Mustang Mania 2023 - Part 01

 I am not sure where I caved in, but here we are.  Actually, that is a lie.  I know exactly where I caved in.  You see, Sidney's dream has been to train a wild Mustang.  The BLM has an adoption program each year.  There is a local couple, Matt and Stacie Zimmerman, that organize an amazing event called the Mustang TIP Challenge.  Each participant brings home their Mustang and gets 100ish days to work with it.  In July, everyone comes to the Horse Park at Idaho Expo for a competition.  For youth 18 and under, the Mustang must be 2 years old or younger.  For safety, and also because their Mustang's are younger, the youth competition does not have a riding component.  All of the work is in hand.  The trainers must walk their horses through obstacles, halter/un-halter them, load them into a trailer, etc.  There is also a free-style component, in which the trainer (and sometimes horse) wear costumes, pick a theme song and show them what they have accomplished.  This can often involve items that demonstrate the horse has been de-sensitized.  

This past year I have seen such growth within Sid and her horsemanship, as well as her confidence.  I talked with the Zimmerman's and learned a lot about the program, which helped me toward my decision.  I also talked with Sabrina, the owner of the boarding facility, and the trainers that Sidney has been working with.  Everyone indicated a green light.  In fact, they thought it would be an amazing experience for her. 

So, here we are.  Over 150 Mustangs and Burros were rounded up and brought into the Wild Horse Corrals a couple months ago.  The horses came from Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho mostly.  On February 10th and 11th, the corrals opened their doors to trainers to get a look and select their picks.  Each trainer submits their top 7 picks.  Mustangs are assigned in the order the BLM received the applications.  All youth horses are assigned first.  The next day, adults are assigned their horses.

There were about 8-10 pens filled with Mustangs.  BLM did their best to sort them by age and gender.  

What do you look for in a Mustang, really?  From what I am told, it can be luck of the draw.  As you enter you are given stat sheets on the Mustangs, which include age, gender and which herd they were rounded up from.  For your first year, there are some herds to avoid unless you really want a challenge.  The specific location in which horses have to survive in the wild, can determine some of their temperament.  In areas where there are lots of predators, these Mustangs tend to be a bit skittish.  Other things to consider?  Coloring, size, curiosity, build.

We spent about 3-4 hours scoping these horses out.  Do not let the sunshine fool you, it was frigidly cold, mostly because of the wind.  I should also mention that trainers come from all over the place, Montana, Northern Idaho, Washington and California, to name a few locations.

The 3 year old geldings seemed super sweet and curious.  Some of them would even come up and let you touch them.  After we fell in love with a few of these 3 year olds, we remembered that we had to choose 2 years and under.  Interestingly, a lot of people mentioned that these horses will behave much differently when they are on their own, out of the comfort of the herd. 

Saturday night was the youth assignment announcements.  It was like Christmas Eve.  The group chat was blowing up with anticipation.  I am pretty sure I broke the refresh button on my phone.  After a much anticipated wait, the assignments were revealed.  Sidney got her first pick.  On March 4th, she will be bringing home a 2 year old gelding from the Eagle Nevada herd.  She is still contemplating names, but she wants to bring him home before deciding.  Let the adventure begin!

We learned, after the youth assignments, that a non-profit Mustangs Forever, paid the adoption fee of $125 for all of the youth horses.  What an amazing gift!