Oubaas Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Got a new mustang today. For free. No, it's not a Fender. It's not even a Ford. It's an actual mustang, right out of a wild herd on a reservation. It needed a home, so I took it. I didn't want it to end up in a Mexican slaughterhouse, getting packed into dog food cans. But there goes the L-00 I'd begun to scheme on for this summer. After the quarter horse I just bought, this mustang pretty much drives the last nail in the guitar coffin for awhile. Well, at least I got the Dove before the door closed. But it will be a few years before I buy any new guitars. And I'm sure I'll be spending some money on Ben Gay Ultra and ibuprofen as I smooth this one out. I don't bounce as good as I once did. But at least this horse will have a home instead of a ride to Mexico. Though really, I didn't need another horse. I don't know if I've got a soft heart or a soft head. Cheers! Rick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryp58 Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Good form, Rick! That wild mustang deserves to stay home and running free. We screwed the Indians out of their land, maybe we can do better with the horses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Good for you Oubaas! There's a slaughterhouse down in Fort MacLeod that kills 300 horses every day for horse meat in Europe. Makes me soooooo angry! Horses and guitars, these are a few of my favourite things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 I've always been fascinated with the wild horse herds. I remember as a kid seeing a herd while traveling with the family on a vacation. and that was the last time I'd seen a horse like that outside of Discovery and National Geographic specials. Rick how cool is it that you actually have a wild mustang and get to break it. So what do you actually do, rancher for a living, or for pleasure / hobby ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oubaas Posted February 21, 2010 Author Share Posted February 21, 2010 Rick how cool is it that you actually have a wild mustang and get to break it. So what do you actually do' date=' rancher for a living, or for pleasure / hobby ?[/quote'] Well, up until my luck caught up with me, I was career military. But, one day my luck ran out and they subsequently informed me that I was officially "disabled-in-the-line-of-duty" and to go on home for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I'd made enough rank at that point so my retired pay is comfortable, and they pay me for permanent injuries suffered in the line of duty and such on top of it, so now my wife and I keep horses out here in the middle of nowhere and raise our daughters, and collect stray animals, dumped animals, hurt animals and nurse them back to health and find them homes, a few at a time. I even brought a snake home last summer that had been run over. Eventually turned him loose out behind the house in the woods. But the mustang will be staying on permanently. My daughter has claimed her, as soon as dear old Dad, yours truly, has taken the lumps to smooth her out for riding. We practice "natural horsemanship" which is completely non-violent horse training where you treat the horse as a partner and work based on equine psychology and herd behavior. You have to learn horse manners, horse body language and all. We don't "John Wayne" break them like they used to do it. Instead we work to have the horses "join up" willingly with us. It must work, we get a lot of complements on how well behaved our horses are and people have asked us if we don't want to train theirs. But for now, we just train our own. I guess I'm fortunate in that I've got all my parts and at least half of my marbles after all that time in the military, and everything works well enough to still fool around with horses. There's an awful lot of people who come back missing those things. But I don't know how lucky I am to be the one who gets to be first to ride these critters, LOL! I've managed to get thrown hard at least once for the past three years in a row. I'm starting to get used to smelling like Ben Gay Ultra and eating aspirin or ibuprofen like jelly beans. A good book about gentling down a mustang is Monty Roberts' Shy Boy: The Horse That Came In from the Wild. You might enjoy that. Cheers! Rick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterGibs Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 You have done good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Rick, thanks for the info. Good luck with the new horse and may your daughter ride her in good health ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Good for you Oubaas! There's a slaughterhouse down in Fort MacLeod that kills 300 horses every day for horse meat in Europe. Makes me soooooo angry! quote] Good shot Rick, thats kind of how we ended u with a deaf epiletic Jack Russell who even after 5 months still bites the hand that feeds! Sure you'll have better luck! Has Karen asked where you went for the first ride you took on it? And before anyone starts its NOT the brits who eat horses!