Tiny for Mayor!

Many of you have met Tiny, if not in person then on social media. The 16yo sorrel gelding from Salt Wells Creek, WY is by several 100lbs and at least a hand the largest Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy Ambassador Mustang, and arguably the one with the biggest personality. What people typically notice when they 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

Back from Elko

I may not be rich in the conventional sense, but to lead a life rich in experiences and people you love, there’s something to be said for that too.

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering was a blast, so was spending time with Rachel Toler . We rode horses, looked at horses, talked about horses and 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

A friendship made in the mountains

I’m in Elko again this week, for the 39th The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and to spend time with one of my favorite people, Rachel Toler .

I met Rachel during the summer of 2019. We didn’t get to chat all that much because we were busy moving cattle through thick timber back to where 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

Driving Mustangs

Coming from Europe, I’ve been driving horses and ponies since I could count my age on two hands. Sled races, dragging fields, cutting grass, driving just to drive because it’s fun, skidding logs, I even drove a wedding once.

I’ve never had the money for a nice horse, so I either worked my tail off to get to work with people who had nice horses and could teach me something or I had to train my own. A “nice horse” to me is sane even and especially under stress, and versatile, which includes pulling/driving at least the most basic level.

And yes, when I was a kid you got on your bicycle at 8yo to go muck stalls and do whatever it took to get to spend some time with whatever rank or plain untrained horses and ponies someone had sitting around, and worked hard to get them rideable and sometimes even driveable.

I’ve now driven horses in 4 countries on 2 different continents and I still love it. I’ve always wanted to drive a Mustang. A 4WD one that whinnies, not the other kind.

So here goes 4yo DG Petrie who does best in life when she has a job and understands it.

Petrie is available through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy to the right home. She needs someone firm but patient with a sense of humor. She also needs consistency and a JOB.

She would like equine friends to hang out with and some space to run. She’s turned out 24/7 at over 8500ft elevation and maintains fine on a free choice forage-only diet with loose salt, EquiPride and a good mineral block. This horse is tough, has a thick coat and strong feet.

Petrie has not been ridden yet, as I felt she needed time to physically and mentally mature. She’s been ponied in the backcountry and was my pack horse on overnight trips last year. Located in Guffey, CO.

PM or email us if you also want to drive a Mustang, or are tired of hauling firewood by hand drawn sled, or carrying your camping gear or elk around on your own back. Petrie would be glad to help. Again, looking for someone to give her consistency. She is young and incredibly clever, and does great when she has something productive to focus on.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Removing the Neck Tag

Removing the neck tag

This is 6yo buckskin Devil’s Garden Mustang mare Luna, dam of DG Bibi who found a home a while back.

Here we are, taking her tag off, a special “unwilding” ritual that makes me light up even after doing this dozens of times. It marks the transition from wild to handleable and on their way to becoming someone’s partner and friend. This little mare sure made me earn it.

Neck tags serve the purpose of being able to identify the horses at the holding facility. It shows the last 4 digits of a Mustang’s ID number. Some facilities now remove the tags upon adoption of the horses for their safety.

Mustangs that come to us directly from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals in Alturas, CA are Forest Service Mustangs and unlike their BLM-gathered cousins not branded. Not having the characteristic left neck freezemark removes a layer of protection should the horses end up in a tough spot. I d love to see the FS freezebrand their wild horses again like they did years ago.

Luna is in the process of being gentled and would like to find a home of her own with someone who appreciates and is capable of providing guidance to a strong-willed golden mare. Located in Guffey, CO. Luna is Sale Authority and available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy

If you’re interested in adopting her please PM us or send an email to info@wildhorseoutreach.org

Every comment, like and share helps get the word out, so please share away and let’s find this pretty little lady a great home!

Video by Tay Martin (she and Cedar provided good entertainment throughout this process)

Training halter & lead rope: Rowdy’s Ropes

Jacket and vest: Outback Trading Company LTD.

