Question 1: We recently had to put one of our non-mustang mares to sleep. She was no longer sound and we couldn't bare to see her in pain any longer. She had a colt about 7 or so years ago. They hadn't been separated in all that time. The former colt, now gelding, was very attached to his mother. He has been very upset for quite awhile. He watches the driveway constantly. Whenever a car comes down the drive he screams for his mum. Now it seems as if depression has sunk in. We try to spend time with him and keep him company as much as we can, but I am wondering if there is anything else we can do to help him cheer up?

Answer Question 1:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recommends that you get your gelding a companion animal. Whether it is a mustang or a domestic horse is your decison. Horses need companion horses. In time, your domestic horse will adjust to the new animal and his fears and loss will be overcome.

Question 2: What do you see as the Pros and Cons of using food treats in training wild horses? Do you use food/hand-feeding as part of your gentling program? Why or why not?

Answer Question 2:
 
Treats are an important way to reward your mustang for its good behavior. The cons are to ensure that the mustang is not allowed to bite when the treat is provided. The mustang must be gently reprimanded should biting occur. If not, your mustang will learn that biting is an acceptable mannerism.

Question 3: A horse clinician at Equine Affaire mentioned that while working with her first Mustang, she noticed that the horse was quite mouthy. It was in a different way than non-Mustangs. She felt that it was possibly a sort of communication. Possibly the mustang touched her as a sort of reassurance when it would respond to a request from the trainer. Similarly, I have read other Mustang owners mention that they do not enforce their space boundaries with Mustangs in the same way that they do with other horses. My experience has been that when I enforce my boundaries with my new Mustang, it feels as if it is damaging the trust that has developed. I did not have that feeling, not at all, with my domesticated horses. Would love to hear people comment on this. 

Answer Question 3:
 
Space boundaries are a very important tool in training your mustang or a domestic horse. Without any boundaries, your mustang will not accept you as the "boss". Mustangs come with no prior knowledge of human beings. They learn their mannerisms from people. Gently reprimand your wild horse when your space boundaries are not adhered to. Usually a light flick on the nose should be sufficient. Re-enforce this every time your animal does not respect the "rules". In time, your mustang will accept its boundaries without losing trust in you as the trainer and will be a valuable member of your family. Time and patience is the key to training a wild horse.

Question 4: I ride by an area where frequently people are shooting guns (target practice?). The shooting is not close by, but the horses are always spooked. They start tap dancing and are on edge. Talking soothingly does not help. How do you calm your horse in this type of situation?

Answer Question 4:

The best way to do this is by desensitizing your animal. My husband periodically goes out to our critters and shoots off a few rounds with his starter pistol to get them used to the sound of guns firing. Lately, our burros run over to see what's up. The mules and the mustangs seem to no longer care if they hear a gun, even being fired off right next to them. This also works with desensitization for mounted shooting.

Question 5: We met a lady that is having problems loading her burro. She rescued this burro from a neglectful situation. The burro's feet were really long, and before she picked him up, the previous owner had the burro heavily sedated. They cut off all the overgrowth on the burro's hooves at once. While he was sedated they sort of pushed him into a straight load two horse trailer. He fell into the trailer and they shut the door. He is now terrified of trailers. So, the question is "How do you teach a fearful burro to get into a trailer?" She also has a young burro and would like to teach it to load without making it a traumatic experience. NEED advice from you Burro folks, please. 

Answer Question 5:

There are a few ways to deal with burros when it comes to trailer loading. You can situate a trailer by the gate of the pen and feed the burro at the back end of the trailer floor. Do this for days. Every day push the hay a bit farther into the trailer.

You can also have the burro in with another burro with the trailer backed up to the gate for awhile. The one burro that isn't afraid of the trailer can jump in and out at will feed them in there. Eventually the "scardy cat" burro will decide that the trailer is okay, too.

Answer Question 6:

First, if the burro is really young, wait for her to mature before asking him or her to jump very often as young bones can be injured with too much jumping.

With that said, we do a few different things. A person can make a \_/ with hay bales. Lead the animal to the inside of the "U" then entice the burro over the bales with a tasty treat.

With an actual jump, at first, place the rail on the ground. Once the animal leads across that, the rail can be raised a little bit. Once it's off the ground, cover the rail with a mantee or tarp. The burro can be enticed over the rail with a tasty treat and lots of praise. (A burro pen mate can also be used to entice the burro over the bales by holding the pen mate on the other side of the bales or rail.

Question 7: My daughter and I recently adopted two 2-year-old burros at a local BLM adoption. The "Jack" is still intact (we are going to fix that a.s.a.p.) and will come up to you after a short while (outside of his pen, of course) and let you pet him and rub his ears. That is why my daughter picked him to adopt. He really seems to enjoy it. On the other hand, the "Jenny" is more cautious and will not come up to you. She actually acts like she is trying to block you out. Our goal is to train them to drive carts and help promote the BLM burros at shows, events, and parades.

Answer Question 7:

We use a squeeze to tame difficult burros. We corner them into panels, squeeze them down, and then start petting the burro. Be careful not to be kicked, bitten or injured. If this is too worrisome to do, again, the burro can be run into a smaller area and then "poled" with a bamboo pole or the handle end of a whip, etc. Use this to massage the animal and get to know them and them you. Move slowly and not aggressively. For information on the "pole" method of training, please visit the BLM's newsletter. There is lots of good advice contained in the various issues on using different methods of training.

