Well…i am so totally ignorant. I couldn’t even tell that there is something terribly wrong with this horse i just adopted. The dressage coach i have linked myself with took a look at the videos of the two new mustangs i picked out to (end-goal) do dressage with eventually. I thought i was choosing great prospects. But my coach says that this little bay mare needs a veterinary assessment. That her bunny hop may be an indication of a serious problem. I do not have her here yet (virus has shut down the facility and i cannot pick her up yet) and when i do she’ll need to be gentled and halter trained before i can have my vet go over her…so until that time, i shall fret over this video the BLM made. Would anyone be willing to look at her video and give opinions? Is she damaged? (clickOn the film icon fo the vid) https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov/animals/16627404
That is interesting. I’ve seen some horses (Arabians in particular) do that when they are really amped up and excited. Sometimes barrel horses or rope horses push off with both hind legs together when they are coming out of the chute. The last second of the video she starts to separate her hind legs like she might do a normal canter, and her trot looks good, so it could just be that she is stressed and that is her way of shoving off and trying to get out of Dodge. You might call the facility and see if there’s a chance of choosing a different horse if you are still concerned when you go to pick her up.
It is very hard to tell with that kind of video. Towards the end when she does a few normal-ish trot steps she looks sound. The bunny hops at the canter could just be amped up in a tiny pen unbalanced and lacking strength. She does move into a normal canter gait right at the end as outer banks says. But really you’ll have no idea if it’s an issue until she’s gentled and under saddle.
I just see a super amped up tense horse. If you are really concerned do as outerbanks77 suggests.
Susan
If the horse were doing this under saddle as a relatively broke horse, then I’d be concerned. A horse that is amped up and feral in a small pen? Not so concerned.
It depends on the risk you want to take. All horses are a risk, but we can try to decrease our odds. You can take her as is, or ask for another video if it is still possible to exchange for another horse.
She does canter more normally at the end. The thing about prospects in general, is that they are prospects. Especially with a Mustang, you just don’t know. You don’t know her attitude, true way of going, and general health. Usually they are hardy and versatile creatures.
I don’t think you can make a fair acessement and definitively say that this horse has soundness issues based off of that video alone.
There are very very few dressage coaches that are going to be enthusiastic about the idea of taking on a client with a $25 unbroke BLM mustang bought off a video. Yes you can do dressage based training on a mustang, once you get her actually backed and broke and not feral. But I am not sure the terms 'dressage prospect" and “BLM mustang” really go together in the same sentence.
That is some funky canter. But it’s true she does start to separate her hinds later in the video. I’ve seen video of horses that canter for 5 minutes with a bunny hop.
If you are wanting to break your very own feral horse the number one thing is going to be mind. All the gaits in the world won’t matter if she stays wild at heart. Is there any way to evaluate brain in this shopping scenario?
Your trainer is not wrong that a lack of separation in the hinds can indicate an SI issue. So can the way a tail is held.
However, these horses are in holding cells their entire life. They aren’t turned out the way we think they are, and they’re not worked in a way that maximizes good body condition.
Do with that information what you will; the sucker in me thinks she’s nice and catty, but would need some time - both training and TLC - to get her ready to trot down the centerline.
Bless you for adopting this cutie. Whatever she turns out to be, I hope it’s a good, kind home.
Well, i thought i was looking at a horse that had very special movement capability. If i’m wrong, this little mare will join all the other horses i have out on our large acre farm…and will get whatever vet care she needs and a few hundred acres to roam with some beautiful friends. If i’m right, and she is an effortless mover, well, i will enjoy years and years working on our conversation. All i want is to learn with her. Not to compete, i HATE competition. What i love is communicating with a horse. And what could be better than having a lifelong conversation with a wild one?! I really really hope i was right and that my coach was wrong…(but, realistically, what are the chances of THAT!?!)
i’m a beginner. total. complete. novice. and i found a coach who seems willing to take me on.
