Latest / The Touch of a Mustang / Wild Horse Partnerships Built Free of Force with Mustang Trainer Michael Sanchez | Episode 72

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Wild Horse Partnerships Built Free of Force with Mustang Trainer Michael Sanchez | Episode 72 · The Touch of a Mustang

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We don't want the the horse, especially a horse that we've
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worked and put love and attention into like you, you
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grow attached to these horses. You don't want them to end up in
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a bad situation. That's like the most rewarding
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part for me is watching that horse come in on the first day,
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getting to to what really work and put hands on it and then
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seeing it go off to a home that it's, you know, it's a, it's
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what we call like a, you know, a decent citizen of society.
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That is the most rewarding part because you know, you, you see
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the blood, sweat and tears load up on that trailer and get out
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of there and know that they're going to be a OK, I want to
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start training horses off as possible.
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But I always tell everybody like, if you never put them
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under a certain amount of pressure and everything is just
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super quiet and sweet the whole time, the first time that they,
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they need to get energy and they need to get amped up.
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You don't know what it's going to do because you've never put
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it under that, that amount of pressure that like with your
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heart rate up your and adrenaline running, you know,
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it's, it's, it's a recipe for disasters.
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So. There are healers on this planet
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with the power to soften the suffering of mankind if they
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have remained in the recesses of the world, abused, discarded and
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labeled as trash. This is the touch of a Mustang.
1:14
I am your host, Shalise Clough, and I'm here to tell the story
1:18
of wild horses, Mustangs, and the humans who are discovering
1:22
and sharing their gifts while working to protect their
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well-being and preserve their spirit so this divine power
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won't be lost. Join us on this quest with the
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Wild Mustang. Michael, great to have you here
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on the Touch of a Mustang podcast.
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Thank you for having me on. Can you start by telling us a
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little bit about yourself and what you do in the Mustang
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world? Sure, I so I'm based out of
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Leeds, AL. I work for a barn that that all
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that's all we do is we gentle Mustangs.
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We've been doing it nine years now.
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I think we've counted up nine years and over the nine years
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we've done 300 Mustangs. We've gentle them and placed
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them into homes and things like that.
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Just a little bit about, you know, doing that.
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It's, it's, it's been a very rewarding experience.
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We also get to do like rescue horses.
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We've gone to sell barns and gotten some rescue horses and
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Mustangs from there as well. So we've been doing that.
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I mean, that's, that's pretty much the gist of it as far as
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like what I do and, and in that sense, you know, that is my full
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time job and I'm pretty lucky that I get to do something like
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that, you know. Yeah, that is a great job to
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have. Where did your journey with
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horses start? Where did you first start coming
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involved with them? Well, my dad actually worked
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from the time I was growing up. He's always worked at horse
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barns. And so like I've always kind of
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been around horses. I've never been the training guy
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though. I've always been the guy that's
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like picking stalls or whatever, you know, And I never really had
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an interest in like learning or or whatever doing that until
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like I started working at blue stuff arm and it it kind of, you
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know, one day I was just called and I was just a maintenance guy
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and I was called in to Hey, hold this horse.
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It you know, it won't, you know, put trying to bolt away from me.
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And the next thing I know, all these years later, I'm training
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horses full time. And so like I'm very green into
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this, very new into this like as far as like, like how I got
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started, if that makes sense. I didn't take the typical
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journey that people do where they have riding lessons and
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they, you know, learn to love horses that way.
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I just learned to love them because it was my job
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essentially. But it's been a very powerful
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journey, just kind of, you know, getting to know a lot, absorbing
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all the knowledge I can and getting to kind of help them
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along the way, so. Yeah.
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What led this barn to go in on Mustangs and rescue horses?
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All the difficult ones, so to speak.
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So the the lady I work for, her name is Bobby Steislinger and
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she rode horses from the time she was a child.
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Like she told me it not too terribly long ago that she had a
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horse that really helped her through a traumatic experience
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as a child. And she worked for some cutting
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trainers in the 20s and things like that.
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And then she went off and started a business and became
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very successful doing that and was looking one day for a way to
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give back to horses, the horses that had helped her.
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And she ran across Mustangs, I think they were like posted on
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one of those kind of shipping pages, you know, the types on
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Facebook or something. And from there, like she, she
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adopted or bought, I think 3 or 4 Navajo Mustangs and the, the
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red horses. And from there, like she kind of
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just decided that was the route she was going to take.
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And it, it's worked out perfectly for, you know, it's,
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it's a, a really good way for her to give back and in the
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sense of, you know, doing it for the, for the Mustangs.
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Yeah. So as a kid, you were kind of
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around horses. Did you find yourself drawn to
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them at all, or was it just kind of tagging along with your dad
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doing his? Thing it was it was more tagging
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along with my dad like I, I knew horses like, you know, I could
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lead them and pick up feet and do things like that, but I never
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had like an innate interest into going like, hey, I want to I
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want to pursue this as a career or I want to do this as a hobby.
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I was just kind of like, you know, they're horses, they're
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cool, you know, and high school, I thought it was a really good
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way to try to, you know, maybe pick up chicks.
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But it didn't really pan out for me there either, you know,
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because, you know, like you can't, you can't bring somebody
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around, be like, Oh yeah, here's a horse, but I can't ride it.
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I can't do anything with it. So, but yeah, it, it, I like I
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said, you know, I can appreciate the, the beauty in anything and
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and especially with horses, you know, they're Beautiful
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Creatures, they're smart, They're they're just like
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people. It's it's wild to see the
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different personalities and then getting into the Mustangs, it
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was a whole different world. It was like that, like the fight
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or flight and these guys and the the moment that they give you
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that trust. And it just like from that
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point, like the very first time I picked up a horse's hoof and
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it let me do that, you know, trusted me enough to do that.
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And then, you know, pick it out and do all this.
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It was like that moment was like an aha moment for me.
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And it was just like, OK, like I could see where like people get
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like really into this. Like, it's like a drug almost
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and I just get drawn into it and want to keep doing it.
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So I don't know if that answered your questions.
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That was a very long winded way to say why, but you know.
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No, that was great. And so what's that journey kind
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of been like for you going from the maintenance guy holding a
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horse as just a helper to now training these animals for full
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time? It's it's it's been a quick a
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journey. I want to say like a bit very
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difficult at the same time, because I was like I said, you
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know, I was not the guy that like knew anything about horses
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and you I couldn't teach a horse to, to, to stand for five
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seconds very still or whatever. You know, it.
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It was definitely there was a lot of like there was a learning
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curve in there for me. And like I'm very thankful that
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like my boss lady was very patient with me and the, the bar
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manager at the time who was actually she and I were dating
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at the time. Like we're super patient with me
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and it got to the point that it enveloped my life and I like
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would go home and I would try to spend time with my family and
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friends, but all I'm thinking about is horses and how can I
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help this horse and how can I do this?
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And so watching a lot of videos, I'm talking to a lot of
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different people as really like, you know, it's really like kind
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of ingrain that passion and me and even more, you know, getting
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to hear the different types of, you know, train how different
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trainers do different things and how they do, you know, kind of
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see this problem and how I would see this problem.
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Now it's, it's, it's really cool to get involved with people that
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are in the training or the horse world just in general and say,
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Hey, like, you know, what is your thoughts on this?
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You know, this particular person doing XY and Z, like how would
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you pursue that? Like fixing that problem or
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helping them through this? You know, it's, it's really
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cool. So just as far as how, how my
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journey went, it was, it was long and, and difficult, but
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it's been like really rewarding. It's been like the, it's been
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the best experience I've had, so.
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What have been some of the hardest aspects about it?
