Ever After Mustang Rescue

People are often baffled when I tell them I am adopting a mustang to be my next equine partner. While mustangs do require a bit more time and patience to train than domestic breeds, their strong desire to gain approval from the alpha horse in a herd (which hopefully in a training situation is you) makes them try their little hearts out. Who doesn't love a little horse with a whole lot of try?

I acquired my love of mustangs while working for Mona Jerome at Ever After Mustang Rescue in Biddeford, ME. Ever After takes in mustangs from a number of sources. Some are adopted from BLM auctions, some are surrendered by owners who have decided they can't handle or don't want their mustang, and some are seized from situations of abuse and neglect.

In order to fund this operation, Mona hosts several money-raising events, many of which are riding clinics. I met Mona when I started attending a fantastic, week-long eventing clinic at the farm. The clinic was so fantastic, that I attended 5 years straight (once on one of Mona's mustangs). One fine spring day, I received a call from Mona, and I assumed that it was regarding the clinic dates for that year. Instead, Mona asked me if I would be interested in coming to ride and train for her. I enthusiastically accepted the offer and packed my bags for Biddeford.

After arriving at the farm, Mona took a lot of time teaching me the art of training wild horses. I learned so much while with Mona, and I will now and try to condense what I learned into a few succinct bullet points

* When training a wild horse, there is very little room for error. While domestically born horse can tolerate quite a bit of incorrect training and turn out ok, mistakes made while training a wild horse can produce dangerous outcomes. In order to avoid these dangerous outcomes, it is important to correct bad behavior as soon as it happens.

* Attempting to muscle around a horse, regardless of how big or small, is a futile endeavor. Just don't do it.

* Be aware of the horse's body language as well as your own. Initally, body language is the only way you can communicate with your wild horse.

* Demand obedience and reward profusely when it's given. You'd be surprised how much a simple pat on the neck and a "good boy" means to your horse.

While these concepts are essential to successfully training a wild horse, I have also found that applying them to the training of any horse can lead to a deeper connection and better partnership between horse and rider. I am very grateful for all that Mona taught me, and I look forward to applying my knowledge to a mustang of my own. Please take the time to visit the Ever After Mustang Rescue website and see all the good work she is doing.