Hat: Montana Rio Buckaroo Hats

#wildhorseswillingpartners #makingmountainmustangmemories 

Sharing Space

Sharing space

When we’re working with Mustangs, the four components of a successful session l’ve found are:

Learning while moving

Learning while standing

Moving together

Sharing space

They are all important. And what’s also important is that the horse you’re working with is at least reasonably happy and comfortable. Pain, hunger, loneliness, boredom, lack of 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 

Neck Rope Prep with an Unhandled Mustang

Neck rope prep with an unhandled Mustang 🐴🏔️🌲☀️💖

In training horses, preparation is key. Meaning that before we do something, we need to get ready to do it. Get our equipment/body/mind in the right place.

What’s just as important, and unfortunately sometimes overlooked, is that we need to prepare the horse for what’s coming too.

When it comes to unhandled Mustangs, people tend to want to get hands, ropes, halters, what have you on that horse ASAP.

And then what? “I don’t know.” That’s not a plan, that’s a crap shoot.

People somehow get a halter on a horse and then can’t get close to the horse to take it back off, sometimes for months. Same with ropes.

Now you have a terrified animal getting caught on or chased by the rope and no earthly idea how to help them. Or one that’s in a halter that’s too tight or too loose but too panicked to let you near them.

At the same time, in some cases waiting until the horse lets you walk up is not realistic and we tend to teach them to avoid us in the process of trying to initiate touch. So sometimes using a neck rope is necessary and, if done properly, very helpful.

We suggest that people don’t put anything new or potentially scary on the horse without a solid plan for how to remove it even if something goes sideways, and a safe, enclosed area to work in.

Here’s DG Rafiki, 9yo untouched and pretty spirited- whom I hadn’t to touched or been within 4ft of at the time – getting used to ropes touching him and the (slightly droopy from months of use) lunge whip rubbing his face and neck.

I’m also helping him learn to stay present and relax through it all through how I time the breaks I give him.

This prepares him for when I put the neck rope on AND use my hook on a stick to remove it because I’m not expecting to to get close enough or for him to be comfortable enough for me to take it off by hand the first time or 3.

Rafiki will be available for adoption through Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy once gentled. Please reach out via PM or email if interested. He is SA. Located in Guffey, CO.

We also offer guidance for adopters and gentle Mustangs for clients.

Please always train with the end in mind and have a plan. For your Mustang’s sake and your own safety.

#wildhorseswillingpartners

#makingmountainmustangmemories

Project Littlefoot

We introduced Project Littlefoot some weeks back in memory of DG Littlefoot, the coolest, friendliest and most easy-going young wildie there ever was. He was the first Devil’s Garden (DG) wild horse to join our herd. He carried the BLM freezebrand, one of the few DGs that did. He should have easily had another 20 years of trail adventures. Sadly that wasn’t meant to be.

In his honor we’re continuing to help Sale Authority DG Mustangs find their feet in our world by adopting, gentling, and placing them into wonderful, suitable homes. We currently have 6 we’re working on gentling and finding homes for, while a 7th (DG Simba) is pending adoption. DG Cedar will stay with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy for the foreseeable future.

To help us cover costs for their care and training, we created a fundraiser and raised over $3,000. Last picture is our IG fundraiser alone. Thank you to all who donated, purchased key chains and apparel. We’re blown away by and so grateful for your support. Thank you!

I’d like to thank our team, especially Tay Martin and Linnea Helander , for putting up with me and the craziness that is caring for, gentling and taking great photos of wild horses of all ages, shapes and sizes year-round at 8,700ft elevation.

About these pictures: Simba looks lovely after Linnea and I brushed him for 1 1/2h. If I look tired and muddy, here’s why…

It’s been raining almost daily for a month, the wettest spring I’ve seen by far. Soggy pens, horses, humans, questionable footing for working horses, missed training days and cancelled clinics, which means losing $ we need to help Mustangs and slower progress for the wild ones. I love being out there doing what we do and this past month has been wearing on me.

