Mustangs, Land, Horses, Decisions--from a Horse Girl

Jen with JJ Kings Hank "Hank"--the best horse in the world

 I watched the excellent documentary Unbranded (http://watch.unbrandedthefilm.com/) on Netflix last night. The point of it was to prove that Mustangs are awesome horses. This documentary proved that they are well-suited to doing range riding.

 However, they have their downfalls and this was also shown. They start out as WILD. There is a streak of wild in them that can be tamed out of them, mostly. But it isn't always or sometimes ever tamed out and oftentimes, you can never fully trust the horse. (And this is true of any 1000 lb animal, no matter what. I know this. Horses are easily startled, they can fall down, &c. These things happen.) The other thing that was mentioned is they need daily interaction and care. Both of these issues make owning a Mustang difficult. More about this later.

I have been exposed to many breeds of horses in our many years of running a boarding stable or leasing out space in pastures to other horses besides our own. I have only run across one Mustang, a black mare named Dakota. She had been adopted by a would-be cowboy who let her sit in our pasture for years with very little interaction with him. A horse trainer friend of mine started to break her and Dakota actually did pretty well. Until her negligent owner stopped paying the trainer and then never rode his own horse. Dakota was skittish, hard to catch, jumped out of pastures if she couldn't be with her favorite pasture mates and was obviously depressed that the other horses in the pasture got special care and she didn't. I know her owner loved her, but was completely unprepared to take care of her. This is one of the issues that make Mustangs a difficult breed for many. Dakota recently left our pasture due to her owner's very poor health. She was hard to load and the man who came to get her, the owner's uncle, was struggling to get Dakota in the trailer and even threatened to shoot her with his pistol. We threatened to call the police. It was ugly. This isn't Dakota's fault, nor is it indicative of every Mustang. But as I said, this breed needs constant care, which she didn't receive.

 Though many animal rights activist think that the wild horse of America should be able to run free and multiply and replenish the earth at will, I actually believe this is extremely myopic. There isn't enough feed for them and the cattle that graze that land. And listen, I am a vegetarian, so it's not like I am all that into cattle. But everyone else in my family loves a good hamburger, as does most of our American citizens. And cattle that graze the land are much healthier, so from a health standpoint, letting cattle graze on the range is better for everyone. But there is just not enough feed!

What happens to the Mustangs is many of them are rounded up and put up for adoption. But for every adopted Mustang, there are many left in the pen. Understand? Wild animals who are used to running free are now captured and captive in pens for the rest of their lives. Yes, they are alive. But what is their quality of life? Imagine yourself, free to travel to the market, to your work, to the library, suddenly stuck in a small house or even a room for the rest of your life. It's enough to make you depressed or crazy. People freak out that Killer Whales are plucked from the ocean and taken to the Sea Worlds of this world (something I absolutely loathe.) So why is it okay to take wild horses and cage them for the rest of their lives? Those horses who are penned are not able to reproduce, so there is that. But those that are left on the range are reproducing all over the place. Still. The other prevalent point here is that Mustangs cannot do a natural selection of culling the herd because fences and people get in the way. They are reproducing at a rapid rate and some of the Mustangs that aren't herded into pens starve to death--an ugly, painful and unnecessary death.

Peppys Little Jetta "PJ" in her twenties and still a lovely mare

Let me step back for a moment and explain what my interaction has been with horses. We started out with one lovely AQHA mare, Peppys Little Jetta or PJ. We decided it would be great to get a good stallion and set up a breeding program. We stayed small and were very selective with what mares we bred to our AQHA palomino stallion, JJ Kings Hank--an amazing, one in a million horse. We spoke to several other stallion owners who said they didn't care what kind of mares they bred their stallions to. We didn't do that. We took the idea that we were only breeding to improve the breed. "Breed the best to the best and hope for the best."

Eventually, we got a lovely AQHA dun colt who we decided to not geld and use as a stallion, as well: Dudes Dun Driftin. Dude has an excellent pedigree, an amazing disposition and beautiful color. We had a reasonably feasible breeding program for a few years, but once the market went sour, we cut our two stallions and they are now fat and happy geldings that anyone can ride.

