mustangs, Shepherds and I are itching to get out and put new techniques and gear to use. I’m planning several backcountry trips and I’m so beyond excited!

If you’re interested in a deep dive into backcountry travel and camping with equines – there’s always more to learn that’ll keep you and your stock safer and more comfortable – I highly recommend CPC. They’re doing at least one more Edventure (Education x Adventure) this summer.

We did one day packing workshops/demos last summer. We’re considering doing that again this year, it’s just such a darn busy season for us. Let us know if there’s interest and we’ll talk about it.

WHOA is located in Guffey, Colorado. CPC just outside of Pagosa Springs on the western slope of our beautiful state. Maybe we can convince Gabe to come this way and teach sometime, that could be a lot of fun too!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#backcountry#horsepacking#makingmountainmustangmemories

Nemo is a 3yo tri-colored pinto Mustang gelding with one fish ( = blue) eye. He was facility-born to a Stewart Creek WY mare and is freezebranded.

This flashy boy currently stands 14hh tall and string tests to 14.2hh. He is located in Guffey, CO. We work with reputable haulers who can transport anywhere within the continental United States.

Nemo is a kind, easy-going gelding with enough spunk and brains to be part of a drill team or a great partner for trail riding or any other equine activity, with age-appropriate continued training. He would like to find a job that involves working at all gaits. Nemo is level-headed yet not lazy.

He can display developmentally appropriate goofiness (3 year olds are very much the teenagers of the horse world). He needs continued guidance in order to remain on a good path.

Nemo is easy to catch, he leads, loads and ties, moves shoulders and hindquarters, lunges, sends over obstacles, stands for grooming, picking up feet and spraying. He’s friendly with other horses and has shown no aggression towards dogs.

He is a fun horse who’s looking for a fun human to adventure and grow with. He would be suitable as a first Mustang for someone with previous horse experience.

Nemo is available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . If you are not yet approved to adopt through us, a great first step would be to fill out and electronically submit our adoption application at

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Feel free to email, PM, call or text with any questions.

If he’s not your type or you’re not ready/able to adopt, you can still help us help him by sharing, liking and commenting on this post to increase reach and connect Nemo with the wonderful home he deserves.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptme#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

This lovely 3yo Little Colorado, WY Mustang mare left for her home in the Lone Star State last weekend.

It was a pleasure meeting her adopters and a wonderful reminder that the right situation is out there for each of the Mustangs in our care.

We’re excited to see what Eclipse’s future, both on the trail and in the show ring, holds and happy to be part of so many happy new beginnings for Mustangs and their humans all over the country.

If you’re interested in adopting a gentled Mustang, Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA) currently has 10 lovely wildies, yearlings to 4yo, from both BLM and Forest Service, looking for their person.

Visit w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g to see them and learn more about them. Feel free to email, call, text or PM with any questions.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping wild horses successfully transition from holding pens to loving homes. WHOA is located in Guffey, CO. We have a list of reputable haulers who can transport Mustangs anywhere within the continental United States.

Thank you to all of you who have and continue to support what we do and show up for us and the Mustangs in our care in so many ways!

#BLMmustang#wildtowilling#adoptalivinglegend#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Lacy recently had a cough for a couple of weeks and then I got sick, so we’ve been laying pretty low on getting out on adventures, even missed out on not one but two invitations to spend a week in the saddle exploring new country.

Until yesterday. We went on a lovely morning ride with friends in search of columbines – the state flower and one of my favorites – and other beautiful wildflowers.

I had intended to take Lacy, Echo and the Shepherds. DG Griffin was having none of it and invited himself. Just hopped in the trailer and looked at me like “What are you going to do now?”

He did that a few weeks ago and accidentally found himself on his first ever cattle drive, so I figured he’d be fine on just a joy ride. Tiny really wanted to come too, but I figured 3 Mustangs and 2 dogs were enough to keep track of.

Fun was had by all. The dogs enjoyed stretching their legs and cooling off in spring water along the way. 9yo Divide Basin mare Lacy was happy to be in the lead and able to cover ground without coughing and 2yo Twin Peaks CA filly Echo (ponied) was her usual easy-going self.

Devil’s Garden yearling gelding Griffin tagged along loose and loved it, never straying far from the herd. Salt Wells WY boy Tiny was especially happy when I brought his friends back to him after our ride.

I love gentling and finding homes for wildies. Exploring and spending quality time with the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs is what I look forward to whenever I can make time.

Denali is wearing Rex Specs per vet recommendation for an eye condition.

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#adventure#fun#makingmountainmustangmemories

Dark bay Devil’s Garden Mustang gelding Rohan (DG Rohan) standing half an inch over 14.2hh tall, has been a bit of an enigma.

Rohan is listed as 3yo on his paperwork (he was gathered last fall), yet neither looked nor acted 3 when he got here. He has a big presence, quiet seriousness and an air of wisdom that most very young horses lack.

He was more guarded than I would have expected, could focus better and took longer to warm up to new ideas than he should have as a 3yo.

Fast forward a few sessions and we were able to send photos of his teeth to Patty and Jim Latham Jr. . As it turns out, Rohan doesn’t behave like a baby because he isn’t one.

He’s approximately 4 1/2yo according to his teeth and at an entirely different place in his mental and physical development than a 3yo. That is much more in line with his appearance and behavior.

Rohan took a while to let his guard down, I worked pretty hard to even get past his eyes. Yielding to pressure, navigating gates and obstacles was a discussion all of its own. Since he has warmed up to humans, he’s an entirely different horse.

He’s calm and self assured, brave and willing, athletic without being “hot”. He demands attention and enjoys learning and seeing new things.

Rohan can navigate his way out of a bind and has little “stranger danger”. He would like to find a human who will nurture his intelligence and athletic ability.

This boy is easy to catch, leads, loads , ties, sends over obstacles, lunges, backs, yields shoulders and hindquarters, stands for grooming and spraying and is good with his feet. He’s going to make an incredible partner for the right adopter.

To become approved to adopt, please fill out our adoption application at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. Thanks to reputable, wild horse savvy haulers, our Mustangs can be shipped anywhere within the continental United States.

Please share, like and comment to help Rohan find his person!

Thank you to Tay Martin for holding the handsome boy for photos , Rowdy’s Ropes for the training halter and lead rope and Karyn Tessman Miller for the Knotty Horse products that made Rohan’s mane and tail easy to brush as well as extra shiny and beautiful.

#DevilsGardenMustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptme#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

I’m back *cough cough*.

I was sick as a dog this past week. Being able to be outside working with wild horses has never felt so good as it did after a few days of mostly sleeping.

The Mustangs are back to work and picked right back up where we left off, yay for good-minded wildies!

I hadn’t announced the adoption of Cinder yet, 3yo dun roan (yes, that’s a thing, leg barring, dorsal stripe and all; she’s essentially dun in the winter time) Mustang mare, facility born to a Stewart Creek WY mare.

Cinder is a smart, athletic and quirky mare who had the potential to be fantastic in the right hands or a total basket case in others.

Once that became clear, I reached out to two previous adopters and told them I had a horse that needed a person like them, hoping they would know someone suitable. Even luckier than that, one of them was in fact looking for another Mustang to add to the family.

I’ve been receiving many happy updates since the day she picked up her new friend. Today I got a picture of her first “sit” on Cinder.

Happy trails Nicole-Pi Musmanno Vinzant and Cinder!

Thank you everyone for your continued support, through volunteering, donating, adopting, buying merch, sharing, liking and commenting on our posts. Thank you also to our clients who send their Mustangs to us for gentling, book gentling lessons/workshops or coaching calls.

You are instrumental in helping Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy continue to help wild horses transition from holding pens to loving homes, one Mustang at a time!

We have several incredible wildies currently looking for humans of their own. Check them out on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g and feel free to email or PM us with any questions.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#wildtowilling#makingmountainmustangmemories

This sweet boy has been adopted and is off to saddle training with Rhett H. Winter Horsemanship who also picked him up from us, before he heads to his new home in New Mexico.

Woodrow is a handsome, kind, slightly dorky 5yo NV Mustang gelding. He found a human who loves him for who he is and a career that’s right for him, and we’re so happy for them both.

His adopter has adopted from us before and has since been befallen by the “potato chip syndrome”: You can’t have just one

With your support we are able to give each Mustang the time it takes to find just the right home and person. Thank you for helping us help them!

We currently have two wonderful wildies in the process of being adopted and several great ones looking for their very own homes.

If you’re interested in adopting, go check them out at

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

PM or email us if you have any questions. We’re happy to schedule a call also.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado. We adopt to suitable, approved homes all over the country and work with reputable haulers who can bring your Mustang to you anywhere within the continental United States.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#adopted#wildhorse#makingmountainmustangmemories

This outgoing little lady is going to be a super fun partner for her adopter thanks to her calm confidence and willingness to learn.

DG Rosie is a beautiful, tall bay Devil’s Garden yearling Mustang filly with an adorable blaze and a hint of a Roman nose, already standing 13.1hh tall and string testing to 15hh. She has plenty of bone without appearing heavy.

Rosie is the first Mustang Tay Martin gentled and I’m so proud of them both!

The little lady is easy to catch, leads, loads, backs, yields shoulders and hindquarters, lunges, sends over obstacles, picks up her feet and stands for bathing and spraying. She enjoys attention, loves going for walks and is good with dogs.

She would make a good first Mustang and will grow into a confident, honest, smart, all-business type mare.

Rosie is available for adoption through our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey, Colorado. If you aren’t already approved to adopt through us, please fill out our adoption application online at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We encourage you to let your references know to expect a call as that expedites the process, making it easier for everyone involved. You can view our other adoptable Mustangs there also.

Rosie came to us earlier this spring from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals . We are happy to provide our list of reputable haulers if you are not able to transport her yourself.

Please comment, like and share to help this lovely filly find the amazing home she deserves.

#DevilsGardenMustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

A joyful video of Wyoming Mustangs Lacy and Gus and two exuberant German Shepherds racing Tay to the gate.

Bringing wild horses out of holding and offering them a chance at a happy, new life with humans is a beautiful thing.

More important than merely “saving” a Mustang is keeping them safe, and yourself. That means giving them the education they need to thrive in our world.

If you’re giving a Mustang that’s struggling to adjust to domestic life a soft place to land and are able to do so in a way that their basic needs (trims, vet care) can safely be met, good on you.

If that’s not the case, for your sake and theirs, actively help them learn how to live in our world fear-free, be enjoyable to be around, and teach them skills. That will keep them safe whether you’re their forever human or a stepping stone on their journey.

Lacy has been out of holding since 2017, Gus since this year. They’re loving living “wild with benefits”, just being horses as well as interacting and adventuring with people.

If you’re struggling with your Mustang or have questions before adopting, would rather adopt a gentled Mustang or are looking for someone to gentle a wild horse for you, Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is here to help you.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado. We help adopters nationwide. Reach out via PM or email, or learn more about us and our adoptable Mustangs under w w w . w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

What draws us to horses, especially Mustangs, is not only what we can “do” or accomplish with them, it’s also being around them and what that does for our own inner world.

I hope you enjoy these photos of the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs – and Gus, because he’s not technically part of the herd even though Tay really wants him to stay (for real though, he needs a home with a full time head holder who follows him around and is available for hugs anytime Gus needs his head held) – as much as I enjoyed those moments.

It’s been quoted to death because it’s true, “There’s something about the outside of a horse that’s good for the inside of a man.” – Winston Churchill

I’ve been around horses for most of my life, literally 35 out of 38 years. Not until I got to know Mustangs did I see so much personality, affection, curiosity, character and goofiness in an equine, both in their interactions with other horses and with humans.

Maybe that’s because everything is new and exciting to them in this new to them world or because they’re not dulled by a lifetime of being a “tool”, or because their social skills really are different. Don’t get me wrong, my guys all have jobs to do once they’re old enough but we spend plenty of time just enjoying each other’s company.

We enjoy seeing more people interested in learning about and adopting Mustangs. We’re here to help you in any way. I’m currently doing remote coaching sessions with several adopters who are doing the training – anywhere from gentling to advanced saddle training – themselves and want guidance as needed along the way.

Pm or email us to inquire about remote coaching if it’s something that might help you or someone you know. We utilize video – based coaching as well as phone calls, all depending on what is needed, possible and will help the most.

We also gentle outside Mustangs – from internet auctions or facility adoption events – for adopters who either don’t have the set-up for a completely wild horse or prefer to bring their Mustang home with all their ground work done.

Reach out and let us know how we can help you be successful with Mustangs!

We are located in Guffey, Colorado. We work with reputable haulers who can bring horses from us to you or from holding facilities to us.

For the record, Tiny is not locked up and wanting out. Echo and I were working in the round pen and he wanted in on the fun.

If you don’t know our Ambassador Mustangs yet: There’s Lacy, 9yo dun Divide Basin mare, Tiny, 16yo sorrel Salt Wells gelding, Echo, 2yo dun Twin Peaks CA filly, and Griffin, bay Devil’s Garden yearling gelding. Gus, 4yo bay gelding from Antelope Hills WY is available for adoption even though we all love him very much.

#BLMmustang#DevilsGardenMustang#wildtowilling#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#coaching

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Thank you so much for your support and all the fun name suggestions!

Tay Martin and the peanut butter jars worked their magic for our most recent name draw for the Wyoming Mustang geldings we brought home right before the clinic with Steve Mantle.

Nemo is a 3yo tri colored pinto with one blue (aka fish) eye, facility born to a Stewart Creek WY Mustang mare. He is a little goofy and a lot sweet. He’s a stunning, easygoing and friendly little guy who would make a great first Mustang. Nemo currently measures 14hh and string tests to 14.2hh.

River is a 4yo sorrel Antelope Hills gelding with two matching hind socks. He has Gus’s face, kind eyes and built, and if that’s not his half brother, I don’t know what he is. Same age, HMA and gather, so they could certainly have the same sire. He is even calmer than Gus and a tad shorter, measuring 14.3hh and string testing to 15hh mature height.

Nashoba (Nash) is a 4yo grey Antelope Hills Mustang gelding. He is curious, sensitive, athletic and kind. He’s a lovely mover with a great built and estimated to be 15hh currently. We’ll measure him later this week. He’s very Spanish in both his conformation and demeanor. His ideal human is prepared for and excited about that. We’d love to see him have an athletic career in and/or outside of the arena.

Ford is a 3yo bay roan pinto gelding facility born to a Stewart Creek WY Mustang mare. He gets the “most improved award as he was by far the most standoffish of the four. It’s been a joy to see him start to come out of his shell and his eyes soften. He’s very expressive, an effortless mover, soft on the rope and has tons of try. It’ll be fun to see him continue to settle down and learn. We estimate him to be 14.2 or .3hh and will measure him as soon as he’s ready for that.

All four of these boys are available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey, Colorado. Hauling can be arranged.

More info on each of them in future posts. Pm or email us with questions. Thank you again for supporting our fundraiser, for sending fly control care packages for the wild ones and for continuing to share, like and comment to help these horses find homes! We couldn’t do what we do without you.

Training halters & leads: Rowdy’s Ropes

Knotty Horse detangler (and Best Ever Pads ) : Karyn Tessman Miller

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#bettertogether

#adoptme#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

This thick and handsome boy is a 10yo Devil’s Garden Mustang gelding. He stands 14.2hh tall and is almost equally as wide.

Pumba has been with us for over a year. He’s guarded but sane and (really not that far) deep down loves to be fussed over.

The good: He’s decently easy to catch, meaning if you know what you’re doing you can catch him in under 2 minutes in a small or larger pen. He leads, loads, crosses obstacles, has been trimmed, stands for grooming and spraying.

The adorable: He loves having his mane brushed and braided. He melts and goes to sleep. He thinks shoulder scratches are better than treats. He’s the kindest neighbor to all other horses we’ve put him next to. Even the scrappy ones, he doesn’t engage in any fussing and is very calm around them.

The real: Pumba ran wild until he was approximately 8yo and he has yet to give up his “wild card”. He is watchy and slow to trust. He’s neither aggressive nor does he go into a blind panic. He also won’t be packing your elk out this fall. Maybe not next fall, either.

Pumba would like to find a home with competent, patient, consistent humans who will continue to ask things of him that he might find uncomfortable but that are necessary to continue to build his confidence around humans and to ensure that his basic needs can be met.

Realistic expectations and a flexible timeline are a must. He may let his guard down and eventually be a riding horse, he may not. In either case, he deserves a home of his own, horsey friends and room to run. For a horse that’s shaped a bit like a jellybean, he’s a beautiful mover. His weight will need to be monitored, Pumba tends to be a bit “fluffy” as you can see.

Pumba is not an instant gratification pony, and and his adoption reflects that. Adoption application, and contract apply, for his sake and safety.

He is available for adoption through our nonprofit organization Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey, Colorado. We work with reputable haulers, many of whom will deliver nationwide.

Pm or email with questions. The first step towards adopting any of our Mustangs is filling out an application at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Please share far and wide, like and comment for this sweet boy too, he’s just as deserving of a happy forever as his younger friends.

Many thanks to Rowdy’s Ropes (halter and lead) and Karyn Tessman Miller (Knotty Horse detangler products) for your continued support. Message them to get your own!

#DevilsGardenMustang#AmericanMustang#wildhorse

#adoptme#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

This big boy is a force of nature, a character and a friend.

He’s a 4yo Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding and all the draft cross rage.

He’s respectful of regular fencing, friendlier to the dogs than they are to him, and easy to catch anywhere. He doesn’t forget how to be his puppy dog self even with some time off.

He ponies walk, trot, lope, has started packing and has had his first sit.

I sit under him or wear his tail as a scarf, he’s got to be the most patient and one of the most affectionate horses I’ve ever met.

He stands for the farrier, ties, loads, crosses obstacles, moves hips and shoulders, takes a saddle, bridle, pack saddle, ground drives. He’s about as ready to ride as they come.

Yes, I love him. No, we can’t keep him. So someone please adopt him, give him all the hugs and take him on all the adventures.

He’s not a one person horse, Gus is a chocolate lab at heart, he loves everybody.

He’s available for adoption through our nonprofit organization Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey, CO. We can provide a list of reputable haulers that can haul him anywhere within the continental United States.

Training halter and lead: Rowdy’s Ropes

Knotty Horse detangler: Karyn Tessman Miller

Please share far and wide, like and comment to help Gus the Bus aka the Guspuppy find a perfect home.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#draftcross

#mustangtraining#makingmountainmustangmemories

In between posting our adoptable Mustangs, sharing the Ambassador Mustangs’ adventures and offering hopefully helpful thoughts on training Mustangs, I’d like to also highlight our adopted “kids” and their new humans.

DG Elanor moved to Michigan earlier this week, the first of our most recent group of Devil’s Garden Mustangs from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals to find her human.

Read through the screenshots after the photos of the adorable little lady to see why we do what we do and why it’s worth all the hard work in the end.

Elanor is a beautiful, opinionated, brave, smart and athletic yearling filly and we’re so excited for her and her adopter!

It takes a village to run a nonprofit organization and to make these things happen.

Many thanks to all of you for sharing, liking and commenting, donating, volunteering, buying merch, scheduling coaching sessions, sending Mustangs to Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy for training and otherwise showing up in many ways.

