Horse Trail Chicks

Most people have probably heard of a mustang (no, not the car), but do you actually know what a mustang is? All knew until recently was that they are an iconic American symbol of the wild west – beautiful and hardy. Did you know that the word “mustang” means “wild, stray, or having no master” from the Spanish “mestengo”? Mustangs are descended from horses brought by the Spanish and, while the are often considered to be wild, they are actually feral.

Mustangs live on the plains of the mid-western United States. Herd numbers are controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the horses that are gathered are held in holding facilities and then are adopted out.

The thought of these beautiful horses brings a smile to my face and has since I was a kid. I’m pretty sure that I had posters of mustangs up on my wall as a young horse-crazy girl. I read about them in books and horse magazines. However, being that I live in New England and nowhere near any areas you may expect to find a mustang, I never really considered them as an option when I have been looking for a riding horse in the past. Where would I even find one?

Well, as it turns out the answer is… about 15 minutes from my house! Yes, in Vermont!

Disclaimer – The topic of mustang gathering can be controversial. We will not be discussing herd management, BLM policies, or any of the mustang gathers in this article. This article is intended to help people who are not familiar with mustangs learn more about them, if they may be a good choice for their next horse, and where they may find one in New England. I think we can all agree that mustangs who have been removed from the wild deserve a chance at a great home!

Just down the road in New Haven, Vermont you will find the Rising Action Mustang Society or RAMS. RAMS is run by two passionate young women, Jasmine Foster (Executive Director, Co-Founder) and Madison Berry (Director, Co-Founder).

What are mustangs doing in Vermont and how did they get here? To answer this question, we made a visit to the RAMS facility to meet Jasmine and Madison and several of their mustangs. They had about 13 horses at their facility when we visited, including their own personal mustangs as well several who are in various stages of training. One thing that struck me was just the huge variety of horse types in this group. There were stocky western types, to more refined horses you could easily see jumping or doing dressage, and everything in between. Mustangs are typically smaller horses in the 14-15 hand range, but most are fairly sturdy and could easily carry a full grown adult.

Jasmine and Madison explained that most of their horses come from one horse management area (or HMA) – the Devil’s Garden in California. This HMA is known for quiet, forgiving horses who are easier to gentle than those from some other HMAs.

When mustangs from this HMA are gathered and made available to the public, they are often sold via an auction platform. RAMS is making it possible for people who live in the New England area to participate in these auctions and purchase their very own mustang, by serving as a local pickup location for these horses. The way the auctions work is that groups of purchased mustangs are sent on large trailers to pickup points across the country. Prior to RAMS opening their corrals, there was no pickup point available in Vermont or the surrounding area. So, if you want to get your very own mustang and use RAMS as a pickup location, I suggest contacting RAMS to learn more. Oh, and did I mention that they do this for FREE?

Jasmine and Madison don’t just let their facility be used as a pickup point, they also purchase mustangs from these auctions and train them to be solid citizens before offering them for adoption to the public. They also offer training for mustangs owned by other people, including those purchased from these auctions. So, for example, you could purchase an untouched mustang from an auction and then hire RAMS to provide some initial handling. If this is too big a step, you can go to RAMS and adopt a horse that they have already started.

Mustangs go from being completely wild to leading, picking up their feet, ground driving, and even the first backing (accepting a rider) at RAMS. This makes them so much more successful in their new homes since most people do not have the skills and experience to start a completely unhandled mustang. I know that I don’t!

This discussion of course led us to ask Jasmine and Madison how this whole idea came about and how they gained the skills to work with these amazing horses. The very short story is that they knew they wanted to work with horses and were initially thinking about restarting off-the-track thoroughbreds (OTTBs), which are fairly common in this area. However, after spending a lot of time researching horses and horsemanship online they found themselves drawn to mustangs. And, with the prices of OTTBs and other horses skyrocketing due to the global pandemic, mustangs were looking better and better. They started with four of their own mustangs and things just grew from there.

We asked Jasmine and Madison what the biggest difference between mustangs and domestic horses is in their opinion, and I just found their answer so interesting. They said:

Domestic horses fear things. Mustangs fear people. This means that, once they get over their fear of people, they make great trail horses who are not afraid of water crossings, big rocks, bushwhacking, or just about anything.

They key things they want people to know about are:

1. They are generally very healthy and hardy, have great feet, eat and drink well, and need less maintenance than other horses.
2. Mustangs are extremely intelligent and once they realize they are in a learning environment, they learn fast.
3. They are very versatile. There is a mustang for almost any job. They excel as trail horses and are particularly suite for endurance and competitive trail, and can do very well at the lower levels of jumping, dressage, eventing, and western disciplines. You just need to find the right match!
4. They are sure footed and have an adventurous spirit. They might not be fancy, but they really know how to use their bodies well.
5. Once you earn their respect and build a partnership, you will have a partner for life.

RAMS recommends that any potential adopters have a support system, are dedicated to respecting a horse and earning their respect, interested in a true partnership, and are open to learning horse body language since mustangs are masters of communication through body language. If you think a mustang might be right for you, reach out to RAMS or your local mustang facility to learn more. RAMS is also always looking for volunteers, so that could also be a great way to get to know mustangs and learn how to work with them.

Don’t be turned off by the reputation of a mustang, one just may be your next dream horse!

Happy Trails!

Kerrie