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Well, like I said, you know, I wasn't, I didn't really know
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anything about training, you know, horse it's it's more
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difficult just with Mustangs in general, I think everybody kind
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of knows that Mustangs are more difficult versus just, you know,
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because they're feral. They're, you know, the, the
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first time they see you, as you know, they're used to seeing
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something walk around on four legs and here, here we are
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standing on 2 and reaching out with another two like, Hey, can
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I please touch you? That's been kind of the, the,
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the drawback for me on that is like, how do I, how do I
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convince them that this is OK? And so I just as my own
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personality and, and everybody that knows me will tell you
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like, I'm very much like task driven.
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I'm very goal oriented and I want to just go ahead and get
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the job done and let's keep moving.
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And so the, the hard part for me has been taking that away out of
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my own personality and my own sense of who I am, because
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that's not what that horse needs.
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And, and, you know, I'm sure people that have worked with
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just regular domesticated horses and then work with Mustangs know
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that there's a huge difference in the two.
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And, and so I can, you know, I can really work with a Mustang
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and it might take me 3 months to accomplish something that it
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would take me, you know, you know, 3 hours to accomplish with
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a domesticated horse, you know, if that makes any sense.
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And that's been the, the hard part for me was getting the
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patience and understanding of getting to do that with a horse,
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you know? Yeah, I think that's a big one
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for a lot of people. I think it's also probably part
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of the reason that a lot of Mustangs don't end up making it
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in their first placements, because people have the same
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expectations as you might have with a domestic horse.
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And sometimes that pans out and a lot of times it doesn't.
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There's a lot of barriers and obstacles along the way.
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Yes, ma'am. Yeah.
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And, and, and I mean, you know, I, I, I love that people are
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interested in horses and the Mustangs and things like that.
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And I love that they're, you know, the, the best program in
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the world has been the forever branded program or the tip
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program or, you know, whatever it is, because it, you're, it's
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a network of trainers that have that spirit, that skill and that
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experience to give that horse the best possible chance at a
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life outside of being on the range.
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And people see them and they're like, oh man, like this, you
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know, it's a beautiful horse, but I don't know anything about
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horses. Well, you know, maybe a Mustang
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isn't where you should start off.
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But we hope that as the trainers, we have done enough
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for this horse and put enough time and effort and patience
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into this horse that it's just as understanding with its new
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owner. And, you know, sometimes it, it
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just doesn't pan out. And you know, we, you know,
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luckily at the place where I work, we have the ability to
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take that horse back and say like, hey, you know, we're going
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to, we, it didn't, you didn't match up.
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We're going to, you know, we're going to take the horse back and
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we'll, you know, retrain it or we'll, you know, try to find it
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a different home and see if we can search you out with
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something that's a little bit more akin to your skill set or
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whatever. And but, you know, there's some
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people that don't have that ability and that's where you get
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those horses that get in the bad situation.
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And that's why we love being able to help out as much as we
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can. Like we try to stay in touch
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with all of our doctors and, you know, if they ever need
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anything, you know, I've, I've driven all over the country just
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going to help other people that have adopted horses from us.
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I've been on the phone at 11:00 at night with somebody saying,
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hey, like, you know what, you're having this problem may help
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you. So it's, it's, it's a tough,
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it's a tough world for them. And we just try to make it even
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for we can, if that makes any sense.
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Yeah, definitely. That support system is huge.
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That's definitely something that made it so that I could keep my
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horses. When you get to those stuck
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places, having someone that you can kind of go to get a little
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encouragement from. And I also think, you know, just
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training these horses is one of the best gifts we can give them.
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Obviously there's a lot of controversy around the Mustang
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issue, but once they are gathered like there's, I don't,
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I don't think there's any greater protection than a
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committed private home or facility that's going to keep
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these horses. And part of that, a key piece of
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that is that they are trained and can be safe and happy in the
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human world. So training such a huge part of
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that. It is and, and you know, if you
14:12
can put, if you can put time and effort into it and give that
14:16
horse the best possible start to a domesticated life, you know,
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it it, it's the drawback is going to be what is the, the
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person who's adopting a horse, you know, how is that going to
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work out for them? And, you know, that's why we try
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to make ourselves really readily available to kind of assist with
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things like that, because we don't want that.
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We don't want the, the horse, especially a horse that like we
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worked and put love and attention into like you, you
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grow attached to these horses. You don't want them to end up
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in, you know, a bad situation. So like, that's why we're always
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just super careful about kind of match up the horse to the person
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and their skill set and things like that, because, you know, we
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don't, nobody wants that. They they have a hard enough
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life out on the range and if we can, you know, train and put
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some training on them and, you know, some gentleing and make
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them sleep little puppy dogs and you know, people are more likely
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to want to keep them around, you know.
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Yeah, and it is pretty incredible because a lot of the
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Mustangs are very personable once they realize they're not
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going to die around people. You know, once you can disengage
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that fight or flight response and help them realize they're
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safe, they can be have some of the greatest relationships with
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people. Yeah, yeah, I've seen.
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I'll tell you a story right now. We have this horse at the barn
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and his name is Smooch. He's really, really sweet horse.
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He's a big, he's probably, I don't know, 15 to Palomino.
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He's seven years old and he is, he has been one of the toughest
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horses I've worked. He is, he has tested for what's
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what. I always say he's tested my
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gangster all the time, but he learns so quick.
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And when he learns, he gets it. And to watch this horse with the
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kid that's adopting him. I I've watched this horse like,
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you know, like try to bolt away from me, you know, never being
16:12
aggressive to me or anything, but just very scared, very, you
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know, like very flatty. And to watch him with his
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adopter, who is, is this young kid, I think he's in his 20s and
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he just melts with this kid. I mean, it is the wildest thing
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to get to see him just like sit there and he just lip just
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hanging down and he's just as quiet as can be.
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And I'm like, well, why weren't you like that for me?
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I was trying to do the same thing, you know, So like it's,
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it's one of those things that's like getting them past that
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point. And then like I said, lining
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them up with the correct home. It's that's a huge part of it.
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Like I know that they're going to keep this horse because like
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this guy, that the kid and this horse are just like, they're
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just best friends. They're just best friends and
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there's no other way to put it. So, yeah, a lot of it is just
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you, you know, we do the the work to get them to where they
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are at. Somebody's best friend, you
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know. Yeah, yeah.
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I think a lot of us think that with Mustangs, like why don't
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you just, everything's OK, But just the reality that they're
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coming into this world that's so strange to them with people that
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aren't always safe, that they can get to that point where they
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are trusting and building that relationship, you know?
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And like you say, just really having a partnership with a
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human is pretty incredible. It, it is, it's definitely
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getting to see it to kind of first hand.
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It's, it's, that's like the most rewarding part for me is, is you
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know, watching that horse come in on the first day, you know,
17:44
getting to, to what really work and put hands on it and then
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seeing it go off to a home that it's, you know, it's a, it's
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what we call like a, you know, a decent citizen of society.
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You know, that is the most rewarding part because you know,
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you, you see the blood, sweat and tears, you know, load up on
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that trailer and get out of there and know that they're
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going to be, they're going to be a OK, you know, be very, very
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happy where they are. Yeah.
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What? Are there some other difficult
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horses that are especially memorable that you encountered
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in your time? I so there's, there's a ton,
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there's a ton of them. You know, what I've I've found
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is that I I don't I never want to.
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I always want that horse back. You know, as much as I learn
18:36
going forward, I always go, Oh man, like and I wish I had this
18:41
horse. I had a horse that not too
18:43
terribly long ago. This is probably, I don't know,
18:47
three, couple, three years back. He just would not, you know,
18:52
pick up his back feet without kind of, you know, take my hand
18:55
off and I'm like, you know, what are we, what am I doing wrong?