Thank you Tay for all your hard work and for loving and helping with these guys to make the transition into their new homes easier for them, Jennifer for the much needed mom voice, Danielle for taking such good care of the website,

Kelsey for processing our adoption applications,

Charlea Johnston for making the reassignment happen,

Rocky Top Veterinary Service for doing all of our health certs,

CK Hoof Care CBT, APF-I for the best first trims,

Colorado Horse Hay for keeping us in hay,

Rowdy’s Ropes for all the lovely training halters and ropes,

Karyn Tessman Miller for the Knotty Horse detangler products that help us make the wild ones more comfortable and beautiful,

Patty Latham and Jim Latham Jr. for your continued support, friendship and guidance,

Marina Carr for making sure the math maths,

and Laurie Schroeder Healy and Brian Healy for giving us a home and a place to operate.

We currently have 14 (possibly 13 as of this evening, fingers crossed) amazing wild ones looking for humans of

their own. Please go check them out at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

If you’d like to support us and help the Mustangs in a direct and tangible way, take a look at our Amazon wishlist in the comments.

Summer is here and so are the flies. If you’d like to send the wildies a fly control care package, they and we would appreciate it so much. The cattle tags are approved for horses and for braiding into manes, nobody’s getting their ears pierced

Happy trails little El(e)anor!

Thank you again to all of you for making outcomes like this possible, including all of our wonderful haulers and our ever feisty brand inspector, and various not previously mentioned friends who offer advice and encouragement and lend a helping hand when needed!

#DevilsGardenMustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#ittakesavillage#makingmountainmustangmemories

Next in our “Adopt Me” showcase is red roan Devil’s Garden Mustang yearling gelding DG Pippin.

Pippin is brave and kind with enough spice and sass to keep things interesting. He is a handsome, energetic little guy with a big personality. He’s cute now and he’s going to be one seriously handsome boy once he grows into himself.

He had a rough start in life, was orphaned and is here with us today only thanks to the diligent care of the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals staff.

They say dynamite comes in small packages. This adorable redhead currently measures 12hh and string tests to 14hh. If you – like me – like being able to see the ground from the back of your horse and to duck under branches rather than going around them, he’ll be perfect for you when he’s old enough.

He does all the important baby things: Halter and lead, load, cross obstacles, pick up feet, stand for grooming. He weirdly loves to be fly and detangler sprayed. Pippin also yields shoulders and hindquarters and understands the basics of lunging.

He sends over obstacles and is super brave when we go for walks outside of the pens. He’s been good with the dogs running and playing all around us.

Pippin is a fun, bright young horse and would like to find an adventure buddy who will continue his education in an age appropriate manner and do all the fun things with him while also continuing to set boundaries. He enjoys attention and getting fussed over as much as he does exploring and moving his feet.

I love his facial expressions that vary from kind to mischief and he’s probably the only horse I’ve ever met that can smirk. Look through the photos to see for yourself.

We have Karyn Tessman Miller to thank for the Knotty Horse detangler products and Rowdy’s Ropes for the adorable yearling halter and lead rope.

He is available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey, CO. You can find our adoption application at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We’re happy to answer questions via PM or email. Comments can get lost, please use the above means to contact us.

We appreciate you continuing to share, like and comment on our adoptable Mustangs posts, it makes a huge difference for finding them great homes. Thank you and let’s show up for Pippin too!

#DevilsGardenMustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Where are our pony people at?

This little jelly bean comes in the flavor “sweet & spicy”.

She’s the coolest, hairiest, friendliest tri-colored pinto Ponystang we’ve ever met.

Rapunzel is a 3yo Mustang mare, facility born to a Stewart Creek WY mare. She’s fun sized at currently 13.2hh and string tests to 13.3hh with about 18hh worth of personality.

She’s looking for an individual – smaller adult or handy youngster with guidance – or family where she can be an adventure buddy, best friend, show pony and just her whirlwind self.

She’s curious, brave and affectionate, good with strangers, other horses, dogs, loves to be scratched and groomed and go on adventures.

She’s easy to catch, leads, loads, ties, lunges, crosses obstacles, moves hips and shoulders, stands for spraying and is good with her feet.

She’s located in Guffey, Colorado at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping wild horses successfully transition from holding pens to loving homes.

We have a list of reputable haulers available.

Please PM or email us if you’re interested in adopting this little lady with a huge heart.

We have Karyn Tessman Miller to thank for the Knotty Horse products we use, hands down the best detangler on the market. They smell amazing, are good for our horses’ hair and keep fairy knots at bay much longer than others.

Thank you to Agape Natural Nutrition for Horses & Livestock for sponsoring EquiPride for this girl to promote gut and overall health.

And of course thank you to Rowdy’s Ropes who makes all of our rope halters, lead ropes, lunge lines, ground driving lines and loop reins.

Last and most importantly thank you to all of you for your support!

Please share far and wide, like and comment on our adoptable Mustangs posts to get these guys seen and help them find the ideal home

PS: The last pic shows a cute little pony sass blooper

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptme#bettertogether#makingmountainmustangmemories

*This week we’re going to showcase our adoptable Mustangs, starting with the ones that are ready to find their humans.

Tay Martin and I are taking current photos and videos of everyone now that they’re shed out – short of some babies who apparently identify as llamas – and (knock on wood) mud free.

I’m going to be posting photos and/or videos, feel free to request more info, ideally via PM or email.*

We’ll start with Eclipse, our golden girl with a dun factor (she’s been color tested).

Eclipse is a 3yo mare, facility born to a Stewart Creek WY Mustang mare. She currently stands 14.1hh tall and string tests to between 14.2 and 14.3hh mature height. Eclipse is stout and Quarter Horse type in both mind and body.

She’s easy to catch, an easy keeper, and a joy to work with. Eclipse is calm, brave and willing and doesn’t regress if she has a few days off. She is good with new people.

She stands for spraying and grooming, is good with her feet, ties, leads and loads, lunges, crosses obstacles, wears a saddle and bridle, has been ponied and enjoys going for walks.

She’s easy to get along with, ready to start under saddle and would make a good first Mustang.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado.

Our adoption s vary based on the horse, their age, size, conformation, temperament and level of training.

Adoption s are what keeps the program running and enables us to continue adopting, caring for and training wild ones to place into suitable homes.

Our goal is to match Mustangs and adopters in such a way that sets both up for long term success and joy.

We have a list of reputable haulers available.

Sharing these adoption posts far and wide, liking and commenting helps these guys get seen and find their person. Thank you so much, as always, for your support!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#adoptme#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

I wasn’t expecting the outpouring of love and support you all sent following the post about Cedar.

This is a photo from last night’s sunset ride with Lacy, Gus and the Shepherds.

Thinking Cedar is running in those storm clouds made me smile.

Here’s part of a comment on Cedar’s post that I hope will stick with me and that might bring joy to some of you:

“We will listen for her hoof beats in the thunder as the wild ones bring in the storms.”

Back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. I have lots of fun pictures and videos to share. For right now I’m still pretty tired and tongue-tied.

Thank you all again for all the love and for your patience and understanding as I’ve been online less these past several days.

Stefanie & all the Mustangs at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy

#wildhorseswillingpartners#runfree#sunset#storm#bettertogether#makingmountainmustangmemories

The short version is, we said goodbye to one of our Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs, 2yo DG Cedar, yesterday. We being Gus and Lacy, Tiny, Echo, Griffin, Tay Martin and I.

She spent her last day out grazing and running with her friends, thanks to pain meds and a boot, something that her treatment protocol would have never allowed.

She squealed at Taylor one more time and watched one last mountain sunset over the rim of a bucket full of grain.

We wanted to give her the best last day she could have, and I believe we accomplished that.

She was a Mustang with a personality larger than life, more fire than I’d ever seen in a horse, and more intensity than what her body could hold up to.

She ran, played, loved and tormented (usually Taylor or Lacy) for everything she was worth.

She hated every day of being penned up, was lame and obviously in pain. With poor odds for a full recovery we opted not to put her through that for the year or longer it would have taken to see this through.

It’s not just quantity of life that counts, quality matters too. Cedar would have never been happy with anything that wasn’t full throttle, all out, 100% freedom, strength and speed.

Life as a light riding horse or with restricted movement for her safety was no option for her. Nor was being a companion horse or pasture puff. It wasn’t who she was and it wouldn’t have been fair.

Cedar had a coffin bone fracture that involved the joint, P2 (the bone above it) was also fractured and possibly the navicular bone as well.

Several of you asked how the injury occurred. Cedar came in lame from pasture one day and the best guess we have based on what one of the vets suggested is that she was running and hit a rock just wrong with the front of the right hind that would have been in the air at the time.

I cried my eyes out last night, or my brain through my nose as I put it to Taylor so poetically. I’m normally the one who hands people cry towels. Yesterday I was on the receiving end.

I loved that little horse and sometimes loving means letting go.

See you on the other side Cedar, I’m thankful for the chance to know you

Thanks to your support we were able to cover her vet bills and even had a bit left over for hay. Thank you to all who sent their love in one way or another.

#DevilsGardenMustang#AmericanMustang#missyou

#RIP#wildhorse#makingmountainmustangmemories

The hardest part of this work is falling in love and letting go over and over again.

We try to get to know and care for each Mustang we gentle the best we can, give them a solid foundation, love them while they’re here and find them just the right situation and home.

The 4 new Wyoming boys are doing well (2nd and 3rd pic are of the same horse, believe it or not).

We’d still like a few more name suggestions before we do the draw. The way it works is to donate $5 per name and comment your name under the photo/post.

Funds raised help with hay cost, hands down our biggest expense. Some horses are only here for a few weeks. Others need extra time to be ready and to find their human.

Use the donate button in this post; other ways to help in comments/link in bio.

This time Tay Martin and I are going to play too and donate for our name ideas:

Nemo for the pinto with the fish eye (she calls him Fish and I just can’t ),

Rusty for the big sorrel that looks and acts just like Gus. Taylor really wants them to be Rus and Gus,

Ghost for the grey because many years ago I knew a kind young grey gelding that got sold after I changed jobs. I’ve wondered what happened to that little guy ever since. This boy with his soft eyes reminds me of him.

Pancho for the bay roan pinto because he’s a free spirit and a bit of a bandit with a big heart.

All are available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado. Hauling can be arranged.

PM us if you’re interested in adopting or if you are adopting a wild one you’d like us to gentle.

Please play, comment, like and share, many small actions add up to make a big difference.

Thank you!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#BetterTogether#makingmountainmustangmemories

2yo Twin Peaks CA Mustang filly Echo, the newest addition to our Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang herd, has taken to ground driving with the same ease as everything else I’ve introduced her to so far.

Ground driving is excellent riding prep, her next steps are ground driving outside of the pen, getting used to the light and then the work harness, dragging the tire and stoneboat.

I use ground driving to prevent buddy sourness and to give the horse confidence in going places with just me, traveling out front and taking guidance from the human behind her.

Horses that pony, pack and ground drive comfortably should ride off without a hitch when the time comes.

There are several steps that came before this one. Ground driving is a process, not an event.

I ground drive all young horses before I ride them, and I like having at least one Mustang around that knows more and likes working in harness for when the opportunity to go sledding or drag some logs arises.

Ever wanted to drive a Mustang? Totally worth it and so much fun!

Interested in ground driving lessons? Let me know! I grew up riding and driving in Europe. Driving is still near and dear to my heart.

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#SunsetMagic

#drivinghorse#makingmountainmustangmemories

You might have read or heard that Steve Mantle from Mantle Ranch in WY was here last week, working with me and the Mustangs here at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy

(WHOA).

Steve has been training Mustangs for 25 years, does demos at Cheyenne Frontier Days every year, helps get the Meeker Mustang Makeover trainers off to a good start, and teaches ‘back on track’ clinics to bring wildies and their adopters on the same page.

My objectives were to learn more about working wild horses from horseback, get comfortable using our chute, get tips on how to improve our gentling program and to work on my riding.

We worked on all of that and more, and talked about horses and life until dark every night.

My main takeaways? “Pet ’em more”, “Wait”, teach them to “follow the feel” and to raise my expectations.

Steve manages to be gentle and firm, patient without being permissive all at the same time. He visualizes the desired outcome and has the tools to get there. He teaches humans and horses in the same quiet and easy-going manner.

It was a fun week building on what we learned from Mustang Matt when he was here 2 years ago around this time. And yes, I’m wearing Gus’s tail as a scarf because having fun isn’t optional and Gus is cool

I’m already applying what I’ve learned and am so excited to continue to do so, to see the outcomes and to pass it all along to our adopters and clients also.

If you’d like to learn from us, are looking to adopt a gentled Mustang or for someone to gentle the wild horse you’re planning to adopt, we’re here to help.

PM or email us with your thoughts and questions, we look forward to hearing from you.

WHOA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. We work with amazing haulers if someone needs a Mustang transported to or from here.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#bettertogether#learning#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Lacy, Echo and DG Griffin, are all working on different, developmentally appropriate things.

Lacy and I had a lesson with Steve Mantle at a neighbor’s arena. We focused on improving our left lead, softness, stops and bending. We got several great pointers and exercises to work on.

We may feel most at home on the trail but having her be balanced and responsive is important for her health and our safety.

I did some untracking, directional and speed control exercises in the round pen with Echo. We’ll start ground driving next. We also took a walk together, away from the other horses, because buddy sourness is no bueno, for anyone involved.

I want her to learn to feel just as comfortable in my company as she does being with her herd. That requires work, time and continued practice.

Little Griffin worked on being left behind, safely on the patience post. He’s learned to go on walks with me without worrying too much about where his friends are. Being able to feel ok all by himself doesn’t come naturally to most horses, so we practice that too.

Many of you have been asking about Cedar. She’s in EasyCare hoof boots on both hind feet and back in her pen. She’s doing as well as one could hope for given her diagnosis.

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster trying to figure out a way forward in the face of several different opinions, prognoses and treatment approaches.

The obvious is that yes, it’s an articular fracture, meaning it involves the joint above the fractured coffin bone and P2 is fractured as well but not dislocated. The outlook is less than great, less than good even. I’ve heard everything from “dead horse walking” to “we’ve had some success with these types of injuries” multiple times.

We’d be looking at 12+ months of therapeutic shoeing and rest, possibly a cast, likely PRP, pain management, regular x-rays. She’s supposed to see the vet again on Tuesday to rule out infection in the joint as that would most likely be a deal breaker.

Lots to figure out, we’re taking it one step at a time. Cedar and I and all of us at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy are so grateful for the support you guys have shown, both through donations, hands on help, advice and so many encouraging and caring messages.

Tiny is alive and well and doing a great job looking after Echo and Griffin. He still fancies himself a band stallion, until it’s time for food and cuddles anyway.

Many thanks to Karyn Tessman Miller for the Best Ever Pad (it’s really been the best pad I’ve ever had and it made a believer out of Steve too; contact her directly to order yours) and to Rowdy’s Ropes for the loop reins with cowboy quick connects as well as the training halters and lead ropes. They see long days, real work and lots of mud here. I wash them when they need it and I get years and years of use out of them.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Steve Mantle, one of the most experienced Mustang trainers in the country, has been at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy since Monday.

We’ve been working on different things with different horses and expanding my comfort zone, timing and feel so we can continue to offer even more value to more wild horses and their humans.

Working horses from horseback, doing effective and thorough ground work, throwing a houlihan, safely using our chute and so much more.

We have one more full day before Steve and his 2 geldings head back to Wyoming.

Many thanks to Wild Spirit Mountain Lodge for hosting him and Tay Martin for all your help in making this possible and run smoothly.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

I love learning even more than I love peanut butter and almost as much as horses.

For anyone looking for an indepth, immersive packing experience I recommend Colorado Pack Company LLC ‘s “Edventure” (Education + Adventure)

We spent 6 days learning about gear, tying hitches, putting together all manner of common and unusual loads, riding and camping in the backcountry.

We made memories I’ll never forget, friendships I hope to keep forever and the two dun Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang mares and I learned so much. We look forward to sharing at least some of that with you all during our own one day packing workshops.

Packing is a wonderful way to get a Mustang ready to be a safe, brave and well-adjusted riding partner, even if your goal isn’t to disappear into the wilderness for days on end.

Gabe let me bring not only Lacy but also Echo, who was less than 2 months out of holding at the time. She packed her own little light load, crossed the river and spent a night in the backcountry just like the seasoned horses.

I’m so proud of these two gritty Mustang mares.

Horse packing brings people in touch with themselves, each other and their animals in a deeper way. We all found things to work on and learn, not just about packing, but more importantly ourselves and our stock.

Gabe and his family create an atmosphere where you can come as you are and feel supported as you learn and grow at your own pace along with your equines and other participants.

*Cedar Update: Thank you so much to all of you who have and continue to offer support, financially and otherwise. We’re hoping to know more in the next day or two. I’m blown away by your kindness. Thank you!*

#AmericanMustang#wildhorseswillingpartners

#learning#makingmountainmustangmemories

Here’s the happy (I’m trying) post I’d meant to post yesterday, officially welcoming these four handsome Wyoming Mustang geldings (no height yet, they were last measured as babies by BLM)

Sorrel: 4yo from Antelope Hills WY. Tall, kind and drafty. Gus’s half brother I’m almost certain.

Bay roan pinto: 3yo, facility born to a Steward Creek WY mare. Tall for his age, curious. Tall for his age, nicely built.

Grey: 4yo from Stewart Creek WY. Curious, tall, a little shy, kind eyes. Tall, solid, athletic built.

Tri-colored pinto with fish eye: 3yo, facility born to a Steward Creek WY mare. Athletic built, curious and friendly.

Before we get further into this, I want to thank everyone who has donated, sent love, good thoughts, prayers and otherwise shown up for Cedar (please see yesterday’s post if you’re not sure what’s going on). So many of you have commented, liked and shared, called and messaged to provide input, offer help and express empathy. Thank you!

Seeing so many of you chime in and have fun with our last naming “fun-raiser” for the four Wyoming and California Mustang mares was so neat that we’d like to do it again.

How to play:

$5 donation per name suggestion, please specify which horse and comment your names under the post.

It’s a fun way to help us feed these guys and their friends. We provide free choice hay in Hay Chix nets so they aren’t bored when they’re not in school; we currently have 14 – yes FOURTEEN amazing Mustangs available for adoption, ages 1-10yo) while we prepare them for a successful future and find them their very own humans.

How to donate:

Donation avenues in comments (also in bio on IG and on the Support Us page on our website). Please let us know if you’re mailing a check because no notifications there.

How names are selected:

Tay Martin is going to draw them randomly out of empty peanut butter jars, one jar per horse.

How to adopt:

We have a list of horses (these boys will be on it soon) and our adoption application on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey CO. Our mission is to help wild horses successfully transition from holding pens to loving homes. Sustainably, with compassion and competence.

Thank you for your support! Please comment, like and share to help these boys get noticed, named and adopted.

Let’s play!

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

I guess I’ve procrastinated on this long enough. Plan A was to post some happy packing post – after a very happy week spent doing all things related to backcountry packing with horses with Colorado Pack Company LLC – yesterday and then a naming fundraiser for the new Mustangs today.

