Mancos Mustangs

09/30/2021

These mustangs really do make the best trail horses.

Even the ones who start out reactive and afraid of their own shadow. I never thought Ducky would cut it as a trail horse, but she never misses a step. She is growing into herself, and gaining confidence with each outing.

She has very strong opinions about crossing water and going under suspicious looking trees (mountain lions!), but can be convinced.

She's come a long ways, and it truly is amazing how well these critters settle into domestic life.

🍂🐴

09/26/2021

All of this free help training is really great!

09/23/2021

That's me, weirdly staring straight ahead, trying to look candid. 😂 I learned a TON about low stress animal handling, thing's I will apply to both my sheep and wildlings. This was an invaluable presentation. And I am STOKED to be involved with our local wild horses from Mesa Verde, yall!!

03/03/2021

Miss Frizzle has done it again! We finally got back on the trail, and she was very kind to me, my gimpy finger and uncoordinated nature. 😅

She was very aware of the houses we had to ride by on this trail, but still no spook, buck or bolt in her.

The worst thing she does is try to sample every single plant and rock surface. And pick up her saddle. And other horses saddles. 😂 And being the social butterfly she is, she tries to greet all the hikers we meet. She's a total goof and always has us laughing.

She is young, just shy of three, so we are taking it easy. While the terrain is occasionally rocky and requires navigation, it's not too steep or treacherous and we're keeping the rides short while she matures.

Frizz was happy to end today by partying in the water bucket. It really is the little things! 🙌

02/14/2021

02/09/2021

Doesn't get much better than riding a wild horse through some wild country! Ms Frizzle had a successful first trail ride. She didn't spook of a single thing, and instead stopped to say hi to everyone! She did great navigating some rugged terrain, and I could not have asked for a better ride. 🌞🐎🌵

I'm excited for things to dry up so I can get another load of TIP horses! My intention, if theres enough interest, is to take them all through saddle training so they're trail safe. Can't beat the minds on these critters.🤓

01/27/2021

Thought I'd let the girls out to stretch their legs while I went on a nice ba****ck ride in the snow.

WRONG.

DIDN'T REALIZE I HAD THREE RED DRAGONS.

Ms Frizz was fueled by gas of a different kind, Baby wouldn't stop rearing, and I've never seen Ducky run so fast in all her life. They are beauty, they are grace. 🤦‍♀️

01/11/2021

Love it when they train themselves! Thank you, Ms. Frizzle, for being the goofy educator we all know and love.

11/09/2020

My two mustang mares leading the charge on this snowy morning! Anyone recognize them? 🥰

11/01/2020

Any effective movement should start with children! Its effectiveness was demonstrated with Wild Horse Annie's campaign.

I am so motivated by how excited these children were to learn how to communicate with wild horses. I had a blast explaining, in children's terms, why we have to leave everything at the gate, why we approach with backs of hands first, why we must soften our shoulders and c**k our legs when approaching strange mustangs.

And Ducky!!! This little nutty mare performed perfectly. Pets werent easy, but you should've seen those girls faces when they accomplished a pet. Worth every second of my time working with this mare. And if you know our story, it TOOK A LOT OF WORK to get her manageable.

I now have a nice little partnership going with an instructor and her lesson kids. They want to see more of the training process, and they're welcome any time. I think I had an audience of 10 or 12 people, and they will continue to come out as this mare progresses.

I hope that other TIP trainers open up their facility to the public, because that's where real change for these horses is going to happen.

I'm inspired! Share your "lighting another's flame" story!

10/20/2020

Gotta take a minute to brag on this lil cutie!

Ms Ducky experienced her first slant load and stock trailers, her first "real" haul, excursion off the property, hard tie, ponying and trail ride, which included creek crossing and mountain climbing. And in all honesty, I skipped lots of steps and could've prepared her better, but she rose to the occasion.

These critters continue to amaze me with how versatile and adaptable they are. Not to mention, hardy and smart with good, trainable minds. All the good things!

So, just adopt a Mustang! They need us.

10/08/2020

What a wild week! Here's a video of Ducky the Mustang inspecting my new piglets, Yorick and Hamlet. And a video of every single creature following me into the barn, LOL!

