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