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You know, and I went through everything that I know and now
19:02
that I've, you know, gained a little bit more knowledge, I'm
19:04
like, OK, now I wish I could have that horse back because
19:07
like, now I know how to handle that situation a little bit
19:10
better now. He went off to a really good
19:13
home and the lady was super gentle with them and got him
19:17
picking up his back feet. She sent me a picture of it not
19:20
too terribly long ago after, after he was adopted and said
19:23
got him, you know, and I'm like, what'd you do?
19:25
Would you do different? You know what you do different
19:27
than I do? So yeah, there's, there's been
19:30
quite a few difficult ones, but that's like, that's like I said
19:35
too, not to keep sounding like a broken record.
19:37
That's why we, we try to place them in homes that are
19:41
experienced and you know, because you like, this is what I
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do for a full time job. And I'll tell you sometimes like
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I just have a horse that and I'm just, I come home and I just
19:50
scratch my head all night and I'm like, well, I don't know
19:52
what I'm going to do now. And sometimes I'm just not the
19:56
person for that horse, you know, I'm just not the person.
20:00
And it, we've seen it. There's two other trainers plus
20:05
myself at the barn and I know sometimes, you know.
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We, one of us will be like, Hey, I can't get it with this horse.
20:13
I just can't get this horse to, to think it through or can't get
20:16
this horse, you know, I maybe I'm telling it wrong.
20:18
And another trainer will come in and, you know, they'll get it.
20:21
And it's just, sometimes you're just not the person for that
20:24
horse. You know, the energies don't
20:26
line up the, the, you know, and, and, and my own energy, like I
20:30
said, I'm very task driven, very goal oriented and I want to get
20:33
it done And let's, let's try to make as much progress as we can.
20:37
And I've had to learn a lot of patience with that because it's,
20:43
it's very difficult to try to rush this process with them.
20:46
And so the two ladies that work at the barn with me, they're
20:50
very much, you know, they're going to take their time and,
20:53
you know, they're going to make it all sweet and loving and, and
20:56
not saying that like I'm not here just, you know,
20:58
roughhousing with them, but like I'm, you know, a little bit able
21:02
to kind of work through things a little bit more.
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But sometimes it just takes a different touch to to get them
21:08
going. So just speaking on difficult
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horses, that's, you know, that we've run into some, but you
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know, too few to remember, you know.
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Yeah, and I think that's definitely something I learned
21:20
with the Mustangs. We often learn that one specific
21:23
approach is the way to do it, and with Mustangs, I think it's
21:26
a lot of trial and error. You have to kind of see what
21:29
works, see what hits with them, and adjust it when it doesn't.
21:34
Yeah, yeah, it's that's what's really cool about where I work
21:38
is there's three different trainers and all three of us
21:42
have sort of a different method and how we how we go about
21:47
training. And it's it's really cool to get
21:52
to see a horse that all three of us have worked when there was
21:56
there was 4 that's there at one point time.
21:58
And like we were putting out some rock solid, really good
22:01
horses because like you'd, you'd have me come in and start the
22:05
generally process and teach them XY and Z and then, you know, the
22:10
other two or three trainers would come in And like by the
22:13
time that horse was finished out of this, you know, requirements
22:15
for the tip program or for forever branded, it was rock
22:19
solid. And like we were being, we were
22:20
able to put like really good foundations on these guys.
22:24
And, and that said that time period, like we were just like
22:27
we were rocking the roll and then it was great.
22:29
Like we were finding horses homes and it was just rolling
22:32
through. So the really that's so that's
22:35
the really cool thing about like having multiple trainers, having
22:39
the ability to have multiple trainers is because sometimes,
22:42
you know, I'm so used to doing things this way and sometimes it
22:46
takes doing it that other way or, you know, modifying it just
22:50
a little bit just to get the horse to understand and kind of
22:53
learn, you know, and, and it teaches us to, you know, so I
22:58
think that's that's the most important thing is you can never
23:01
learn too much. And I get stuck in my way
23:03
sometimes and I'm like, no, we're going to do it like this
23:06
and it can't be that way. Yeah.
23:10
What are some of the ways that over time your approach has
23:13
changed or different strategies that you've learned?
23:17
I some of the trainers and stuff I've watched like on YouTube or,
23:26
you know, I've got a group of friends that, you know, like we
23:31
just, I can call them and I'm like, you know, it, it's, it's
23:37
what I found is I started out very, very much just like the
23:43
soft really kind of approach and, and that really works for
23:49
horses that appreciate that. The first time I encountered a
23:54
difficult horse on my own, I was just kind of like, well, I don't
23:58
know what to do. And sometimes, you know, it's
24:01
just like with any, you know, 1000 LB animal or horseshoe
24:04
training, there's a time to be firm, not aggressive and not
24:10
mean, you know, but firm with them.
24:12
And so one of the things that I've like now how it's changed
24:17
over time for me is like, I've added that into my toolbox and
24:20
like, I will always start out really calm and sweet and kind.
24:25
But if you know, they, the horse being kind of amp up their
24:31
attitude towards me as far as like, you know, being super
24:36
flatty or super nervous, like I tried to get them to come back
24:39
down. But also at the same time
24:41
maintain that level of respect between each other.
24:45
You know, it's, it's, it's healthy for us to have a very
24:48
good sense of respect for them and for them to have a very good
24:51
sense of respect for us. So just kind of over time, as my
24:55
trainee has, you know, I've, as I've learned, I've, I've taken
25:00
more of a, I've gone from a very like soft, like kind of, I'm
25:06
very scared approach to a, Hey, let's meet in the middle.
25:09
And you know, I don't want to be any firmer with you than I need
25:12
to be. And you don't need to be any
25:13
firmer with me than you need to be.
25:15
And so, but you know, we're all, we're always learning.
25:18
We're always, I still come home now and I sit and watch videos
25:22
and you know, I mean, you'd be surprised what you can find on
25:25
YouTube. So, you know, yeah, it's it's
25:28
always, I'm always adding little different things into my
25:30
toolbox. Yeah, I think that is a super
25:34
important point because I think in the horse world there can
25:37
tend to be two extremes. One where it's like you're the
25:41
boss, do what I say, this is what we're going to do, get this
25:43
done. And the other one where it's
25:45
like we never want to cause the horse discomfort.
25:47
We never want to push them beyond things.
25:50
And I think the reality is for that growth and learning, they
25:53
definitely have to go outside their comfort zone.
25:55
And it has to be they have to push themselves a little bit and
25:58
we have to push ourselves a little bit.
25:59
But I also think with Mustangs especially, like if you go in
26:03
there with like, I'm the boss, this is what we're going to do.
26:06
A lot of times it's not going to go very well.
26:09
Right, Yeah, I, I always tell everybody, you know, I wanted, I
26:16
want the horse to be. I want to start training horses
26:19
off as possible. But I always tell everybody like
26:23
you, you, you, you, if you never put them under a certain amount
26:28
of pressure and everything is just super quiet and sweet the
26:32
whole time. The first time that they, that,
26:36
you know, they need to get energy and they need to get
26:39
amped up, you, you step in a, in a hole of a hornet's nest or
26:43
something, you know, and you need to, you know, get out of
26:45
there quickly. You that you're more inclined to
26:49
know what's your horse is going to do because it's been put
26:52
under a certain amount of pressure.
26:55
You know, if, if everything is sweet and kind and then your
26:58
horse gets stung by a Hornet, it you know, you don't know what
27:02
it's going to do because you've never put it under that, that
27:04
amount of pressure that like with your heart rate up your and
27:08
adrenaline run and you know, it's, it's, it's a recipe for
27:11
disaster. So like it's, it's like, you
27:13
know, just kind of agree with you.
