Latest / The Touch of a Mustang / Unveiling the Value of Mustang Horses in the Domestic World with Matt Manroe | Episode 39

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Unveiling the Value of Mustang Horses in the Domestic World with Matt Manroe | Episode 39 · The Touch of a Mustang

0:00
I feel like my Mustangs connect with me differently.
0:02
If you've seen the Avatar movie where they kind of plug into
0:05
their flying critter, that kind of connection that I just, I
0:10
think it's unique and especially for people that gentle the
0:14
horse, there is a bond. There is a trust that is built
0:19
that is unlike a domestic horse experience that I know of or
0:23
have heard people talk about. There are healers on this planet
0:26
with the power to soften the suffering of mankind if they
0:30
have remained in the recesses of the world, abused, discarded and
0:34
labeled as trash. This is the touch of a Mustang.
0:38
I am your host, Shalise Clough, and I'm here to tell the story
0:42
of wild horses, Mustangs, and the humans who are discovering
0:46
and sharing their gifts while working to protect their
0:49
well-being and preserve their spirit so this divine power
0:53
won't be lost. Join us on this quest with the
0:56
Wild Mustang. Let's talk about how you got
1:05
involved with Mustangs to begin with.
1:09
So I used to show Hunter and jumper as a as a teenager and
1:14
have a sister that is a coach in Austin, TX still to this day and
1:19
a really good friend of hers got her involved in producing horse
1:22
shows and this lady invented the Extreme Mustang makeover format
1:29
and she was producing $1,000,000 event, $1,000,000 in prize money
1:35
top. That was for Extreme Mustang
1:37
makeover. It was called Mustang Million.
1:40
OK. And like, I've heard that.
1:42
I, I used to be an advertising art director creative.
1:46
So she got me involved in producing a campaign for that
1:49
competition. And the more I looked at the
1:52
format and I, I had a teenage daughter.
1:55
I'm like you know what, I think we could get involved with
1:57
Mustangs. So she and I adopted 2 yearlings
2:02
that she trained and competed with and they are now my 12 year
2:08
old Mustangs. So I just continued to stay
2:12
involved with doing marketing and creative and promoting
2:17
Mustang events, Eventually became Director of marketing for
2:22
another nonprofit. And about two years ago, a group
2:27
of us came back together and created Mustang Champions, where
2:30
we have a government grant to produce 2 new national
2:33
competitions, 1 English discipline and one Western
2:37
discipline. And is this your guys's second
2:40
year because it's fairly new? This will be year 2, yes.
2:44
Okay. And this is kind of replaced or
2:48
taken the place of Extreme Mustang makeovers, is that
2:50
correct? Are they?
2:53
Organizations that are producing events.
2:57
But yeah, our events, because of what we learned from producing
3:04
events in the past, we've tried to make some improvements, like
3:07
give people more time to train. Top prize is $50,000.
3:11
So we're trying and we hope that people that might not normally
3:15
engage with a Mustang might come to one of our competitions and
3:19
see what it is like. I think working with Mustangs
3:23
are very different than working with other domestic horses.
3:29
Just trying to put Mustangs in premier venues, give competitors
3:36
an opportunity to compete in venues that they might not
3:39
normally get to compete in. Rolex Stadium at the Kentucky
3:42
Horse Park and South Point Arena in Las Vegas are are very much
3:49
venues that you will see top, top competitions, international
3:55
competitions. Those are just things that we've
3:57
tried to do to to do it differently, get more and more
4:01
people to adopt and compete is absolutely our goal.
4:07
We the events are strained. We're trying to get Mustangs
4:11
exposed to as many people as possible, both domestically and
4:15
internationally, even though international is less important,
4:20
but just trying to get the word out.
4:23
Yeah. About how great they are and
4:25
what they are all of doing. Yeah.
4:27
And so is the timeline one of the main things that you
4:31
changed? That's one thing that I think is
4:33
really cool, because when I got my Mustang, I would see these
4:36
trainers for Extreme Mustang Makeover doing really cool stuff
4:40
with them in, you know, three months or less.
4:43
And I found it really discouraging because that's not
4:46
how it was going for me with my Mustangs.
4:49
I thought I don't know if this is meant for me.
4:52
So it was frustrating for me to be director of marketing and get
4:57
150 horses picked up for an event, then only less than 50%
5:03
show up for competition. So I felt like that wasn't good
5:06
for the trainers, it wasn't good for the Mustangs.
5:09
And you can, I mean some Mustangs are just not going to
5:12
make quickly and they do need more time.
5:16
So what we have tried to do is you could first adopt October 1
5:23
for our competitions and you have till April 15 is the
5:28
adoption deadline. So in some cases people have
5:32
almost a year to to train to compete in our English
5:36
competitions in September. So yes, what your experience is
5:42
with your Mustang, you know what happens.
5:45
Yeah, it sounds like it happened for a lot of people who are
5:48
planning on competing. If you have almost a 50% dropout
5:52
rate, yeah. So just trying to that, that
5:55
always hurt me. I didn't like it.