Never a dull moment around here. Exciting things coming - including a Mustang mare from Mesa Verde! She's hanging in the campground, and has been rejected by her herd. I'm hoping shes acclimated to humans a bit, but we'll see. I'm checking in w the American Mustang Association today for updates. 💕

Here's to everyone staying healthy! Remember to worm your ponies, and to rotate your wormer w the season! I'm on Ivermectin this time of year.

09/02/2020

Want a horse with some grit? Get yourself a mustang mare. Do right by her, and she'll take ya anywhere.

All TIP horses are finished up and adopted! So I took some time to play with my mare, Ducky. Considering that she holds my personal record for most difficult Mustang EVER, she retained everything she'd learned six months ago like it was just yesterday. Brought her with me to move irrigation, which turned out to be a great opportunity to send over scary things like wet ditches and irrigation pipe.

We (er, me) also took a lil nap in the field with the Pyrenees after work.

Y'all, I'm so sold on these horses.

AMERICA, the biggest waste of our nation may be the 50,000 wild horses we've jailed in holding pens. Did ya know the biggest welfare case to date involves Americas Wild Horses?

08/31/2020

Took Ms Frizzle to a trail 5 miles from my house on a whim, and boy, she did not disappoint! Handled everything like a champ. We rode several miles and she ponied right along. So proud of this little girl! One pot hole was kinda scary, but otherwise she was a total gem.

08/06/2020

Ms Frizzle modeling her new, hunter green halter with a 12' lead from

She's a 2 year old BLM mustang mare who's 800lbs of BUSY. Her friendly nature and curiosity make her naturally very trainable - if you can tolerate her knocking down, picking up, and throwing around everything she can get her mouth on! She should be going home to her new family, a repeat client of mine, very soon!

I strayed from Sunset Halters and tried some other brands on Amazon because it was easy. I ended up giving my last halter away with the adopters of the last horse I adopted out, and boy, am i glad i did! Forced me to order two new halters from Sunset and i like them SO MUCH BETTER! They're customizable, down to every last detail. They're quality, they take a beating from these 'stangs and keep their integrity. Shipping is fast, and the customer service is easy to work with, as they're both personable and professional.

08/04/2020

ponied this lil red TIP filly from my big red mare and nobody died! 😂💕

07/27/2020

Due to no fault of her own, this gem is available for adoption again.

Ms Frizzle is a 2 year old mare born in holding and ready for a JOB! She's an absolute dream to work with.

Loads, leads, lunges on line, stands tied, picks up her feet, has had the farrier work on her, walks anywhere you want her to and will be ponying with a light saddle on soon. Easy, in your pocket type.

Located in Southwest CO, can arrange at cost transport.

Please share to anyone you feel may be interested!

07/26/2020

One day of trailer training and Ms Frizz is rocking it. Clever girl.

07/25/2020

Sheep.

Sheep are the key to bomb proof 'stangs. If you've met my sheep, you know theyre kooks with no personal boundaries. They run underneath the horses, bump into them, raid their hay. And are total pests, all the time.

And I couldn't be happier about it! Sheep are the ultimate desensitization tool.

07/24/2020

Ms Frizzle, learning the infinite wisdom of the Cottonwood tree 😉

AKA learning to stand patiently before she goes to her new home!

07/23/2020

Late post, but Devon and his partner brought Miss V***n home a couple of months ago! She's settled in her new home and coming right along.

We've worked with and found homes (sometimes our own) for 10 mustangs so far, yeehaw!! Only 50,000 more to go! 😉

If you have any questions about the program, or if you may be interested in adopting, please reach out at any time!

Thanks for your continued support!

07/19/2020

My graduated TIP student, Zephyr, totally twinning with his new big bro, Beau. I took this jumping bean to Fruita today, and am so glad he's landed such a great home! He handled the journey in stride 💕 So proud.

I'm up in the air about getting another load of TIP horses this year. If there's interest in Southwest CO, lemme know!

07/17/2020

oh my, apologies for the photo quality. The sun certainly wasn't doing us any favors. 🌞

Zephyr (formerly Sam) met his final TIP requirement this eve and we'll be rolling to his new home in Fruita early Saturday morning. Because of how reactive he can be, I opted out of sending him in and decided that +R trailer training was safest for both of us.