27:15
It's good to like really put horses in a spot of, hey, it can
27:20
be, you know, really sweet and nice and we're going to get our
27:23
energy up here and we're going to, you know, be a little bit
27:25
firmer here. But you're going to appreciate
27:28
when everything is really calm as well.
27:30
You know, and I always tell people there's, there's firm and
27:36
not mean and aggressive, right? You, you just to be firm, you
27:39
don't have to be mean and aggressive.
27:41
Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely.
27:45
Do you feel like that pressure test or those places where it's
27:49
like things get a little excited, uncomfortable maybe for
27:53
both parties? Those are periods where trust is
27:56
built between horses and humans. Yeah, absolutely.
28:00
You know, for, for for a long time, I kind of was under the
28:06
impression of like I never, when I first started trying, I never
28:10
wanted to get the horse amped up.
28:12
I never wanted the, the, you know, to see the horse sweat or
28:16
do anything like that. And what I found just kind of
28:19
overtime is that the moment that I can kind of put some pressure
28:23
on them and like, I'm not going in there and like, you know,
28:27
this wild horse just flagging it or something.
28:30
Like, you know, I'm very excited.
28:32
I'm very cool about how I do things.
28:34
And what I, what I want though is, is, is them to understand
28:38
that there's going to be a point in time that we are going to be
28:41
up. And then when we come down, I
28:43
always thought when I bring them down, I always try to like, hey,
28:46
I want to be the one that's there where they're catching
28:48
their breath, where they're realizing, oh, that didn't hurt
28:52
me or, oh, that didn't get me, you know?
28:54
And they look to me and I'm, yeah, you know, looking with me
28:57
and hanging out with me. That's the answer.
28:59
That's the calm, that's the quiet.
29:01
And that's the moment that you kind of almost see like a light
29:04
switch go off in their head and they start wanting to follow you
29:07
around because they're like, OK, it's never going to get dicey
29:10
again because I have my friend here with me.
29:13
And that to me, like, that's the ultimate trust is when they look
29:16
to you to calm down. If a situation gets dicey, they
29:20
want to listen to what you know, what direction you're giving
29:23
them, you know, instead of going into business for themselves.
29:27
Yeah, I think also those moments can be can help the people who
29:32
are working with them to know how to react.
29:35
Just making me think, I just took one of my horses out with
29:38
my daughter. She was on one of the other
29:40
horses and the horse I had, he does not like being alone.
29:44
And my daughter kind of took off a little bit ahead of us and he
29:47
just really started reacting. And I know in the past, like I
29:50
probably would have panicked even more.
29:53
And I mean, he was getting pretty upset.
29:55
And it wasn't anything intentional, wasn't something we
29:58
purposely put there, but because I had kind of had some
30:03
experience, I was able to stay a little bit steadier, even though
30:07
I was getting a little dicey sometimes there's like, please
30:09
don't kick me. So I think though, that's even
30:12
important for the people to just build that confidence.
30:16
Also that it's like I can be that steady presence to be able
30:19
to let them know that, yes, you're herd mates all the way up
30:23
there, but you're still OK right here.
30:25
And I do think that that is a benefit to the horses that they
30:29
are not always having to live in this constant state of panic.
30:33
And you know, the smallest thing just turns into a crisis for
30:36
them. Yeah, it's, it's, it's that that
30:40
whole thing, you know, that there was a trainer I talked to
30:45
a little while back and he talked about making yourself the
30:49
like kind of the, the herd leader or, you know, things like
30:52
that. And, and I subscribe to that as
30:55
far as like, yeah, I want them to look to me for direction.
30:58
But, you know, horse training is and, and just horses in general
31:02
is a partnership, you know, is I want them to like, I want us
31:07
both to have a, like I said, a healthy respective each other.
31:10
And so as far as like my, like the people we adopt to and our
31:14
our clients and things like it's, I try to tell them that to
31:18
like, Hey, like you don't want to be the boss with an artist
31:22
and rule down on them. You want to be a partner in this
31:26
and like, listen to them, trust them because they're going to
31:30
give you the same respect. You know, we, we hope you put
31:32
enough training into them that that is the case that they want
31:36
to listen to you and they want to respect you.
31:38
And, you know, but you know, there's some forces that are,
31:41
you know, little, you know, little outlaws and they know
31:44
that, oh, I can get away with something with you, you know,
31:47
And so it's just about having knowledge there too, to kind of
31:52
go in and, and, and remedy that in a way that's not, you know,
31:57
detrimental to the horse's health or, you know, like
32:00
overall mental health and well-being, you know, but
32:03
building that partnership to me is more important than just, you
32:10
know, I mean, you're more than likely you're going to listen to
32:13
somebody that's, you know, being kind and caring with you than
32:17
somebody that is like yelling and screaming at you the whole
32:20
time. So it, it, it's real important
32:24
for for me to, to know that there's a partnership there with
32:26
a horse in general, you know? Yeah.
32:30
And I think it's interesting with Mustangs because I think a
32:33
lot of times they are very keen on each person.
32:36
They really can take advantage of those places where they can
32:38
maybe see out, you know, he or she's a little unsure here, or I
32:42
can maybe get away with a little more here.
32:44
And I think that's a benefit because that helps us see like
32:48
areas where we can improve, but it doesn't make it easy.
32:52
No, I it's funny you said that. I had a guy come out to the barn
32:56
the other day and he's, we don't have very many riding courses at
33:01
the barn horses that we start under saddle, very few and far
33:05
between. We, we will have a couple, you
33:07
know, from time to time and he's coming out looking at one of the
33:10
ones that we, we're, we know, we just started and rode and he got
33:13
a little nervy with her when he was getting on her.
33:16
And so, you know, we, everybody at the barn kind of had a
33:19
discussion. And luckily I just, I had my
33:21
horse Newt and he's a big, you know, 4 year old paint horse and
33:27
he is just as general as they come.
33:30
And you know, he's like, you know, let's the, you know, we
33:32
discussed somebody say let let him ride Newt for a little bit
33:35
just to kind of get his confidence up.
33:37
And you know, so, you know, Newt is he's, he's solid.
33:40
He's really good. I put my little 5 year old niece
33:43
on top of him and he just pokes around.
33:45
But he, he also knows that if you don't, if you, you know, if
33:50
he senses even the smallest little bit of like you don't
33:53
really have it in you. So we're, you know, we get the
33:57
guy in the saddle and and Newt just, they just won't do
34:01
anything. He just wants to stand there
34:03
and, you know, the guys like, you know, kind of putting some
34:05
pressure on him and like, yeah, you know, I'm off his feet a
34:08
little bit. And it says, no, you don't have
34:10
it in you, you know. Well then I have to get on Newt
34:13
and I have to say, hey, Newt, like we're going to do this and
34:16
he does it. But then that guy gets back on
34:19
and it's the same thing. And so like seeing that like,
34:23
like I know like that this horse will do everything that I ask it
34:27
to, but he also is smart enough to know like, Hey, you, you,
34:31
you, you know, you this new guy, you don't really have it in you
34:34
to do it. So but it shows me like I need
34:37
more people to ride him. I need more people to do things
34:40
with him because he respects me. But like, is he going to
34:43
respect, you know, just any other Tom Dick narrative?
34:46
So it's, it's fun to get to see that kind of happen in live, you
34:49
know, Tom, because it's like, OK, well, I know what I need to
34:53
fix now. Yeah.
34:55
So, yeah, that's funny. I've had that exact same
34:57
experience where we had a family come ride the horses and yeah,
35:01
great with the kids, kind of lead lining with them and they
35:05
just did not want to listen to some of the other riders there.
35:08
They're just like, yeah, I don't, I'm not doing this today.