Plan A died during DG Cedar’s vet visit yesterday afternoon. The radiographs of her right hind show a broken coffin bone with possible joint involvement.

Cedar is part of the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang herd. She’s a spirited, independent, beautiful 2yo filly.

She was a wonderful ambassador during her first big public outing at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo this spring, adjusting to the hustle and bustle more quickly and with greater ease than Lacy.

There are some options to consider and some opinions yet to gather. This may be a life-ending injury. We are thankful for caring friends and for medical professionals in the US and Europe who are offering their input.

She was seen by the same vet who worked on Lacy last year. The vet saw videos of Lacy crossing a river last week and called her a miracle horse as they didn’t have a lot of hope for her to recover from a partially torn ligament in her hock, compensatory lameness in both fronts and an eye injury over the course of just a few months, causing her to be off for most of 2023.

Maybe we’ll have another miracle recovery in us. It’s a bit early still to make a final decision. I’d like to gather more information to be able to make an informed choice that is both reasonable and responsible, both for Cedar and our organization as a whole.

If you would like to help with her vet bills, we would appreciate the help. I’m putting donation information in the comments. Anything raised beyond her cost of care will go towards feeding the Mustangs we adopt from BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program and Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals and are gentling and placing into suitable homes. We currently have 14 wonderful wildies looking for their humans and 3 that have already found theirs.

We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey CO.

We appreciate your support. Good thoughts, prayers for Cedar are equally as appreciated. Please share, like, comment if you want to, it all helps.

Cedar is currently enjoying some fresh grass right outside of her pen, this is her first time out since the injury. Her little buddy DG Griffin misses her and I miss seeing her run and play.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#DevilsGardenMustang

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Tay Martin and I went to prison today. Again. I guess that makes us repeat offenders.

So much so that the inmates are asking us about the horses from last time. And the time before. Talk about having friends in low places.

I’m fairly comfortable – not in a weird way – interacting with inmates. Some of you might know that several years back I had the glorious idea to do my counseling internship at a maximum security mental health correctional facility for male offenders.

I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. And I’m glad I’m no longer working in that environment.

Today was something. First we tracked down the school bus (these days I do some counseling for our tiny local charter school) this morning on our way down the hill to hand the school bus driver who’s also the admin and my neighbor one of Taylor’s homemade muffins.

In town we dropped off the Shepherds with a friendly local because no pets on prison grounds (ask me how I know that ), loaded our wildies and talked to the inmates about previous adoptees.

Once out of prison, we grabbed the doggos and took them to their vet appointment. When you live an hour from anywhere, making town trips count is crucial if you ever want to get anything else done.

Coming back up the hill we stopped by the school where the littles were practicing for their end of school year presentations, in costume. We got to shake hands with Ben Franklin, learn fun facts about Little Richard and give a pep talk to Pocahontas.

Once at home, the boys unloaded nicely. Now I’m sitting in a trough with a hay bale as my chair, while the sorrel and the bay roan pinto are calmly eating right next to me.

I’m dead tired today but one day I’ll write a book and call it “Wild Men, Wild Horses, Wild Kids”. Today we spent time with all 3.

Please put your thinking hat on, we’ll have a naming fundraiser for these 4 handsome, young Wyoming Mustang geldings this weekend.

They will be available for adoption once gentled through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey CO. Hauling to anywhere within the lower 48 can be arranged.

Please comment, like and share to help these boys get seen so we can find them their ideal humans!

#wildhorseswillingpartners#mustangtraining#nonprofit#BLMmustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy ‘s mission statement reads “Helping Mustangs transition from holding pens to loving homes. Sustainably, with compassion and competence.”

We don’t just gentle wild horses, we do our best to match them up with the right adopters, because we believe that there’s a lid for every pot, even the unusual or less than perfect ones.

We’re happy to report that Deets the quirky Appy boy has found his human, and so has his bestie Woodrow.

Besides those two now adopted 5yo NV Mustangs (Woodrow is going to be with us for a few more weeks before he starts saddle training), we have dun roan mare Cinder (facility born to a Stewart Creek WY Mustang mare) and bay Devil’s Garden Mustang filly Elanor pending adoption.

We couldn’t be more excited for them.

Two of the four are going to repeat adopters, two to newly approved ones.

For Cinder specifically I had reached out to two previous adopters and told them we had a horse that needed someone like them and if they knew anyone like that who was looking. It turned out that one of them was looking and ready to move forward. She’s coming to meet Cinder today.

Placing these wildies in just the right situation isn’t always an easy or straightforward process. Once everything falls into place it’s beautiful and so worth it. Many thanks to Kelsey and Tay for all your help in making these happy new beginnings possible!

On that happy note, I have some recently approved adopters left to contact. If you haven’t heard back from us yet, please check your email later today, including your spam folder. You’re also always welcome to check in.

We still have several wonderful Mustangs available for adoption, you can find them as well as our adoption application on our website at

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, Colorado.

We have a list of reputable haulers for adopters who want to have their new equine partners brought to them. A lot of our wildies end up finding homes out of state, and being able to task an experienced professional with the transport can be a huge relief.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

As you may have read in last week’s post, the dynamic dun duo from our Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang herd and I were in Pagosa Springs for a packing workshop turned total immersion experience with Gabe and his family at Colorado Pack Company LLC .

I hadn’t planned on completely disconnecting from phone and internet during that time. Once we got started it felt like the right and also somewhat of a daring and adventurous thing to do. The week was not just a whirlwind, but a tornado of meeting mules, learning more about packing, making friends, riding gorgeous country and eating great food.

I got home Saturday night after a 5ish hour drive with just enough daylight left to unload without a headlamp. Lacy was in a foul mood when I loaded her and Echo again only 12 hours later. It had been an exhilarating week for all 3 of us and we were all still tired.

Her attitude changed immediately when she realized what was on the agenda: Moving cows. Lacy loves working cattle and I figured Echo has taken everything else in stride, so why not take the opportunity and bring her along too?

At less than 2 months out of holding and after a week of carrying lightweight packs, crossing a river, seeing ancient ruins and camping in the backcountry in a different corner of Colorado, Echo, a 2yo filly from Twin Peaks, CA went on her first cattle drive.

Lacy is a cow eating machine, ears back and mouth wide open biting slow ones in their hind end if I let her. Echo’s style is different. She’d calmly nuzzle a tiny calf’s tail to encourage it forward. These two Mustang mares are so similar and yet so different and I love them both for it.

More from last week’s adventures to come. I’m catching up on office work, and very, very slowly unpacking because I hit the ground running as soon as I got home.

I’m excited to get back to working wild ones and to update you on what’s new, what’s happened and what’s coming. Thank you all for your patience and support.

Here’s to using social media and the internet for good things and to being brave enough to disconnect when we need/want to. I like to ask myself sometimes “Do I have it or does it have me?”

The mares spent a glorious Sunday morning working cows in their Rowdy’s Ropes halters and leads. Echo doesn’t have anything else yet and I didn’t have time to dig out a hackamore or bridle for Lacy. Spicy as she is, our brakes and steering work well. Quality gear makes effective communication easier, so no problem there.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Just a quick check in before we lose service again. The dynamic double dun duo and I are learning more about packing with Colorado Pack Company LLC outside of Pagosa Springs, where the mules sing the song of their people, internet/cell service are scarce, the company is wonderful and the days are long and filled with adventures.

Be back soon. Love you all!

Stefanie, Lacy and Echo

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

These pictures – that I would have posted last night had I not fallen asleep in the process – were taken over little more than 24 hours between Thursday and Friday evening.

Sometimes, often actually, I’m still in awe about this place where just living is an adventure in itself.

Might snow 5in, might snow 2ft. In May. Going to be muddy, which means moving horses around early before the dirt roads turned to soup and parking my rig somewhere accessible even if it got ugly.

Might have power, might not. For days. Split some more firewood because suddenly it got cold again.

Might have a bull elk with new antlers still in velvet sticking his tongue out at you (see photo). Might text the game warden to complain that his elk can’t jump and I’m out fixing fence until dark because of that.

Might have 17 degrees at night and 50 again in the afternoon. The winter wonderland I left behind yesterday morning was all but gone by the time I returned in the afternoon. The grass looks like it grew an inch overnight.

I drove to Cañon City yesterday, with the car, knowing my truck and trailer would sink faster than the Titanic after hitting an ice berg in the mud left behind by inches of wet snow while backing it into the loading chute. I adopted 4 gorgeous new wildies I can’t wait to show you all when they get home after it dries up a bit.

Lots of laughs were had yesterday as we were walking through the rain, surrounded by curious, frisky wild horses and everyone was covered head to toe in mud from dozens of galloping hooves.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang mares Lacy and Echo are supposed to embark on an adventure of our own with me today, we shall see.

Meanwhile Tiny is watching over DG Griffin like a hawk and having a yearling around seems to be keeping him young. He’s running and bucking like a 5yo and ever the concerned band “stallion” over his two man band. Both boys “helped” me fix fence last night, it was pretty darn adorable.

I hope you enjoy these photos of snowy wild horses (Deets looks like he’s wearing his snow camo, he’s practically made for this weather) squinting Shepherds and what happens when I go to Home Depot. I enjoy buying boxes and shovels like other women buy purses and kitchen stuff.

I broke my own record on what I can fit in my little utility car. Michelle Moreland , aren’t you proud of me? I also had a month worth of groceries, assorted horse tack and all my fencing tools in there. You can’t go wrong with a Southwest Motors vehicle, they seem to expand to fit whatever you’re putting in them.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#springtimeintherockies

#makingmountainmustangmemories#snowglobelife

5th winter is moving in and the DG kids are doing well.

Everyone ties now, everyone’s been brushed all over, everyone will lead back to their pen.

Eowyn, Rosie, Pippin and Elanor are already going for walks in the big wide world.

Everyone has started on navigating obstacles in preparation for trailer loading.

They’re interacting with different people already. You’ll see that Eowyn is giving me the side eye for handing her off. It’s an important part of Mustangs learning to “people”.

Tay and Rosie are already successfully practicing sending over obstacles and working on picking up feet with the leg rope.

Kelsey has been processing adoption applications. I’ll be getting back to our newly approved adopters this afternoon. I’ve got wildies to work this morning and will sit down for more office work this afternoon once it’s SNOWING again

These lovely youngsters (5 yearling fillies, yearling gelding Pippin and 3yo gelding Rohan) are available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . We adopted them from Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals to gentle and place into great homes.

I was hoping to retain sooty buckskin filly Eowyn for our herd and she sure is a sweet little lady. We already have 2 DG youngsters we love from last year (not planned) and now Echo, and even though we don’t have that color yet there are only so many hours in the day for me to spend working with and enjoying our Ambassador Mustangs.

If you’re interested in adopting, we have an adoption application that’s fillable online on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Please let your references know to expect a call and check your spam folder for a response. We will email every applicant with an answer or if we need your help tracking down the references you provided.

Our goal is to help you find a great match. We’re all different and so are they. Email, PM or call us if you have questions.

Please comment, like and share to help these cuties find humans that will continue to prepare them for a successful, enjoyable future together.

We’re in Guffey CO, hauling can be arranged.

Training halters & lead ropes: Rowdy’s Ropes

I’m staying warm in winter in May thanks to Outback Trading Company LTD.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Appaloosa Mustang Deets has a birthday coming up. He’s turning 5yo on June 1. The reason we know that is because Deets was facility born to a Pine Nut Mountains NV mare.

That means that this little walk was the first time he’s walked on pine needles and grass in his life, his first time in an actual forest, and the first time being in a world that feels vast and open.

I took my sweet time before taking this boy out for a walk because I wanted it to be a success, i.e. not overwhelming and I wanted to teach him to trust me and to respect rope pressure enough to stay with me.

Deets is a sweet boy. He’s also initially aloof, athletic and powerful, and rather self reliant. He has what I call “happy feet”, and when he gets nervous sometimes the feet engage before the thinking does.

Therefore we’ve been working a lot on “checking and untracking”.

What’s that?

Checking in with me and staying connected, or at least coming back to seek that connection frequently rather than just being out there doing his thing, trying to navigate this scary new world on his own.

Untracking those feet and bending. A horse that’s rigid in his body is also rigid in his mind. We’ve forever been building that bend on a circle, seeking softness, disengaging hindquarters, moving shoulders.

I wanted all that in place before we left the safe area inside of tall fences. It was a short, successful walk and he seemed to enjoy getting out and taking it all in.

You can see his focus shift away, yet he comes back to what I’m asking each time. Especially during the last part his attention stays with me just a little longer than early on.

Deets has been with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy for gentling and finding his person. He is pending adoption.

We have several of his friends looking for humans and great homes of their own. You can find them at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We do gentle outside Mustangs also, so if you want to adopt a wild one and bring him/her home gentled so you won’t need the tall fencing or to try and convince your loved one or boarding facility owner to let you bring a completely unhandled horse home, we’re happy to help! We’re located in Guffey CO, hauling can be arranged.

Let us know in comments or via PM if you have any questions about adoptable horses, the work and training we do, upcoming plans and adventures!

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

I added one of my new favorite quotes to this video from last week’s ride, hoping that some of you will find it as true as I have:

“If you want to be happy, do something to make yourself proud of yourself, every day.”

That’s something I’ve been living by since I came across these words. On a day where I feel blah, frustrated, apprehensive, nervous, disappointed or unproductive, that can really turn the tide.

Good days become better that way. And, little by little, my horses and I as well as the projects I have in the works are progressing too.

I was nervous about the weather that day, it was cold and snow cloudy with high winds in the forecast. I was nervous about bringing the new filly along on this ride. I was nervous about going on that particular trail because it’s getting to be snake season and I didn’t want any of my animals to get bit. Months ago (not that many months, actually) I was nervous about asking either of the lovely ladies who made this ride possible to ride with me because even though our paths had crossed, we didn’t really know each other. This would be the first ride with the three of us.

The weather turned out to be great, we didn’t see a single snake nor did anyone get rattled at, Echo – that’s the name for Lacy’s “big little sister” that we’re currently trying on for size – did amazing on her first ever outing all of 6 weeks out of BLM holding, and the three of us (riders) had so much fun, enjoying our horses, each other’s company and the beautiful scenery.

“If you want to be happy, do something to make yourself proud of yourself, every day.”

It’s wild to think that none of the above would have happened without this quote that has become a mantra of sorts.

Yay for marvelous country, great friends, good horses and loyal dogs. And being happy and brave more often.

I drag myself out of my comfort zone every day, often kicking and screaming. Without that you don’t train Mustangs, or do any kind of hard or scary thing. But it’s worth it.

I’ve been sending out adoption agreements over the past few days. Several of Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy ‘s gentled wildies are about to start new lives with wonderful adopters, making space for us to help more Mustangs find their humans and vice versa.

Thank you for being along for the ride, we couldn’t do this without you!

#bettertogether#wildhorseswillingpartners

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Gus aka Gus the bus is everyone’s friend and we’re going to miss him terribly. He’s pretty far along in his training. Riding and continued exposure and confidence building are what’s next for him, with his own human.

He’s the tallest Mustang we have had here yet, measuring over 15.1hh at 4yo. He sting tests to 15.3hh so there might be more coming. He’s a big drafty boy from Antelope Hills WY.

I’ve not struggled to let one go probably ever. I love this guy and he makes me unreasonably happy, but it’s not fair for him to stay and not have a job. Bottom line is he’s too big for me and I like them just a little bit braver.

Gus has a 2-15sec spook when he gets startled. He jumps, hits the end of the rope and doesn’t keep going. You only have to show him once, he doesn’t spook at the same thing over and over.

Gus loves people. All people. When he can see you he’s hanging his head over the panel to get your attention. There’s nothing sadder than tying Gus because he ALWAYS tries to go with you and makes the most devastated face I’ve ever seen in a horse when he realizes that the rope is holding him back. That said, he ties well and doesn’t fuss or fight the rope.

He has been trimmed and hobbled, wears saddle and bridle, loads like a champ, ponies, loves going for walks, has been started on ground driving and will cross any obstacle we’ve pointed him at.

Gus loves to cuddle, enjoys getting out and doing things. He’s good with my dogs and kind to my itty bitty mares. He has been a punk teenage boy to some horses here, pushing their buttons to see if he could get a reaction out of them.

In holding he peacefully lived and ate with geldings his age that were half his size. I’d like to see him live in a herd where not everyone is a pushover and he’ll be fine.

He is not a dog or a stuffed animal even though I think he would like to be. He needs someone capable to continue his training and keep him on a good path. He’s got an incredible mind and a bright future ahead of him.

If you have applied to adopt and not heard back from us yet, please check your spam folder. We have reached out to everyone, either with a yes or no or a request for you to have your references call us back.

You can find our adoption application – fillable and submittable online – at w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a nonprofit organization located in Guffey CO. Hauling can be arranged, we have a list of reputable, reliable, experienced haulers.

Please comment, like and share to help Gus find his very own person!

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

I was determined to post this last night and despite my best efforts I ended up like Denali and Ranger the Shepherds look in some of these photos.

I tend to turn a bit (extra) feral this time of the year. Spring, the precious few weeks after mud and snow and before heat and bugs is when I practically live outside.

The weather has been glorious, making for long days working Mustangs. Then I sit down to write – or do anything – and instead I crash, much to my chagrin and the entertainment of those who’ve ever watched it happen.

So here we are, it’s a gloomy, cold morning here on the mountain and perfect for a bit of storytelling.

This past Thursday I went riding with friends and had this wild idea that maybe I ought to take the new 2yo dun, currently Fiadh, who still doesn’t have a permanent name, and pony her off of Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang mare Lacy.

The filly was exactly 6 weeks out of holding, had only met a few new people, never been off the property, been ponied all of a handful of times, and reliably loaded into my old stock trailer.

What could possibly go wrong if I asked her to hop into a tall slant load trailer behind two other horses, tied her and then took her on a group ride with dogs on thousands of acres of public land that’s also frequented by cows, hikers and bicycles? A whole lot actually.

This isn’t entirely my first rodeo, so I followed my intuition and experience. She had nothing but impressed me thus far and I decided that if she’d load into that trailer – and if my friend would even let me bring her – she could handle the rest.

She did. We rode 10 miles through a beautifully diverse landscape, climbed over lots of rocks, encountered cattle, and other public land users on foot and two wheels. I even pulled a piece of cholla out of her leg.

3 riders with 3 dogs and a total of fun colored 4 horses – a roan Azteca and 3 dun Mustangs(!!!) – and she never once made an attempt to leave. She stood tied like a big girl during our lunch break atop a cliff – no grass and I wasn’t hobbling the mares 20ft from a several 100ft drop off – and kept up with Lacy’s often ridiculous pace.

She never spooked at the dogs and quickly got over being weirded out by riders behind her and by a big tire tank full of water.

I was the one who spooked at a rock pile on a narrow section of the trail, so in one of the photos you’ll see how we got across that. When you’re a bit wimpy sometimes but still want to ride in cool places, sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

I hope you enjoy these pictures of springtime where the mountains meet the desert.