5:58
Yeah. So that was one of the changes,
6:00
yes. We've also require that you
6:03
compete at another competition before coming to our
6:07
championship. I never liked seeing first time
6:10
in arena Mustangs, sometime that didn't work out very well and I
6:15
also like the idea of people showing Mustangs and across the
6:19
country to to expose more people to Mustangs and open events or
6:26
non breed event competitions. Yeah.
6:30
Is this the first English event with Mustangs?
6:33
I haven't really heard of any others with them specific to
6:36
Mustangs. So the way we did it, yes, there
6:41
have been in years past people that have tried doing an English
6:44
event, but having been a person that really liked to jump
6:49
horses, I've wanted to do it for years.
6:52
So we it was great when we got the funding to be able to
6:55
produce it. There has never been a
6:57
competition the same format that we are doing or certainly for
7:02
the prize money we're that we're giving away.
7:04
Yeah. And then you have some, so your
7:08
backgrounds in marketing and you have some pretty big companies
7:11
that you've worked for. What's kind of motivated you to
7:13
leave some of those I would guess might be more profitable
7:18
and kind of stick with the Mustangs and market for them?
7:22
Some of it may be my age. Yeah.
7:26
But it is just rewarding to be able to market something that
7:36
changes lives of both horses and people.
7:40
It's very, very meaningful. I constantly film little videos
7:47
of people telling their stories of what a Mustang has done for
7:50
them. And oh, really?
7:52
Yeah, and I just never got that feeling doing creative and
7:57
marketing for large corporations in my career.
8:02
So I'm I'm very passionate about it.
8:05
It's really not about the money for me.
8:08
It's just the thrill of of being able to do it and help and help
8:13
the government with their situation of too many Mustangs
8:17
and holding. Yeah.
8:19
Is that something that you experience the Mustangs kind of
8:22
changing your life, creating some profound experiences for
8:26
you? Yeah.
8:27
So they connect with you differently.
8:29
We used to get thoroughbreds off the track and train them to
8:32
jump, kind of retrain them, and they just didn't.
8:36
I feel like my Mustangs connect with me differently.
8:39
If you've seen the Avatar movie where they kind of plug into
8:43
their flying critter, that kind of connection that I just, I
8:48
think it's unique. And especially for people that
8:50
gentle the horse, there is a bond, there is a trust that is
8:55
built that is unlike any domestic horse experience that I
9:00
know of or have heard people talk about.
9:02
Yeah, it is a really unique experience.
9:05
They definitely seem to connect with you, like you say, in a
9:08
different way than a lot of other horses that are like I
9:11
could take you or leave you. They seem to kind of get
9:14
attached to you just as attached as a lot of us get to them.
9:19
What are some of the challenges that you've seen in marketing?
9:24
It seems like Mustangs kind of do have a big image issue in a
9:30
lot of circles. They're not always seen as very
9:35
great horses. They're often seen as difficult,
9:38
dangerous, or, you know, just kind of trashy mutts that, you
9:43
know, don't reach what some other breeds are doing.
9:47
What are some of the things you've seen?
9:50
What are some of the challenges there and how can we keep
9:53
working to change that? Right.
9:55
So I think a lot of professionals are very breed
9:59
specific and it they just, they can't get out of that box either
10:04
because they have breeding farms themselves.
10:08
They need to maintain their image working with specific
10:12
horse breeds. So I just think that is a image
10:17
issue for some of the really top trainers.
10:21
But then we have people like Elisa Wallace who is a Olympic
10:25
alternate, Olympic team alternate.
10:28
She has always been passionate about Mustangs and their plight.
10:31
She certainly shows three day in international competitions, but
10:38
she always has some Mustang that is a project for her and and she
10:44
did win our English competition last year.
10:47
So she is just a really good ambassador for Mustangs.
10:51
I think that people don't know how to gentle a Mustang and it
10:55
is a learned skill. It is not something that just
10:58
anybody can do. There are lots of trainers
11:01
across the United States that can help people get past that
11:06
initial dewilding to then take the horse on as a as a more
11:13
common like a green horse would be.
11:17
I just, yes, some people think they're trash horses.
11:19
They are feral horses, but then they are in a symbol of America.
11:25
So a lot of people hold them in kind of this rarefied air, but
11:30
because of the symbol that they are for us.
11:33
So the outlook on Mustangs is all over the board.
11:39
And I think the more that we are able to publicize their
11:44
capability. I mean, they are not expensive,
11:48
$125 and you can have a wild horse, but I think as
11:55
competition horses get more and more expensive and it's more and
11:59
more expensive to show horses, that's where our Mustang
12:03
competitions and getting a Mustang can really be a great
12:09
solution for people who want to continue to show.
12:12
And, and maybe it's not at that a level, but people are
12:18
definitely using Mustangs to compete.
12:22
Something I've really been interested in watching lately is
12:24
how many people are using them to do a venting because size is
12:29
not a matter like you have with warm bloods, for example.
12:35
So they, I think they really do fit certain competitions better
12:39
than others, certainly. Yeah.
12:41
And so tell us, give us a rundown of all the competitions
12:45
that are kind of under your umbrella, and then maybe we can
12:49
talk about like, how does someone get involved?
12:51
Is this something anyone can do? So we are actually producing 3
12:57
competitions currently. We just finished our Mustang
13:01
Magic Weekend at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
13:06
Our next competition is the Mustang Challenge.
