The Touch of a Mustang

An Open Letter to the Bureau of Land Management in Response to Call for Comments on Wild Horse Management:

First, thank you for caring about our wild horses and our land. For not gunning down Mustangs, as Australia is doing with its Brumbies. They are symbols of freedom in this country, where it is one of our foundational values.

Wild horse management should not be looked at as a problem, but rather as an opportunity. It has significant potential to improve our country, but it will require a multifaceted approach that goes beyond the benefits of wildland management alone.

1. Properly assess Appropriate Management Levels (AML) in Herd Management Areas (HMA). We have new technology to utilize, as well as a better understanding of the environment. A neutral third party should conduct an independent audit of what the land can truly sustain, based on the information we now have and accurate wild horse numbers. This is our starting point.

2. Once numbers are in place, work towards those management levels in humane ways through trapping and contraception, using practices that have been shown to be effective in the HMAs where they have been successfully done. Trapping self-selects for horses most likely to thrive in the human world, as the most feral horses are more likely to evade the traps.

Utilize new technology that can administer contraceptives in areas that are hard for humans to reach. Contraception through darting can also be administered by Veterans, many of whom are suffering in the civilian world and in search of a new purpose, thus providing a natural transition from military life while utilizing their unique skills to continue to better the country.

3. In collaboration with the forest service, release Mustangs into areas with high fire danger that need mitigation, eliminating a great deal of kindling, such as dry grasses. This could be either a permanent relocation or a trained herd (my Mustangs come easily when called) that relocates throughout the country.

4. For the horses that are gathered, we now have a national treasure and a natural resource to help humanity, and they can be managed and utilized in the following ways.
A. Continue adoption into private homes using the many methods now in place. Continue to fund programs that allow experienced horsemen and women to gentle and even saddle train these horses for private homes, making them more widely available to the public. Continue to invest in programs where these horses are valued, such as east of the Mississippi and in countries like Germany, where they are rare and unique and have very good lifelong outcomes. Put policies in place that prevent Mustangs from being sold to kill pens—particularly immediately after adoption and offer rehoming options for placements that find they aren't suited to the unique traits of Mustangs.

B. Continue to build the prison programs, using existing programs as templates, as well as Canon City, which was successful for a long time. These programs have a two-fold benefit—bringing horses into private homes and helping with prisoner reform. Inmates who participate in the program consistently have lower recidivism rates. Researched recidivism rates for those who have participated in the program range from 15%, while it is 35%- 60% for the general population. This saves costs down the line, as fathers return home and former criminals gain skills and become healthy citizens, to name a few benefits. These programs are worth the cost for the benefits they provide to society alone, while also mitigating the challenge posed by excess wild horses in captivity.

C. Utilize similar methods to bring these wild horses into contact with the broader population for the benefit they provide in terms of mental well-being, mindset development, and general life skills. More Veterans leaving active military service can be transferred into positions, phasing them out of military life (a common reason Veterans have significant struggles when leaving service), where they train wild horses to be safe for the general public and run programs utilizing Mustangs. There is substantial evidence that working with Mustangs has helped Veterans escape the su***de epidemic.

D. Integrate Mustangs into mental health and community impact programs across the country. Some areas in which this can be done include:
i. The Veterans Administration (VA), with a focus on Veterans suffering from PTSD, suicidality, and other mental health struggles.
ii. Youth programs, particularly in inner cities and communities where there are high levels of youth delinquency, through foster care organizations and other areas in which youth are most vulnerable. This can be both voluntary and judge-mandated, connecting youth with powerful mentors as they learn essential life skills. Create a Mustang barn in every community possible.
iii. Integrate Mustangs into schools to be utilized to help students who are challenged with autism, ADHD, and other disorders, which often create additional struggles in the learning environment, and which horses have been proven to help in the treatment. Mustang could additionally be utilized in physical therapy programs across the nation.

Community impact programs will likely pay for themselves long-term as we improve outcomes for high-risk individuals, particularly Veterans (who leave a struggling family behind when su***de is successful), prisoners (who can break generational crime and return into homes as a positive influence), and at-risk youth.

The American land has provided the answers for a society that is struggling with high mental health, crime, and su***de rates. There are programs already across the country that utilize horses in this manner, and there is more than enough room for the 60K+ horses now in holding, as well as others that may need to be gathered.

5. Finally, for the horses that are left free, particularly in well-known areas, integrate the incredible experience of viewing wild horses into the landscape of American tourism, benefiting local communities and those privileged to experience horses in the wild.

There is an army of civilians already engaged in each of these activities on a private scale, who could be contracted by the government to expand current programs and develop new ones. We have both the answers and the resources to make this happen and ultimately provide benefit to the horses, the land, and the American people.

Sincerely,
The Touch of a Mustang

Please share if you agree and to raise awareness. What would you add? How can America's wild horses be protected and preserved while benefiting humanity?

Submit your comments to help direct the future of wild horse management in ways that will benefit the horses and humanity: https://eplanning.blm.gov/Participate-Now/?id=5c14510a-cb5d-f111-bec6-001dd8029ed0&ppid=F8129444-CA5D-F111-BEC6-001DD8029ED0

This practice changes me in all the best ways.

Horses are an incredible catalyst for mental change in humans, IF we can soften our ego. If we can step outside the belief that we must know everything, or that we are in some way superior, it changes a lot. If we go in with the belief that our time with horses is a place where we can dominate, it does the opposite. It creates high tension and stress for both parties, removing the ability to discover.

I recently came across an incredible practice for personal perspective and growth, one that will be equally beneficial in your relationship with your horse.

One aspect that limits our growth in both horsemanship and life is a closed-in, deterministic perspective. Language such as "that's just how I am," or "this horse is (fill in the blank... stubborn, naughty, lazy)" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. What we say is exactly what we manifest.

But we don't have to believe we have all the answers, because the truth is, we don't. Life (and horses) is a process of discovery, not a test or demonstration of our expertise.

And there's a simple way to shift your mindset — step outside yourself and observe. You can do this with or without horses, but for the sake of this discussion, let's apply it to our relationship with our horses.

Take a minute. Close your eyes. Imagine yourself going out to spend time with your horses. Step outside of yourself and into the perspective of your horses. Consider what they see when you enter their world.

Mine is easy when I take on their perspective. I'm often rushed. Checking off a to-do list. Even if it's just to feed them, mentally, I am going from here to there. Throwing hay in, checking water, taking care of the other animals, and disappearing.

And when I step back and look at it from a broader perspective, I see a woman trying to accomplish a lot. I don't blame her. That's what she's been told. It is how she has been conditioned.

Looking from the outside, this conditioning to achieve and to do has activated high levels of anxiety. Why? Because doing and achieving have always equaled acceptance in the human world. It is what has so often given her value. Each check off the to-do list has been conditioned to lower the anxiety. So when I'm moving on autopilot, without thinking, it strengthens my conditioning.

As my horses view me, it's not with judgment. Simply acceptance.

The mindset carries over when I spend dedicated time with horses. I have an agenda. Something I planned to get done. That was always how it was, but I can see that I have also changed, and it's no longer always this way (though sometimes it still is).

As I again step out, looking at myself from a farther removed perspective. I can see the learning that has taken place. When I first got my Mustangs, it was all about doing, but that has evolved. I've come to see the value in spending time together in the same realm, because, truthfully, though we live in close proximity, we exist in entirely different worlds much of the time. I've learned how to enter their's and let go of the human world.

There's so much more I can explore in my personal experience. But the key to it all is this: As I view myself from my horses' perspective, I can see the many spots that keep our relationship held where it is.

Stepping outside yourself to view yourself with compassion and curiosity gives you beautiful, kind, and understanding insights. They aren't judgment, but they are information as to how you can move forward, towards the life that you are seeking and the relationships you deeply desire.

As you do this, your findings will be different. You might see someone deeply passionate, but afraid. Someone who feels inadequate and so can't let her guard down. You might find someone who constantly has to prove their worth and struggles to let go of their ego.

The details vary, but the story is often the same — we have built-in mechanisms that we have nurtured to face the world with bravery and to protect ourselves. When we step outside ourselves, we can recognize those conditioned responses and regularly take small steps to make changes, to soften, to move through life in greater wisdom.

If we are willing to open ourselves to this vulnerability in the time we spend with our horses, and to consider how they might view us or how a compassionate mentor would, we learn a lot about ourselves. It changes both how we feel about ourselves, our horses, and our potential. As is so often said, they are a mirror we can use to observe ourselves, which brings about incredible understanding, and allows us to change for the better if we choose.

In the final episode of the Horses for Mental Health May campaign podcast series, Kathleen, co-founder of Samson's Strength Sustainable Veterans Project, Inc a 501-c3 and I talk about what happened over the course of the month and the stories we discovered that will stay with us.

There is a growing movement in the horse world to recognize the value of horses in a new way, which will give more horses a place in our world as we utilize them, most powerfully in their completely natural state, to guide humans to find healing from the wounds, trauma, and struggles they carry.

It's hard to imagine a better win-win situation for humans who are desperate for answers and horses who are regularly being sent to slaughter.

Deep and sincere thanks for all those who opened up and shared their work and their stories this month💗

Why Everyone Should Know About Horses and Mental Health with Kathleen Saucier | Episode 77 What if the thing you need to begin healing is to spend time with a...

Where is the "we" in horsemanship?

I began reading the book "Good to Great" this morning. It talks about companies which have gone from a good company, to one that has surpassed most others.

It's difficult to talk about a company without talking about leadership (a term often used in horsemanship). One element of these companies that the research team reviewed was the CEO, the leader.

They found common characteristics in the leadership of these companies that skyrocketed in earnings--and not the ones you might imagine. The CEOs had high levels of "personal humility."

One measure they specifically looked at was how often these leaders used "we" versus "I." What an interesting thing to identify. Second, they were fiercely driven in their pursuits.

I could not help but draw the comparisons to horsemanship. In the last episode of the podcast, Justin and I talked about being co-creators of our lives. I have often said we are the "creators--in large part." But it is much more accurate to say we are the co-creators. Not everything is within our control, but much is, and that is also true of horsemanship.

But we are always at least one half of the creation, of what occurs, of the experiences we have.

Yet, when problems arise in horsemanship, we seem to forget that. It is often the horse entirely to blame. We love to label horses--stubborn, disrespectful, naughty, lazy, dangerous.

In seeking assistance the situation is almost always explained as what the horse is doing. There is no we. It is not, we are having trouble leaving the herd, we are running into issues with bucking, we can't come together, but instead the horse is barn sour, the horse is dangerous, the horse doesn't like to be caught.

It feels better to not accept blame, to not believe that we are one half the experience that is created. It may feel good, but it is ineffective. We give away all our power--which is sad. Perhaps more importantly, we place all responsibility on a horse--and that is unreasonable. Not only is it unreasonable, but it is also the reason so many horses are discarded and end up unwanted.

Ironically, like so many concepts in horsemanship, the co-creation process is true of not just our horse relationships, but our human relationships as well. Not surprisingly, there has been a trend to label the people in our life--toxic parents, narcissistic partners. And it is all an out. When we place all blame and responsibility on another, we are taking the easy way out, by not looking inwardly to determine that part we are playing in co-creating the relationship or experience.

When we make the issue all about the horse, we are not being a good leader. We are not developing into a leader in which a relationship can continue to skyrocket to new heights. So while it's sometimes hard to accept the role of co-creator, trust me, I haven't always wanted to accept it, it is the key to both progress and success in horsemanship, and life.