Many thanks to my friends who put up with me, the clueless baby horses I like to bring along and my two big, hairy and completely oblivious dogs.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy adopted 7 Devil’s Garden Mustangs from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals for gentling and placement into suitable homes. They recently arrived and we’re thoroughly enjoying our time with them.

Training and matching Mustangs with the right human partners goes a long way towards their long-term success and safety.

Most of these pictures are from session 3 (yearlings) and 4 (Rohan). 3 of the babies have started practicing tying, everyone is tagless, has been haltered and touched all over.

The yearlings have all been brushed… May the defloofing begin. Photo of DG baby future bird nest material included.

The day the before the photos were taken (sessions 2 and 3 respectively) yielded one of my favorite flowers: The tag flower.

The first 2 kids lost their tag during session one, the remaining 4 yearlings during session two and Rohan during his 3rd session.

All 7 have started leading, most of them are doing really well, a couple are still figuring it out. Meanwhile everyone is learning directional control and backing.

We’re very excited about this diverse group: There’s everything from petite to stout and mild to spicy.

Tay has been successfully working with Rosie, her first wild one to gentle from untouched (actually untouched, Cassie tried).

These weren’t little pocket crawlers (other than Pippin who needed some human intervention growing up and would come up for sniffs and a bit of touch), so it speaks to their good minds how well they are taking to learning all the new things they are encountering and asked to do.

We have not yet introduced food rewards. They are very curious and rather fond of scratches.

If you are interested in adopting, please fill out an adoption application on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

If you have questions, including about personality, height and temperament, we’re happy to answer them via PM, email or phone.

More updates to come in future posts. As always, keep an eye on our stories for updates also.

We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. A list of reputable haulers is available for adopters needing transport for their Mustang(s).

Training halters and lead ropes: Rowdy’s Ropes

#wildhorseswillingpartners#makingmountainmustangmemories

Yes I’m easily entertained. By long shadows on a warm spring afternoon, mountains under a moody sky, sharing space and time with a young, developing horse.

I took DG Griffin out for a walk the other day and we had some big teachable moments that I’m glad I had the opportunity to address rather than waiting to deal with them until he’s 3 or 4 or chalking them off to “Awwww, he’s just a baby, he’ll grow out of it!”

Yearling Devil’s Garden Mustang Griffin, youngest of the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs, is usually a quiet old soul. He doesn’t spook or fidget when he’s on the clock. He’s as patient in public appearances as his older friends. He does, however, have a strong desire to be with his herd.

That’s wonderful when I let him follow along loose on our rides. I also know it’s something I need to help him with because he’s going to be expected to go out alone, confidently and without fuss.

So we go for walks together, just me and him. On those walks we work on things. A bit of lunging, moving, hips, shoulders, backing, standing quietly.

On this walk he experienced some pasture magnetism. He’d trot around on a circle and at the spot closest to the pasture he’d stall. I asked him to maintain his pace. He told me in no uncertain terms that I should shut up and leave him alone.

As you might imagine, that’s not my strong suit so we had a meeting of the minds and the little guy discovered that he could, in fact, maintain a trot all the way around me.

We continued walking until I stopped to take in the views. Good boy Griffin stopped too, except he made it a point to leeeeaaaaannnn into me. So we talked about space bubbles. At the school we do that with hula rings to give the kids a visual. I don’t hike with hula rings but I got my point across regardless and the issue was quickly resolved.

When we got back to the pasture, the little guy was more interested in scanning the horizon for Tiny than paying attention to me and calmly lowering his head for me to take his halter off.

Instead of 2sec, the process took 5min. Goal was achieved, no foal feelings were hurt and he soon trotted off to go find his friend.

If you get a horse young and make good use of those early years, many conversations don’t need to be had at all when they are older, or are much briefer and easier than if you wait.

If you don’t get your horse young, the best day to introduce the rules of your household is day 1 of working with him. How often have you seen a horse herd give a new member a 2 week grace period before they explain to them what’s what? Doing otherwise is misleading and confusing for them.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Enjoy this pivotal and exciting (in a good way) part of DG Rohan’s second session. He’s a Devil’s Garden Mustang and came to us from our friends at the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals

We’d had a few brief sniffs and nose touches before this moment. These were his first actual pets.

He’s brave, curious and confident. He’s also 3yo (baby brain) and a Mustang who grew up on the range, not getting cookies and butt scratches in holding.

So we worked for this a bit, nothing too exciting, just preparing him for each next step.

While endearing, there’s more going on here than petting the wild pony. This interaction is full of teachable moments for both of us.

How we handle those determines how well we’ll get along moving forward.

I selectively use food reward in training. This boy is at the very beginning of his journey and knows nothing yet about that. Every horse and situation are different, and we treat them as such.

I put some text into the little clip to help you see what I’m looking for (and where I’m goofing up) in hopes it’ll help you with your wildie.

Rohan is with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in Guffey CO for gentling and finding his human. You can submit an adoption application through w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We have several beautiful Mustangs currently looking for their humans, go check them out on there too. Our goal is to help you find a good match to set both you and your new equine partner up for long-term success.

If you want a specific Mustang gentled before bringing him/her home, we’re happy to do that.

We can also help you learn to gentle Mustangs or get along better with wild horses you already have. Both in person and remote coaching are available.

PM or email if that interests you.

If you’ve gentled wild ones or adopted a gentled/trained one, we’d love to read about some pivotal or heart warming moments you had in you journal together in comments. Share away!

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Enjoy some warp (Lacy) speed moments from a gorgeous snowy solo bareback ride to one of our favorite lookout spots with the princess Sunday morning before work. Solo ride in the sense that we weren’t ponying another horse, which is rare these days.

Original audio because hooves in snow and pony snorts are music to my ears.

She was on sick leave much of last year due to an injury sustained in pasture. Cedar has one of those currently also. Tiny is turned out with Griffin. He’s the best babysitter. Lacy is helping me work the training horses. She’s handy and a wonderful training partner.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang Lacy is 9 this year, facility born to a Divide Basin WY mare, and on the…spicy side. The reason I can take her out by herself bareback in a halter on a crisp morning and gallop through the snow (keep watching) isn’t because I’m such a brave and talented rider.

Quite to the contrary. I’m on the careful side (read: a chicken) and 30 years ago when I was first starting out, my friends were literally posting the trot in circles around me by the time I finally figured it out.

I did put a strong foundation on this horse and I maintain it and build upon that. This same perfect mare was on crack or something along those lines that same night at 9pm when I decided to go ponying Gus off of her in the dark. Also bareback in a halter.

Gus is still pretty new to that, much less in the dark and with a helpful cat and two dogs underfoot, ducking under tree branches and activating motion sensors along the way.

Lacy might have liked to bite Gus or zip right out from under me. She didn’t. Only because I put money in our training bank every ride. That’s why the brakes work even when the engine is having a moment and why she’ll bend around my leg when she’d much rather launch herself instead.

All that to say that if I can gallop bareback in a halter through fresh snow on a spicy Mustang mare without feeling like I’m going to die, so can you. If that’s your thing anyway and you didn’t completely mis- or over-horse yourself.

There’s a whole lot of preparation, consistency (not consistent riding, she often sits for days, sometimes weeks at a time, but consistent rules when we do ride) and fine tuning involved, but absolutely zero magic. It’s a put in the work, reap the rewards kinda thing.

What are some of your favorite things to do with your horse?

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Only minutes before these photos were taken, Gus, 4yo 15.2hh Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding who is with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy for gentling and finding his person, panicked when he saw me on Lacy.

Kelsey was leading him to the round pen for his first ponying session when he got bug eyed, snorty, started running backwards and rearing.

She got him far enough away so he could calm down and not be a giant safety hazard while I dismounted and went to get him.

To help Gus turn his vehement NO into a relaxed and willing YES, we broke the task – being ponied – down into small attainable steps.

Coming into the round pen to another horse and the mounting block. Seeing me on the mounting block. Seeing me on the mounting block standing above Lacy with him next to her. Once he could calmly handle that, I got on her.

Everything went perfectly. The end.

Kidding.

Instead, as soon as I sat up on Lacy, Gus took off speed trotting.

I had come prepared: A small, tall round pen to work in, a nimble little horse that could stay with him and a rope long enough so he couldn’t pull away.

Through pressure and release and carefully positioning Lacy I was able to help him settle and return to a learning frame of mind.

From there Gus quickly figured out how to walk behind, then next to, Lacy.

We ended the session with me leaning over a calm and attentive Gus from Lacy’s back.

By giving him an opportunity to work through his initial apprehension, we were able to strengthen our partnership and teach him the basics of a useful skill. We didn’t give up and leave him with a bad memory that we’d have to deal with down the road.

Setting (wild) horses up for success by making finding the answer we’re looking for easy, using a combination of tools and techniques, and putting ourselves in a position where we can follow through on our ask goes a long way towards establishing a successful partnership.

If you’re looking for help or have questions or input, feel free to comment, PM or email.

If you found this helpful or know someone who might, feel free to share!

PC: Kelsey Janosik

Training halters & ropes: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#gentling

#mustangtraining#makingmountainmustangmemories

Amidst 3rd winter (4th winter incoming this weekend) we received our long anticipated load of Devil’s Garden Mustangs from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals :

Rohan (3yo dark bay gelding), Pippin (red roan yearling gelding, Eowyn (sooty buckskin yearling filly), Elanor, Arwen, Aerin and Rosie (bay yearling fillies). Names in photos.

They’ve settled in nicely, and are spending lots of time happily napping in the sun. They’re a laid back bunch and we’re looking forward to getting to know them all better and to finding them their own humans. Tay has decided to gentle Rosie. She claims Rosie will still be available for adoption after that… Are we taking bets??

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey, CO. Our mission is to help wild horses transition from wild to willing, holding pens to loving homes. Sustainably, with compassion and competence.

If you’re interested in adopting, you can find our adoption application and our adoptable Mustangs on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Our adoption process allows us to help you find a Mustang that’s a good fit for you, your goals, preferences and experience level. All things that matter when making a commitment to an animal that (hopefully) lives another 25+ years.

We (strongly) suggest letting your references know that someone from our team will be calling. We check all references before approving an application. If we’re able to speak to your references in a timely manner, your application can be processed quickly, increasing your chances of finding and adopting a suitable Mustang soon.

Given that it’s well past my bedtime I won’t ramble on much longer and leave you to enjoy the photos of these guys.

If you don’t already, I encourage you to watch our stories to keep up to date with what’s happening here at WHOA. I share photos, videos and updates there regularly.

For questions and if you’d like to support our work, please PM, email or call us.

If you have or know a DG (Devil’s Garden) Mustang you love, we’d love to hear about them in the comments!

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

I don’t do a whole lot of woo and meant to be stuff but occasionally I make an exception. This is one of them.

2 adoption events at the Cañon City facility ago, back in February, I was surprised to find an entire pen of 2yo Twin Peaks CA fillies. I had never seen a horse from there in person, but I sure like CA Mustangs.

Among all the brown we spotted a speck of yellow and went to look. It turned out to be a beautiful, stout, tall buckskin filly that would later come home with us.

On the way to getting a closer look at her I found a neck tag on the ground in their pen. I’ve never met a wild horse tag I didn’t like, so I picked it up. #5882.

Not giving it much thought, I carried my new little treasure with me in pursuit of the pretty buckskin that always seemed to be just 3 brown horses away from getting a good visual.

What caught my eye in the process was a tall, dark faced dun with not enough mane and too big a head, that looked like a caricature of a mule. Duns are my flavor and people like them so after we had finally gotten close enough to the buckskin to decide she was built really nice and would be getting on the trailer that day, a peek at that elusive dun was in order.

The filly was having none of it, marching off looking rather inconvenienced every time we got close. I don’t mean touching kind of close, just looking distance. If a horse could have an arrogant, disgruntled look on her face, this one did.

Other than the mane, the head and that attitude, she appeared to be a nice enough horse that someone would one day appreciate. Tall, with dorsal stripe, leg barring and built to last. Nobody else paid much attention to that pen, given there was another pen full of colorful 3yo mares, all begging to be taken home. Knowing I’d only be able to fit 4 horses on that load, thanks to Gus the bus, I decided to get her tag number to remember for next time. #5882.

Fair enough, I thought. With permission I took my trophy, her old tag, home with me and we scribbled her number on a piece of paper just to be safe.

A month later we picked her up, along with 3 3yo mares. She wasn’t the prettiest one in the bunch and I really did NOT need another 2yo. A 3 or 4yo maybe, so I looked through every pen searching for one I might like to keep for me to start and came up empty, so I figured it just wasn’t meant to be this year. Until I started working with her.

Meanwhile, Lorena, now Wren, the pretty buckskin I had originally considered adding to our herd as a future Ambassador, I ended up adopting out because everything I asked of her, she readily did. For most people that would have been a green flag. Instead I was bored to tears. I did happen to have an adopter looking for something just like her.

Wren is now living her best life in MI and blossoming in every way. We get regular updates and are so happy for her and her new mom.

#5882 however doesn’t have a people pleasing bone in her. The first time I asked her to move her shoulders I got a rear. Not a panicky rear, not an I’m going to kill you rear, just an “I don’t know what you want and this is stupid” rear, delivered quietly and deliberately.

Those who have been around our Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs and Blanca when she was still around, know I like fierce, brave, opinionated, expressive, solid colored horses. Horses that keep their wits about them under pressure but that will tell you how they feel and when you’re messing up. No cheap shots, explosions or surprises but a big heart worn right on their sleeve.

Horses just like this one. I did offer her to the only person I’d have happily seen her go to. When that was a no, Lacy and I decided her big little sister is staying. They really like each other and Lacy doesn’t make new friends, especially mares, all that easily. I’ve even caught her creeping around outside Fiadh’s pen, just hanging out. Not usually her style.

There’s a photo in this post where Fiadh is looking at Lacy and it seems like she’s seeing herself in a mirror. It’s eerie and sweet at the same time.

This little lady has worn the pack saddle already, she loads like a champ and knows all the basic handling things, her first ponying session happened in the dark and last night I took her out of the pens for the first time, during her second ever ponying session, dogs following, daylight fading. Maybe some things really are meant to be and maybe the “double duns” #5882 and #1944 (Lacy) being friends is one of them. Those are also the only two tag numbers I’ve ever been able to memorize without effort.

That being said, we do have several amazing wildies looking for their humans. You can view them on w w w. w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

The 7 new Devil’s Garden Mustangs are being added ASAP. Email or PM us with questions, I promise I’ll respond as quickly as I’m able to.

Who’s ready to finally meet the adorable newcomers in tomorrow’s post???

As always, I encourage you to watch our stories if you want to keep up to date with who is here and what is happening. You can always reach out and ask us too.

Have you ever kept a horse where it seemed meant to be? How did it turn out? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.

Training halters and ropes: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners

#doubleduns#makingmountainmustangmemories

The stars of this post are Buddy, yearling Mustang gelding born in holding to a Triple B NV mare, and Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang gelding Tiny from Salt Wells WY who’s so quirky that he’s lucky he’s cute.

Here Buddy is asking Tiny not to hurt him and to help him feel safe. Tiny obliged, then I ponied tiny Buddy off of not so tiny Tiny.

Tiny has taught me acceptance, to appreciate him for who he is and not get hung up on what he isn’t. That has created a greater sense of peace for both of us.

Buddy just finished 30 days of kindergarten and elementary school with us. His adopter won him in the IA and then sent him here, with the goal of getting him to where a domestic baby his age would be by the time he went home, for a seamless transition into his new herd and every day life. As he gets older, Buddy will be exploring the Rocky Mountains with his human. We’re super excited for them.

If you feel like looking at all the pictures in this post, you’ll see some of what the previously unhandled little guy learned during his time here, in addition to the obvious, i.e. catch and halter, lead and load, lunge, send, cross obstacles, pick up feet and tie.

Tay suggested I should write a post normalizing asking for help. I agree, that’s super important and yes, it seems like such a taboo topic sometimes, in this world full of influencers and self proclaimed experts that’ll happily attack people from the comfort of their living room couch, in between doing laundry and watching episodes of My Little Pony.

I ask for help all the time. I have mentors in many areas in my life including working with Mustangs. I’m always reading, watching, listening to something worthwhile to learn more.

I do this every day, have for years, and there’s a whole lot more that I don’t know yet than what I do know. The beautiful thing is that today I’m much less clueless than I was a few years ago and a little less clueless than even yesterday.

Asking for help doesn’t have to mean sending your Mustang off for training. Not everyone can, wants or needs to do that.

If you do send them off, we encourage you to participate in your wild one’s education as much as possible.

If you don’t, whatever you do, please for the love of all that is holy and for the sake of your horse and your own safety, kill the monster while it’s little.

No, the monster is – hopefully – not your horse. It’s the behavior that if it increases or persists is going to be a problem. That means asking early, ideally before something becomes habituated and now your horse needs to unlearn it while it learns a safer, better, more desirable behavior.

AA teaches that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different outcome. Applied to gentling Mustangs that means if the tools in your toolbox aren’t working for you and your horse in a certain area, it’s time to go get more/different tools!

Just like with home improvement projects, cooking, gardening, those tools may cost money. Mustangs may be relatively cheap to come by, but just like with any other hobby, animal or thing you choose to bring into your life, there is work and there are expenses associated with them.

Mustangs are only so forgiving. That’s something many of us, myself included, learned the hard way. I’ve seen plenty that were so far gone, it took months to get them turned around, and a number of them never did. Yes, pain, toxic plants, and other things that occurred in the wild or are part of a horse’s genetic makeup all play a part. But so does training, or the lack thereof.

If you have a problem, ask early.

Be discerning where and whom you ask. For example, I don’t waste my time answering people’s well meaning questions in Facebook groups anymore. Why should I ? There are 40 keyboard warriors with a Breyer horse collection already giving all sorts of questionable advice.

If you choose to ask your questions in a place like that, please use your judgement, check your sources and if it’s still not working, ask somewhere else.

Training often isn’t linear. Your (wild) horse goes through stages in their cognitive and physical development and well into maturity that causes them to behave in ways you may not have encountered before. New behaviors may emerge or they may seemingly forget things they previously knew and did well.

The need to ask for help may – and should – stretch well past the gentling process. I recently discovered Lacy’s left lead isn’t very strong, so I went and asked for help with that.

Pride. We all face that struggle. I take pride in some things and I’m not proud of others. Most importantly, I’m not too proud to ask for advice, sometimes for the seemingly silliest, most embarrassing little things. My friends can attest to that It beats struggling quietly, and so what someone now knows that I didn’t know how to sew a button back on a shirt

Asking for help keeps Mustangs safe, it keeps them off of dinner plates and out of crammed dirty feedlots and crowded semi trailers that transport them to a sad ending. No, there’s not enough sanctuary space for every Mustang that’s ever flunked out of training or its home.

The ones that have the physical and mental capability to be a safe, dependable and happy partner to a human deserve that chance, and they deserve humans that are willing to learn, to grow and to invest time and yes, sometimes money or elbow grease in exchange for learning, into that process. And a rewarding process it is.

That’s it from me for today. If you know of someone who needs to hear this, please share this post. If you have experiences you’d like to share where you asked for help or helped someone else along, I’d love to hear them in the comments.