13:08
It will be in July at South Point Arena and then in
13:12
September at Rolex Stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park.
13:15
Our English discipline competition, which is the
13:17
Mustang Classic. We also have grant monies where
13:22
we have produced an education program and we have 5
13:26
educational kiosks that we ship across the country to various
13:30
events. There's a virtual reality
13:33
headset experience where you can literally stand with horses in
13:36
the wild. When we produced the film, they
13:38
were so curious about the camera in their environment that they
13:41
would approach the camera so it feels like you're standing there
13:44
and they're coming right up to you.
13:46
So that's been a great program to execute and and see the
13:51
reactions of people as they're to experience that.
13:55
But there's so much misinformation out there in our
13:58
world these days that this is our effort of trying to help the
14:02
BLM Wild Horser Bro program Get the facts out there and be able
14:08
to interface with people and answer questions and share their
14:12
experience and their knowledge about working with Mustangs and
14:16
trying to protect. Our range.
14:19
What do you think are some of the biggest pieces of
14:22
misinformation that are that's out there about most things?
14:25
I mean, even just the numbers, some people if, if you were to
14:28
go to, I was in a place called Antelope Valley in Nevada and
14:31
it's a 20 mile wide valley. And if you were to just go out
14:35
there and it's public lands, I mean any of us can go out on the
14:39
land, you would think they're the horses.
14:42
The horses are very good at hiding.
14:45
So we would take a drone camera in mile 2, mile 3, come over a
14:50
Cliff and there'd be 200 horses. But just to look out, you would
14:54
never see them. So just the handling of the
14:59
horses, the rounding up of horses is helicopter gathers are
15:06
very controversial for some people.
15:08
Some people think it stresses the horses.
15:12
I've talked to helicopter pilots that have been part of Gathers
15:16
and talked to them about or heard about how careful they are
15:20
with how they try to to work the horses into the the corral.
15:25
So it's a big problem. There's no easy solution.
15:33
Mustangs need all of us and all of our ideas, whether we're pro
15:38
or con or we physically get involved or not.
15:44
Mustangs do need all of us. They they need our attention,
15:48
need, need funding to try to be sure that there are enough
15:55
holding facilities. They are gathered in appropriate
15:59
numbers to maintain populations in the various 177 horse
16:05
management areas in the 10 western United States.
16:09
It is a big job taking care of our horses.
16:13
Do you think that there is ever any risk of them becoming
16:17
extinct being wiped off the range?
16:20
Well they really enjoy making more Mustangs and theirs will
16:26
fold every year as soon as they can, even starting at 2 years
16:29
old. So I, I really don't think that
16:32
there's any chance unless they overpopulate and destroy the
16:37
range to a point that there's just not enough food forage, the
16:44
range does not recover quickly. I've seen test plots, plots that
16:49
were like 10 years old and they had, I mean, you compare that to
16:54
the range that's around the test plot and they just don't come
16:57
back very easily, very quickly. So management is a huge issue
17:03
for sure. Are there any other topics that
17:07
you guys really focus on in your education program?
17:10
That's information you really want people to have about the
17:13
Mustangs. It it's really to encourage
17:17
people to adopt A Mustang is really what what we are about.
17:22
We do want people to know that the Wild Horse and Bro program
17:26
exists. The people that are a part of
17:28
the program are very passionate about what they do.
17:31
They're certainly not doing it for the money.
17:33
Yeah. That that is not the reason
17:35
they're doing it. So just what we want people to
17:39
know that the animals are being cared for there is an issue with
17:43
overpopulation and either to adopt or find other people that
17:50
might be in the have the opportunity to adopt A Mustang.
17:55
I've I've had ideas of my sister's show barn is 120 horses
18:01
and about 70 of the horses or or school horses.
18:04
And it's like taking on a Mustang as a philanthropy
18:07
project for your barn. I mean, they are generally the
18:11
size of ponies, so they can certainly show at a pony level.
18:16
But yeah, just take one on as a project.
18:19
It would help. It would help the numbers
18:22
overall. Right.
18:24
Yeah. So what advice, I guess starting
18:27
at the beginning, would you give someone who maybe has found out
18:30
about Mustangs thinking of adopting 1?
18:33
What advice would you give them if they're thinking about it?
18:37
I would find a trainer that has the ability to gentle the
18:42
Mustang or even help get it started as a as a yearling.
18:47
Please contact Mustang Champions.
18:50
Happy to put you in contact with people that we know that that
18:54
could help that. Then you just go find your
18:59
horse. There are holding facilities,
19:02
there are satellite adoptions, various cities across the US.
19:06
Well they'll bring wild horses that you can go and and
19:09
personally shop for your Mustang and then load it up and take it
19:15
to your trainer or to your home to train.
19:20
There's online corral. You can go online and see
19:24
Mustangs that are available and bid on them.
19:27
The highest bidder gets the Mustang and then it's shipped.
19:32
You have options as to where you can have the horse shipped for a
19:36
pickup that might be closer to you than a a holding facility.
19:42
Just find someone that has experience with Mustangs and get
19:47
it and get involved. Yeah.
19:49
In your experiences at the gentling process where a lot of
19:52
adoptions maybe fail or don't ultimately become successful?
19:57
People, yes, it's a very critical stage.