35:12
It's like those horses you go to those trail rides at like state
35:16
parks and stuff, you know, those horses, they know just to follow
35:18
the other horse in front of them.
35:20
But the moment something's out of whack or, you know, there's
35:23
not feeling it that day, that's when you get those those little
35:26
counterfeit ponies that are like, you know, I'm just going
35:29
to walk off this way. I'm going to turn around, go
35:30
back to the barn and these people just like, I don't know
35:33
what to do. So yeah, it's, it's fun.
35:35
It's fun to get to see that just from a training perspective,
35:38
getting to see that and go like, OK, I, I know what I can do now
35:40
to fix this, you know? Yeah.
35:43
And it's kind of interesting because we do expect horses,
35:45
like anyone should be able to jump on and ride.
35:48
Like when I got my horses, I felt like that was a little bit
35:50
of my goal. And I was just thinking about it
35:52
last night and I was like, I don't think I can just put
35:54
anyone on there unless they're willing to.
35:57
Like, you've got to be willing to learn and start being able to
36:00
listen to the horse because that's just not how at least my
36:04
horses are. Right, Yeah, yeah, but as a
36:07
horse trainer, you want to make a horse that like anybody can
36:13
get on. And I mean, even if you have no
36:15
experience. So just a little like a little
36:17
side tangent is like, like I said, you know, I I was always
36:20
the maintenance guy kind of doing stuff.
36:23
I never actually rode a horse up until about 3 years ago.
36:29
So like I'm training wild Mustangs as a full time job, but
36:34
I don't know how to ride. I can get the horse to that
36:37
point. Like I can teach it to saddle, I
36:39
can flush it around and we can do all the fun little
36:42
desensitizing stuff. I just can't ride that horse.
36:45
And so like I would tell other people that other trainers and
36:49
you do talk about getting laughed at, you know, like these
36:53
guys, they come at you. And so like, I like, really,
36:55
like I've really knuckle down the last couple years or really
36:58
just really learning how to ride and do things like that.
37:01
And so just from a horse training perspective, like
37:04
that's what I want is I want to make a horse that somebody that
37:09
doesn't know how to ride can ride.
37:12
And, and so like seeing that happen or like hearing about
37:16
your experience, like like, OK, I can, I can work with that, you
37:19
know, I can make something happen there.
37:21
Yeah. You know, yeah, no, it's true.
37:23
Definitely also gave me like, oh, they need to work in the
37:26
arena more because we're always on the trails or whatever.
37:31
But yeah, I do think that is certainly important for horses,
37:35
but also as the people that have them, it's important that we are
37:39
always learning. But to what you were kind of
37:41
saying, I do think that shows there's a lot that you can do
37:44
with horses from the ground and that really is where the
37:47
foundation is built for a successful horse that you can
37:52
ride. Yes, ma'am.
37:53
Yeah. And and, you know, it's just
37:56
especially and the the the area that I, you know, I'm in, like
38:01
we do, we do a lot of the groundwork and channeling and
38:04
things like that in preparation for the saddle.
38:09
And you know, to and that's probably just the way I think.
38:14
But when I train a horse, I'm training get for to be under
38:20
saddle, unless, you know, somebody has come up to me and
38:23
said, you know, I want this horse, but it's never going to
38:27
get ridden. It's never going to do anything
38:29
other than just this, right. I will train that horse for just
38:34
that. But any other horse, I train it
38:37
to get started under saddle with that thought process in mind.
38:42
But I make sure to put a lot of emphasis on the things that
38:46
like, like leading. It needs to know how to lead
38:49
really, really well. It needs to stop when you stop,
38:51
it needs to move its four quarters, hind quarters and
38:54
picking up its feet, you know, so that it can get trimmed and
38:56
things like shoes, whatever. Things like that, like have to
39:00
be like that. That foundation has to be solid
39:04
and just in order to make sure that even if you get this guy
39:09
home and he, he, he just, you know, he doesn't want the
39:13
saddle. He doesn't want, he wasn't want
39:15
you on him, but he he's really good to lead around the pasture.
39:18
He's really good for your kids to play with.
39:20
Like he, that's where for me it's that's the most important
39:23
thing is getting that foundation solid, you know?
39:28
Yeah, and I do think that's the reality.
39:29
Most people do get a horse because they want to ride it.
39:32
So I think that is one of the ways that we help keep the
39:34
horses safe and in carrying homes is by getting them to a
39:39
point where they provide value that people are willing to
39:42
invest and commit to them. Absolutely.
39:45
So do you train horses as well or?
39:48
I don't train them, I just have three of my own.
39:50
That's one was trained at, Saddle, trained at the prison.
39:57
But that only goes so far. You know, the first time we got
40:00
him home, I put the saddle on and he flipped over.
40:02
I was like, oh, OK, we did way too much too fast.
40:06
And, you know, in retrospect, I'm like, well, he's in a
40:09
completely different environment with kids running around and
40:11
dogs running around and hear him like saddle up.
40:13
You know, where he came from, the prison where it's all adults
40:17
and a much different environment.
40:19
So yeah, I don't. Trained for other people, but I
40:23
definitely have done the work on my horses and so learned a lot
40:28
from them. Still working working on all of
40:30
that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I
40:33
just didn't know. And and so that's that's really
40:36
cool that like you, you know, you you've you've taken that
40:39
and, and you know, you're starting this pot, you have this
40:43
podcast and it's, you know, starting to reach out and stuff
40:46
to people that that are involved in the Mustang world.
40:48
You know, it's, it's or just the horse world in general, because
40:51
it's, it's something to me that there's there's not enough talk
40:57
about it. You know, there's, there's talk
40:59
in that in that small circle, but there's not enough talk
41:02
about it. Just in general.
41:04
You know, the general public needs to know about, you know,
41:07
what's going on with these guys and, and how they are, how they
41:10
are and how great they can be, you know?
41:12
Yeah, I agree. It's definitely something that
41:15
motivated me to start talking about it because one, they just
41:20
made a huge difference in my life.
41:21
But then yeah, if you're not very specifically in the Mustang
41:25
world, like I have been around horses my whole life and when I
41:27
saw my first mare, I'm like, what is a Mustang even?
41:30
You know, I like, I've heard of it, but like, I really don't
41:32
know that much about it. So definitely a whole new world
41:37
that a lot of people are unaware of.
41:39
I've definitely talked to people who didn't even know that
41:41
there's wild horses still. Right.
41:43
Yeah, I thought it was a myth. I thought like, you know.
41:46
Yeah, kind of a story from the Western days or something.
41:49
Yeah, like, you know, you Wild Bill out there and he took all
41:52
the Mustangs, ran away. Now we just have domesticated
41:54
horses. I didn't know that this was the
41:56
thing. And so like, it's, you know,
42:00
pretty interesting to know that, I mean, and there's still tons
42:03
of them out there, you know, So yeah, it, it getting, you know,
42:06
getting the other people, getting the general public, the
42:09
people that love horses involved is it's, it's, it's something
42:13
that needs to happen, you know, And then I'm, I'm hopeful that
42:17
like I can give a horse to somebody one day that, you know,
42:21
will take it and, you know, have other, another person fall in
42:24
love with and they want another one and they want another one.
42:26
And then all the whole wild horses are gone.
42:28
And, and I'm out of a job and it's a OK, yeah, because all the
42:30
horses are safe. Yeah, that would be a great
42:32
world, right? Lots of work to do to get there
42:35
still. Yeah, I would.
42:38
I would love to see them valued more in the world that we have
42:41
because I think they have a lot of value, but it's unknown also.
42:44
Yeah. Yeah, I think the the problem
42:47
that people are having with the Mustangs is that they're,
42:53
they're not, you know, they're not papered and you can't trace
42:56
their lineage back to Dock Bar or, you know, whomever.
