I could train a mustang!

You could. You have the patience, the ability to work out the individual horse's quirks and fears,

I'm a bit puzzled by the mustang myth, to be honest. Over here in Europe, it used to be perfectly normal to throw your horses into a pasture for half the year. Consequently, a horse 'fresh from the mountain' is not unusual, and mares are often kept on the mountain, brought down, their foals weaned, while they get thrown into a winter pasture, and driven up the mountain again in spring - with minimum handling. And sometimes they're brought in to be broken and sold because they don't make great foals or don't get pregnant or someone takes a fancy to them... and so you have a four-year-old straight from the mountain who is not used to interacting with humans other than in stressful situations.

And you put them in a stable or small paddock so they can get to know you as a bringer of food, and you keep handling and feeding them, and six months later nobody can tell the difference. And people do this all the time, and never think anything about it, and sell their New Forests or Exmoors or Welshies as children's ponies...

When you read about how most people approach the American mustang, you'd think they're a different species alltogether.
I;m not denying that they're skittish and cautious, but I have to think about a barnful of Welsh cobs who would run to the other end every time you made a move - and the Welsh A who would come to the front to be fussed.

Same circumstances, different temperament - but the cobs would be picked out of the herd one by one, gentled, handled, and lost their shyness of people pretty quickly once they knew that pockets disperse fooood.

I think the only reason mustangs have a rough and wild reputation is because a) the people that often adopt them expect them to be like green domestic colts right from the start, and they aren't - they're much more sensitive and b) they way they're gathered is often traumatic. Granted, the BLM has done a lot in recent years to adjust their methods, but the fact is these herds are run into gathering pens and sorted as quickly as possible. Then they're loaded onto trailers, shipped to the processing facility, tranquilized and vaccinated. They're not offered for adoption for at least six months and in that time they're left to adjust to strange surroundings. It's pretty rough on them, even though the BLM tries hard to make it as safe and non-stressful as possible.

Many mustangs, though, are perfectly gentle once they get to know their people. Like Brisa, for example. I had her halter trained in four days. And she's super gentle and willing - she's actually more gentle than most domestic horses I've met. She's just so sensitive and friendly.

And Gypsy would have been okay except for the fact that her first adopters had no patience and abused her.

Ranger, though, is one of the shy and spooky types. He exaggerates, of course, but losing his herd and being shipped across the US was hard on him. He had ulcers for six months and I still watch him carefully for signs of stress. (shrugs)

:D Yes, that's a good point. Ranger is likely just a big chicken. Hee!

I definitely think there's a HUGE problem here with people thinking a 4 year old can be a finished saddle horse when really a 4 year old should be just starting his training. (Heck, many of them think a 2 year old with 90 days can be finished. Grr.)

Oh, and I also think some of it depends on the horse's personality. Mustangs come from all sorts of genetic backgrounds - there are herds of draft types that are more cold-blooded, and herds of Spanish/Arab types that tend to be hotter. At the gathering pens you can certainly find more laid back, mellow mustangs that sound a lot like Cobs.

Eh, *some* mustang people draw distinctions. There are a few herds that are supposedly genetically distinct: the Kiger herd, the Sulphur herd, and a group of Spanish mustangs (but I can't remember where). Anyway, fans of these herds have started registries and they go on about how these mustangs are better than the mutt sort. But really, most mustangs are just random mixes and we like them for that reason. :) People who want something sturdier and more mellow will look for the draft builds while people like me looking for endurance horses tend to go for the lean, Arab sorts. But most of us agree they're all equally "mustangs." (And really, no mustangs are truly wild. They're all considered feral.)

Heh. I stand corrected. I rode a Welsh Cob when I first began learning basic dressage years ago. He was a lovely mover and a spitfire under saddle, but totally mellow on the ground. My instructor said "all Cobs are like that" so I absorbed the idea that they're mellow. :}

I've never met a skittish draft horse, though. Of course, I've only known Clydesdales, Belgians and Percherons, so maybe Shires are different. And I realize all horses are individuals so just because most are mellow certainly doesn't mean *all* will be.

I haven't been responding much because I was enjoying reading the conversation. Re: drafts, though: I've always had the impression Clydes were a bit hotter than Belgians or Percherons, but now I don't know where I got that idea.

Someone told me the other day that only US residents are allowed to bid on these horses. Which makes sense, considering the US government remains responsible for the animal for some time. (Unless I read that wrong on the page.)

Anyway. It's all interesting stuff.

And incidentally, Mitzi seems to be coming back nicely from another winter off!