My freeze response game is strong and when I’m stressed enough, I get quiet. If I’m not posting or replying to emails quickly, please know that it’s not personal and I do care.

They say friends are people who know you and like you anyway. I’m grateful to our team, clients, adopters, followers and supporters for accepting me as the entirely imperfect human I am.

For info on available horses and how to support us, see below:

List of available horses through us: https://wildhorseoutreach.org/index.php/available-mustangs/
MustangMatch: https://wildhorseoutreach.org/…/mustang_match_available/

The lost horse

This is another one of those “get a Mustang, they said…” stories that are funny and have a lesson hiding in them after the fact but give you ulcers and grey hair throughout their unfolding.

Remember a couple of posts ago when I introduced MustangMatch, a platform for people to list and find Mustangs of all levels of training available for sale or adoption? If you’ve missed it, here’s the link again: https://wildhorseoutreach.org/index.php/mustang-match/

Anyhow, one of the horses on there is Levi, a 9yo Onaqui, UT Mustang gelding, owned by a friend of mine who is moving and therefore rehoming her boy. He’s actually the reason we became friends. Levi, then Napoleon, was a TIP horse I gentled years back. Kait saw him on Facebook and fell in love with his big personality. We’d named him after the tiny emperor for good reason 😅

Kait decided to leave Levi with Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy so we can find him a good home. He is easy to handle on the ground, as safe as they come under saddle and a fun ride.

I put him in a pen, took him on a couple of rides, turned him out and caught him again the next day just to make sure I could, rode him bareback up the side of a mountain and back down on a stormy evening, and decided to turn him out with the herd for the time being so he could have companionship while he waits for his new person to find him.

Well.

He knows our Ambassador horses, he’s met them all. So I didn’t think much of it when I took him out to summer pasture, 250ac of grassy meadows, steep slopes and lots and lots of trees. I figured he’d go find them and hang out with them – because horses are herd animals, right? – and I’ve put many a new horse in with them over the years.

Wrong.

Levi got out there Thursday morning, reportedly did his own thing until afternoon and then vanished. Poof. No joining the others, no hanging out near the barn or the water source, no grazing in in the valley in plain sight. Nope, gone.

Friday afternoon I rode out after him on Blanca with Petrie in tow and Tiny and the Shepherds following loose. We finally got eyes on him, Tiny said hi, they squealed and if that stinker didn’t take off, tiny feet hammering the ground like the needle on a sewing machine, and disappeared into the timber. There was no way Blanca was keeping up with him in that.

Fine, I thought, he for sure knows where the other horses are now, so leave it up to him to join them.

The next day, no reported Levi sightings, no Ponystang grazing near the herd. So I got on Tiny, took Petrie with me and left Blanca at the barn for ‘bait’. She whinnies a lot when left alone, and I was hoping she’d call him to her. Wrong, but not a total fail… As I was coming back from riding a loop looking for Levi, I could hear him responding to her from somewhere up on the steepest of slopes where the trees are thick and riding near impossible. He wasn’t far but out of reach and sight and I was out of search time for the day but felt somewhat reassured having heard him at least.

Yesterday marked day 3 of my wild horse chase. I was hellbent on getting this guy caught. Having to tell my friend that I’ accidentally misplaced the horse she’d entrusted me with, trying to sleep knowing that he’s by himself in lion country… As much as Levi thinks he’s 18hh and 2,000lbs, he’s a mere 12.2hh small and snack size for a big cat out here without protection from the herd. Fences out here are notoriously on the honor system, with trees falling on them and wildlife or cattle tearing them up, so him getting out and wandering off to who knows where wasn’t exactly impossible either.