43:00
And but that doesn't mean they're not, you know, just as
43:03
good a horse. You know, I mean, they're not
43:07
bred for a specific discipline, but you know, they're, they're
43:12
Hardy, they're healthy, they're very athletic.
43:15
Like you can convince them to do a lot and and it's just about,
43:20
you know, it's just about the work that you want to put into
43:23
you. Know yeah, I agree.
43:26
I do think that they have an image issue out there is just
43:29
kind of being the mutts of the horse world or and there's a lot
43:32
of them. So they're easy to come by, easy
43:34
go. But like you say, there are some
43:38
things that make them really great.
43:40
I think that hardiness is definitely one.
43:42
I think another one is like if you want to learn and to learn
43:46
about yourself, like the Mustang is a horse that will help you do
43:48
that for sure. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, they'll,
43:51
they'll teach you a lot. It, it taught me a lot of
43:54
patience when I started doing this, I was just an impatient 20
43:57
year old. And now I'm 34 and I'm like, I
44:00
feel like this old man that, you know, I just want to sit around.
44:03
And because like, I'm just used to sitting and waiting on them
44:07
to, to, you know, to work their mouth a little bit to relax and
44:10
just, you know, you know, learn a little bit.
44:13
And so it's made me a very, very patient person, which is like
44:17
anybody that knew me younger, you know, they'd say, Oh yeah,
44:20
he needs some patience. So yeah, they're, they're great.
44:24
You know, they're great for things like that.
44:25
You learn a lot more about yourself than you do just about
44:29
horse training in general. Yeah, and, and they will
44:33
legitimately teach you some life skills and kind of find those
44:37
gaps where it's like, well, here's why you're having
44:39
problems in your life is because you're impatient with everything
44:43
or you're unsure of everything. You have no confidence, you
44:46
know, whatever that might be. They're really good at kind of
44:49
bringing that to the surface and and getting you to work on that.
44:52
Because a lot of times that's where you're having issues is
44:54
one of those areas where it's like, I'm not great in this
44:56
area. And that shows up when you're
44:58
working with the horses. Yeah, Oh yeah, yeah, I've, I've
45:03
often times found myself like comparing my life situations to
45:07
horse training, you know, and I don't think like any of my ex
45:12
girlfriends or anything would think that's a great idea
45:14
because you know, like, you know, I'm just going to be
45:17
patient. You're going to figure this out,
45:19
you know, or whatever, you know. So it's, it's one of those
45:22
things, like I said, you know, kind of it kind of gets
45:25
ingrained in you and, and you want to you, you, you want to
45:31
like work horses in your life as well.
45:35
Like in you're just in your own like stuff that's happening.
45:39
You know, I've, I've like I said, I found times that I'm
45:42
looking at a situation that I'm going through personally and I'm
45:45
like, OK, like, well, I'm a horse trainer figure this out.
45:47
How would I figure this out with horses?
45:49
And, you know, there's got to be some sort of this character.
45:52
Maybe I'm the weird one, but you know.
45:54
No, I mean, I do the same thing. I think there's so many
45:56
correlations for how you approach horses is how you
46:00
approach life and horses give you this really immediate clear
46:03
feedback. Well, Mustangs especially, I
46:06
will say, and some Mustangs in particular will give you very
46:09
clear feedback of like, you know, why are you doing this?
46:13
And I have found a lot of times where it's like, oh, I can now
46:17
take this into my human life, be like, Oh, well, that explains
46:21
some of the reactions I'm getting, some of the situations
46:24
I've created for myself because they were able to give me that
46:29
insight into my personal way of approaching the world.
46:33
Horses are funny how they do that, you know, especially the
46:35
Mustangs, they're funny how they'll do that to you, you
46:37
know, it's, it's, it's great. Yeah, it is great.
46:40
Are there any horses that you've had particularly memorable
46:44
experiences with or that stick in your mind?
46:48
The very, very first horse that I worked that I kind of gentled
46:53
myself, that was we named her Andy and, and she was just this
47:00
big stout yearling. And she's probably a long yearly
47:03
now that I think about it, but she she was just big and stout.
47:07
She was the very, very first horse that I trained.
47:10
And I, like I said, you know earlier, I will never forget
47:13
that experience of like picking up her foot for the first time
47:18
and like cleaning it out and like thinking, Oh wow, like you
47:23
don't want to kill me. Like you trust me enough to do
47:26
this. And so, you know, the
47:29
experiences like that, that I like that one is always going to
47:32
kind of be burned into my mind, you know, and when you've done,
47:36
you know, well over 300 now you're just kind of like, you
47:40
know, every horse is unique, but you know, they're all uniquely
47:46
original. And, and, and, and it's, it's
47:49
one of those things like I, I just, I, I remember the one
47:53
that, that really got me into it, that that hooked me into it.
47:57
And, and, and like she's, she's like, she's great.
48:00
She's off with a lady now and she's just this big horse.
48:05
But that one, that one will always be the one that I'm like,
48:07
OK, like that's the one that got me involved in this and got me
48:10
hooked into it. Now there's, there's experiences
48:13
I've had with other horses, but for the most part they're you,
48:18
you learn to categorize them by just really good experiences
48:24
like the this horse, you know, whether I did three horses today
48:28
or whatever, the all three of these were good experiences in
48:31
my head. And, and, but that one will
48:34
always be the one that I remember, you know, getting to
48:37
go around and pick up all four of her feet and then loading her
48:39
to the trailer, you know, for the first time.
48:41
Like I've, you know, you, you can't forget something like
48:45
that, you know, So it's, it's then, you know, the very first
48:50
horse that I got started under saddle myself like that, you
48:53
know, you'll never forget things like that.
48:56
It's, it's so it's, it's humbling, but you know, it's
49:00
doing so many at a time. It's, it's kind of like, OK, I
49:04
just categorize them now into really good experiences with
49:07
these horses, you know? Yeah, and I do think when you
49:11
have those first experiences, it really gives you insight into
49:14
how much trust horses are putting in humans when we're
49:17
asking them to pick up their feet, which are basically their
49:20
only defense for safety or to go in this tiny little box that's
49:26
then going to move. You know, you get a different
49:28
perspective when you have a Mustang who has been wild their
49:31
whole life and now they're willing to follow you into a
49:34
trailer or to stand there while you're picking up their feet.
49:37
Certainly changes the way that you see horses and just the
49:40
willingness that they have to live a life with humans.
49:44
Oh yeah. And, and you know, like, like
49:46
you said, just, you know, it's I, I want to, to be as good of
49:51
an experience for them and I want them to have a really good
49:54
experience with me. And so getting to that level of
49:58
trust, like you, you, the building blocks are always
50:01
there. And just kind of like in the tip
50:04
program, how we're the forever brand new program, how we train
50:08
or how I train, as you know, we teach them to leave, we teach
50:11
them pick up feet. And the very, very last thing
50:13
that I teach them is to load into the trailer.
50:17
And that's because, like, I need you to be really, really good in
50:20
here. You know, I don't need you
50:22
having a, you know, freak out and meltdown or anything because
50:25
it's going to be me and you in this little aluminum box.
50:27
And you got to trust me and I've got to trust you.
50:31
And I mean, I do it that way for safety, but it's also by then I
50:36
hope I've laid enough solid foundation and trust with this
50:40
horse that when I get up there, it's going to look to me and go,
50:44
hey, you're calm, everything's great.
50:47
I know I can be calm and everything's going to be great.
50:50
Yeah. What advice do you have for
50:53
someone who might want to become involved with Mustangs or to get
50:57
one of their own? Well, to get involved with them,
51:02
I say find you a find you a trainer that, you know, there's
51:08
several trainers that specialize in Mustangs.