Training halters, lead ropes and reins: Rowdy’s Ropes

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

When you live in a small mountain town where the mayor is a cat (true story) and deer graze in the school yard, magical things can happen.

Our tiny three classroom K-8 school has a counselor all of once a week. That’s me, they call me Miss Stefanie Our admin is also my neighbor. Rural living stuff. She says “Bring your horses to school anytime.”

On Thursday after our winter wonderland ride, I pulled into the school parking lot, unloaded 3 of the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA) Ambassador Mustangs and took them for a quick spin while I waited for the teachers to get their students rounded up and herded outside.

The kids were so happy to see and pet the horses. They thought it was funny that Tiny was the biggest one, and DG Griffin the yearling got so many hugs and cuddles. Lacy, who normally doesn’t have any patience for these kinds of things unless someone is really sad, has developed some kind of crowd/kid mode. She puts her head low so they can reach and lets them rub all over her face.

Outreach, getting more people involved with, informed about and interested in Mustangs, can have many forms and faces. This is definitely one of the most enjoyable and rewarding ones.

The kids that were a bit afraid at first gained confidence when they saw their friends loving on the horses and joined in. They learned about the freezebrands and that those 3 started their lives without human handling. The students shared many horsey experiences and stories with us.

We’re going to make a greater difference for wild horses if we can get more people involved, especially children. Outreach is part of what our organization does, hence the name, and I’m grateful for every opportunity to let the Mustangs advocate for themselves in front of people who may not know that they exist or what they are capable of.

WHOA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping wild horses transition from holding pens to loving homes, sustainably, with compassion and competence.

To our supporters, donors, clients, adopters and volunteers: You are who allow us to do what we do and your support is making a difference. Thank you!

Rowdy’s Ropes makes all of our rope tack for us, including the halters and lead ropes pictured here. If you’re looking for halters, lead ropes, reins, long lines and the like, that’s who we recommend!

We’re grateful to the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program (Tiny and Lacy) and Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals (Griffin) for working with us and for entrusting wild horses to us for gentling and placement into suitable, capable and committed homes.

I’d love to hear how you became involved with/interested in wild horses. Feel free to share in comments!

#wildhorseswillingpartners#bettertogether#outreach

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Yesterday we were joking about this girl’s “little black soul filled with fire”. That’s what inspired these pictures.

Rapunzel, aptly named, is a 13.2hh (current height, string tests to a whopping 13.3hh) 3yo Mustang mare, facility born to a Stewart Creek WY mare.

She looks like a tiny, colorful Andalusian and has enough personality to fill a body three times her size. She is smart, friendly and just spunky enough to remind you she’s a pony.

Those are the moments when I call her Toad. Thankfully even at her most toad-like, Rapunzel is still very manageable and quite entertaining. Correcting squirrelly green horse behavior is usually accompanied by some grunt/grumble/laugh because she’s such a ham.

She loves – and demands – attention, has guilted Tay Martin who doesn’t do ponies, especially not colorful ones, into loving her and has a rather captivating presence for something so small.

She enjoys being brushed, fussed over, worked with, taken out of her pen for adventures of any sort. Because it’s currently either winter or mud season up here, depending on the (time of) day, Rapunzel is still sporting some winter fluff and residual mud on her otherwise white legs. This too shall pass. Hopefully. At some point.

Rapunzel is big enough for a small adult or a handy youngster. She is young and needs guidance. She’s nowhere near being a kid’s pony in the sense of babysitting the grandkids and far too nice of a horse to be a pet.

We’re looking for an adopter who appreciates a (sometimes) spicy, always curious pony, and wants a colorful partner to explore the world with, ideally also outside of the arena.

She’s built really nicely and would do well and make you look good in English, Western or driving disciplines as well as on the trail. She has the energy and athleticism needed to do whatever is needed, without being hot.

She comes knowing all the basics. She’s easy to catch (as in, meets you at the gate), leads, lunges, sends, crosses obstacles including tarps and small jumps, ties, picks up her feet and loads. We’ll pony, saddle and bridle her too while she’s here. That way she’ll be ready for her human to take over and have a fun summer together.

Rapunzel is available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy , located in Guffey, CO. You can find our adoption application as well as other adoptable Mustangs on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g . The form is fillable and submittable online. For questions, please PM or email us.

Our goal is to find suitable homes for each of the wildies in our care, so that both Mustang and adopter are happy and headed towards a successful, safe partnership.

Please comment, like and share to help her get the attention and home she deserves!

Training halter: Rowdy’s Ropes

Braiding and brushing: Taylor

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners

#mustanggentling#makingmountainmustangmemories

3rd winter is here. Yesterday morning 2nd spring gave way to hoarfrost and temps in the low 30s. The forecast was a lie and our nice spring ride turned into an enchanted forest adventure.

I’d wanted to post something more serious but this was too pretty not to share, so come join us for some mid-April “sprinter” (spring-winter) fun from the comfort of hopefully somewhere warm.

The song is nice too, we certainly felt the freedom piece. Ignore the part about birds and wildflowers, those were all hiding yesterday.

We rode between 8000 and 9500ft of elevation, so instead of fog, we were inside of a cloud. A cloud that was spitting icy daggers into our faces atop the ridge

2 riders, 4 horses and 3 muddy dogs still had lots of fun. I took 3 of the Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs because why not. Griffin made a handsome and very sweet palomino QH friend. Lacy and Tiny did great, seemed happy to be out and about and enjoyed each other’s company.

We crossed water, patches of crunchy snow, marveled at frosted trees, imagined the mountain views we’d have if only we could see more than 40ft in either direction, and galloped through the gloomy, wet forest as fast as our steeds would go.

It was a blast, the kind where your hands are red, nose running and cheeks burning, and you feel incredibly alive.

Thank you Michelle for braving the chilly weather with me and for saying such kind things about the princess.

Warning, this video might make you dizzy. It’s at Lacy speed so buckle up and look closely at what I was trying to capture for you as the world was flying by. I love that fierce little dun Mustang mare.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

I’m calling this “double dun ponying”. I mean look, the only way I know which one to ride is by the halter color

This was last night, ponying Fiadh off of Lacy for the first time. Practicing going both directions, following at my knee (that took a bit of negotiating), and then sharing space.

For those of you who have the patience to watch the entire video, I’d encourage you to pay close attention to their body language and how much Fiadh feeds off of Lacy, even down to licking and chewing right after Lacy does it.

Also how close they are standing and how much interaction there is between two mares who have never interacted without a 7 1/2ft tall fence between them.

That takes some doing because Lacy needs to be kept in check or else she’ll treat the horses I’m working like cows and bite them, not helpful. But with Lacy knowing what’s expected of her, she gives Fiadh peace and confidence.

Ponying is an excellent training tool for various reasons, and working Mustangs from horseback is something I’m working on getting even more effective with this year.

Having Lacy back under saddle (or under my butt anyway because no saddle here) has been such a wonderful gift. She’s small and not anywhere near strong enough to drag one, but in most cases there’s no need for that.

I encourage them forward and she’s nimble enough to spin around on a dime should a horse jump or run behind or in front of her.

All I need to do is steer, stay on and keep track of both horses and the buggy whip I’m using to help guide the newbie. Easy peasy, most of the time.

There’s nothing like being one with your horse, getting a job done together and enjoying it. And then resting together to absorb it all. Fiadh was the third and last wildie I ponied off of the princess last night. First were Buddy and Gus. I finally took her halter off and sent her on her way at 9.15pm. Long day and a good one.

I’m looking forward to more adventures and quiet time with the double duns.

In the meantime, Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy has several super cool Mustangs available and coming available for adoption (the 7 new DGs are coming on Saturday ), check them out on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

We gentle Mustangs for clients who want help getting their wild one to the point of being easy to handle and ready to start under saddle if they’re old enough.

We also offer coaching calls if you’re doing the training yourself and would like some pointers.

Finally, we offer private Mustang gentling clinics and demos at your facility or ours.

PM or email us if you’re interested/needing help.

Training halters and ropes: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners

#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy ‘s handsome chunky boy, 10yo Devil’s Garden Mustang gelding Pumba, is looking for his person. Located in Guffey, CO.

Pumba is 14.2hh tall and equally as wide. He gets fat from thinking about eating. I’m pretty sure he gets fat from being near another horse that’s thinking about eating.

Where are our lovers of easy keepers? Those who are willing and able to manage a horse’s weight and strike a balance between quality of life (turn out, friends) and making sure this boy maintains a healthy weight.

Pumba is also positively adorable. That’s one of his superpowers. He has giant bug eyes and the most kissable snip (more like a big splotch) on his nose. He looks like an oversized, very judgemental Welsh Pony.

He’s been with us for a while. Pumba was a nervous Nelly. Kind, sane, yes, and very guarded. Also incredibly self-reliant, which is to be expected for a horse that grew to maturity on the range. Taking input from pipsqueaky humans was not anywhere on his radar.

Sending over obstacles in a calm and controlled manner for example was like trying to get my dad to read the instructions for the IKEA furniture he was putting together for his then teenage daughter. Him: “I don’t need that crap, I can do this!” (Not the word he used, also this was all said in German.) Me: “Oh boy.”

These days Pumba is much more agreeable when it comes to looking to humans for guidance. He’s discovered that different people are ok. And that being brushed and scratched is one of his favorite things.

He’s curious, good with other horses, has been trimmed, he halters and leads, loads, ties, picks up feet, and is (mostly) easy to catch.

He’s the right fit for someone who’s capable and patient. This guy was wild until he was about 8yo. And I’m going to guess he was very good at being a wild horse. Relationship building and thinking through new things takes some time for him.

If you enjoy the process of building partnership and bringing your new working partner along at a pace that works for both of you, he might just be your guy. PM or email us if you’re interested.

Please like, share and comment to help increase reach so this handsome hunk can find his person

Training halter & rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

PC: Photographer Linnea Helander

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Having Lacy back in the game and bringing the next generation of riding partners along with her help, and with the help of loyal goofy dogs that come running out of the most unlikely places at some interesting times, is something I’m incredibly grateful for.

There’s little that’s more powerful in bringing a green horse along than the combination of a human and another horse/horses as their teachers.

Because the Mustangs aren’t the only ones with lots left to learn, I make it a point to invest in continuing education every year. That way I can show up better and Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA) can help the once wild horses and their humans that cross our path more effectively.

This spring (was going to be last fall, but the weather had other ideas) we’re having Steve Mantle of Mantle Wild Horses in WY come out to work with us and our wildies as well as the Ambassador Mustangs that are riding horses.

I’m looking forward to applying what we learn to the Mustangs we gentle and to helping and teaching clients and adopters.

If you’re looking for help with your wildie, anywhere from the pre-adoption to post-title stage, we offer coaching calls as well as in person guidance at your facility or ours. If you’re looking to adopt a gentled horse and want some instruction before you take the horse home, we do that too.

You can reach out via PM, email or phone. We will get back to you ASAP.

Happy spring, enjoy some pictures of Divide Basin BLM Mustang mare Lacy, Forest Service Mustang yearling gelding DG Griffin, the Shepherds, and my friend with her cute mare and pup on a recent adventure!

Griffin is going to have seen more things – including side-by-sides and dirt bikes on this particular ride – than some horses ever do by the time he’s old enough to carry a rider. He gets age appropriate ground work to prepare him for a seamless transition to one day (years down the road ) helping me gentle Mustangs from his back.

I enjoy starting colts that way. Slow and easy. I’m not much of a bronc rider or particularly interested in some of the excitement that can come with starting young horses in a fast-paced way.

“Pony, pack and ground drive” usually makes for an uneventful introduction to riding and is something many of us can do at home without having to send a green horse off to a trainer.

Adopter/owner empowerment is a topic that’s important to me. WHOA can’t gentle and place all the Mustangs in holding, not even enough to put a dent in it. We can “only” help 50-100 wild horses a year.

What we can also do is help adopters and owners of once wild horses help themselves and their Mustang(s) for an even bigger impact.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#makingmountainmustangmemories

We’re expecting!!!

What? Devil’s Garden Mustangs!

6 adorable yearlings (5 fillies, 1 red roan gelding; all but the roan are pictured as weanlings) and 1 gorgeous 3yo dark bay gelding from our friends at the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals in California.

When? Next weekend!

We’re super excited to get to know these kiddos.

If you’re interested in adopting (we will gentle them before they go home), here’s what you should know:

We suggest you fill out an adoption application on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g ASAP.

It’s free, fillable and submittable online and it makes you an approved adopter through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy (WHOA). That way we can get a head start on reading through what you’re looking for and checking your references.

We speak with every reference (thank you Kelsey ) before making a decision on an application and that can take a little while. Our goal is to pair Mustangs and adopters in a way that both will be happy. We’re all different and so are they.

Bonus: If we don’t have your ideal match immediately, we’re happy to contact you once we find a Mustang that fits your criteria. Having an approved application and sharing what you’re looking for in a horse helps us help you as efficiently and effectively as possible.

We’re happy to schedule a phone call with you to answer further questions or talk in more detail about a horse/horses you’re interested in. You’re encouraged to come visit your potential new family member once your application has been approved.

These are Forest Service (USFS) Mustangs. They come with all of their paperwork, coggins and microchipped directly from the holding facility. The FS does not currently brand their wildies. That makes them no less authentic or any less deserving of amazing homes than branded Mustangs.

We’ve found that adopting gentled yearlings is a great option for many people who may feel intimidated by the idea of working with a mature horse. In addition, I can tell you from experience that bringing babies along adds so much joy and cuteness to your life and is an unhurried way of developing a relationship and a solid foundation with a Mustang.

So much so that I “accidentally” (sorta) kept a weanling and a yearling from last year’s load. I absolutely love watching DG Cedar and DG Griffin grow up, play, nap in the sun, explore the world and through age appropriate education become wonderful, well adjusted young horses that will make a seamless transition into more serious work when the time comes.

If you’re not looking to adopt, but you’d like to support us in helping these horses transition from holding pens to loving homes, I’m putting donation information in the comments to this post on my/WHOA’s Facebook page.

We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that depends on your support in order to continue to help Mustangs and match them with the right adopters to ensure their long-term safety and well-being.

Location: Guffey, CO.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#bettertogether

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

This guy has been a joy to bring along, spots, quirks and all. Deets is a coming 5yo Appaloosa Mustang gelding, facility born to a Pine Nut, NV Mustang Mare. He is located in Guffey CO. Current height 14.3hh. Deets string tests to 15.2hh mature height. He is available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy to a suitable home.

He’s an athlete with a balanced built, effortless movement and lots of heart. He enjoys jumping (obstacles, not panels) and covering ground, and interestingly enough would rather do something scared than not do it at all.

He can still be shy at first but is kind and gets along well with humans and other horses. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by or interested in bothering dogs.

Deets retains well what he learns. So far he leads, lunges, and sends over obstacles and through gates. He moves hindquarters and shoulders, loads, ties, stands for grooming and picks up all four feet.

During lungeing with the belly rope he has not shown any inclination to buck, kick or bolt, a good indicator that he’s going to take to the saddle well. Surcingle, bridle and ponying are next for this cool dude.

Deets’ tail got munched on in holding and will grow back in time. He has at least a dozen colors in his mane and tail. On the subject of eating, this boy is an easy keeper whose weight will need to be monitored. Regular work will help with that.

Because Deets is a sensitive and athletic horse, and will, in his infinite wisdom, just throw himself into a task, he is going to do best with a human who will give him a job that eventually requires movement at all gaits, who is confident and able to keep Deets’ mind engaged.

He is one of those horses who even when he’s being “bad” (i.e. showing less than desirable behavior or gets startled), he’s still really, really good but checking in with and looking to the human for guidance rather than taking matters into his own hooves is something he still needs to occasionally be reminded of.

With his coloring come the Appy eyes, so he often looks at least mildly miffed or like he’s seen a ghost. That’s something I’ve slowly gotten used to and “that’s just his face”, not an indication of incoming fireworks. It’s important to read his entire body to keep track of where is mind is at.

See our adoptable Mustangs on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Feel free to contact us via PM or email. We are happy to answer questions over the phone if you’d like to schedule a call.

Training halter and lead rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

Vest: Outback Trading Company LTD.

PC: Photographer Linnea Helander

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#makingmountainmustangmemories

One of the best parts of life, and this Mustang journey, is not doing it alone. Having friends and mentors to talk to, work alongside, learn from and ride with is so important.

I feel incredibly grateful to have several horsewomen around me whom I respect and enjoy riding and spending time with. I’m also excited for several super cool learning opportunities coming up soon.

I love learning and growing, even if it’s not always pretty or comfortable. It doesn’t just benefit me, it also helps the horses that come into my life, and their humans. And I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned with others through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy ‘s learning opportunities.

Here’s to lots of trail adventuring, finding Lacy’s left lead, getting better at riding in the two rein, learning to rope, as well as packing and Mustang gentling fun this spring!

Little video of Danita and I letting our mares stretch their legs, the dogs zooming ahead and little Griffin (look closely) bringing up the rear.

Trust and respect are important components of any relationship, with two- and four-leggeds alike. They create a sense of safety from which many things are possible.

Comfort (as in feeling safe), competence and confidence are the three Cs that lead to great results in life and in our partnerships with our horses. They need to be developed on both ends of the lead rope or reins.

That journey isn’t easy but it is worth it, and because humans, like horses, are social creatures, sharing it with others makes life feel so much richer

Music: All that really matters by Teddy Swims

Peep my favorite hackamore setup by The Colorful Cowgirl

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#makingmountainmustangmemories

*Original audio. Sound on for explanation (pardon the wind and my accent). Try to click on the video and watch full screen so you can read the text.*

Tay Martin gave all the new kids a spa day after I sprayed their manes and tails. I joke about my X chromosomes not being long enough for me to enjoy that kind of thing, so I’m grateful she does.

Bonus: It’s a great, low key way for new Mustangs to become acquainted with new people, also an important step in their transition towards new homes.

Eclipse, coming 3yo Mustang mare from Little Colorado WY, is a little right side shy with new things and people.

Prior to this video, she’d stand for a few seconds of detangling and then back up. As I was filming and walking Taylor through finding different approaches to ‘problems’, Eclipse finally settled into it.

That’s where it’s easy to get greedy and keep going. The magic lies in knowing when to quit (it’s that way with a lot of things in life it seems).

Even more magic lies in taking a few steps WITH the horse and then, unless you have a cuddler, giving them space to soak in what just happened.

Both the walking and the processing time help them integrate what they are learning. IF you timed your break right, chances are they’ll learn what you want them to learn.

I’m happy to have caught all of it on video. The processing and the whole different horse afterwards are pretty sweet to watch. Thank you Eclipse and Taylor for being awesome!

Is this helpful? Questions?

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is committed to helping Mustangs and their humans. We offer in person and remote coaching as well as gentling for clients. Email or PM if it sounds like that would be helpful for you and your wild one. We also have gentled Mustangs available for adoption.

*PSA for the people in the back, you know who you are; so if this shoe doesn’t fit you just don’t wear it: Smack talking, ghosting and being copy cats who don’t quote their sources and give credit to their mentors… That’s what kids do. And they get in trouble for that. Most things in life are “and” rather than “or”. Be a good human. That’s all.*

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

As our snow has been turning to mud and crazy winds helped dry that some, we’ve been enjoying working with these four ladies.