20:01
The Mustangs need to be worked with enough to where people that
20:06
are less experienced can continue to work with them and
20:09
train them. It's a great opportunity for
20:13
coaches. That know how to gentle, to
20:16
continue to work with the Mustang and with the owner to
20:21
continue to improve and continue to train the horse to a higher
20:27
level. I really think that partnership
20:30
is important in order for someone that's less expensive
20:34
with less experience with Mustangs to have a a a good
20:38
chance and and having a good horse in the end.
20:41
Yeah. And that's almost the double
20:43
edged sword because they are really easy to acquire and
20:47
pretty cheap like we've talked about.
20:48
But they are going to be probably heavy either in paying
20:52
someone to help you or committing your own time to to
20:56
learning and education. And so not not cheap and
21:00
everything, but they are easy to acquire the first time.
21:04
Then they take some commitment for sure.
21:06
Yes, and for anyone that is skilled at gentling to take on a
21:13
Mustang for someone else, I just think is a is a very rewarding
21:19
experience for many, many trainers.
21:22
Yeah. Otherwise people wouldn't
21:23
continue to to do it and, and, and come to our competitions and
21:28
then rehome their competition Mustangs.
21:32
Yeah. So let's talk a little bit more
21:34
about the competition. So what is the difference
21:36
between Mustang Magic and then Mustang Classic?
21:41
Was that the other one? And then the English 1 is.
21:44
Which one? Mustang Classic.
21:46
OK, what's there's two other ones.
21:48
Mustang magic has existed for many, many years.
21:51
It is the 100 to 120 day format. OK, So a bit faster training,
21:56
getting the horses ready. Trainer picks up a horse, has
22:00
those, as you said, three months basically to get the horse ready
22:04
to compete and some of the horses are, it's incredible what
22:07
they can do after a three month period.
22:09
Yeah, it really is. It really is like amazing
22:13
Mustang Challenge. Our western competition is
22:18
preliminary classes, trail raining and ranch writing.
22:24
Excuse me blinking there for a moment.
22:27
Those 3 preliminary classes high point you qualify for the top
22:33
ten and the finals competition for the $50,000 prize is a
22:38
freestyle competition. Then our English competition.
22:42
The preliminary classes are going to be show jumping,
22:46
dressage and working equitation, which is it's something that is
22:49
growing as an event in the United States.
22:52
I'm not terribly familiar with it.
22:54
I've never seen it live until our competition last year.
22:58
But the three, again, the three qualifying classes, you compete
23:03
to be in the top 10 finals. And that will also be a
23:07
freestyle format, which for a lot of English discipline
23:11
writers is kind of a new thing. So it's allows people to kind of
23:16
show off what they think they and their Mustang can do best
23:20
with props and music and costumes.
23:23
It's fun. And so if someone wants to get
23:26
involved, how would they go about this, say someone who's
23:30
maybe had some horse experience, new to Mustangs, where would
23:34
they start and what recommendations would you have
23:37
for them? Come to mustangchampions.org, Go
23:42
to mustangclassic25.com or Mustang challenge2025.com.
23:48
There is information about how to become eligible, what you
23:54
need to do. Then there's also ways for you
23:57
to be able to contact us so that we can help you on your journey.
24:03
And do you guys have a lot of resources available to share
24:07
with people? So something that we have
24:09
gathered training information, videos and written materials and
24:16
resources and really pulling those materials from some of the
24:20
top trainers in the in the Mustang community.
24:23
Those resources are available on all of our websites because we
24:28
definitely want to try to help people and improve training
24:33
techniques overall. Everybody has something to learn
24:37
for sure. And the community is very, very
24:40
good about exchanging information, helping each other,
24:45
sharing techniques. Yeah.
24:47
Is it something you feel like is possible for someone who's just
24:50
new to it all to get into and have a good experience and going
24:56
to this? One that has really never ridden
24:58
before, it is going to be a bit of a hurdle.
25:02
I would certainly recommend going and taking lessons and
25:05
just learning basic writing techniques before getting
25:10
involved with Mustangs. But if you are someone that has
25:13
ridden either Once Upon a time or currently get a Mustang,
25:20
truly truly believe that is a an experience unlike any other
25:26
horse. Yeah.
25:27
And you talked before a little bit about how the Mustangs kind
25:31
of need everybody from, you know, there's the advocates to
25:35
sanctuaries to obviously where people are using them for
25:40
competitions and maybe even working on wrenches and things
25:43
like that. Do you have any ideas how that
25:47
gap can kind of be bridged? Because I found that people tend
25:53
to be very heavy one way or the other.
25:56
And it's a lot of times I think almost look at each other in
26:01
negative light if they're not helping the Mustangs in the way
26:05
that they think they should be helped.
26:08
Right. There is a lot of video content
26:12
out there with people that are known cult starters.
26:17
We just had a gentleman by the name of Ryan Rose who has quite
26:22
a YouTube following and he did compete in our Mustang Magic.
26:26
So I just, I think it's just the exposure of people doing a
26:30
little research, seeing what people are doing with Mustangs
26:35
casually or competitively. Come to one of our competitions,
26:39
come meet people that are competing or people that are
26:42
there cheering on someone they know that is competing.