Dudes Dun Driftin "Dude"

 And that brings up another point. In Unbranded, the cowboys that got the Mustangs sent them to a professional trainer for a month--which had to be a pretty penny for 10 horses. Then, the cowboys took three months to finish the horses (so now we're talking four months.) Hank took two months to train--start to finish. We started him on the ground. And I wish I'd videotaped the first time he got a saddle on him--he bucked around and around the round pen. He was furious. This was a horse who had had one whole breeding season and thought his only use was breeding mares. What the heck is this stupid thing on his back and tight under his belly? We sent him to a trainer for his first 30 days and then up on him we went and have been riding him ever since. He has had hundreds of riders on him, even when he was a stallion. You'd have never known he was a stallion--he was that calm. It's in his blood--he has an excellent Foundation Quarter Horse pedigree. When we broke Dude, we had a few rides, which were calm and easy, then he was injured and laid up for a year. After that year, we put our young teenage son on Dude in the round pen with NO tack or halter on this very big, strong horse. Just Caden and the horse. Dude walked, trotted, turned, halted with nothing but Caden on his back talking to him. Dude, too, has great bloodlines and is extremely smart. I've seen him buck and kick in the pasture and thought, sheesh, I hope he never does that when I'm on him. But he never has been anything but a gentleman with me. Message here: breeding counts. Remember that. Call me a horse snob if you want, but I believe that registered horses are better (and Quarter Horses are best.) I'm not backing down from that opinion.

Hank's intelligent face and kind eye

The reason I bring this up is I understand breeding. I understand quality in horses. I understand choosing the best. This is important to this discussion.

Hank is gentle with everyone, as seen here when Kinsey kisses him

The question is: what to do with the Mustangs? Animal advocates say the wild horse is a dying breed, but statistics prove otherwise. Do I want all our wild horses penned up? No. But I also don't like our tax money being used to feed these horses, wild animals who'd prefer to stay wild, stuck in pens their whole lives. It is wasteful and cruel. So, what is the answer? I'll tell you my thoughts and hate me if you will.

Hank and PJ, who had many foals together

 I recommend we pen up all the horses and choose the best of the best. Good feet, straight legs, good backs, and yes, maybe even pretty color on top of that. These horses can be the adoptable ones. They won't all be adopted. This has been made clear and apparent. So what to do with the other 'best' horses? I propose we sterilize some of them. Cut some of the stallions. Spay some of the mares. Then let 'em back out to roam the range. But wait. What do we do with the other ones, the less than best ones? Sorry. This is where you may start to hate me. I propose we make them into dog food. I know, I know. These horses are pretty and deserve to be wild! I agree! But there is only so much grazing and isn't it better to put these horses down in a humane way then let them or their children or grandchildren starve? And yes, because they are livestock, to not use the meat is ridiculous and wasteful.

I'm sorry, but I would prefer tax dollars spent on curing hunger, getting schoolbooks for students, scholarships for needy students and on and on and on. We can't afford all these wild horses and it isn't fair to them to pen them up or let them starve. And even when they're 'free' or little cost to adopt, they cost a ton to train, in money (sometimes--if you do the training yourself--and don't even think about it if you have little or no experience with this) but certainly in time. It isn't feasible to have them adopted and then the owners find they can't handle the training costs and time commitment. And as I said in the beginning of this piece, Mustangs are amazing trail horses. The stuff they did in Unbranded isn't anything I'd ask my horses to do, scrambling over rocks and so forth. I cried at the courage of these Mustangs in this film. It was truly amazing. However, for most other riding, domesticated horses are easier, more affordable (and I use that term loosely, because no horse is cheap) and safer. This does not mean every Mustang is a knot head. They aren't! But they are wild animals. And cost as much to feed as a registered horse. And cost far more in time than my horses who sit in a pasture until I have time to ride them and then get saddled up and are ready to go whenever I need them to be.

I am supportive of the wildlife in America. Let's face it. I'm a Democrat! But when it comes to horses, I believe there are humane and appropriate ways to deal with this issue. It isn't an easy situation, but one that should be addressed.

I am happy to have a civil discussion about this topic, but any ugly comments will be deleted.

Jennifer Mustoe, proud horse owner

Jen and Dude on a beautiful fall ride in Provo Canyon, Utah