Eclipse, Cinder, Rapunzel and Fiadh are doing well and I feel incredible fortunate to have them. Mustangs are individuals and some take more easily to the people thing than others. These mares make my work extra fun and have me excited for their futures.

Eclipse tends to be initially reserved but warms up quickly and is a thinker with a quiet mind. Cinder is a bit of a busy body who melts when you touch her. Rapunzel has turned from sassy pony to “pick me!” attention hog and Fiadh believes everything in her environment is there to serve her in some way.

These ladies will make wonderful partners for their humans once they find them. They have shown that they retain well what they’ve learned and are eager to participate.

Leading, lungeing, tying, body control, backing, crossing obstacles, grooming, they’ve taken it in stride. We’re practicing sending, picking up feet, loading next.

Tay Martin is looking forward to giving them a spa day so we can turn those wild, fairy stirrup donning manes into silky flowing ones. At least for a little while. That means spray bottle practice too. I don’t foresee much trouble with that.

We are accepting adoption applications on these ladies. For those of you who have submitted one already, I’ll reach out to you once we’ve spoken to all of your references. Kelsey is doing her best on that, while also having a day job and her own Mustangs.

The application is fillable and submittable online and can be found on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Guffey CO.

All horses are adopted out with training that goes beyond TIP requirements and can be tailored to the adopter’s needs. We make sure you and the horse you pick are a match, we want both parties to be happy, feel safe and be successful.

Adoption vary based on the horse. For every horse that can command a higher adoption , we have several that cannot, need more time or require special care. Adoption go directly back into our program and help us adopt, gentle and place more wildies into suitable homes.

We’d like to thank the anonymous supporter who sent Gus a bag of Vitamin E pellets. We couldn’t do this without you all.

PM or email us with questions.

Training halters by Rowdy’s Ropes

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#makingmountainmustangmemories

What are we looking at here? Frosty Bob’s big butt for one. Also 2 women who decided to walk 4 Mustangs – 2 from WY and 2 from CA – and 2 Shepherds for a couple of minutes to get past a scary (to us, we both don’t love narrow trails with drop offs) section of the trail. This is us just getting to the spot where it was wide enough that we felt comfortable getting back on.

Many other people would have ridden this part. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not other people. I owe it to my horses and to myself to know when I’m going to become a burden to them. When I get scared I either freeze or get grabby on the reins. Neither helps my horse navigate a challenging trail. So I dismount and feel safer that way.

I’ve been in a spot that was so steep, wet and narrow, we ended up putting a person on each end and sending the horses one at a time because it would have been to dangerous to even lead them. It was literally a 20 yard section of a day ride. The horses did fine, and from what we could tell, the humans staying off of their backs and out of their way was the best thing for them in that moment.

It’s not for others to tell you what to do if it’s not something you’re ok with, or for you to override your judgement to impress someone. It’s ok to want to ride and not be fearless. Fear is a survival mechanism. It is important, should you choose to ride with other people, to choose those people wisely.

Compatibility is important, between you and your horse, and also the people you ride with. Expanding our comfort zones is great. We also get to be where we are at and meet ourselves there. And to surround ourselves with people who accept and respect that.

Frosty Bob is from Fifteenmile, WY and was gathered with frost bitten ears. Lacy, DG Cedar and DG Griffin are Ambassador Mustangs with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy and so much fun to go exploring with.

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#makingmountainmustangmemories

This was Lorena’s (2yo Twin Peaks CA Mustang filly) first time being ponied. Lorena, now Wren, has since gone home to her adopter in Michigan. I just got an update yesterday.

Kiddo is doing well, turning into quite the ham, and from the sounds of it landed exactly where she needed to be. I’m happy for Wren and her human. Thank you to all who support Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy in doing what we do. You are instrumental in making these success stories a reality.

What do I mean by “difficult” side?

When I first introduce ponying, I start with the horse I’m ponying on my right. Later I’ll practice on both sides. To make it easier on them we go clockwise first.

That keeps the newbie to the inside of the circle, meaning they don’t have to hustle to keep up and if they jump around a bit trying to figure things out, they have somewhere to go and space to do it.

Wren settled into that effortlessly, so we checked that box and went the other direction. This is a tiny round pen and being in between my riding horse and the fence makes some of the greenies feel claustrophobic. And it’s harder because they’re on the big circle and have to walk faster.

Everyone first learns to step forward at a tap behind the shoulder, something Mustang Matt taught me when he was here a couple of years ago. It’s made a huge difference. That really helps when encouraging a horse forward while ponying.

Wren took to it really nicely and was wonderful about taking feedback. Timing and feel are important so they can understand what to do. Ideally I want the ponied horse’s nose at my knee, with about a foot in each direction still being in the tolerance zone.

FYI, original audio in this video, so if you want a bit of explanation to go with it, you can listen to me ramble My camera shy self loved none of that BUT I said I was going to grow and do hard things, so here we go.

I’m carrying a 5ft buggy whip with a short lash. I like the feel and the weight of it, I can reach where I need to and there’s no long lash to get stepped on and confuse horses when it’s flopping around. I have a 6ft one too, I like them both.

Do you need to do this bareback in a halter? No. You do you. Lacy is used to it and it keeps my backside warm (see all that snow?). I also didn’t want to be tempted to dally. I spent most of last year nursing the princess back to health and I don’t want other horses tugging on her.

Questions? Your own experiences with ponying? Let’s hear them!

Want to learn how to do this? We do have learning opportunities available, both on and off site, so get in touch via email or PM.

Thank you Kelsey for filming.

I’m staying warm out there all day because Outback Trading Company LTD. makes great gear for all seasons.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#BLMmustang#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression” – Andrew Grant

Some of you know I’m a counselor in my other life. I work with kiddos and sometimes with their adults. (Un)fortunately, I’m just as feral there as I am the rest of the time.

I recently met with someone who had just taken over caregiving for some youngsters and was asking me when they should implement the expectations for living together in their household.

We’re talking very basic cleaning up after yourself and keeping your area organized type stuff. I said “Now, unless you’re planning to give them to a zoo when they’re 18!”.

I believe – and regularly need to remind myself too or life will do it for me – that we set the tone for any relationship, be that with a friend, loved one, professional relationships and our relationships with the animals that come into our life, early.

We don’t say to a partner 5 years in “You know, actually, honey, I expected you to be faithful to me” or to an employee after 2 months “It would be really nice if you showed up on time”. No. Ideally we communicate what we expect straight out of the gate to avoid confusion, resentment and unnecessary arguments down the road.

The same is true with horses. Especially Mustangs. They are smarter than your average bear and often much more in tune with their environment than many domestics who have learned to tolerate or just tune us and our shenanigans out.

Whether a horse comes into your life at 6 months or 5 years of age, unhandled or already trained, the time to explain what you expect from them is now, in a way that they can understand.

That way -hopefully – you’re not revisiting and undoing self-inflicted mess ups days, months or even years down the road. It’s much harder then, on the horse too.

I needed these 2 babies like I needed a hole in my head. I did get a hole in my head too, so why not do both. The point is though, that from the very beginning I’ve been teaching them to become the horses I want to ride and be around a few years from now, in a developmentally appropriate manner.

You pick up your feet, you stand quietly, tie without fussing, cross water, don’t eat when I’m holding you. You lead and pony on a loose rope, are nice to the dogs and ok with them running around, and don’t nibble or push on people, just to name a few.

DG Cedar and DG Griffin came to Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy last summer from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals . Now coming 2 and 1yo, respectively, they’re good little citizens that are a joy to explore the world with, and still have plenty of opportunities to just be babies and time to grow up both physically and mentally.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Here’s Fiadh (pronounced Fee Ah, not like the car), 2yo Twin Peaks CA Mustang filly, confronting our curtain about its audacity to blow in her face on a particularly windy afternoon. Then she walked over to me like “Did you see that???” She’d never ‘met’ the curtain before.

I adore this filly. Not just because she looks like Lacy with a mule mane, but because this girl is a war horse in the making. She takes NO crap. Not from me, not from the curtain, not from anything. And she loves the dogs.

I tend to tell people when it comes to picking a horse “Watch their immediate reaction to something that upsets them and see if you like that.” In my experience it takes a second or two for learned behavior to (hopefully) kick in.

If you can more or less comfortably sit or deal with whatever the horse does right after she gets caught off guard, you can probably get along with her, assuming you get along with her in general.

That’s a little bit like human relationships. It’s the hard moments that make or break those too, assuming those involved enjoy each other on the good days.

I like dogs but I’m a bit of a closet crazy cat lady. I think that’s why I’m drawn to cat-like traits in Mustangs too.

Some sass, lots of opinions, a bit of mischief paired with that look of arrogance and “you realize I don’t HAVE TO do what you want, right!?”. That’s my kind of horse. The more dog-like ever-friendly pocket crawler type not so much. To each their own.

I’ve had several people gently encourage me to keep some horses that aren’t exactly my type because those would one day make nice riding horses someone else would enjoy. I’m trying.

Personally, I appreciate a horse that talks back a bit and makes me work for it. This filly does. At the holding facility she would look miffed and walk away when approached. She shows exactly how she feels and we’ve had a number of conversations about what appropriate ways to express one’s opinion look like.

She needs to be able to do that. Still, she needs to not rear or plow people over. She also needs to learn a certain level of frustration tolerance and develop the ability to think through challenges and respond to cues rather than react.

That’s part of the joy and responsibility of working with Mustangs: To help them learn, enter into two-way communication with us, and yes, in a way override their instincts and develop new ways of interacting with their environment because most of what humans ask of them goes against what any self-respecting wild horse would do. No easy feat at all. I have a lot of respect for how resilient and capable of adapting many of them are.

If you’re interested in learning more about Mustang gentling or in adopting a gentled wildie through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy , send me an email or a PM.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#BLMmustang#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

Today was the first day that really felt like spring, we even saw the first couple of butterflies on today’s ride and hardly any snow. I heard a hummingbird two days ago.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy, Cedar and Griffin, and the Shepherds got to explore a new area today, with lots of new sights for the little ones and plenty of weirdly shaped rocks and trees.

We met one friendly, respectful ATV driver. That was a welcome learning opportunity. No motorized vehicles where we usually go. Roads are different, there’s much more space to pass.

We started slow, visiting with other riders at the trailhead while the horses slept tied to the trailer. Throughout the ride we let the Mustangs stop to catch their breath while we enjoyed the views in between climbing up and down rocky hills,

We walked, trotted and loped, dogs in front or behind, we’d lead or follow, sometimes get out of sight. We walked our horses along the cliff because we’re both scared of heights. It was a peaceful, enjoyable ride with relaxed horses, happy humans and of course ever-cheerful dogs.

What made that ride successful, even with fresh horses – no, I didn’t speed the video up, Lacy travels like she means business – running dogs, a loose colt and Lacy being vision impaired from an injury last year, are clear expectations.

Our horses have been educated in a way that they understand what’s expected of them and what they can expect from us. That way we can count on each other. That has to do with enforceable boundaries, clear communication, consistency, patience and persistence.

I don’t like having to babysit a horse and in most situations I don’t think horses like to be babysat. If they feel safe with us, understand and have been taught to do what we’re asking, there’s no need for that.

I ask for forward motion at whatever gait. Lacy understands and kicks it into gear, on a loose rein and with pricked ears, until I ask for a different gait. When we stop, she stands quietly until she hears the cue to go on.

That’s not a dull horse (far from it, in case you haven’t met the princess), that’s a comfortable, confident, competent and therefore a content horse.

Boundaries enforced consistently and communicated effectively create a sense of safety, regardless of whether you have two legs or four. Safety, trust, respect, relaxation and joy all go hand in hand when working with horses.

Thank you Becky for a fun ride!

#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#adoptamustang#ridethebrand#makingmountainmustangmemories

Here’s Tay Martin giving Buddy, a yearling Mustang gelding who’s been at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy for gentling for a couple of weeks now, a good scratch.

It’s funny and cute and all but the reason I’m posting it is because I think it’s important to make time for low pressure activities, things the horse enjoys and for just sharing space.

Suddenly going to school is a big deal for previously unhandled horses that have never had anything asked of them. There’s much to learn and it’s easy to get caught up in teaching skills and enforcing rules.

Part of our responsibility is to also set the tone for how these once wild horses view humans. We’re not unpredictable, scary predators and we’re also not just food bringers or scratching posts. We aim to help them see us partners to whom they look for guidance.

To strike that balance, we look for what each horse enjoys and make time for some of that in our interactions, with appropriate boundaries. It helps everyone reset, lighten up and enjoy each other more.

Buddy is a good kid. He is now easy to catch, goes for long walks, loads, ties and picks up his feet. There’s still some refining to so but we’re super excited for his future.

He’ll be going home in just a few weeks. His adopter will keep up with his handling and continue to prepare him, in a developmentally appropriate manner, for life as a well-adjusted, reliable riding partner.

If you have a Mustang you’d like us to gentle or are looking to adopt, please get in touch via PM or email. Our available horses are being updated today, go check them out at

w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Training halter and rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

Music: Living the Dream by Matt Robertson Music

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#horsemanship#adoptamustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

A big part of backcountry riding is getting up close and personal with nature and the raw elements.

Yes, sometimes that means getting pretty darn cold or soaking wet, closer to moose than one would hope to, or a clueless horse sticks its nose into a hornet’s nest.

Most of the time though, it’s about moments like this. Getting above treeline in early October and being greeted by what I call sun snow (I much prefer that to thunder snow in this situation).

If the video looks a bit sideways, that’s because I was leaning, hard, so I wouldn’t get blown off of Tiny. It was super windy, you can see the storm blowing in over the Rockies.

These two Mustangs sure made me proud on that ride. Tiny was rock solid and thanks to hoof protection traveled eagerly and with ease. Petrie tagged along sans pack, because our gear was all still in camp.

We weren’t far from our lunch spot at this point. Can you imagine having lunch in the sun while it’s snowing at 13,000ft, overlooking all that, watching the horses graze and the dogs snooze? It was pretty darn special.

This type of riding gives me a different level of appreciation for the horses that make those trips possible and the work that goes into preparing for them.

We had some bloopers on that trip, you live and you learn. Reading, YouTube and preparation only get you so far. That’s why it’s helpful to learn from those who have been there and done that, made mistakes and found things that work.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy will be offering packing workshops again this year. We will announce them on social media and on w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g

Music: Free by Ocie Elliott

#wildhorseswillingpartners#horsepacking#backcountry#adventure#makingmountainmustangmemories

Thanks to everyone who participated in our naming fun-raiser, the four new Mustang mares are no longer “the palomino, the dun roan, the pinto and the dun”.

Instead please welcome…

Eclipse: 3yo palomino Mustang mare – with the most unusual facial coloring – from Little Colorado WY.

Cinder: 3yo dun roan Mustang mare, facility born to a Stewart Creek WY mare.

Rapunzel: 3yo tri-colored pinto Mustang mare, facility born to a Stewart Creek WY mare.

Fiadh (Irish, pronounced Fee Ah): 2yo dun Mustang filly from Twin Peaks CA.

Everyone is curious and reasonably friendly, leads, lunges, is working on body control and has been tied and brushed ( You’d never know. Mud season is my least favorite season). I’m super impressed with all four of them.

They were a little put out about the new rules and expectations the first couple of sessions.

“What do you mean give to pressure? And why would I look at you when I need to be worrying about where my friends are? You want me to do what with which part of my body?Now don’t touch me there!”

With consistency, patience and finding workarounds to explain things in ways that make sense to them, they’re starting to figure out and enjoy this people thing.

These girls will be available for adoption to suitable homes. We want you to be happy and the Mustang you adopt too.

If you’re interested in adopting, we ask that you head on over to: w i l d h o r s e o u t r e a c h . o r g and fill out our adoption application. That helps us match adopters with the right horse for them, and keep track of what you’re looking for if we don’t have exactly what you’re looking for yet.

You’re always welcome to PM or email us with questions.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is located in Guffey, CO. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to help wild horses transition from wild to willing, from holding pens to loving homes. Sustainably, with compassion and competence.

Thank you again to everyone who showed up, had fun, played and donated along with their name suggestions! We’re so grateful for you all and we couldn’t do what we do without you.

Late post today because Monday is my school day (counseling stuff) and I wasn’t cool enough to do this early in the morning before school. Many thanks to Tay Martin and Jennifer Martin who did the drawing of names for us

Want to help but it’s not your time to adopt, donate or volunteer? Like, comment on and share this post to help these horses find the great homes they deserve.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#wildtowilling#nonprofit#BetterTogether#makingmountainmustangmemories

I’ve decided to let naming the new Mustangs be this evening’s problem, in favor of storytime because it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

With spring in the air, green grass coming up and new (wild)life soon or already coming into the world, I’m itching to get back into the still snow covered mountains soon-ish.

During last year’s solo trips I took lots of pictures and the time to write some of our adventures down. Then I got busy and didn’t share most of them. Here’s a story about creating said new life that really made for a memorable time in the wilderness.

I’d finally made it into camp, a few hours later than I had planned. It was nearing sunset already and when you’re setting up camp by yourself for yourself and several critters – Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Mustangs Tiny and Petrie and the ever-helpful German Shepherds – it takes a while.

First order of business was hobbles on so the horses could graze, followed by unloading the pack horse, both for her relief and to access my gear. I pulled out what I would need that night, fed the dogs, and found a good spot to set up the highline.

The sun had long set and I was zooming around in the last bit of daylight, when I noticed that Tiny was staring intently into the distance.

Doing backcountry riding, you learn to watch your horse for what’s out there, especially a Mustang. I grabbed my binos and of course he was right.

Two moose, a bull and a cow, obviously rather enamored with one another. At about 100 yards distance I wasn’t exactly thrilled about our company but also not too worried about them. Yet.

I’d encountered moose there before, I just hadn’t been dumb enough to camp there during the rut. Whoops.

They weren’t worried about us. Unfortunately they were so preoccupied with making more moose, they also weren’t worried about where they were going.

It didn’t help that it was too dark to pack up and move camp, in either case not knowing where Romeo and Juliet Moose were headed and if another camp spot would have its own moose love story. I was packing heat, but not enough to stop a charging moose in its tracks if it came down to it. Also whoops.

Tiny stared until it got too dark to see them while Petrie grazed peacefully. The crashing and crunching of moose in brush came closer and closer, until they were within 30 yards of camp. I was not happy.

By that time I had finished setting up, put the horses on the highline and crawled into my tent. Needless to say I wasn’t tired and I had decided to sleep in my riding clothes and with my sleeping bag open, everything I might need within reach.

I wasn’t going to die in or have to run from a moose in the middle of the night in my pajamas, nope. Around 11pm the crunching stopped, the dogs stopped grumbling and all was quiet until 4.30 when a loud snort from one of the horses startled me awake. The Shepherds’ giant ears were on high alert.

Shining my headlight out of the tent, I didn’t see any intruders, just two highlined Mustangs wide awake, watching something in the dark meadow. I convinced the dogs to keep quiet, apparently moose strongly dislike and will attack dogs, and distracted myself with an audiobook until first daylight.