26:47
People are very open about talking about Mustangs, their
26:52
experience with Mustangs, how they personally feel about
26:58
Mustang organizations and the government and and what is going
27:02
on. I find it a very open community
27:05
compared to other Mustang, I mean not Mustang, but horse
27:12
groups that I was around growing up.
27:16
People are just much more open, and through that openness, I
27:21
think there are more and more solutions that people find or
27:24
ways to engage Mustangs and what they're doing.
27:28
Yeah, I think that is really good advice to go in and you
27:31
know talk to the people who have Mustangs and who are really in
27:35
the Mustang world. I think a lot of people are
27:40
maybe seeing stuff online and they don't haven't actually ever
27:45
had the opportunity to interact with a Mustang.
27:49
And and so I do think that there is some loss there that that we
27:54
can't be one large community for the betterment of horses that
27:58
there are are some pretty deep divides in different between
28:02
different parties. Yep, I would agree.
28:06
With you, it's a tricky one. I tend to get a little bit from
28:09
both sides because I'm kind of in the middle, I guess.
28:11
So I have the advocates attacking me for being part of
28:15
the roundups, and then I have people telling me I'm not
28:17
supporting the BLM if I bring up, you know, a question about
28:21
that. So it's interesting.
28:22
Yeah, yeah. And yeah, we're just really
28:27
trying to do our part in helping get horses that are in holding,
28:32
get them into what we call private care into homes.
28:36
And there's, you know, all the Mustangs that we could possibly
28:46
help. There will be many more.
28:49
So it is AI feel like I have job security for sure.
28:54
As long as we have the abilities and the funding to help get
28:57
horses adopted, the horses will be there to be adopted.
29:00
Yeah. And can you maybe talk some
29:02
about how important is for the Mustangs to learn the skills to
29:07
kind of integrate into our human world?
29:11
It's kind of a reality that that they're here.
29:16
How important is that they, you know, learn that it's OK to be
29:19
touched by a human and have some of those valuable skills that do
29:23
make them something that someone's going to want to
29:26
invest their time and money and energy into?
29:28
Right. I had the opportunity to film
29:32
and photograph Mustangs at a holding facility.
29:37
The horses were going to be available on the online corral,
29:40
so it's just a way of helping get them documented to where
29:44
people could review them to adopt them.
29:48
I didn't realize that I was at a Correctional Facility working
29:51
with prisoners the entire area. I thought that they were BLM,
29:56
wild horse and borough staff. So it is even programs like
30:01
prisons and rehab therapy, there's so many things that
30:08
Mustangs are more intuitive in some ways.
30:13
So by getting them trained in some capacity to interact with
30:21
people, they can provide a lot of value in in helping people.
30:29
I have been a part of a veterans program before where I did
30:32
one-on-one interviews in a video format and every single person
30:39
that was in the program talked about how effective a Mustang
30:44
was in helping them overcome their issues with PTSD, being
30:51
able to be more social and not being recluse and helping them
30:57
get off drugs that had been prescribed for them to as a
31:02
therapy. So just a lot of people use them
31:06
as therapy horses, not that anyone ever gets on them, but
31:11
just use them to connect with people in need.
31:13
Yeah, that's definitely another Ave. where they have a lot of
31:17
value. I think definitely something
31:19
that I've seen a lot of really cool programs develop that use
31:24
specifically Mustangs to to do that.
31:29
Do you ever think that there will be a component of that that
31:32
you could incorporate into Mustang Champions?
31:37
Again, we are, we are very dependent at the moment on our
31:40
government funding. We could do donations for like a
31:47
veterans program. We're certainly applying any
31:50
donation to youth competitions because I think it's very
31:53
important to get the next generation educated.
31:58
But there are people that have terrific veterans programs.
32:02
I don't think that will be something that we would get
32:05
involved in because of the special knowledge it is needed
32:10
to be able to work with veterans and, and horses and or Mustangs.
32:15
But yes, if people have the funds to donate to programs that
32:23
are making a huge difference, I would highly recommend donating
32:28
to some of the veteran programs across the US.
32:30
Yeah. And I guess on that note, what
32:31
are some other things people can do?
32:33
Maybe you're not wanting to go out and adopt your own Mustangs.
32:37
What are some things people can do to still support them and to
32:41
kind of help them and maybe a a way that's not actual horse
32:46
ownership? So there are organizations that
32:49
are working with Mustangs that are yes, getting them out of
32:54
holding, but also working with various people in need.
33:00
And I would just recommend finding those organizations and
33:06
supporting those organizations. That is a very just the impact
33:14
that I have witnessed is tremendous.
33:17
Yeah, and. People and Mustangs.
33:21
Yeah. And you said that you've done
33:23
somewhere, you've kind of had stories that of how Mustangs
33:28
have helped people, you've done some videos and things like
33:30
that. What are some of those
33:32
experiences that sound stand out to you the most?
33:35
Well, there was a gentleman who signed up for it was a six week
33:40
veterans program, and he told me that he had been recluse for
33:45
over 10 years. He knew he had he was fully
33:48
armed. He knew exactly the range of his
33:51
various weapons to protect himself.
33:55
He rarely, rarely left his property and he very definitely
34:00
did not interact with other people.