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I have some experience with those mustangs. They can be pretty nice horses. Occasionally you get one that can't be ridden but mostly pretty good. They seem to appreciate the new home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Good for you Oubaas! There's a slaughterhouse down in Fort MacLeod that kills 300 horses every day for horse meat in Europe. Makes me soooooo angry! quote] Good shot Rick' date=' thats kind of how we ended u with a deaf epiletic Jack Russell who even after 5 months still bites the hand that feeds! Sure you'll have better luck! Has Karen asked where you went for the first ride you took on it? And before anyone starts its NOT the brits who eat horses!![/quote'] No no, I thought you guys ate fish 'n chips, bangers and mash, and lots of shepherds pie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 No no' date=' I thought you guys ate fish 'n chips, bangers and mash, and lots of shepherds pie? [biggrin'] No solid diet of mCdonalds ( lying!!! the last big mac I had was 20 years ago) As for pies, since I gave up smoking 5 years ago I look like I ate evry pie in Pieland! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oubaas Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 I have pies over here in cowboy-land all the time. There aren't any pie shops, but my wife wuld not live without pies, so she makes them herself. Now if we could just find kidney somewhere, she could make me my steak and kidney! Well, the mustang has arrived. Scrawny, underfed, no doubt full of worms, and has a couple of spots of mange on her and some rain rot. Her feet look good, with good concavity and all. She's young, I'm guessing around 4 years old. So, first off, I gave her all the hay she could ever ask for, and she's still eating. Fed her some grain and pellets with various things in to clear sand impaction, rain rot, and whatever else. I'll double-dose her with Ivermectin before sundown, and we're on our way. She was nervous as a longtailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs when she got here, but she's calming down fast. I got her to join up on me once already, and now she follows me and comes to me to have her head scratched. I rubbed her down all over just to let her know that it's OK for me to touch her, and I'll probably groom her good before nightfall, too. But right now, I'm letting her eat. She's in her own corral, separate from the other horses, though my mare comes to the fence now and then and lays her ears flat as if to say, "I run this place!" So I had my mare join up on me while the mustang watched, and I think she's aware of the pecking order now, LOL! So far so good! Her mane must have been full of burrs or something. Somebody cut it in places. But overall, she's got good conformation and should shape up nice. In a few months she won't look like the same horse. Cheers! Rick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Rick, what about 'before' and 'after' pics? I'm so relieved she's in good hands. She's very lucky. How big is she? Coloring? I watch join up on YouTube all the time.... I love it, but then I'm weird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august_reader Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I was just gonna ask for pix too. This is every bit as cool as a new guitar, so pix are definitely in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I know nothing about horses and despite living in a part of England surrounded by stables, hunts and even polo clubs, and growing up near a race course, I have never been on one. My 10yo daughter does ride a little. Despite all this, I'm completely hooked on this story (no I don't mean it's made up). Pics please and a weekly update would be fantastic. More power to your elbow Oubaas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oubaas Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 Here's the before shot of the mustang. She's a sorry sight right now. My wife is the one who actually taught me about join up and horse training in general. I'm lucky, she's not only beautiful, but very talented with anything to do with horses. She has quite a rapport with them. She spends most of her time studying or working with the horses, and I've learned a lot from her. She's the one who introduced me to Monty Roberts as well. We make a pretty good team together working with the horses, and this is probably what we'll be doing for the rest of our lives. It's what we both love. Now, since this is the Gibson guitar forum, I feel compelled to include a photo of the guitar I've been playing most lately: Cheers! Rick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Poor thing... she looks like she's been through hell and back (the horse, not the guitar). Monty Roberts is a rare man. He has an interesting past too, which is why he does what he does today. His father was one of those old time horse trainers who used questionnable methods to break horses. Rick, it sounds like you're living the dream I hope to have someday.... living out in the middle of nowhere and raising horses (or any other stray that happens along). And kudos to your wife, she sounds like an angel! Looking forward to seeing the mare as she gets healthier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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