51:10
You know, it's it's, you know, like we talked about earlier,
51:14
they're different, they're horses, but they're different
51:16
breed of horse. And so having somebody that,
51:22
that, that knows Mustangs and, and knows how they can react and
51:27
things like that, that's, that's real imperative into like
51:31
getting involved with them, you know, and finding somebody that
51:35
suits your kind of your beliefs on how horses should be trained.
51:41
I never believed that horses should be, you know, 3 legged
51:45
and, and roped and laid down and all this stuff.
51:49
Not, not these, not, not Mustangs especially, you know,
51:52
but not horses in general. So find a trainer that that
51:56
specializes in Mustangs and can you know, you know, meet you
52:01
your expectations of training and how you think, you know,
52:05
horses should be trained. And if you don't know that,
52:08
like, obviously, like look around, do some, you know, go
52:11
visit different barns, go visit different trainers, watch some
52:14
videos. The Internet is the greatest
52:18
thing in the world. You can type it in and find it.
52:21
So I mean, it's just getting involved with them and just
52:26
making sure that you have a big enough toolbox yourself, you
52:30
know, and always be able to like listen to advice or criticism or
52:35
whatever. You know, I, I have a as a
52:38
setting that I tell all the doctors or people that when I
52:41
put on clinics or anything, you know, do you have any critiques,
52:45
criticism, comments or anything like that?
52:47
You know, it's, it's because I want to, I want feedback just as
52:52
a trainer myself. So, so it's like, if you wanted
52:56
to come watch me, like just know that I'm going to have questions
52:58
for you to like, did I, what do you think I did it right?
53:01
And so finding somebody that has that same belief is real
53:06
important to that because you can go out and if you're never
53:09
trained before or you've never done anything like that before,
53:12
you can go out and watch this guy, you know, rope this horse
53:16
and, you know, tie it to a tree or whatever.
53:19
You know, they do, they do, but that's going to be your, your
53:24
first introduction into it. And that's, that's not the way,
53:27
you know, that's not the way training should work, in my
53:31
opinion. Like we talked about earlier,
53:33
you know, there's a difference between firm and aggressive.
53:36
And so, yeah, find, find the style that suits you and find a
53:40
trainer that that was willing to, to do that style and spend
53:45
lots and lots of time, as much time as you humanly can with
53:49
that trainer. Because Mustangs, they're
53:53
different. They're they're going to, they
53:56
do you think you got it figured out?
53:57
And then a new one pops up, you know?
54:00
Yeah, that's so true. Yeah.
54:03
And I think that's so important, just being open to learning and
54:07
not feeling like you have all the answers, no matter how long
54:10
you've had horses in your life. I think that can be huge, that
54:13
you're willing to learn a new way that works.
54:16
And then what works for one horse may or may not work for
54:19
another horse. So I love that advice.
54:23
And I also think it's so great. There are so many trainers out
54:26
there these days that are doing it in ways where it really is
54:31
building a partnership versus being a dictatorship where
54:35
you're able to really work together and build a
54:37
relationship with your horse. So I do love that also.
54:40
Oh yeah, yeah. I mean, it's, it's, I mean, you
54:45
can, you can do it with, with domesticated horses and, you
54:49
know, they pick up on things a lot quicker.
54:52
And I feel like that's where we get into this tricky thing is
54:56
that, you know, like people don't have the patience to teach
55:00
a Mustang, you know, to take a saddle pad for the first time or
55:03
to take a saddle for the first time.
55:06
And so they get frustrated, They get, you know, impatient.
55:09
And that's where the, you know, you know, old 1800s cowboy comes
55:13
out and we're going to, you know, lay them down and, you
55:16
know, and, and you don't have to go through all that.
55:18
Just be patient with them, you know, be understanding that this
55:22
is all new to them. You know, the the they're used
55:26
to seeing their buddies or walk around on four legs and we're
55:28
two legged aliens, you know, throwing a piece of cowl on
55:31
their back. You know, it's, it's just a
55:34
matter of like being. Patient that way, yeah.
55:37
Yeah. And patience is such a huge one,
55:39
and it's one that's hard in the world today because we're so
55:42
used to having everything we want instantly, you know, we
55:45
click on Amazon and get delivered to our house.
55:47
But what incredible skill also that you will gain if you can go
55:52
in there and have that patience and be OK with things, you know,
55:56
not being able to accomplish the task that maybe you went into,
55:59
but being more open to learning. Yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it's,
56:05
it's great. Like I said, you know, I'm, I'm
56:08
one of those people now. I just come home and I'll sit
56:11
and watch different training videos online just to even if I
56:14
pick up the smallest like little thing, like where I need to
56:18
stand, I'm like, OK, I've, I've learned a ton from this video,
56:21
you know, or this this person or whatever.
56:25
I try at least once or twice a year to go out to a clinic of
56:32
another trainer and just learn. Even if I just audit.
56:35
I just, I just want to hear what you have to say.
56:38
And because you, you can always learn something.
56:41
You either learn what to do or what not to do.
56:43
And either way you're learning. And that's, that's important for
56:46
me, you know, is, is to, in order to give my, my, my horses
56:51
the best possible start to life. I need to be able to cross off
56:55
all those boxes of did I tried this, did this work?
56:58
Did this not work? Is this is it just me you know?
57:03
Yeah. Well, to wrap up, let's talk a
57:06
little bit about why we're both here.
57:07
We kind of got connected for the Horses for Mental Health
57:10
campaign. Tell us a little bit about the
57:13
work in the connections you have.
57:15
We're both ambassadors for Samson's Strength Sustainable
57:19
Veterans project. Tell us a little bit about the
57:22
work you're doing there. So I met Kathleen and Dave.
57:27
They came out and adopted a couple or I think they've gotten
57:30
like 7 from us now. I feel like they have more every
57:34
time I talk to. Them Yeah, yeah, so they, they
57:36
got some draft horses from us too you know, we just kind of
57:40
picked up but I'm. I, I met them at the barn and
57:44
I'm, you know, I'm apparently way too friendly, I guess, and I
57:48
just want to make friends with everybody.
57:50
And so now just joking around, I, I want to, I wanted to get
57:55
involved with their program just because like it, it's as
58:00
somebody that like has like, I have a cousin that, you know,
58:03
served and I went out and visited him not too long ago.
58:07
I was in Kentucky for a road to the Horse.
58:08
And we just got to talking about it.
58:11
And I was like, you know, yeah. I was like, you know, the horses
58:13
have been a really safe spot for me to land when, you know, my
58:16
mom passed and everything. They're really good for just
58:21
therapy, just getting to spend time with them.
58:23
And so getting involved with Dave and Kathleen at Sampson's
58:27
is, is definitely, it's, it's something that that brings me
58:32
joy. They're they're salt to the
58:35
earth people. I love them to death.
58:37
They're always willing to listen to you and, and just kind of
58:41
absorb whatever you have to say. And I absorb whatever they say
58:44
as well. You know, we, they put on a
58:47
clinic. I've helped them, you know, put
58:49
on the clinic at the barn before.
58:51
And I think we've actually got another one planned for May And
58:54
the goal that is to just kind of, you know, outreach a little
58:58
bit more and and try to get as many people involved with the
59:02
programs and you know, as we possibly can.
59:07
Yeah, that's awesome. How have horses positively
59:12
impacted your life? Just going along with the theme
59:14
of how horses can really help us, you know, have a good,
59:18
well-rounded life. They are.
59:22
They've definitely showed me, you know, it, it's they they've
59:28
showed me that there's different ways to to for me to be I just
59:35
am innately just anxiety ridden, you know, I, you know, and and
59:40
then getting to be getting to be around a horse that you know,
59:44
especially like a, a, a wild Mustang, that that is you think
59:48
you have anxiety like, you know, wait today see, you know.