34:03
And because of what a Mustang demands of you to make any
34:09
progress in training, it caused him to look at himself
34:15
differently and communicate differently working with the
34:20
Mustang that he had adopted. And through that six week
34:24
program, he said that he was able to get back out with
34:29
society, which doesn't seem like very much time.
34:33
No, that's not very long for someone who's spent 10 years,
34:37
you know. Seclusion differently about his
34:40
life and interacting with others was just amazing to me.
34:45
Yeah, I would, I would, I would have these interviews and people
34:48
just start crying about the impact that they felt the
34:51
Mustang, their Mustangs, were having on their lives.
34:54
Yeah. What do you think it is about
34:56
the Mustang? We've kind of talked about a
34:59
little bit about the communication aspect, but what
35:02
is it about the Mustang that you think has this effect on
35:04
individuals where it really for some people is a life altering
35:09
experience? I think because the horses were
35:12
in the wild and very much about survival and protecting
35:17
themselves, that they demand a lot in order to make any
35:24
changes. So it is gentling is a process,
35:33
it's can be very slow. It is very much on the Mustangs
35:38
terms as to when and how they are going to connect with you.
35:45
But again, so many stories about once I gained the trust and
35:51
respect of the Mustang, then we could really start to make
35:56
progress in our training and connect to where we were really
36:03
able to bond and be able to compete at high levels.
36:12
Yeah, it's just, it is just that that bond, the trust it is built
36:17
up that is, is so unique and allows people to work with
36:24
Mustangs at a very high levels. Yeah.
36:28
And in your experience with those stories, is this something
36:31
that people have to continue or is it something where you have
36:34
an encounter with a Mustang and a lot of times that six week
36:38
process alone can alter the path of your life?
36:44
Yes, I think in some of the programs people adopt and then
36:49
have the horse have the ownership of the horse.
36:51
There are then programs that they just go and work with the
36:54
horses for a period of time. And yes, very consistently
37:01
people talk about the impact that the horses have had on
37:04
their lives. So it is, there are continuing
37:07
programs and like I say, you can, I've, I've seen people
37:10
adopt and then have horse ownership.
37:14
But then there are programs that are shorter term, but yes, very
37:18
effective. Yeah.
37:21
Going back over to Mustang Champions and the work you guys
37:24
are doing, what are some of the most impactful things that
37:27
you've seen happen there, either for people or the horses that
37:31
have that have been for good? So some people do not think that
37:37
Mustangs have much value and they don't work with them
37:41
because they don't think they're going to make much money with
37:44
them. There was a gentleman who won
37:47
our Western competition. He was also in the top ten of
37:50
our English competition. He won over $80,000 in the
37:56
period of less than a year, and then he had his horse for sale
38:03
at a very high price. So it's stories like that that I
38:10
think will encourage people to come get involved with Mustangs.
38:16
The idea that I can, for a trainer, take away 100% of the
38:23
prize money. Sometimes that's not true with
38:26
certain breed shows. It's a situation of sharing a
38:31
percentage of the winnings with an owner.
38:34
I just, I, I think the money is hopefully something that will
38:41
definitely bring people in and then keep them engaged year to
38:45
year to year. Yeah.
38:46
And what is the benefit it offers to the Mustangs that
38:50
participate in the competitions? So the Mustangs get to be
38:54
trained by some of the nation's top cult starters, for one.
38:59
So these are people that are highly skilled.
39:02
The horse gets a great start in in their life in their in their
39:07
career. Some of the trainers this year
39:11
like their Mustangs so much. They still have not still have
39:15
not not for sale. So I think they get very
39:18
attached, but it's just the the level of training that the
39:24
Mustangs go through for our competitions because of the
39:31
experience level of the people who are training and competing
39:34
with the Mustangs. Yeah.
39:36
What what are some of the most interesting or noteworthy things
39:45
that you have seen people be able to accomplish with their
39:47
horses and kind of what time frame were these in the 100 day
39:52
time frame and how does that compare to the longer time
39:55
frames? So I've been watching Facebook.
39:59
A lady competed with a horse named Zara at Mustang Classic,
40:04
and she's now at Wellington competing.
40:06
Wellington is a series of horse shows that are, you know, some
40:11
of the best in the horses in the nation, and she's competing with
40:15
her horse at a a pony level, at a more novice level.
40:19
So it's just, it's just fun to watch and basically it's through
40:24
through watching people on Facebook.
40:27
But what they continue to do with horse their horses after
40:32
our our competitions, there are people who have taken Mustangs
40:39
and do a lot of liberty work, even liberty showcases.
40:46
There's a gentleman by the name of Bobby Kerr.
40:48
He is five time specialty act of the year for pro rodeo.
40:56
He got engaged with Mustangs at the Mustang Million.
41:01
He works with Mustangs. Some dogs I think he know has a
41:06
pigeon, that's a part of his act.
41:09
But he goes around to rodeos across the country performing
41:13
with Mustangs and just showcasing his Mustangs and what
41:19
he can do with them and how great they are.
41:21
So that he is probably the most acclaimed Mustang trainer that
41:27
I'm familiar with. Yeah, that is really cool.