I can’t carry a tune in a bucket and when I get scared out there I usually sing German folk songs, loudly. That’s always kept moose and people away from me yet.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#horsepacking#adventure#backcountry#makingmountainmustangmemories

Lorena, 2yo Twin Peaks, CA Mustang filly, left with hauler Brice Bebout for her new home in MI a few days ago, just in the nick of time before another storm.

I’d like to thank Tay Martin for taking care of and loving the wild ones that come through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy to get ready for finding great homes,

Photographer Linnea Helander for your epic photography skills and for working horses with me when you have time,

Kelsey Janosik for meticulously reviewing adoption applications and providing feedback,

Rowdy’s Ropes for the best, prettiest custom rope tack we could ask for,

Cassie Krzeczowski for making the first trim a good experience for these kids,

Rocky Top Veterinary Service for getting our wildies ready to travel and attending to their medical needs,

our funny, pain in the neck of a brand inspector,

our land owners, reputable and experienced haulers, reliable hay providers and other service providers who make what we do possible,

the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program and Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals for working with us and the relationships we’ve built over the years,

and of course our clients, adopters, donors, volunteers and friends because we couldn’t do what we do without you!

Happy Easter to those who celebrate, a sunny spring weekend to those who don’t, and remember, tomorrow we’ll be drawing names for the new kids so if you want to support our naming fun-raiser, head to Tuesday’s post and put in your name suggestions for a small donation that goes towards the Mustangs!

Read below for what Lorena – now Wren – is up to in her new home. That’s what makes it all worth it! (Shared with permission from her adopter.)

“I love her! I was up until after midnight that first night, just being out there (doing nothing but I didn’t want to walk away, either). I find myself trying to juggle other commitments so I can go out there (the “oh, I have this meeting I have to attend, maybe I can slide out for a little bit beforehand. Oh, but what if we hit a little hiccup or I lose track of time or am right in the middle of something and I am out there longer than I have before the meeting – drat. I have to wait til after…” kinda thing – the literal conversation I had with myself this morning ).

I see some of the same things in her that I absolutely love about Radar. And some things I see I like better than when I’m working with Radar. So, first impressions: I think she’s going to be perfect! We’ll undoubtedly have some disagreements along the way (can’t expect anyone, especially a teenager, to be 100% with everything in my experience / even if it’s just a matter of “I don’t want to today” ) and everyone has off/bad days. We’ll adjust and figure out the best way to work through whatever that ends up being (even if that means making a phone call to ask questions/get advice if there’s a sticky spot we can’t get through on our own). I’m always up for learning something new in that respect,

Once she’s fully settled in and really starts to show all of her personality here (and the quirks that will go along with it, I’m sure) will be the real tell but I think this is going to be a great relationship.

***

Wren met [the farrier]. He wanted to extend his appreciation for putting so much work into getting her used to picking up her feet – and so nicely, too. He went and picked each one up after just the short introduction and she didn’t hesitate an instant

She also walked right up when I came in this afternoon. She hasn’t been hard to catch or anything, but it was just the first walk up (which just makes it special )”

#wildhorseswillingpartners#ittakesavillage#nonprofit#bettertogether#makingmountainmustangmemories

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.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#mustanggentling

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

I’m going to do a little myth busting here, based on my experience. Not just mine, I know. I also appreciate if your experience has been different, this isn’t about right or wrong.

These four young Mustang mares are the most recent kiddos to join our program here at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . Two are facility born, two were gathered as babies.

None were the type to just crawl into your pocket in the pens, but several of them – not the dun – would at least come up for a look and a sniff.

The 2yo dun would look inconvenienced and walk off when approached. The dun roan would look from a few feet away. Both the dun roan and the pinto will back up to the gate for butt scratches. The other 2 come up to the fence now to check you out and may sniff a hand

So you’d think they’d be super easy to gentle, right? Well, not necessarily.

They’re a little bit like cats. They’re habituated to people. What they’re not used to is having anything asked of them or being alone with a human and expected to pay attention to them.

For people-habituated yet otherwise untrained Mustangs, humans are a welcome distraction that might bring food or provide entertainment, on the horse’s terms. They’re not worried about our presence, so much so that if they’re upset and we’re in the way, we might just get flattened, not out of aggression, more in a collateral damage “I don’t actually care that you’re standing there” sort of way.

That’s these guys, to varying degrees. Am I expecting them all to turn out well and become attentive, well adjusted, willing partners for their future humans? I absolutely am.

Is it easier to gentle one that’s a little leary of people still? In my opinion it is. They tend to want to keep an eye on us and be more likely to yield to pressure rather than bulldoze through it.

We’re getting some important work done with these mares, and they’re not only learning a whole new set of skills, objects and rules, they’re also learning that two-way communication with humans is possible. And that it requires that both parties, speak AND listen, and pay attention to one another.

Feel free to share your experience with gentling more and less people-habituated wildies in comments.

Rowdy’s Ropes rope tack and Tay Martin ‘s support for the win yesterday. She worked the other kids while I did haltering, body control and touch practice sessions with these ladies.

Also, there’s still time to participate in our naming “fun-raiser” for them. See Tuesday’s post for details! We’ll draw names from your suggestions over the weekend

#wildhorseswillingpartners#makingmountainmustangmemories

This guy though… He’s a Golden Retriever puppy that accidentally ended up in a rather large horse’s body. He’s a coming 4yo Antelope Hills WY Mustang gelding. He does all the things and then some and is technically ready to find his person.

But only technically. He was gathered as a baby and doesn’t have a scratch on him. He loves people, literally everyone. But he moves funny. Not Stringhalt, maybe Shivers.

I don’t want to send him out in the world not knowing how his body is going to hold up to what’s asked of him. Per vet recommendation (thank you Patty & Jim) we’re starting him on a Vitamin E supplement and he’s learning to pony and explore the world outside of the pens so he can have turnout and more exercise. We’ll see how he does with that and go from there.

BLM has offered to take him back, which I appreciate. I think this guy enjoys doing the people thing very much though. He’d sleep on someone’s couch if he was allowed to and could fit through a human sized door (he’s huge).

Am I set on making him a permanent member of our herd? No. But if it ends up being what’s best for him, and he can pull his weight somehow, then we’ll consider it. Part of setting him up for success is getting him as healthy as possible before he leaves, if he does.

We’ve had several requests to adopt him, we’re thankful for people willing to adopt. A caveat: Gus is cool. But Gus is not for the faint of heart or people who just want to “save” him or love on him.

He’s a giant, insecure, overly friendly, sometimes easily distracted goofball of a young gelding. In the wrong hands it’ll take about 2 weeks (I’m being optimistic here) for him to become unmanageable and dangerous.

He needs love, yes. But love that looks like exercise, boundaries, someone who exudes calm confidence, provides exposure, stimulation, consistency and lots of reinforcing good and redirecting not so desirable behavior. Constantly, because he has baby brain.

When this 15.2hh hunk of a Mustang says: “Ew, scary!”, “I don’t like that!” or “Oh look!”, that hits differently than when a smaller one does that. He has to duck to get in my trailer and he has (small) dinner plates for feet.

He’s been saddled, bridled, ponied and taken for walks. So if we can get him physically right, the right adopter is going to have a lot of fun with this guy. Pictures of him climbing a 4ft snow pile just because he thought it was fun. That’s Gus, aka Gus the bus.

If you’re supporting Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy , thank you. Making sure these horses end up in the right home, not the first one willing to cough up the $, is a big part of what we do. We do have other Mustangs available for adoption and are bringing more in later this spring.

PM or email us if you want to help, need help gentling a wild one or want to learn how, or are looking to adopt.

Training halter and lead rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

#BLMmustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#mustanggentling#makingmountainmustangmemories

We’re a few days into having these 4 lovely ladies here, it’s currently 3rd winter here, headed into 2nd spring, so everything is snowy and soggy.

The new “kids” are eating, drinking and doing well. We’re starting to give them nicknames and some of them I really would prefer didn’t stick so we’re asking for your help in naming them.

To do that let’s have a little fun with a naming fundraiser! Here’s why: There’s no incentive program for any of this right now.

What that means is that any wild horse we bring out of holding for gentling and rehoming, we adopt and assume all risks and costs until they are successfully reassigned. Nonprofit organization or not, we need to buy hay, pay our farrier and vet and make sure we can continue to operate, help Mustangs and educate humans.

How it works: We’re asking for a $5 donation per name suggestion. If you want to suggest a name for several horses or the same name for the same horse 3 times or 5 different names for 3 different horses, do the math.

Comment names below

We’ll put all the name suggestions in a hat and draw, for each horse, then announce their names.

Tag numbers, colors “Toad” (don’t ask), “Lacy Junior/L2” “Barbie” (guess which ones) are all unsustainable ways to move forward, so please help us out.

You can donate via this post, for those who prefer other ways, I’ll put additional info in comments. For questions or if you want to send a check instead, send us a PM or email.

They are all mares, the dun filly is 2yo and from Twin Peaks CA, the dun roan, palomino and the pinto pony are 3yo from WY (dun roan and pinto are facility born to Stewart Creek WY mares, the palomino is from Little Colorado WY).

All will eventually be available for adoption, some possibly later with additional training. Located in Guffey CO.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, registered with the IRS and the state of Colorado. Donations are tax deductible.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#letsdothis#bettertogether#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

This pretty seal bay mare is one of the kindest horses we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. She’s also DG Griffin’s dam.

Minerva, or Ms Kitty as she was known at the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals , is a 5yo Devil’s Garden Mustang mare standing between 13.3 and 14hh tall.

She’s good to catch and halter, ties, leads and loads, picks up feet and just had her first trim.

She’s nicely built, a beautiful mover and athletic without being “hot”. She would make an amazing riding partner for a small adult or an experienced young person. Maybe driving or packing could be in her future too.

Minerva is shy and a bit introverted. She would benefit from an adopter who is willing to make her a priority and build a partnership, without making her a “one person horse” (unless you’re also a vet, farrier, body worker, and never get sick or go on vacation).

Introducing a shy horse to different people is part of helping them come out of their shell and building their confidence so they can feel good about themselves and the world they live in.

Minerva is good with other horses and never looking for a fight. She will do anything we take the time to help her understand and she retains what she has learned.

She has a scar on her left front fetlock that is not causing her pain.

Located in Guffey, CO. Contact us via PM or email if you’re interested in adopting her through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . She is titled.

First official step towards adopting is filling out the adoption application on our website. I’m happy to chat with you about her to see if she could be a good fit for you.

Please comment, like and share to help Minerva get more visibility and find a wonderful home!

PC: Photographer Linnea Helander

Rope tack: Rowdy’s Ropes

Jacket & vest: Outback Trading Company LTD.

Hat: Montana Rio Buckaroo Hats

#DevilsGardenMustang#wildhorseswillingpartners#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

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!

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Meet the new Mustangs!

2yo dun (roan?) filly from Twin Peaks CA,

3yo palomino mare (with a face that’s chocolate on one side ) from Little Colorado WY,

3yo bay roan mare facility born to a Stewart Creek WY mare,

3yo tri colored pinto mare (NOT a paint, for my fellow color/terminology nerds) facility born to a Stewart Creek WY mare.

No names yet, I’m thinking maybe we’ll do a little naming fundraiser. Thoughts?

They settled right in last night and I’m looking forward to working with them today. I’m toying with the idea of starting one or two of them under saddle before placing them because I believe there’s a huge need for saddle trained Mustangs and the more marketable skills a horse has, the safer it’s going to be.

You’re always welcome to electronically submit an adoption application through our website. Even if we don’t have the ideal wildie for you right now, we’re happy to work with you to help you find a good match… It needs to fit not just for you but also for the horse.

Many thanks to the Cañon City BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program staff for having us, for helping everyone find what they were looking for, patiently shuttling people back and forth, answering endless questions and walking through the pens with us, and for quietly sorting and loading the selected horses.

Thank you to Tay Martin for muffins and for getting the new kids’ pens ready. It was so nice to just be able to unload and sort them into their pens after a long day and 20min of navigating post-snowstorm mud while backing the trailer up to the loading alley.

We’re excited to welcome our new students here at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy and grateful for the opportunity to facilitate their start into domestic life.

Keep checking our stories for updates.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#BLMmustang

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

I’ve been fortunate enough to be around a lot of horses over the past 30 years and I appreciate how much preferences vary as to who likes what in a horse and why.

I determine whether I have a keeper or not by how badly I want to work with them and how far out of my way I’m willing to go to spend time with them.

It’s like that with people too, isn’t it? We tend to make time for the ones who really matter to us and whose presence in our lives makes us happy, and excuses for the others.

I’ve had horses that have made me want to dust instead of ride. That’s a red flag in my book. The joke is that I don’t dust until the horse sculpture in my window grows a wooly winter coat. It’s not THAT bad. It’s not that far from the truth either.

These 3 – and strangely, Gus too – make me want to be out there at all random hours of the day and night. In the dark, when it’s windy or cold, after a long day, before and during a stressful one, even in the face of plenty of other things I could be doing.

Afterwards I feel happy, light and refreshed. It’s not all unicorns and rainbows, sometimes there are tough and even scary moments, and I know for a fact that these guys aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

But they’re right for me, our communication styles and personalities mesh well and we come back stronger and clearer from what disagreements we do have, and we don’t usually have to revisit an issue much more than once.

It’s kind of like that with the “right” people too I think. Iron may sharpen iron but a constant battle is no bueno. Finding 2 and 4 legged companions who accept us for who we are tend to inspire and encourage us to want to grow into our best selves. That goes both ways.

I hope you give yourself permission to find and cherish the horse that’s right for you, and to become the human that horse deserves.

Happy, crunchy hooves-on-snow sounds for the win during yesterday’s ride with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy, DG Cedar and DG Griffin, and Shepherds Denali and Ranger.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Yesterday was Lorena’s – 2yo Twin Peaks, CA Mustang filly, adopted – first time in hobbles. It was a non-event.

She’s comfortable with leading by a foot, having her feet handled and she’s been trimmed.

When I put the hobbles on towards the end of our session and rewarded her for putting up with it, nothing happened. So far so good.

I asked her to take a step, and she realized her front feet weren’t able to move normally. She shifted her weight around trying to figure it out.

Lorena balanced herself, yawned and looked at me like “Was that ok?” Another reward and another ask to move.

She tried to hop, that didn’t work all that well, so next she shuffled forward. That’s it. Another reward.

We hung out for another few minutes before I took the hobbles off and ended the session. Well done little lady.

People feel all sorts of different ways about hobbles. I feel some kind of way about hungry horses tied to trees staring at the sky while riders enjoy their lunch break out on a ride.

The horse that carried them there is built to graze almost around the clock. They are 1000lbs power houses sustaining their bodies and receiving their energy essentially from salad.

Most of us could skip a meal or 3 and still be ok, because our diet and metabolism are vastly different.

To me, hobble training means taking better care of my horses while out day riding or fixing fence, it means being able to graze areas that maybe aren’t fenced for horses otherwise, and it means no hungry ponies on backcountry trips.

It means having my horse not blow up if their foot catches a hose, wire or string hidden under grass, lawn darting me and potentially cutting up a leg.

It means teaching my horses not to struggle when a leg is caught someplace it shouldn’t be, in a fence, a feeder or on the trailer. Cedar did that recently and quietly let me free her because she’d had plenty of rope practice around her legs.

I personally three leg hobble in the backcountry and I don’t leave them hobbled unsupervised. There’s a story or 3 to go with that.

Meanwhile I’m excited for the home this girl has found, and for another trip “to prison” (literally) tomorrow and grateful for the opportunity to give several more wild ones a chance at a wonderful domestic life through our nonprofit organization Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy

Contact us if you’re looking to adopt or would like to support our efforts to help Mustangs successfully transition from holding pens to loving homes. We can only do what we do because of you, whether you’re volunteering, donating, buying merch, adopting, attending clinics or spreading the word about what we do.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#mustangtraining

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

Lacy, my first branded Mustang, first TIP horse, first gaited horse I’ve ever owned, and the best horse I’ve had in my life yet, turned 9 on Sunday.

We know that because she was born in holding in Cañon City to a Divide Basin, WY Mustang mare.

I’m not the kind to bring my animals gifts or bake them a cake on their birthday. But still, this birthday was special. I may or may not have told everyone at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo that the princess had a birthday coming up.

Lacy injured herself in early 2023 and was lame with an unclear outcome for months. A serious eye injury in the fall – she was still not sound – added to the concerns for her future. It took a village to keep her going and I’m so grateful to all who showed up for Lacy and me during that time.

I spent months in suspense, wondering if a quality of life call needed to be made, and whether I would need to let her go even before Blanca who crossed the rainbow bridge on the last warm day of fall this past year.

Lacy didn’t understand why she never got picked to go on a ride and snuck through every open trailer door she could find, hoping to go, and I had to ask her to get out. You can’t venture into the backcountry or move cattle if you can barely walk.

Spending her birthday weekend with her, loping in the indoor arena while ponying a youngster, watching her be a patient, friendly Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang, meeting people and packing a friend’s kid around was a gift I didn’t think I’d see most of last year.

I cherish every day with the princess, knowing how quickly things can change. She has adopted the 2 Devil’s Garden babies we kept last year. Watching them play, eat and sleep together makes my heart happy and I think she’s happy too.

I just recently started working training horses off of her again. Lacy enjoys work as much as she enjoys food and butt scratches. She’s gotten cuddlier with age but no less spicy and I love that about her.

PC for the first photo: Photographer Linnea Helander . She and Tay Martin sneakily took that last year when we didn’t know if she’d make it and just recently shared it with me

Many thanks for the other two pics to Amanda and Maya . Yes, DG Cedar crosses her hind legs and does all sorts of other goofy things when baby brain kicks in and she’s done standing still.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#adoptalivinglegend

#BLMmustang#makingmountainmustangmemories

There’s always been more than one meaning to the word ‘unpacking’ and our time at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo certainly has left me with a lot to unpack, more than just training tools, winter boots and clothes.

The mares (DG Cedar went instead of Griffin at the last minute), Shepherds and I left for Denver a day early to beat the worst of the storm.

Traffic was nuts even in just rain, for a while it snowed literal snowballs and visibility was terrible in some spots. We had already made it to I-70 when another driver cut me off and I hit the brakes so we wouldn’t all have a really bad day. I heard the commotion in the trailer and hoped for the best. That incident left Lacy with a bloody forehead and me with a knot in my stomach.

We eventually made it to the stalls, and 2 hours of unloading everything in the rain and sleet later, the mares were in their stalls with shavings, hay and water and all the rest of our stuff organized in an additional stall.

They had never been stalled for more than 2 hours (at the vet), never slept indoors or with the lights on. While Cedar went straight to her hay, Lacy was not happy. 2 days of handfeeding her mash later she finally accepted the situation.

Between that and navigating care for the horses at home in the face of an unexpected nearly 3ft (so much for 18in) of ridiculously heavy snow and everyone having every manner of vehicle stuck in it, I was beyond stressed and exhausted.

