Our First Mustang Rescue...

I have loved mustangs since I found out what they were. My Dad brought home some of the BLM paperwork - this was back in the 70's - and I had this big dream of being able to adopt a mustang someday. Many years later I met Brian, now my husband, and I had mentioned wanting to adopt a mustang. I took him to a local adoption so he could see what it was all about, and he said "We will make this happen." We knew the BLM was going to be back the following year, so we gave ourselves that goal to save up and get the required facilities. As of now, we have 6 branded mustangs, and our surprise mustang baby who will be 3 this next year.

One thing we knew we wanted to do someday was rescue mustangs (I have also added burros to that list). Brian and I had been to several horse sales specifically looking for mustangs that were going thru the ring. We never did find any mustangs, but it always broke my heart to see the other horses with no place to go. Many tears would flow....

Very recently a friend of mine, Jill, e-mailed me and told me about a sale she went to and horses were not going for anything. This particular facility is known for having decent sales with better than average prices for horses. Not this time. It is getting close to Winter...you all know the drill. There were a couple of horses she had her eye on, and one was a little brown mustang. Jill is a lot like me - very emotional when it comes to things like this, and even know we know that we cannot save them all, we never stop dreaming about trying.

Jill told me that this little mustang came into the ring by himself, and just sniffed around. He didn't get all worried like a lot of the others being run thru there. The auction staff were not poking and prodding the horses along, and they let this little guy do his thing. They tried real hard to get a $5 or $10 bid on him, but nothing. Then the buyer whose number everyone knew and dreaded got him. Jill said that the auctioneer and the buyer both looked very sad. There were so many good horses going to the same buyer.

With some cooperation from the auction facility, she found out who the buyer was and she contacted him. He was very nice to her, and wanted them to find homes too...
In the meantime I e-mailed her back and told her I would rehab the mustang. That was early the next morning. I was not able to be at the facility at the time the guy was, so Jill went to pick the horse up for us, and we went to her place to transfer him from her trailer to ours.

Thanks to Jill, this little mustang is saved from an unknown fate, and we have our first rescue!

He needs some groceries. His coat looks healthy and his eyes are very soft and clear. His feet are growing out at funky angles, so I am also going to take pictures of his feet before I start trimming - he will be my first Case Study!




He is in the pen with Joker, and he is only a couple of inches taller than him. I split them up and started moving the new guy back and forth a little bit. He was afraid, but not crazy about it. He has a very level head on him and is confident and casual in his movements.
He decided he was tired of moving back and forth and all of a sudden stopped and walked up to me. Yay!




He let me touch his nose. The halter he had been wearing left dents on his face. There are not any rub marks, and it really doesn't appear that it is too small. Just that it squished down the hair - he is very fuzzy, which hides the ribs.



He did not mind his ears rubbed at all. He was loved by someone...



He got to where he would walk up to me and when I would reach out to touch his face, he would drop his head in a very relaxed manner.




While he was letting me pet him, I thought why not try the feet to see what happens there. He let me pick it up! I only tried the one...didn't want to push my luck. He was still nervous and I just didn't want to undo what I had done. I want him to know he can trust me.




Jill said that the facility had the BLM papers during the auction, and the buyer had already packed them. He will be mailing them to Jill. We can't wait to find out where he came from, how old he is, etc. You know how their brands look like smudges when they get their fuzzy winter coats? I can't make out anything of his brand, but it is there.

I really do believe that this little guy was loved by someone, but sometimes crap just happens, and he unfortunately was the one to suffer for it. His mane was trimmed - OH! And when that thing grows out, it is going to be beautiful! I know, I know....can't ride a mane, can't ride color, etc. But we all like good hair. His mane is so thick!

His hooves are in need of some work. I will post pictures of them later. He really does think before he reacts, and when he does react, it is in a very relaxed way. Very unlike Joker! Joker was a basket case for some reason and ran right into the new guy more than once. And this was not when we first put them together. This was today! The nut job!

That was the other thing - there was not any pawing, snorting, or squealing at each other. We think he is a gelding....I forgot to double check today. If he is young he still might need a touchy feely check, and I don't know that he would have been up to that. Another day...

Jill was leaving his name up to us...and we have one in mind. I am going to get with her to see what she thinks. Will post his new name later.

The only other news I have is our furnace is not working - and it is COLD! Will make some calls tomorrow.

We also adopted two new cats. My older cat is 18 or 19 yrs old, and he just doesn't chase mice like he used to. This time of year the mice try to come in and I have seen a couple. Mice are cute, but they are cute when they are outside! So we adopted two new cats who were very rambunctious and liked to play.
Thomas is a big orange long haired thing - he is 3 yrs old and I don't think he napped at all today! Dang he is full of energy!
CoCo is a black tuxedo type girl, short hair and not so big. CoCo has decided she is shy for now, but will come out of it later.
At the Humane Society they both played well and were in everybody's business. She will come around. Bob, my older cat isn't happy about the intrusion, but I keep telling him he is still King of the Lab (phrase taken off the t.v. show Bones).

That is it for now....hope everyone had a good weekend!

Karen and Tripp, who is a big fuzzy bear!