41:30
And just the way that that certainly has to spread the
41:34
image of the Mustang that that they can do some really cool
41:36
stuff. Have you found kind of coming
41:40
from a background in the show world, are there barriers to
41:43
Mustangs being able to participate in non Mustang
41:46
specific competitions? I.
41:49
Mean, I would say where you're in competitions against warm
41:52
bloods, you're always going to be at a disadvantage.
41:56
If it's a breed specific show, you're obviously not going to
41:59
have the opportunity to to show a Mustang, but at lower levels
42:08
of competition I think you're going to find a lot of
42:11
opportunity to to show a Mustang amongst other horses that are
42:15
competing there. There is another lady that had
42:19
extreme success with her Mustang, her name is Marsha
42:22
Hartford SAP. She had a Mustang named Cobra,
42:25
and he did not do extremely well in his initial Mustang
42:30
competition. And she continued to work with
42:33
him and show him Western dressage.
42:36
And he ended up being the USCF Horse of the Year 3-4 years ago.
42:42
So that that's an example of a horse that that really didn't do
42:45
very well, but with continued training became a champion.
42:50
Yeah. That's a cool story.
42:52
A briar horse. Yeah.
42:54
So it's that, that's another great story.
42:58
Yeah, that is really a good story.
43:00
How do you think that extra time, Do you think we're going
43:02
to see more of that with competitions like Mustang
43:05
Champions that allow that extra time to maybe give a little more
43:08
room for development and growth with that relationship?
43:12
There are some new organizations as well as existing
43:15
organizations that are now providing people more time to
43:21
train before the competition. So I think we have made a
43:25
difference there in that regard. I do think that there is more
43:32
and more conversation that I'm saying about open shows, so
43:35
people that do own a Mustang, just venues and competitions in
43:41
which people can continue to showcase their Mustangs through.
43:46
It doesn't necessarily have the time frame from gentling to the
43:50
competition. Exactly.
43:52
You could definitely go, you know, purchase a Mustang that
43:56
someone has trained and competed with.
44:00
A lot of people are that that's their skill and they don't have
44:04
a big enough barn to to keep all the Mustangs that they ever
44:07
train. So there are definitely Mustangs
44:09
and community Facebook pages, etcetera where Mustangs are
44:15
always up for purchase. Yeah.
44:19
Is that probably the best way to find those?
44:21
Or how are the best way to find maybe a well trained Mustang for
44:25
someone who would like one but doesn't necessarily want to
44:27
start right at the beginning and have all that time and energy?
44:31
I would highly recommend one of the horses coming through our
44:34
competitions. They have a really off to a
44:38
great start because of the skills of the competitors.
44:44
And I guess talk a little bit about that.
44:46
Do you guys do an auction afterwards?
44:48
I feel like that's what they used to do.
44:49
Is that still the case? Or how would someone go about,
44:52
maybe you see a horse in the competition, you want it, How do
44:55
you get that worse? Yeah.
44:56
So we are not having any auctions in either one of our
45:02
either Mustang Challenge or Mustang Classic, but we are
45:06
certainly happy to put people in contact with the competitor or
45:11
owner of those horses and start the conversation of of being
45:16
able to purchase the horse. And definitely a good place to
45:19
find some good trainers. I would think, you know, maybe
45:22
you don't get that horse, but might be an option for future
45:26
ones as well. Right.
45:27
And I do think this year that we will be more public with listing
45:33
for those who are interested in selling the horses, being able
45:37
to post some information on our websites so that people can make
45:40
that connection to purchase. Yeah.
45:44
Well, as we kind of wrap up, is there anything else you would
45:47
want people to know about Mustangs or whether it's, you
45:53
know, someone looking to buy one or just someone interested in
45:57
them? I am a absolute advocate for
46:00
Mustangs, what they can do. We have a issue in America with
46:05
a number of wild horses that exist on our public lands.
46:10
We need to support government agencies that are doing their
46:13
best to maintain the range, to maintain Mustang populations in
46:20
handling Mustangs, to get them to where they can be put in
46:25
sanctuaries across the US or be adopted and placed into private
46:30
care. It is.
46:33
There's a lot of effort being put into all aspects of the
46:38
Mustang situation in America and I think we need to all support
46:42
each other and what we're doing to try to help the animals that
46:48
we're all so passionate about. Yeah.
46:52
What are some of the advantages that Mustangs who are able to
46:54
make it into a successful private home have?
46:58
From speaking from personal experience, my Mustangs are very
47:02
easy to keep. I think it's because of the
47:05
inbreeding. They don't have some of the
47:08
physical and sometimes medical issues that other more purely
47:12
bred horses have. I have.
47:15
I have a mare that has a a club hoof and actually as a yearly
47:20
she probably should not have been put up for adoption but she
47:24
has maybe been lame for a short period of time once or twice in
47:29
12 years. My sister is shocked that she is
47:32
not politely lame at this point. But.
47:36
And she loves to jump so it's like.
47:40
I think they're very resilient compared to some other horse
47:46
breeds. Not the best or a breed.
47:49
Yeah. We think that they're very, very
47:52
resilient. Yeah, and very adaptable, I
47:55
think to their environment, even though it may take some time, I
47:59
think once they do adapt the yeah, they make really beautiful
48:02
additions to to life on this Earth, the.
