Welcome to another edition of the Next Level Horse.  Here we introduce some of the horses we have in training to give you some insight into their stories and those of their owners.  At Next Level Horsemanship we train all breeds and help horses and people from various disciplines.

In 2017 we became an approved “Storefront” for the Bureau of Land Management.  This is a new program by the BLM designed to bring wild Mustangs further east of the normal holding facilities to make it easier for individuals to adopt.  In our program, we take up to 25 horses in a single shipment from the BLM and hold an adoption yearly at our facility in Port Matilda, PA.  Some of the horses are purchased or adopted and leave immediately with their new owners and others stay with us for gentling and further training with Suzanne and the experienced team of Next Level Horsemanship.

Eleanor was one of those Mustangs.  Of the 14 Mustangs from this event that stayed with us for training, Eleanor  was particularly challenging to bring along.  All Mustangs are definitely wild but some relinquish their instinctive behaviors sooner than others and Eleanor was determined to keep us at bay for quite awhile.  She was extremely reactive and standoffish – so much so that the mere presence of us in a 60′ diameter pen with her would make her race around with relentless fervor.  She seemed without much curiosity for people so that training angle was rendered somewhat useless at first.  Instead Eleanor was much more insistent on using her flight instinct to avoid any contact with humans. And, while others we were working with were slowly buying into the program and realizing that life with humans was not so bad, Eleanor was still not convinced.

Fortunately for Eleanor, she was matched with the right owner.  Many people would not be as willing as her owner, Stephanie L., to put in the time and energy needed to gentle a horse that was this feral.  But that’s exactly what Stephanie did.  She believed in Eleanor, – and so did we. We knew, based on experience, that she too would eventually let down her guard, relax and believe in the human experience.  She just needed more time…

And with time Eleanor did come along.  But it was more than just time that brought Eleanor to a place where she realized a partnership with humans. Having exposure to a training program that is built on solid methods was critical for Eleanor to successfully go through the gentling process.  For a wild horse to go through the gentling process is much like a person changing their religion.  It is not something that happens overnight and it isn’t something that can be coerced.  It requires both time and thorough investigation to the point where one truly does change their beliefs about certain key concepts.  Eleanor needed both time and a program that proved to her that humans could be trusted and that being in a relationship with them was worth while.  With time and solid training techniques tailored to the needs of a wild horse these things happened for Eleanor.

Now, Eleanor lives with her new owner and together they will build their own partnership, make their own memories and live a lifetime of possibilities together.  We are extremely happy that we were a big part in bringing that to the forefront for both of them and wish them a lifetime of happy trails together.

To find out more about how we gentled Eleanor or how to adopt a wild Mustang contact us or like us on Facebook and message us from there.  We love sharing trainings stories of horses both domestic and wild!