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