Yesterday afternoon, after the worst of the afternoon rains, Lacy and I set out after him. Even when she’s not 100%, this mare has more grit and athleticism than 3 other horses combined. She’s fast and nimble and a mountain climbing fool. It doesn’t hurt that she’s quite popular with the boys, so I was hoping that if we found him he’d be too enchanted to take off again.

We rode some stupid rugged terrain, climbed ridges to peek into valleys, scrambled through draws with downed timber, did cliff hanging on soggy slopes and finally heard an answer to her calls from right above us. As in, straight above us about 50 yards. Looking up I spotted Levi looking down at us. To get to him on a direct route I’d have had to be riding a gecko, so we switchbacked our way up the wet and rocky hill, getting closer as he continued to watch us with his typical dubious Levi side eye.

Getting closer, Lacy gave a friendly nicker instead of an evil grimace which I was very thankful for. The little prince charming approached as I was looking for a place to dismount without falling to my death. Shaking the feed container I’d brought along, I slid off of Lacy’s back, halter and lead rope in hand. The first attempt at catching him failed when he hopped sideways further up the mountain. *Insert expletives here* Another friendly, deep grumble from my comically deceiving and two-faced Mustang mare who knew just what to do when normally she’d be threatening to bite another horse’s head off by now, and I got a rope around his neck and the halter on Levi’s face, shoving a handful of cookies in his mouth as I muttered words that shall not be repeated under my breath.

I could hear the song Amazing Grace playing in my head as I ponied him back down to the truck… something about “once was lost but now am found” seemed rather apropos for the situation.

I hope you enjoy the photos of 2 of my 3 days of chasing a branded, gentled, otherwise friendly and rideable Mustang through the Rocky Mountains, especially the second to last picture of Levi looking mildly offended about his rewilding efforts coming to an abrupt end. First and last picture were taken from Levi’s back while riding the little monster bareback out alone.

DG Petrie – building a partnership

Petrie the baby dragon is turning into a juvenile dragon. Still fiery, bigger now, with fewer tantrums and more willingness to think and work together. I can see glimpses of the proud and pretty mare she’ll be one day.

What started out as Petrie-paint-eater (she’s given my nice white car a zebra striped look, grrrrr), Petrie-panel-pusher (for the time she stuck her head through a panel, panicked and moved the whole pen before she got loose,… yeah, baby horses are great) and Petrie-pain-in-the-neck (opening doors and breaker boxes, knocking on walls in the middle of the night, pulling everything she could reach out of the tack room and spreading it through the yard… so cute. Not) is slowly turning into something that’s beginning to resemble a partnership. And my little ugly duckling is becoming a less little, more visually pleasing young mare.

She’s going to be 3 this year and is what I’d consider a ‘young’ 3yo. Both physically and mentally, she has a lot of growing up still to do, and I want to bring her along slowly so she can be mentally and physically prepared for a career as a pack and riding horse. She’s got big hoof prints to fill, with Littlefoot gone and Lacy’s return to full work still being a big question mark.

I often talk about the difference between getting a horse to do something and them actually owning and understanding what they’re doing, settling into it and doing it well. One could call one “manageable” and the other “competent”. Petrie, who came to Wild Horse Outreach & Advocacy unhandled as part of our first load of Sale Authority Devil’s Garden Mustangs from the Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals last summer, is starting to get there.

We have a lot of fine-tuning left to do and with her being so young, I haven’t pushed her hard. But catching out in the field, saddling, ponying through all sorts of terrain, daylight or dark, tying, hobbling, loading and hauling, ground driving, packing a load (tires) for the first time, me sitting on her from the fence, Dustin the heeler sitting on her, standing for her first partial angle grinder trim… It’s all starting to come together nicely and I have hope that she’ll have a good first season as a pack horse with a light load this year. It feels less like having a snuffy little gangly baby wild horse out with the herd and more like interacting with a smart, curious, sassy and opinionated yet friendly and polite young Mustang mare. I’m excited for this summer with the not-so-little punk who’s been exactly what I needed to keep me on my toes.