This is a picture of Bella's first ride day. Curved horse, curved hat. At that point I wasn't 100% sure it would be her first ride day, but she did so well we went ahead. Her new name is spelled Kamaria, not Camria.
Today I got a lot done. Got a ton of hay, painted a wall, did housework and horsework. My horse was a spaz today. I think I need to cut down on the jet fuel. Or work with him more. Not sure which is the problem. I didn't ride him since he was bucking and kicking like I've never seen before (with him). I probably could have ridden him after some work in the round pen, but by then it was dark and my bridle and helmet were in the trailer. Why was it dark, you ask? Because he rolled in the sopping wet mud right before I went out to get him, again. This time I toweled him off and tied him up for a long time until he was dry enough to curry and put a saddle on. I took him to my sister's, so the trailer ride might have helped dry him out. She got gravel in her round pen yesterday, so no worries about slippery footing. Nice.
I was having some deep thoughts tonight. I'm cranky tonight, by the way. I was thinking on the matter of whether or not a mustang is really any different than any other horse, in terms of how you use them. The real answer is "I don't know," because I have mostly worked with mustangs. But the answer in my heart is that they're all horses. You take them as they are at the moment. You work with them, and you give them what you are right now, and they give back to you what they are right now. It's not always good, but it's never really bad. It just is. Is a mustang more flighty than a domestic horse? I personally don't think so, but then I've had several flighty domestic horses. I get real defensive when I hear people say they're wild horses so they have more flight instinct. I don't agree, but I don't know that I have a basis for my belief. I'd love to ask someone like Mark Rashid, who has worked with many, many horses, and many of them mustangs. I get tired of hearing opinions from people who don't even really know what a true mustang is, and may have limited experience with them. But then I think to myself that I'm calling them prejudiced when I know full well I am being prejudiced. Sometimes I think I'm too good at looking at the other guy's side of the story. Sometimes I think I need to stand up for what I believe in, even if maybe I'm wrong. But I also think it's kind of pointless. People think what they think. The best I can do is get out there and show that my mustangs are good horses. And have people say they must have a lot of quarter horse in them, or they must be unusual mustangs... Ugh. Anyway, there's no point to all this, I'm just blathering. If you have an opinion I'd love to hear it, especially if it's based on personal experience, even with only a couple horses. A little bit of knowledge joined with a little bit more knowledge, and so on, could make up a big chunk of knowledge eventually.
3 comments:
Andrea, I do think a horse is a horse, BUT I think a mustang is a pure slate to start, if you are the first, your training is the first he experiences. While a QH for example is usually handled all the time, his mother has things to teach him that a mustang mom wouldn't. Some mustangs are easier to gentle and get on with their training, others are, just horse personalitied. People who think they know, or have heard ect are prejediced against just as we are for. Thats life I guess and I get to bring home one from colorfest. Whoopee. Love your curve picture, beautiful. Thanks for having fun with us. Tomorrow the word is EYES
I think if you took a Mustang from birth and treated it like a domestic, it would be just like a domestic, but instead the things its taught in the wild from birth imprint heavily on it. I think Beautiful's different because of her few months being born in the wild. You always hear people say Mustangs are more loyal--one person horses--and that seems to be mostly true to me. But just my opinion--haven't been around enough to say.
I have limited experience with horses in general too (compared to a trainer), but I have ridden both calm solid domestic horses, and flighty domestic horses. My mustangs are among the only ones I have real experience with, and I don't think that their flightiness is any greater than the range of domestics I've seen. They are all different. My domestic mare can spook out from underneath me so fast that I land on my feet. My mustangs often do not spook at things that my domestic makes funny eyes at. But then again, I am currently dealing with one of the flightiest horses I've ever worked with (Kachina). I don't know. I think they are all horses, and if you work with them enough, you can convince them that when you say something won't eat them, it won't. And there are always exceptions, in both wild ones and domestics.
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