Does anyone on here show dressage with their mustang? Just curious as I would love to know if there are others out there! I have a BLM mustang I got last March and we are finally under saddle (35 rides in) and she is showing a lot of promise. Sadly, I board at a mostly western/trail riding barn where everyone thinks we should be off chasing cows. But she shows enough ability and has the work ethic that I think we will have fun dabbling in it when we get ready to show.
Not a mustang owner, but remember one showing at Devon: https://dressagetoday.com/lifestyle/…ue-horse-30267 There are quite a few if you look up mustang in Centerline Scores. I say Go for It!!!
I haven’t started showing yet, but hope to start with some schooling dressage shows to get our feet wet this spring/summer. In theory our ultimate goal is eventing rather than dressage, but we’ll see. I’ve been sniffing around the edges of Working Equitation, too. That seems to have a nice blend of dressage and obstacles without quite so much in the way of risk as eventing.
There’s a Facebook group and page for Mustang Sport Horses and Ponies.
What HMA is yours from? Did you train her yourself? Mine’s from Beattys Butte, four this spring (I arbitrarily decided his birthday was April Fool’s since he’s a bit of a clown). Got him from the EMM in Fort Worth last September.
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There was one in Camden SC this weekend at Grand Prix!
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I met a very cool one that is schooling GP with his AA owner. They were in a clinic setting and the clinician was really pushing them with a complex exercise. You could see his brain ticking away trying to find the right answers. I’d have taken him in half a second.
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Elisa Wallace has done some eventing with hers, for example http://eventingnation.com/magical-mustangs-hwin-steps-up-to-prelim/
She was an Extreme Mustang Makeover drop out. Luckily the trainer that had her realized she needed a much slower approach, dropped her out, and I adopted her. She knew how to lead, sort of picked up her feet (had been trimmed once), and would load on a stock trailer. I have spent hundreds of hours with her, in the beginning probably between 10-14 hours a week. Once I fully had her trust, this mare will do anything for me. I always joke she would walk through fire for me, but there is probably some truth to that. I have done all of her training beyond the few things she knew before. At first I couldn’t catch her, much less move past her shoulder. But I went at her speed and it is paying off in spades.
I am incredibly proud of her, she has come a long way. Slow and steady wins the race! I love this mare more and more every time I get on her if thats even possible! I literally have a smile on my face anytime I am working with her. She is one of if not the smartest horse I have ever worked with. And she truly wants to please. She stands at the gate when she hears my vehicle coming.
Toblersmom, she is from the Wassuk HMA
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Oh, just go for it with dressage! I have boarded with several mustangs, and there are three now at the barn. They have a “street smart” sense that other horses just don’t seem to have, and it really seems as if they learn to trust you and they understand what you are asking of them, they are happy to participate. Slow and steady training is what dressage is all about. Realize she might be better at some things than other things, and if she’s smart, you’ll want to engage her mind. So a training level test might be where her body is at but NOT where her brain is - she might need harder/more frequent changes of things to keep her interested in the work rather than looking at things around the arena. Mold the program to her needs, you may have to be creative with this (ground poles, cross rails, cones, other things).
Where is your mustang from? What breed influences are known to be in her herd?
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This is where she is from https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/herd-management-areas/nevada/wassuk
This is all really encouraging!
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There was a mustang at one of our shows here in central Fl. last year doing Prix St Georges. Cute, dark horse, dont remember his name.
Sure, go for it!
She looks like a cute mover. There used to be a poster on the old Ultimate Dressage board who adopted a mustang and posted about their journey. Last I remember, the mare was doing some super first level work and had a pretty impressive trot lengthening in there.
I’ve seen a couple for sale in my region that have some dressage training on them too.
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Her canter leaves something to be desired but she also isn’t fit yet and we have yet to even canter under saddle. She has a really nice free walk and actually has a decent natural head carriage under saddle, and her trot is nice. Overall she moves better than you would think just looking purely at conformation
I haven’t shown any, but… I’ve known some. 
Before I had my thoroughbred, I was riding a mustang pony several times a week. He was being used for beginner girls, and had previously evented. He was a super cute mover, and had a gear when his trot went from pony trot to shrunken impressive warmblood gaits. It was cool to feel and startled me the first time I felt it! He was trained at least through second level, to a point where I’m not sure if he competed or not but his previous owner had him going well enough to show at that level.
My trainer has a mustang pony who looks like a mini clydesdale at his place now. He also has a little girl. He’s not as fancy a mover, but his lateral work is good, and he’s becoming fancier with correct work. Funny story about him… before he went to my trainer he had only chased cattle and was quite green. One day some cattle had gotten outside their fence and were wandering in the desert near my thoroughbred freaking him out. My trainer was trail riding the mustang, so he pointed him at the cattle… and proceeded to nearly fall off when that little guy dug in and chased them down. :lol: Never ask a mustang to do a job it knows, then not understand it will do it with zeal!
My mom’s mare is “half andalusian” supposedly, but I think she is actually half Spanish mustang. We know who her Friesian sire is, but while she has some Spanish qualities I don’t think her dam was truly Andalusian. We bought her because she doesn’t voluntarily go faster than a walk and was my mom’s last riding horse, so I wanted something with that temperament to take care of her. However, I also played with her in dressage, and she is a horse I think would have easily gotten an adult amateur riding on her own a bronze medal if she had been owned by someone with those type of goals. She is the single most easily trained horse I have ever worked with. Photo from shortly after we got her when she was just learning to canter under saddle attached.
Go for it! Dressage should be for all breeds! I knew a spanish mustang who was a natural at dressage and definitely rocked the ring. If people give you crap at your barn you can always try Western Dressage.
Amateur Wendee Walker and her BLM gelding And The Crowd Goes Wild did brilliantly at last weekend’s CDI at Rancho Murietta. There are a few youtubes out there showing their progress over the years. Now showing third level. A lot of the big guns scratched because of the horrific winds, flapping flags etc. ATCGW did not bat an eye.
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I will likely be showing mine when it comes time to take my 4 year old welsh cob to his first schooling show (this summer). I doubt I’ll spend the money to show him recognized but who knows, it could happen. Mine is a Navajo mustang and like many looks like he has draft blood. It took a while for mine to learn how to canter because he was so thin and weak when I got him; but, as he’s become stronger and better balanced his gaits aren’t too bad. Good luck with yours.
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You could keep us updated, looks like a interesting project! She is very cute
Thank you! I am very excited about her. I know she isn’t phenomenal but she is my everything, and I plan on doing different things with her to make her well rounded, but I love dressage and I think she is cute enough to compete lower level locally!
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Sounds like you are in the same boat as I am. Just in it for the fun and enjoyment of the horse, no particular competitive aspirations, and blessed to find a horse with a great mind, and sound, but “moderate” conformation. The world is our oyster in terms in lower level, local competition in just about ANYTHING. Harness, western, endurance, tricks/liberty, get the equipment and some mentorship and have a go, if it strikes your fancy. Nobody is going to look at your horse or my horse and say “Gosh, that horse looks like it should go to the Olympics/be a world-ranked cutter/win Tevis.” Show up at a local team penning, dressage show, driving rally, competitive trail ride in appropriate tack, and nobody is going to be saying “What was she thinking?!”, either.
There is a Mustang in Tryon (long time resident) who has carried his owner to her Bronze and Silver medals and is now working on Gold. Highest level Mustang in the country according to USDF. Before being taken over by mom, the horse was a national champion in Pony Club eventing with her daughter.
Cross fingers for gold, please!
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