This is a non-commercial, independent website, owned and written by Nancy Kerson, for the benefit of actual and potential adopters of BLM Mustangs and Burros and similar animals.
DVD or VHS (2-DVD or 2-VHS set) almost 3 hours of instruction!
$39.95 plus $5 shipping/handling = $44.95 total
Lesley Neuman: The First Touch Gentling Your Mustang $45.00
Lesley works with 3 wild horses at a BLM adoption, and very clearly explains what is happening, what she is doing, & what she sees in each horse as it progresses. Study this video and you can learn "pressure and release" gentling techniques to gentle your own new mustang!
Help for Burro adopters! Crystal Ward Donkey Training
All the basics of gentling, handling, and training. A MUST for new burro adopters! Good for domestic donkeys, too!
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO IT ALONE Don't be afraid (or too proud!) to ask for help!
The majority of wild horses and burros are adopted into "do-it-yourself" homes. Over the years, the BLM Adopt-A-Horse program has had many stellar successes of people who have gentled and trained their horse by themselves, sometimes starting with no prior horse experience. I hope this will always be an option. I'm one of those people, and the experience has been beyond rewarding to me, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to learn horsemanship "from the ground up."
However, gentling and training a wild horse isn't for everybody, and some adoptions do fail, which is very bad for the horse and a real "downer" experience for the adopter. Others are technically successful, in that the adopter keeps the horse, but the horse never reaches its potential, remaining but a pasture ornament.
Although the majority of adopters can successfully earn the horse's trust to the extent that the animal is able to be handled, saddle training is something else. This video shows my Calico Mountains Mustang, Sparky, being ridden by trainer Jerry Tindell, to help train a young 2-year-old Mustang. This is followed by my first ride on little Piney, my Pine Nut HMA "Pony" Mustang, with help and direction from trainer Jerry Tindell. A "Colt Starting Clinic" with a good trainer is highly recommended for people training their Mustangs themselves.
Saddle training is not just a matter of getting on and hanging on - well, it can be, but to do it right, it is a very complex and important matter - a time when mistakes can have long-term consequences for both horse and rider. Unless you are already a trainer, or have access to a trainer who can coach you over a period of time - you really should consider getting your horse professionally trained.
Left: Kitty Lauman Right: Ray Ariss
The recent success of the Mustang Heritage Foundation's Extreme Mustang Makeover and the Mustang Challenge program is an object lesson in the value of professional training. In just 100 days, most of these trainers had the horses soft, connected, responsive and able to perform amazing things that one usually sees only after a few years, even with domestic horses.
Wild horses are inexpensive, precisely because they lack training.
Add the right training and you have a very valuable horse that can compete with the best domestics. Since the goal is - or should be - to end up with a good, safe horse, there is a lot to be said for sending your horse out to a good trainer.
Left: Weldon Hawley Right: Tom King
Where to find one? My "How to Gentle A Wild Horse" page lists a number of good trainers. That's just a starting place. Chances are there is a good trainer right in your own neighborhood who would be willing to help you. The trainer does not have to be famous, just good! Natural horsemanship techniques work well with wild horses. The Vaquero tradition of the American West and Southwest is a Natural Horsemanship-based tradition. Many working cowboys know how to start a semi-wild green horse.
There are also many successful past adopters who would be happy to share what they know to help you get started. The links below are a good place to start looking for one.
Here are some more resources to help you locate the right trainer or volunteer mentor:
Cindy Lawrence's Mustang Family Newsletter This is a free, totally grass-roots weekly newsletter. Click here to subscribe
copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Nancy Kerson, all rights reserved - I'm happy to share, just need to be asked and have credit given where due.
Disclaimer: Horses are inherently dangerous. Use the information contained within this website at your own risk.
