BLM Mustangs

PaintedBrat,
My avatar is from my Mustang mare. I would not trade her for an $80,000 warmblood performance horse. Her hooves are like steel, she is very healthy, and she has very fine gaits.

Challis came from the Challis, ID herd, and has either cavalry or draft horse in her background. She is larger and bigger boned than the Utah horses.

There is a trainer incentive program from the Mustang Heritage Foundation. Trainers will gentle the horse, and you can get them for the same adoption fee. You can also attend one of the Extreme Mustang Makeover events, and bid on one of the horses that have competed.

There is a definate difference in the psychology of a domestic and a feral born horse. You need to know and understand the difference before you go this route. The Mustangs are very strongly driven by herd behavior. Talk to a trainer, and observe the horses before signing on the bottom line. It's just different. If you have patience, and are flexible, they make a great partner.

Go to the Extreme Mustang Makeover site, look up the trainers near you, and go talk to them. You will need to find a trainer that understands the Mustang. If a person believes they are trash, they will treat and train them like trash. Pick the trainer carefully.

The best horse I have EVER owned is a BLM Mustang. No kidding! He is reliable, sane, and respectful. I can ride him in a group with careless people galloping by and he listens to ME. He is the best horse I have ever ridden about listening to the rider and not just following what the horse in front of him is doing.

I can't take any credit for his training though, I bought him already trained from his original adopter. He is from Wyoming, and he is only 14.3 but he is built like a tank. Size two shoes (when he used to wear shoes) and is built a lot sturdier than my neighbor's QH's. I can ride him with anyone and no matter what they are riding, I never feel outclassed because his behavior as good or better than everyone else's horses.

He was also a former roping horse (heeler) and was also used for packing, hunting, and trail riding. I think the secret to his success is that he has had tons of training from his first owner.

The only thing that I notice is "different" about him from other horses I've owned is that his is very careful and self-preserving. He never plows through anything. He wants to check out trail obstacles and make sure they are up to his safety standards! He also took a while to warm up to me when I first brought him home and is more cautious of people in general. But he is so smart and sane and respectful! I love "puppy dog" type horses, but it is really nice to have a horse that respects you this much!

Yeah, I just can't sing his praises enough. Here we are with a wild stud out on the forest. And a few other photos I just had to share. I just wish I knew what went "right" with John, because every horse should be this nice of temperment and training. And sturdy! That's my one pet peeve with alot of QH's, they have such small bone and feet on large bodies. My Mustang is a tank!

kevinshorses said:

I have it on good authority that the reason some of the mustangs in Idaho are bigger and of higher quality is that some of the ranchers would (or still do) go out and shoot the stallions and put thier own higher quality stallions out with them. The same things happened in Oregon and Northern Nevada.

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Happens here in Oregon quite a bit. That and people releasing horses with the herds on purpose or they get in with the herd on accident. My family adopted mustangs from the Burns herd for years. We got such a variety of 'mustangs' it was pretty evident there was something else getting in with those horses!

They are a lot of work. Generally way beyond what you would get with a youngster that was used to people already. How it worked when we were doing it, you'd get a ticket and that was the order you got to choose your horse first. My Grandpa was always pretty lucky and generally got his pick of the crop.

That said, sometimes getting them into the trailer was a bloomin' nightmare. Even with the extra large stock trailer we had. Getting them out was an equal nightmare. My Grandpa had a gift with horses though and we would train them and sell them to the Forest Service for pack and riding animals.

To the OP, I think your mistaken if you think you can't develop a connection with a just bought already broke horse. If you think you are going to get an immediate connection with a mustang, think twice. They seem to be harder to get their trust, but once you do, they'll do anything for you.

If you have no experience with mustangs I wouldn't adopt one without having spent time with people that know them. It's really asking for trouble.

I have 2 mustangs and I love the breed. However, I agree with Kevin. I was fortunate to get the ones that I did. They are fairly well conformed with only minor flaws. However, if you are looking for a horse that you can be competative on, mustangs are probably not the best choice. They generally don't have the speed needed for most gymkhana events and they have absolutely no natural cow savvy. Everything that you want them to know, they have to be taught, even more than your regular quarter horse. Mustangs have never been bred selectively for anything other than survival and thus, have no specialized mentality. Most quarter horses, paints, appys, and even some tbs will have some natural cow sense because they have been used for that for so many generations. Mustangs don't.

That being said, if you are just looking for a companion that you can have some fun with, a mustang might be just the horse for you. However, if you are less than a very experienced horseman that has trained many horses, you should really look for one that has been trained by a professional. Training a mustang is not like training a domestic horse, their fight/flight instinct is through the roof and many of the unhandled ones will turn on you with even the slightest pressure. These horses pretty well fit into the "jack of all trades, master of none" group. They make wonderful using horses so long as looking pretty or being perfect doesn't matter. I do challenging trail rides and some ranch work (penning, sorting, roping, etc.) and mine are wonderful partners for what I do. But, I don't care if something takes all day to get finished, and sometimes it does because they are just not as proficient as other breeds.

Lots of good advice and info here. I agree with most of it.

Like people are saying...as a competition horse, a mustang will likely not be your best bet. As cow horses...I don't know about that one.

My BO owns a mustang that was taken off the Nevadan range as a 6 month-old. He is massive and quite the character, but spooks at every darn thing. Sometimes you will have to deal with a greater flight instinct in those born in the wild than what might be present in a lot of domestically bred animals.

I think it's cool that you're thinking of adopting a 'stang, but I hope you will not let the romanticism of adopting a wild horse interfere with your decision. Mustangs are a ton of work and it's difficult to know what you're going to get when you head out to those auction/adoption type things. For a general trail mount and yeah, "jack of all trades" horse, then they might be a good bet. But for an animal that you hope to compete on in such a specialised field...perhaps not so much. And if you are still dead-set on owning a mustang, buy one from a pro trainer or make sure you send it to one. Even then, as far as working cows go, it's not a sure bet it'll work out.