And boy, he has so much try! He'll do just about anything for an apple nugget 😂

While he would probably adapt to pressure and release based methods, I found he was more likely to hold in his anxiety until he'd explode. Each horse is so different, and I'm thankful to have met wonderful horsemen and women that have taught me lots of different tricks along the way 💕

07/15/2020

All of my TIP horses had their hooves trimmed for the first time a couple of weeks ago. And it all honesty, I wasn't sure this was something I was going to accomplish with Zephyr here. This lil yearling used to be a ball of anxiety and cleared my 5 1/2' round pen more than once (note the new rails). While still occasionally uncertain, he's become a polite and civilized young man and handles *most* things well. Hes certainly the reigning champion for "most improved" mustang!

I'll be taking my last two (of a load of six, whew!!) to their new homes over the next week. IF I get a couple of pens built, I may get another load this year. If you're seriously considering adopting, please shoot me a PM.

05/29/2020

here comes the inspector, making sure everything with the waterline installations up to code 😂

Ms Frizzle runs a tight ship, but seems to approve of the job at hand and can't wait to drink fresh water straight from the spigot!

The backhoe was in motion in these photos and this lil gals intrigued, totally unphased by the noise and commotion. What she lacks in size, she makes up in huge personality. She's a 2 year old filly born in holding from a Triple B mare and is available for adoption through TIP.

~Current adoption pending~

05/29/2020

Ms Frizzle is truly the best ambassador for the 'stangs. She's always quick to greet and woo any visitors, applying the irresistible Frizzle charm. If all goes well, this silly lil' filly will be settled into her new adoptive home in Utah in a few weeks.

05/24/2020

Mustang Sam's (now known as Zephyr) totally smitten with his new adopter, Rori!

Having been the only one to work with him, I was a little nervous about how he'd do with strangers, as hes on the timid side. However, he took to Rori's kind and patient demeanor right away. I couldn't have asked for a better match!

Once paperwork is finalized, I'll be taking him to his new home in Fruita.

04/28/2020

this leggy lil man could be your next jumping prospect! Sam's two years old and was born in holding out of a Triple B mare. Once overcoming his fears, his natural curiosity's made him a lot of fun to work with! We're in the early phases of haltering, leading and picking up feet. After all TIP requirements are met, he'll be available for adoption. Currently located in southwest Colorado. Transportation can be arranged.

03/07/2020

Clever, confident, cool and collected, Mrs. Frizzle lives up to her namesake. This doe eyed, wild-locked Triple B yearling's available for adoption through TIP.

Delivery can be arranged.

01/27/2020

Success desensitizing V***n and Dasher yesterday to the stick & string! They are coming along nicely and are discovering domestic life is pretty sweet :)

01/08/2020

With a bit of positive reinforcement work and some moral support from her pals, Leia (formally known as Luna) excelled with trailer loading. She's now settling into her new life with Hailey, and we couldn't be more excited for their journey together!

12/11/2019

Our new bay gelding has been settling in nicely! He is almost 3 years old and from Fish Creek, NV. More photos and videos to come as he enters his TIP training!

12/08/2019

pssstttt... two new "students" just arrived this evening! stay tuned for pics!

11/25/2019

aren't Luna and her adopter Hailey adorable?! Luna's a yearling who was born in holding from a Triple B HMA mare. Other than trailer loading, she has completed her TIP requirements. We will begin trailer training soon!

11/21/2019

Today Missy did amazing during her trailer loading lesson!

11/21/2019

Welcome, Kersten! Kersten is joining the Mancos Mustang team! I am so stoked to have another experienced mustang trainer on board. We already had some big training successes today! Video will be posted shortly.

11/15/2019

~ i like brown butts and I cannot lie ~

while most of these lil bootys are enjoying their new homes, featured are some TIP yearlings checking out my sheep

mrs. Frizzle and Sam are still available, and close ups will be posted in the comments.

11/04/2019

Harry and Hermione, now very fittingly known as Bonnie and Clyde, are settling in with their adopters, Carly and Tyler. We love a successful match make! (stole these pics from Carly, thx lady).

11/03/2019

these two buggers loaded fabulously at 4:30am and we are on our way to their new home in Greenville, TX!

10/29/2019

today Luna and I started from ground zero, and by the end of our lesson we were leading flawlessly to the right - with lots of work to do on the left! tomorrow we work through desensitization on that left side, and calm leading from the left should follow