By Friday I was convinced I’d never do that again, not to myself and not to my horses either. By Saturday Lacy and Cedar were much more comfortable, happily cruising around the warm up arena with me (neither one had been in an indoor arena before), the Expo was busy and the sun was out.

By Sunday we were tired but content, with 3 presentations on a mix of backcountry riding and packing and teaching the audience steps from gentled to riding under our belt.

The mares never missed a beat going in and out of buildings, greeting people and being good Ambassadors for Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy and Mustangs in general.

Lacy celebrated her 9th birthday on Sunday and I’m grateful for her and for so many familiar as well as new friendly faces, engaged audiences, things learned and connections made.

The Shepherds had a fun time in the city and kept me and the truck safe. They’re the best travel buddies and so easy going.

We will be back in 2025 if they’ll have us, hopefully with 2 presentations each day.

We couldn’t have done this without our volunteers, friends and neighbors, both at home and in town. Thank you, you know who you are!

Coming home (to a plowed driveway!), we were all so tired that instead of unloading the entire back of the trailer to get the horses out, I unloaded both mares through the escape door, in the dark. They thought nothing of it, happily stretched their legs, enjoying their freedom and the sounds of nature, before turning to their hay bags.

I was reminded that I can do hard things, that people are generally good and willing to help (I just need to remember to ask and sometimes think outside the box), and that I have pretty amazing animals and a wonderful support network. I remembered how much I love teaching, public speaking, and sharing our Mustangs with the public. Here’s to more of that going forward!

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

The Shepherds and I made it home midday yesterday from our little adventure. We came back to a winter wonderland and more snow still falling. I got some work done and a ride in before dark, that’s what you see here.

In other news, we finally decided who’s going to The Mustang Summit at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo with me (something could always change because these are horses we’re talking about): Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Lacy and DG Griffin. The beauty and the beast, you can decide who’s who.

We also went back and forth for the longest time on what I should be covering in our presentations, and it looks like we have a plan: How to take your Mustang from gentled to riding. Working title, but it’s something.

I see a lot of wildies get hung up in the gentled stage. So long as someone is happy to just pet and feed them, and is hopefully providing them with friends, space and basic hoof and vet care, all is well.

However, companion type horses are often the first to go and the hardest to place if there’s a change of circumstances. The reality is, not everyone can afford or is willing to feed and care for a horse that’s not working and never has for 25+ years.

Training means safety, for both (wild) horse and handler. With what I do, I could die any day. All of us could. My goal is that if I keel over for good, my horses are safe because they’re pleasant enough to be around and have sufficient training that they’re going to be worth something to the next person.

This isn’t fluffy or romantic but an important thing to consider. If I’m gone or not capable of caring for them, will they likely thrive in someone else’s life?

Macabre thoughts aside, training is life insurance for horses. If we want to grow the Mustang community, which we need to if we want to continue finding great homes for once wild horses, we need to show the trainability and versatility of Mustangs as working partners. That means furthering their education to help them reach their potential and in turn inspiring others to do the same.

If you’re coming to the Expo, come see us. We’ll cover exercises – including ground driving, leading by a foot, ponying etc – that are helpful in preparing for an uneventful transition to riding. I’m not particularly brave or sticky but I aim to be thorough so the courage and stickiness I do possess will suffice when it comes time to ride. And I mean really ride.

Through the mountains in the snow in the dark with dogs underfoot and another horse getting ponied. I get out of a pen as soon as I can when I’m starting a youngster, because riding circles in a confined space bores me to tears, that’s just me. My wildies seem to like having some place to go too.

Riding and practically living surrounded by wild horses and Mustang lovers has brought so much joy and purpose to my life. I’d love to inspire and empower others to have similar experiences if that’s what they want for themselves.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

I was going to post a video this morning, that was before I got snowed in while having dinner at my friends’ house. We went from no snow before it got dark to 6+in when we looked outside a few hours later, some miles into narrow windy mountain dirt roads that don’t get plowed by the county.

So here are some pictures of the not-so-new-anymore Mustangs instead while I’m on slower internet and nervously watching it continue to snow. I have the dogs with me, many thanks to Tay Martin for taking care of the wild ones at home where there’s less snow. I’m just a few miles away as the crow flies and a few 100ft higher. That can make all the difference in weather out here.

These 4, Deets, Woodrow, Gus and Lorena, have been a joy to get to know and work with these past few weeks.

Lorena (buckskin) is pending adoption and already doing lots of grown up things with ease. She’s getting her first “big girl” trim next week, is tying, leading sending, crossing obstacles and wearing tack. She’s building confidence loading when asked (loads fine when not asked and then won’t come out of the trailer until I insist that she does) and is supposed to embark on a road trip to start her new life soon.

Gus (bay) is the kindest giant boy and is learning all the big kid things like loading and picking up feet. That was scary for him at first. He insists on being caught, loves people, crosses obstacles, finally figured out lungeing and thought it was the greatest thing ever when I put a saddle and bridle on him for the first time yesterday. Standing still while tied is very boring, but he’s getting better. Gus is the best weirdo ever. Not available for adoption at the moment, will update when that changes.

Deets (appy) and Woodrow (silver bay) are good, level headed geldings with fairly easy going personalities. They lead and tie, stand for grooming, will lunge, send and cross obstacles. They don’t have much stranger danger. Both are working on picking up feet and loading. They are potentially spoken for, will update if that changes.

All 4 have learned and are practicing body control, i.e. yielding hindquarters and shoulders, as well as backing in addition to just leading and going around me on a circle. That’s important for many things down the road.

To all who have submitted adoption applications, thank you. I will reach out to people with approved applications over the next couple of days. If the horse you asked for is spoken for or we don’t yet have the perfect Mustang for you, we’re happy to work with you and help you find a great match.

Until some sort of incentive program comes back, our nonprofit organization Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy is funding all of this on its own. We appreciate your support in helping wild horses transition from holding pens to loving homes now more than ever. Thank you! If you want to help, please check bio for how to do so or reach out to us directly.

Training halters and leads Rowdy’s Ropes

First 3 photos: Photographer Linnea Helander

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

I recently read somewhere on social media – and I wish I could remember where – that the best way to fix a bad habit in a horse is to not let it develop on the first place.

That’s so simple, yet at the same time so profound. I’ve seen so many horses revert back to undesirable behavior that’s worked for them in the past, or take so much longer to unlearn dangerous things and become solid in good ones.

Barn and buddy sourness are pretty high up on the list of common, pesky and problematic things people deal with in their horses, Mustangs and domestics alike. Having a buddy or barn sour horse can sure take the joy out of riding, make it unsafe or plain impossible.

Anymore I like starting my own horses, from scratch. Gentling Mustangs for a living, that’s pretty easy to do. That way for the most part whether they’re barn or buddy sour or not is in my hands.

Some people are sticky and don’t mind a ‘good’ fight with a horse that’s dancing and rearing and hopping and spinning or running backwards. I’m not one of those people.

Ground driving is probably the number one tool I use to develop a horse that confidently goes wherever you point them, no buddy needed, and goes back home at the same pace.

Here’s Devil’s Garden Mustang mare Petrie who’s good enough now that I can put the driving bridle and lines on, no surcingle, saddle or harness, and off we go. I wouldn’t recommend that, at all, if you’re just starting out.

We’re drunk walking a bit here because I had the phone in one hand and lines and whip – yes, I always carry a whip because it’s a needed communication device when (ground) driving – in the other while dodging holes and brush.

Ground driving, like many other things, is simple but not necessarily easy if you haven’t done it before, and needs to be taught step by step for it to work as desired.

At Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy we’re happy to teach you/your horse this skill if you’d like. More on how to work with us on our website.

Would anyone be interested in some video based instructions on ground driving that would be available online? Anything else? Let us know in the comments or via PM/email.

Music: Colter Wall : Prairie Evening/Sagebrush Walz

#wildhorseswillingpartners#mustangtraining

#sunset#makingmountainmustangmemories

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 someone else’s partner and friend.

I like a good mare with grit who wears her heart on her sleeve and her thoughts all over her face. That’s these two for me, now coming 9yo Divide Basin Mustang mare Lacy and coming 2yo Devil’s Garden Mustang filly Cedar.

They’re so similar that they couldn’t stand each other for months. Finally now I’m seeing what’s starting to look like affection between the two and it makes me happy.

They’re both forward, easy traveling horses who love to go see the world. They are serious about a job needing done and outside of the occasional manageable spook don’t do anything silly.

They know who’s who, pick their people and are not shy about expressing whom and what they like. There’s only one person Lacy is friendlier with than me and I don’t blame her at all. Cedar at this point considers herself mine – or me hers? – and it’s pretty darn cute.

She’s had to learn to let others touch and handle her because while the one person horse thing may sound romantic, it’s not fair to the horse or those around it.

They can also feel my energy shift and keep me honest. If I’m in a hurry or grumpy I can’t catch either one of them. Not lovely but it helps me check and ground myself and not take my agenda out on them.

If they need to learn something I teach them and if they understand they apply it. If I’m unfair or rushy or grabby with either of them they tell me. And I reflect, listen and adjust, often quietly at the end of the day. That’s how a partnership should be.

It always amazes me how most every Mustang here finds someone who loves them for just how they are. I sure love these two and I love it even more that they’re starting to bond – without being herd bound because that’s just not who they are.

Both of them are Ambassadors Mustangs with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy . One of them just might make an appearance at The Mustang Summit at Rocky Mountain Horse Expo in March.

Lacy was my first TIP horse when that was still a thing and the first Mustang I gentled. She came from the BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program , Cañon City holding facility in 2017. Cedar joined us in 2023 from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals .

We have gentled Mustangs available or coming available year-round. Please contact us if you’re looking or have a Mustang needing gentling. Located in Guffey, CO.

Cute yearling halter and rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

Hackamore: The Colorful Cowgirl

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

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. Watching the baby antics, naps in the sun and Lacy slowly embracing being their “aunt” has been such a gift.

Cedar is strong willed but also sensitive. She seems to consider me her human, can sense changes in my energy and reacts strongly to them. She’s both brave and independent and slow to trust new people.

Griffin is quiet, laid back and very much a follower. He makes the best mare faces I’ve ever seen on a gelding. He’s curious and generally the same with most people rather than drawn towards one person.

It’s interesting having both of the two distinct types of Devil’s Garden Mustangs, the less common tall, athletic, more sensitive and almost Thoroughbred-like one, and the laid back, thick drafty kind the herd is known for.

It seems like they’d be like oil and water but Griffin and Cedar are best friends and their personalities seem to balance each other out very nicely.

Meanwhile I’m on the hunt for a riding horse for more strenuous rides than Lacy is capable of and Tiny is excited about these days. I’m looking for a branded one to gentle and start.

There MAY be some new faces here as of yesterday. Whether my new riding partner is in there is TBD but stay tuned for their intro and new name theme

Shirt and hat: Outback Trading Company LTD.

Halter & lead: Rowdy’s Ropes

PC: Tay Martin

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

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 hook on a stick.

Instructions for what you need to make your own are at the end of the video.

I have two of them and I always keep electrical tape handy and an extra driveway marker or two around to make a quick repair if needed.

It can double as a horse scratcher and training stick as needed and I often use it to fish for other tools that are just out of reach. Its one of the cheapest and most versatile training tool I own, and something I always have with me when I’m working with unhandled horses.

DG Rafiki was a good sport and let me be clumsy and slow while I was filming this for you guys. He’s a 9yo Devil’s Garden Mustang gelding, SA and available through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy. Located in Guffey, CO.

Credit for this nifty tool goes to Mustang Matt.

The song is Professional Outsider (so true!) by Matt Robertson Music.

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 ones that live with us at Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy .

The leg rope teaches them to pick up and hold up their feet, a process I start by first rubbing the leg with objects and then swinging the lash of a stick and string around it.

Then we move on to leading by a foot. Each foot. That instills the idea that there’s pressure but there’s also a release, meaning their leg isn’t just trapped. Horses don’t like feeling trapped or unbalanced, especially wild ones.

From there I can use the leg rope to gradually introduce holding the leg up in the positions (forward and back) needed for trimming. For a while past that I put it on as a back up in case the horse wants to pull a foot away from me.

Why a rope? It’s safer for me and less threatening for them. I avoid accidental releases that would occur when I run out of arm or the horse kicks loose/leans on me. Teaching them the wrong thing and then having to go back and fix it is not fair to the horse and poor use of our time.

What kind of rope? This is a retired 14ft lead rope with the hardware removed and only the spliced loop at the end that I run the tail of the rope through.

I later revisit leading by each foot by putting pressure on it from every possible direction and teach the horse to give to that calmly. You don’t know when, where and how something is going to snag your horse’s leg, be that a water hose, brush or even old wire on a ride. Better to be prepared than hurt.

Finally, leading by a foot is the ideal hobbling preparation. I also do some lunging and stopping them by a foot too to show that pressure to the leg means stop and think. If you rope, you can also rope the legs and do the same thing that way.

We offer various formats of coaching for owners and adopters of Mustangs and gentling of wild horses for clients. Reach out to us if you need/want help or are looking to adopt a gentled Mustang.

Pictured DG Minerva aka Miss Kitty. She is a kind 5yo Devil’s Garden Mustang mare looking for a human of her own. PM us if interested.

Training halter & rope: Rowdy’s Ropes
Coat: Outback Trading Company LTD.

PC: Photographer Linnea Helander

#wildhorseswillingpartners
#makingmountainmustangmemories

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 first meet him up close is just how tiny Tiny isn’t.

Tiny came to us several years ago from our friends at Colorado Horse Rescue Network . He’s charismatic, personable, occasionally a “tiny” bit counterfeit, and he’s never liked to work real hard.

So what better career shift for him in his mature years than going into politics? If you read the previous paragraph again, he’s basically made for it

The small mountain town of Divide, Colorado is home to TCRAS (Teller County Regional Animal Shelter), a nonprofit and easily the best small animal shelter around. Every other year they put on the election for Mayor of Divide. In previous years that position has usually been held by a dog or cat.

Wouldn’t it be cool if this year it was a Mustang instead, and we could bring even more public awareness to our wild horses, their availability, trainability and need for educated support, both on and off range?

So without further ado, please support Tiny and all wild horses, as well as TCRAS by voting for Tiny to become Mayor of Divide! If he wins he would be making some public appearances in all his enormous adorableness during his time in office.

*See comments for how to vote and for more info on Tiny’s campaign!*

Everyone can vote, as often and as many times as you’d like.

Please vote for Tiny and his “Keeping Teller County Wild” campaign, like, share, comment, spread the word. Voting is open through April 2nd, the new mayor will be announced shortly thereafter.

Pictures attached of the handsome, versatile and mostly very good big boy.

#wildhorseswillingpartners#bettertogether

#nonprofit#makingmountainmustangmemories

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 listened to others talk and sing about horses and the western lifestyle.

It was wonderful to meet and reconnect with makers, poets and visitors I met last year, some of whom I’d dare to call friends. Meeting The Colorful Cowgirl in person and seeing even more of her beautiful work was especially fun.

Going to Elko is the most sleepless time of the year for me, but it’s so worth it. I’m almost back to a normal schedule. There’s just so much to see and do around that ruggedly beautiful state and quirky town.

I always appreciate learning about different gear, approaches to horsemanship, land use and mindsets surrounding horses, both wild and domestic.

Nevada is also where Mustangs are referred to as sh*tters but the people are too polite (well most of them are ) to say that to my face once they find out what I do. And then they laugh with relief and maybe a bit of surprise when I tell them I’m well aware.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet some great wild horses and they’re how I can afford a nice horse. By picking one I like and making them nice, all while still learning myself.

Right now it’s snowing big, heavy flakes and I’m so excited to get back to working with wild ones.

Pictured here is DG Rafiki still in the pre-neckrope stage. He was the kind of horse where too much pressure too soon could’ve been bad.

Instead I broke it down for him and he’s coming along nicely. He’ll be available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy before too long.

PC: Photographer Linnea Helander

Coat: Outback Trading Company LTD.

Hat: Montana Rio Buckaroo Hats

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 they were supposed to be.

Fast forward a year, while most of the world was weird the mountains were no different than they’d always been and Donny Carr said “Why don’t you join Rachel and me on our pack trip. No need to bring a tent, I’ll pack one for you ladies.

Great, I thought. What could possibly go wrong. Stuck in a tent with a stranger and her beady eyed heeler on a mountain during monsoon season when you’re going to be spending extra time in there to wait out the afternoon rains.

What I didn’t know is that when an outfitter tells you he’s bringing a tent, it’s so big that you can hardly find the other person, and he’s bringing camp cots too.

So we set up our cots on opposite sides of the tent, somehow fit our dogs (a German Shepherd takes up a lot more room than a heeler) into our respective cots too, and went to sleep.

That lasted until about 3am when all hell broke loose on the highline. It was DG Littlefoot’s (who’s unfortunately no longer with us) first pack trip after Blanca had gone into semi retirement, making Lacy my main ride and him the pack horse.

Littlefoot was the only horse I’ve met to date who was gentle and hobble trained but got claustrophobic when he woke up with them on, unable to freely move his front legs. Only I didn’t know that yet.

He had panicked and gone down, weirding out the other horses on the highline with him. Not quite knowing what the problem was yet, we got the highline loose, him up, and everything put back together only for the same thing to happen again just after we’d returned to our sleeping bags.

No trees or Mustangs were hurt in the process and he spent the rest of the night tied to a tree without hobbles. Going forward he’d wear a single cuff hobble at night on the foot he liked to paw with and he never had an issue again. Not letting horses dig craters or eat and otherwise damage trees is a big part of our responsibility to minimize our impact and that of our stock on the backcountry we love.

We put some good miles in on that trip, talked about everything you can imagine, did camp chores in our pajamas and had a whole lot of fun.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years and we’ve both driven across several state lines to ride, dance, talk and spend time together at least once a year.

So much so that yesterday when we wanted to do some cutting practice and didn’t have a flag or live cattle, we took turns being each other’s cow.

My packing friends are some of my favorite people because you have to be a certain kind of strange to enjoy that kind of thing, and this lady, her big, quirky red gelding and little hedgehog dog Dax have a special place in my heart.

Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy

#thebestfriendshipsaremadeinthemountains

#makingmountainmustangmemories

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 ability to move freely during their time “off” all take away from any meaningful work.

We also need to create a safe environment for the horse to learn in, and remember that while discomfort is part of learning something new, going over threshold – and staying there, or returning frequently – is counterproductive. A horse in survival mode can’t learn. They’re either frozen/checked out, running away panicked or defending themselves against what they believe is a threat to their life.

This is why training Mustangs isn’t easy. But it’s darn rewarding and it’ll make you a better human and horse person if you’re up for it.

Just a little video of Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustangs Petrie (Devil’s Garden) and Tiny (Salt Wells, WY), and, well, yours truly just sharing a few moments during a chilly and beautiful mountain sunset.

We offer remote and in person coaching to owners and adopters of Mustangs, branded or not, whether you’ve already adopted or are planning to. We also gentle client horses and are available for clinics and workshops at your facility or ours. We always have gentled Mustangs (coming) available for adoption.

Outback Trading Company LTD. jacket and hat for the win for keeping me toasty warm all winter and holding up to all of my great ideas.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories