This summer has been a whirlwind of activity at Next Level HorsemanshipTM. We had 10 wild mustangs in for training and preparation for competitions in NJ and TX. We recently competed with 4 of these mustangs in the Mustang Makeover in Gloucester NJ on August 2nd. These mustangs were picked up in April and the gentling process began. Three NLHTM Interns and I worked very hard through the end of July to gentle and train these mares for the NJ competition and in the end they were very successful. My horse Jada and I were 6th overall in the finals! I was very pleased with Jada – she is a very talented and ambitious mare and her potential for a promising future is very high. After the competition in NJ, the mustangs were auctioned to Bureau of Land Management approved bidders and Jada was purchased by a wonderful woman who lives in Long Island, NY.
Many people ask me if it is hard to let these horses go after working with them for so long. The answer is a resounding YES! I’ve been involved in the Mustang Challenges since soon after their inception. In 2008 I won the Midwest Mustang Challenge on a horse named Jazz. I purchased him at the auction and we had an amazing life together after bringing him home. Later, my daughter Brooke and I, and several NLHTM interns competed in other similar challenges and each time we have ended up bringing our mustangs home. The latest competition this month was different – it was the first time I have had to let a horse go after gentling and training it in this venue. It is very difficult to do indeed.
Working with the mustangs is an excellent way for me to continue to learn new approaches to training and to keep my training program the best it can be. I want to continue to be involved in these events but with that said I can’t continue to keep each horse I work with. The process of gentling a wild horse involves changing its belief system to gain absolute trust – a process that overtime becomes very personal as you convince that horse that in your hands no harm will come to him. It is difficult to perceive that the bond of a horse so vulnerable could be broken in the hands of someone else. But, just as that horse has learned to trust me, so too do I have to learn to trust people. I have found that those who are adopting the mustangs are truly horse lovers. I have met Jada’s new owner and I have seen in her eyes and heard in her voice the love and respect she has for her new found partner. Jada will be loved and cared for and the bond and trust that she has come to know through me will forever remain strong and unbroken in her new relationship. Just as any good teacher has to let their students move on, I too have to let Jada go in the knowledge that she is and will be ok.