Find me where the Wild Things are
Mustangs are an American icon. They're wild and free; majestic and strong; being rounded up by the 1,000's to be placed into government holding facilities. What you didn't know about that last part?
Mustangs aren't native to the east coast so the majority of the population is unaware of what's really happening out west. Years of being able to reproduce without restriction or any natural predators has led to overpopulation. These horses are starving, they're upsetting ranchers by stealing food and water from their cows. The government's solution is to do round ups to control the numbers in the wild.
The horses rounded up get and placed in government run holding facilities where they are castrated, vaccinated, branded, sorted by age and gender and then offered for adoption to the public. Adoption fees range from $1-125 if adoption through a facility or adoption event. There are online auctions held multiple times a year and I've seen horses selling for $2,000 and up if they're a fancy color. I'm not here to bash the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and their efforts, instead I want to help raise awareness for these horses. Increase adoptions and show just how these horses can become amazing riding horses.
My fascination with wild horses started at a young age, all of my bed time stories from my dad involved wild horses. When I was around 10 a documentary came out, 'Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies' I watched it over and over, I got the Breyer horse that was molded after Cloud. I knew one day I would have my very own mustang. And that one day happened last year.
I picked Arlo bases off a facebook picture on a whim. I saw a post saying that a trailer was coming east and that mustangs were available for adoption for $1 each in California. Within 24 hours of seeing this post I was on the phone paying my $1 adoption fee. He arrived 2 months later to NH it was a 6 hour drive each way. My friend and I did it nonstop through the night. A total of 13 hours on the road in one night to pickup a completely wild horse that I never even seen in person before!
screen shot of my cell phone showing the information posted along with Arlo's photo.
Arlo's journey has had a lot of ups and downs, I'll write more about his story another time. One thing is for certain. I will never buy another domestically bred horse again. All of my future horses will be coming from the BLM, these horses are amazing and have a lot to offer. They just need someone to give them a chance.
If you would like to ask any questions on how to adopt your own mustang please don't hesitate to ask! redskyranchnj@gmail.com