59:51
Yeah. They'll show you yeah.
59:53
It's it's kind of made me like calm down and focus just on my
59:58
own self and how I appear to the outside world, not even just to
1:00:02
them, just to my peers around me.
1:00:05
It's definitely been and a life experience like and just, you
1:00:11
know, like I said, my mom, my mom died a couple years back
1:00:14
and. But my boss lady was, you know,
1:00:16
I'm dealing with this and I'm, I'm one of those people that I'm
1:00:20
like, I don't, nobody's going to see me sweat and I'm going to
1:00:23
just keep my head down and work and all that.
1:00:26
Yeah. And you know, my boss lady, God
1:00:28
bless her, came up to me and she said you just need to go spend
1:00:31
time with horses. Just go, go out into a field,
1:00:34
go, just go to a pastor and just sit with them.
1:00:37
And they definitely had this powerful way of kind of kind of,
1:00:46
you know, settling you down and letting you be vulnerable.
1:00:50
And because then, you know, they're not going to judge the
1:00:52
fact that you're out there, you know, crying or you're mad or
1:00:55
whatever. You know, they're not going to
1:00:57
judge that. They just want to know what's up
1:00:59
with you, you know, And and, you know, there's they don't have,
1:01:02
they don't give advice, they don't try to, you know, take
1:01:05
your problems away. They just want you to soak in.
1:01:07
And to me, like, that has been a really good experience as far as
1:01:13
like, just just like now I know like when I get upset or if I
1:01:19
have something tough going on in my life, I, yeah, I just went
1:01:23
through a, a life change back in October.
1:01:26
And like, I've just same thing. I've dove into my work and I've
1:01:29
worked lucky my job is with horses and I can just spend that
1:01:33
time with them and let them just kind of heal me from the
1:01:37
outside. And you know, and they, you know
1:01:40
if even if you've never, if you've never experienced a bad
1:01:43
time in your life, you should still go spend time with horses.
1:01:46
Yeah, yeah. And unfortunately, I think
1:01:49
everyone probably will, but horses are a great place to go.
1:01:53
And I think you just highlighted 2 of the incredible aspects of
1:01:57
how they can really help us as we are living in the human
1:02:00
world. And 1 is that they give us that
1:02:03
presence. You know, that can be hard to
1:02:04
find, the human world. We don't always want to talk
1:02:06
about what's going on, even though we may need to, you know,
1:02:10
have that time to grieve or to process situations.
1:02:14
And horses just very naturally can give that to you.
1:02:16
Like you say, not a formal program, not going in there and
1:02:19
talking about it, just being next to a horse.
1:02:23
And then also the anxiety piece. It's such a cool place to like
1:02:29
practice skills to actually bring your anxiety down at the
1:02:33
same experience. I didn't realize how much
1:02:34
anxiety I had and until I started working with my mayor
1:02:38
and I'm like, Oh my goodness, you know, just so much.
1:02:41
But by being committed and wanting to push through, like I
1:02:45
learned some things that could help me do that in my regular
1:02:48
life and to be a little bit more aware of it.
1:02:51
Some really great points that I've also seen in my life of how
1:02:54
these horses can really help us and benefit mental health.
1:02:58
And I think that's probably one reason we both jumped on board
1:03:01
to be able to participate in the Horses for Mental Health
1:03:04
campaign, to just bring that awareness that there is a
1:03:08
another way, that it doesn't have to always be traditional
1:03:11
therapy. It doesn't always have to be
1:03:12
sitting and talking about your problems or completing A
1:03:16
workbook, but that these horses offer some really powerful tools
1:03:20
to to help us all improve our life.
1:03:23
Yeah, that, like I said, you know, they, they, they have been
1:03:26
the best thing for me, you know, and, and it may not be for
1:03:30
everybody, but it definitely has made an impact on my life.
1:03:37
You know it, you know, the, the way they are with with people,
1:03:43
you know, even if you, like I said, you've never had a bad
1:03:47
time in your life, they're going to show you something and it
1:03:51
you, you can, it just, you can just expose your bare salt to
1:03:54
them and they will take it in and they will do whatever they
1:03:57
need to to kind of, you know, relapse you down And, and you
1:04:01
know, you, you learn different things about yourself just
1:04:03
getting to spend time with them. And, you know, I think
1:04:08
especially for veterans that, you know, have have served our
1:04:11
country and have had, you know, traumatic experiences getting to
1:04:17
spend time with an animal that was once farewell and, and
1:04:22
running all over the place and was scared of you getting to
1:04:25
spend time with that animal and, and see it just relax and melt
1:04:29
with you. And, you know, that is, that's a
1:04:31
healing experience. And, you know, if I had the
1:04:35
funds, I'd make it mandatory for everybody, you know, that if
1:04:38
you, you know, have mental health issues just to, you know,
1:04:41
spend time with horses like it is the IT is, it is they are
1:04:45
God's gift to us. And it's a matter of how we
1:04:49
utilize it. Yeah, I absolutely agree.
1:04:53
And again, like it doesn't have to be something huge, It doesn't
1:04:56
have to be riding horses. It doesn't even have to be a
1:05:00
program dedicated to therapy in terms of horses.
1:05:03
But really, as I think we've both experienced, just spending
1:05:07
time with a horse can really help boost your mental capacity
1:05:11
and kind of give you that release that you need to to keep
1:05:13
going when hard things come. Absolutely, Absolutely.
1:05:19
Yeah, tell everybody where they can find you.
1:05:21
The barn you work with. Sounds like you're a great
1:05:25
resources for people who might want a Mustang that's been
1:05:28
gentled also. Yes, yes, so we so we don't we
1:05:32
we're in the process of getting a Facebook and Instagram page
1:05:37
kind of set up. I've, I'll probably work on that
1:05:39
after I, I get off this call. But so we, you can find me just
1:05:45
under my name on Facebook and I work for a lady named Babi
1:05:49
Steislinger and we, we post horses all the time.
1:05:54
We just post little, you know, fun things that happen around
1:05:57
that you get to see. So feel free to check us out.
1:06:01
And, you know, hopefully we can, you know, adopt you a horse or
1:06:05
get you to adopt A horse from us, you know.
1:06:08
Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you so much for
1:06:10
being here today and also the incredible work that you're
1:06:13
doing for Mustangs and for the people who take them in.
1:06:17
I think there's a lot of people who have that desire and maybe
1:06:19
not the skill set yet. So for you guys to be that step
1:06:23
between the wild to taking one of these horses into your home
1:06:27
where they're safe and cared for, and we'll certainly do good
1:06:30
things for you also is a really beautiful thing.
1:06:34
Something that we definitely can't have enough of.
1:06:37
There's more than enough horses to, yeah, to have someone step
1:06:41
into that role and work in that way.
1:06:44
So thank you so much for the work you do and also the things
1:06:46
that you've shared just on how the horses have impacted you and
1:06:50
the work that you're doing with them so that people who might
1:06:53
want a horse that has been gentle, been around humans, had
1:06:56
a really good start. They'll be able to find you guys
1:06:58
also. No, thank you for letting me
1:07:00
come on and yap in your ear for an hour and a half or so.
1:07:05
So I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
1:07:09
Thank you for joining us and learning about horses that Heal
1:07:12
and the humans who help them. We hope you'll continue with us
1:07:15
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1:07:23
Please share with your friends anyone who loves horses or
1:07:26
anyone who might be struggling and could benefit from this
1:07:28
message. If you have felt the healing
1:07:31
power of horses or help them in their divinely appointed
1:07:34
mission, please reach out. We want to hear your story as we
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say goodbye. Always remember that the horse
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is always there to help you heal.