Question 8: New Mustang - He is wonderful, however, he wants to be in my pocket! I cannot move this little guy off me. He is not aggressive, or confrontational, just really, really close. The things I have done with my domestic horses are not working. Any advice. 

Answer Question 8:

Move him off - whatever it takes. The first couple of times it may take a lot, but it will get better once he knows you mean it. Often if I have trouble moving my sweet dear horse, my husband will say,"It's because you don't mean it." So MEAN IT and get it done. It feels bad to chase off your dear little one, but you really have to do it. He will move if you have enough resolve and put out an assertive "vibe." Use a tool such as a flag on a buggy whip if you need to. He will not hold hard feelings, I promise you. As soon as he moves off, praise him, talk to him soothingly, and invite him back. But make sure when doing so he is still respecting your space.

Question 9: Can anyone give me instructions on how to bell a burro's tail?

Answer Question 9:

Belling an equine's tail is more often done with a mule, not usually a burro. But, you can tease a burro's tail upward starting at the bottom and then shape the hairs with clippers. You shave the rest of the tail to the hariest part of the tail.

Question 10: Are there people that shoe their Mustangs? If so, what is the reason. I'm more curious than anything.

Answers Question 10:

My Mustangs are all barefoot. Our soil is hard and rocky, not as hard as the soil on the public rangelands, but enough to not require shoeing.

Our Mustangs are also all barefoot. We bought some easy boots for rocky rides, but feel barefoot is the healthiest. I think it really depends on how much you ride and what kind of soil you have and where you ride.

My Mustangs have done very well being barefoot for the most part. I had to have shoes and pads put on the front feet of my little mare when the farrier cut off too much hoof and made her lame. My gelding had to have shoes on while he was at the trainer's as his feet were not growing fast enough to match how much he was being ridden. He currently has shoes on for the same reason and has sliders on the back for reining. My shoer teases me about his hoofs and says I need to soak his feet overnight to soften them up as a Mustang's hooves are so tough.

Question 11: Can someone describe how to tell by the sweat mark on a horse's back if a saddle fits properly? What are other things to look for when fitting a saddle to a horse? 

Answer Question 11:

The sweat patterns should be even. If there are dry spots, which usually appear in the wither area when a saddle does not fit properly, this is an indication that there is a problem. Sometimes the sweat pattern is consistent, but, there is still a problem when you see that the hair has been disturbed and is not laying smooth in a certain area.

One way you can also tell about pressure points with the saddle fit, is to take a clean white towel or pillow case and put it next to the horse when you saddle it. Work the horse until it is sweaty, then carefully remove the white material and observe where there are areas of more dirt than others. This will also help to determine problem areas with the saddle fit.

Question 12: How do you best pad a sway backed horse? What about the best saddle for weight distribution?  

Answers Question 12:

I wouldn't ride a swaybacked horse. After a while it hurts them, the muscles are breaking down, etc. Eventually they will associate you with the pain and will begin to guard themselves from people and potiental riders. If you are going to ride a swaybacked horse do it bareback. A saddle tree will rub into them and hurt. Treeless or a bare back pad would be best, in the event you do decide you have to ride.

They actually should not be ridden. The reason they are swaybacked is due to trama that the back has been subjected too and usually the muscles have torn away from the spine. If you're vet does a thorough exam and gives you a green light you can try a treeless saddle. HOWEVER, if you're vet recommends NOT RIDING don't ride the horse! It's a shame to see a swaybacked horse ridden. How would you feel if you had major back injuries and had to keep up hard work?

Question 13: Things to do or not to do when first taking a foal out on the trail with his mom being ridden? Tips on ponying a yearling?

Answer Question 13:

Do keep in mind that when you take your babies out, only go for short rides at a time until they are conditioned. You will need to condition your youngster like any other horse. Don't over do it. Work up to longer rides gradually. Your first rides out should not be any longer than 20 minutes including leaving and coming home. Use a thick, at least 1 inch, cotton lead rope for youngsters. Baby should be doing excellent in an arena off the the lead horse BEFORE you attempt to go out in the wild blue yonder. That means calm, stopping, backing turning etc. You're only asking for trouble if you get ahead of yourself.

Question 14: How do I stop my Mustang from kicking the stall door? He has broken the hinge several times. He is only in the stall at night. He is free to enjoy the pasture all day long with his friends. I bring all horses in at night and feed them. I have scolded him, raised my voice, etc. Obviously, I want to maintain our relationship, but he just won't stop doing this.

Answer Question 14:

Take the door off and let him go back and forth. There are ways to discourage this behavior but first you need to determine WHAT is he kicking at and WHY?

There are just some mustangs that don't like the claustrophobic feeling of 4 walls. We've taken a wild, free roaming spirit and asked them to conform to our ways by putting them in a dark box at night. A 3-sided enclosure might be more appropriate for this horse. 

If you have dutch doors, you might also try leaving the top door open so he can look out. You might find it works tremendously. If you don't have dutch doors, you might consider making one or installing a very sturdy sliding plexiglass window at eye level. You can open or close it depending on the weather, but he will still be able to look out. It may sound like a pain, but being able to look out a "window" may re-assure him.

Cindy Lawrence publishes a mustang newsletter monthly where more questions and answers can be found. She provides good solid advice in training your mustang. Her website is www.wildhorseandburroexpo.com. 

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