48:06
Other thing that I think is interesting about Mustangs,
48:07
depending on where they have been gathered, they will have
48:10
different characteristics. So like some horses may have
48:14
more draft in them, some may have more thoroughbred or
48:17
Morgan. It's kind of whatever got turned
48:19
out in that region. The herds take on certain
48:24
characteristics. So depending on what you might
48:27
want to do with a Mustang, you might look to different herd
48:31
management areas for horses that are more or less appropriate for
48:37
the job that you want to be accomplished by a Mustang.
48:41
Yeah, I think that is one thing that's really neat about them is
48:45
there is a lot of variability. So there is that option to maybe
48:51
go look at what specifics you're wanting and find a horse that
48:54
might fit that. Well, yes.
48:56
What can people do to become involved with you guys, to
49:00
support you guys, to go to the shows, participate?
49:03
Please come to our websites. If you make a donation, I will
49:08
tell you that it's being put towards youth competitions.
49:12
That is not something that we have currently funding for that
49:17
we are firm believers in. Yes, come compete.
49:20
Yes, come to one of our competitions, meet people, talk
49:25
to people, cheer for your favorite Mustang and then watch
49:29
for our education program. It might be at an event.
49:34
Generally they do go to equine oriented like rodeos or horse
49:39
shows or Expos. Put on AVR headset and see what
49:43
it's like to stand with a horse in the wild.
49:45
So just any, any way you can or anytime you hear of a Mustang
49:51
event, go check it out. Go go, go see a satellite
49:56
adoption in your area and see the horses that are wild and
50:00
watch them being handled as they're put up for adoption.
50:05
Do you do you think this will be something that will ever that
50:08
will be able to become self-sustaining to where it's
50:13
kind of the events can support themselves regardless of maybe
50:16
funding you're able to secure? I do think as Mustangs become
50:21
more and more popular and the numbers increase as far as
50:26
people competing, we could like like any horse show through
50:32
sponsors, through entry fees that we will be able to grow
50:39
this without additional funding. Nice, yeah.
50:43
It is it is possible? Yeah.
50:46
And how have so you own 2 Mustangs?
50:49
I do. How have they changed your life
50:52
and I guess becoming involved in the world of Mustang, how has
50:55
that impacted your life? So I go down to feed and check
50:59
on my Mustangs three times a day.
51:02
When I used to show horses, there were groomsmen or people
51:07
that were at the barn that took care of the horses.
51:10
So I was never as intimately involved in the care and
51:14
handling of horses as I am now with my Mustangs.
51:19
And more times than not, when they hear us approaching, they
51:24
nay to say good morning. They are very happy to see you,
51:32
mostly because they're about to be fed.
51:34
But just the, they're large dogs.
51:37
They're, they're like big dogs. And I had never felt that way
51:41
about horses before Mustangs and cared for them myself.
51:46
Yeah, I always think that's one of the most amazing things that
51:48
it's like, for some reason they like hanging out.
51:52
Like they like spending time with you.
51:54
Mine, at least will. You know, they'll come find me
51:56
when they're out of pasture. And that to me is just something
52:00
that's really incredible, that for some reason they like
52:03
interacting with humans as much as we probably like interacting
52:06
with them. Well, I think in some cases I, I
52:10
would like to think that the Mustangs are very thankful
52:14
because they had to work very hard for food and water and to
52:19
be just cared for. I think they I think they know
52:22
the difference. Yeah, I agree with that.
52:25
I do think that they come to appreciate very much that they
52:28
know you're going to show up every morning with some hay
52:31
forum and there's always going to be water in their through for
52:35
them. Awesome.
52:36
Is there anything else you want to share before we close?
52:40
Thank you for this opportunity. Just talk to you.
52:42
Thank you for what you're doing, presenting all sides of the
52:46
story and really being a resource for people to find out
52:53
more about Mustangs. Yeah, absolutely.
52:57
And I think the work that you're doing is great to really bring
53:01
awareness to competitions. I know when I got my first
53:05
Mustang, a lot of what you saw was the trainers that were doing
53:09
the extreme Mustang makeover and you were able to see the
53:12
incredible things that can be accomplished with Mustangs.
53:15
And so to to broaden that and hopefully bring Mustangs to more
53:20
people and have more people who love horses get involved
53:23
specifically with Mustangs, of which there are very many that
53:27
would highly benefit from, you know, a private home or specific
53:32
care. I really commend you for
53:34
bringing attention to the Mustangs because I know having
53:38
them in my life, I've seen how incredible they are and
53:41
something that I certainly would encourage anyone to take a
53:44
chance to have interactions with a Mustang if they can.
53:48
And so I appreciate you for sure bringing that opportunity to
53:53
whether it's being able to go to the competitions and see or
53:55
participate in the competitions or to just participate in, you
54:00
know, the virtual reality and the education and learning more
54:04
about Mustangs and what we can do to kind of help them and
54:07
promote them and keep them here with us in this life.
54:10
So thank you for everything that you do as well.
54:13
Absolutely. It's an honor.
54:16
Yeah, I, I think that is very true that if you get the chance
54:21
to be involved with Mustangs, it really is a a really incredible
54:25
privilege in any capacity. Thank you for joining us and
54:29
learning about horses that heal and the humans who help them.
54:32
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