Tag: horsemanship

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Mustang Story #2: We adopted a Wild Mustang online!!!

On a cold wet northwest day in March during the 2020 pandemic we were mindlessly scrolling on Facebook when we stumbled upon the BLM Wild Horse Corral…An online auction for adopting Mustangs. We had no idea you could adopt a Mustang online!?! It was like amazon for Mustang lovers!

With our curiosity peaked we started scanning the pages of Mustangs available and within a few seconds there was no deterring us from participating in that auction. There were SO many beautiful Mustangs😍 We quickly built Mustang pens, got approved by the BLM and sat down with every electronic device in the house ready to bid.

The final hours of the auction was a whirlwind of being outbid, computer crashes and yelling at our internet to “HURRRY UP”! As the final minutes of the auction ticked down we had been out-bid on all of our favorite horses, so we placed a bid on a muddy 14hh bay mare with only a $70 dollar bid. Then the website crashed for good😱 It was completely stuck! Had we won the mare? Or had we been out-bid??? After what felt like ages (In reality only a 1/2 hour) we finally received an email saying we had won the bay mare!!! We were thrilled!!! We were getting a NEW Mustang and for only $70 dollars🌟

Unfortunately with covid we were delayed from driving to Burns to pick her up.. but we were finally able to make the 10hr trip serval months later in the summer. But we were shocked to see that our little bay actually shedded out to be a STUNNING roan🤩 WHAT!!! How could this be the same horse!

Now 5yrs later the roan, we named Tahani, is one of our top horses on the farm. She is technically our “Mom’s” horse but we often steal her to help work young babies, fill in at the occasional pony club lesson and to gallop down the trails. She is very sensitive, light and has the smoothest trot I have ever ridden! Not to mention, she is one of the prettiest mares I have ever seen🤩 My biggest takeaway from this mare is to never overlook the plain bays…even if they don’t turn out to be the next “beauty queen” of the Mustang world (like Tahnai) they may end up being the most special horse in your life💜#blmmustang#wildmustang

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Mustang Story #1: Our Very First Mustang!

As we are heading into our 6th year of training Mustangs it seemed fitting to take a look back at a few of the super cool Mustangs we have trained💜

It’s been a wild ride and quite the adventure✨

If you have ever met us you have probably met or at least heard us talk about Marissa’s mustang Stardust💫 She is pretty much a family member and we all adore her💜 She was the very 1st Mustang we have ever adopted . Marissa, only 12yrs old the time, read a magazine article about a Mustang training competition for youth and begged my parents to let her participate. Our parents were tentative at first…kids training WILD and CRAZY Mustangs…Was this safe?!? After a few weeks of begging, powerpoint presentations and argumentative essays they eventually agreed🤩 Marissa applied to the MYWY Mustang Madness Competition and was accepted! We were THRILLED!!!

Typically, in the program, youth competitors receive a yearling Mustang to train for 100 day but unfortunately in 2019 there was a shortage of yearlings…so everyone got 2yr olds. We all started shaking a little. We thought we were ONLY having to train a cute baby NOT a massive 2yr old! What had we gotten ourselves into😬

But all of our worries were for nothing because the muddy, 15hh 2yr old that was Marissa’s draw for the competition was the sweetest, most gentle mare you had ever met! It was only a few days after bringing her home that Marissa and this Mustang had a special connection💕

Morning Snuggles

Over the next 100 days this Mustang, who Marissa named Stardust, captivated every one of our hearts and it was no surprise when after the competition that we decided to keep Stardust💖

Now, 6yrs later, Stardust is still the #1 horse on our farm and continues to captivate the hearts of everyone she meets!

She is an INCREDIBLE trick pony and loves doing liberty and bridle-less demos, is a stellar dressage horse and LOVES to jump. What does the future hold for this awesome Mustang? The hope and goal is to continue improving her Dressage and jumping and see just how far she can go in eventing…who knows you could just see her in a 3* one day!

#blmmustang #wildmustang #horses