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HE PICKED ME.

A couple of years ago, I took my rig over to a BLM adoption to pick up a load of yearlings for a friend who was in the Bureau of Land Management mustang foster program. Little did I know I was going to be "chosen" by a mustang.

Normally, the mustangs are standing in the far end of the holding pens, not sure if the two leggeds plan to eat them or what. There is always the odd apple in the basket.

I was standing next to the pen with my back to it talking with my friend and my wife. My wife stopped talking for a second and said, " uh, honey, behind you". I felt a tug on my collar. When I turned around, there was a beautiful black stang full of curiosity mouthing at my shirt. Next thing I know, I am signing the adoption papers to adopt him.

The usual scenario after this is the blm wrangler goes into the pen, has a time culling out the chosen one, get him in a chute, struggles some to get a halter on, then coaxes them through the chute into the trailer. Oh, no, not this guy he was standing by the gate, enters the chute immediately after the wrangler opens the gate. Actually lifts his head for the halter. I went back into the office to find out he had NOT been trained by prisoners or anyone despite my suspicions he had.

As time went by, he had grown to a healthy 16 hh and was ready for training under saddle. Since I had gotten called out of town to work 60 hr weeks, I sent him to a trainer this past February for two months to finish him out. It did not take long to find out how great of a trail horse this guy truly is . I thought, great, I have a fantastic trail horse. I did not know more was yet to come.

It was early June when one of the officers of a club I belong to had notified me that mounted searchers were badly needed to help look for a missing college student. I had agreed to help and brought my stang, Midnight Express, thinking it would be just wooded sections. I was mistaken. We went through thickets, overgrown woods, abandoned fields, and to my surprise city streets complete with sirens and all. He did everything I asked him to do with no balking, fears or anything. He crossed mud, streams, over logs, jumped a ditch, everything you could imagine.

The following Saturday, I took him on a volunteer work party in the Hoosier National Forests. The section of trail we were to work on was several miles in and only accessible on horseback. He stood tied to a highline ,patient as a saint, while we worked for six hours making a horse trail once again safe.

Sun, I once again joined the search party for the missing student. Again, he did a wonderful job. He even ponied another horse for about 5 miles with no trouble at all.

When I adopted him, I had no idea of the ways he and I could end up doing good things. He helped me to be a part in making a trail safe. He helped me look for someone's missing daughter. I just wish the search had a happy ending or some closure. Unfortunately, the searches have found no answers.

Wouldn't it be great if someday mustangs were trained for search and rescue? Even better, wouldn't it be fantastic if a wild mustang ended up a part of a sucessful effort and find someone's missing child?

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POTENTIAL OF THE MIGHTY LITTLE MUSTANG. !!!!!!

I've had my five year old paint for almost a year. When I first got him he was just plain out rude! He was gelded late so he has stallion like behavior still. After my trainer working him and doing some body work with him . He has been doing wonderful. He went from a horse that would run after you when you got in his pen, would bite you, take off, and had no ground manner, took off to anything in site.. To a well mannered horse :) We took him on a trail walk , he was the best horse out there. Didn't spook or blink at anything! And all the other horses were freaking out. Very proud of him.

Mine isn't much, but its something.

So my haflinger was weened at 5 years, and we have no information about that place, but she wasn't started correctly. We suspect she was abused there. She lived at a therapy program, semi wild. She lived in a field, and was rode once every 6 weeks, walking in a circle with no bit. They only did this in the summer. She became super fat there. It wasn't for her, she failed the program. She got her mane full of burs there, so they shaved it off so when she came to us she was a mess. Full of dirt and just over all looked bad. When we got her, my trainer told me "we got a new mare today, why don't you go get her and give her some tlc?" I fell in love right away. Even though she pawed no stop, busted the cross ties, and flipped around every time she was in there. She also tossed her head so much I thought she had a neurological disease. The first time I rode her was bareback (I wasn't the first to ride her, i was only 13) After riding her under saddle, she improved tons. The first time "cantering" her was when she spooked and took off with me. After that, I was a little scared to canter her, until me and my friend went on a trotting race, she changed to canter, and it was amazing. I've found her calling: jumping. Shes amazing, and has brought back my confidence in jumping. Now shes great to ride (at least for me and my trainer) She can even leg yield! Shes only been ridden for 4 months! We took her to a off barn show and she was AWESOME. Best behaved out of all the horses from CEC! She no longer fusses in cross ties and is calm and relaxed. I'm starting to ride her bareback everyday, and shes perfect. To go from such a wild girl to what you see today is truly amazing. Its not me work but us to together. I couldn't imagine my life with out her, because she is my life. My mom said we can buy her in a couple years! :D (I'm leasing her)

This might sound like bragging, but I don't care.

To see some videos, here's my youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/fluffluver?feature=mhe... I will have more actual videos up soon.

Edit: Oh yeah and she was scared of the wash stall and fly spray. Now shes fine, it really is something amazing.

When I first bought my mare she was AMAZING the first week.....after that the gate issues started surfacing, the out of control first barrel and diving at the second and third....her hotness in the arena and not being able to walk at the top as she thought she was just gonna go and run barrels.

The gate issues were probably the worst I have had to deal with....straight up and down rearing, running backwards, not going into the arena......running sideways from the gate, leaping, lunging, rearing, tweaking out. Just flat out dangerous to get into the arena...

Her out of control, no rate or whoa on the first barrel and her diving coming out of the 1st and headed to the second and wiped both 2nd and 3rd out probably 98% of the time for the first 2 years......and finally after a close call in 2008 I decided to hang up running her and just restart her on the pattern from the ground up. And it took till last year to get her to running back in the 1D and clean beautiful runs again.

She now wraps the first barrel, no longer dives at 2nd and 3rd, and will walk/prance in the arena instead of twistering and rearing at the site of the gate. She is now level headed and you can ride her in a snaffle and she is light and responsive no fighting or crazyness.

It took ALONG time for me to get her to where she is today....it was alot of frustration and failure before we had success. But I proved ALOT of people wrong about the mare and am glad I didn't give up on her. But like I said it took ALOT of work but im glad I did every minute of it.

I was handed a 1500$ western trail pony that had no knowledge and was abused. I'm a jumper, and now after three months, hes a fantastic jumper, with lead changes that has won a champion ribbon at every show so far

AA has helped me to be sober for 3 months now.