Wellllll…i have 8 horses and two mules to start lessons with. Will need to get through all of the ridable ones to see which will be a good match for the discipline. I will start lessons with one of my domestics. just to get me going on the right track. It will be a year or two before this little mare is ready. (just guessing). Last mustang i had was 22 when she was brought in, with a foal at her side. I’ve never had such an intense connection with a horse (and i’ve had a lot of horses) than with her. So, my hope is that this particular wild one will become my horse in a similar way. Having a horse like that, a one-person horse, is quite…humbling.
LOL i know right! The coach i selected is fairly openminded…and seems to have, more0r less, a primary goal of connecting her students to their horses. I’ve told her i don’t want to compete, that my goal is to have an ongoing conversation with the horse(s) i’ve chosen to spend my life with. Also, i’m not going to show. (competition isn’t my happyplace) so she won’t ever be embarrassed with a branded horse ridden by a crazy little old lady! All i want is to get-with this mare. I think it will be a wonderful trek.
I looked at that video and saw a horse that is penned up and not behaving normally. I would not hedge all my bets on that, either way.
Good for you taking on projects like this. I know a lady that had a mustang mare that was sweet as can be but had lordosis. Just watching her ride (she was upside down, constantly above the bit) made me uncomfortable, but she was a sweet-tempered mare.
Good luck, I hope she turns out well, keep us updated.
Getting any horse as a prospect is a risk. You can’t gauge the mind (or gaits) of a foal bought in utero, either, you’re gambling based on what you see in the pedigree. There, you’re betting thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars on that gamble. OP is gambling $25 plus whatever going to pick the horse(s) up and bring it home is going to run, based on a video and some pictures rather than a pedigree. Apparently also has the willingness and resources to say “oh, well, that didn’t work out” and keep the horse as a pasture ornament if need be. Not such a bad risk, really.
As far as being a genuine competitive “dressage prospect” rather than “can do dressage based training” (whatever the heck you meant by that) there’s no reason a Mustang can’t be one, and there are some prominent examples. Cobra, for instance. I know of at least one other that is starting PSG. in 2010 the in-hand dressage stallion 4 and up class at Devon was won by a BLM mustang named Padre. Guess the judges at Devon don’t know what a dressage prospect looks like? I’ve seen many other mustangs going through the EMMs that look to be quite nice dressage prospects. Others, of course, are not, just like any other group of grade horses.
This kind of sniffy dismissive attitude is what turns people off from dressage. OP asked a simple question about a specific gait character, and you felt compelled to come in and pooh-pooh the very idea of seeking a mustang if one is interested in dressage, without knowing anything about the OP’s and her trainer’s expectations and experience. For all you know her trainer is Marsha Hartford.
I have a 5yo mustang mare right now. After having worked with and helped find a home for several different mustangs, I have found what I do want, and what I don’t want, with a feral mustang as a prospect for a TRUE partner. Food motivated…this can really help in the beginning to allow that connection to form, and for the horse to start feeling more comfortable around you. Second, a curious and ACTIVE brain. Quiet and less spooky doesn’t mean they have a better brain, it means they tend to internalize their stress and shut down, which can lead to a dull horse a lot of the time, that will eventually explode out of nowhere. It’s hard to assess how “broke” these horses truly are, and are never true amateur rider prospects. If they are curious and tend to approach what scares them versus high tail it out of there, they tend to be horses with good brains, that will become an active partner in a partnership, they tend to seek and be willing to try to give you the correct answer.
I won’t speak to her movement, because as others have said it is SUPER hard to evaluate these horses under these highly stressful (to them), conditions. They have people waving flags and making her move. It’s hard to see their true, natural movement.
You also have to think about their round up. Have you ever watched a helicopter round up on you tube? They are chased, sometimes for miles, by a helicopter and ran into holding pens with panels. Some horses try to go over the panels in the chaos, many are injured and yes, some die or have to be euthanized. Some have broken their necks in the pens. I had a mare that was eventually diagnosed (after thousands in diagnostics), with a previously fractured hip and an arthritic SI. At 8 years old. She is with a friend, living it up as a horse on 40 acres with a few others, but still unsound for riding, and probably will always be unsound. I put 3 years of blood, sweat and tears into her, and a pulled suspensory and several other injuries along the way, she had to be retired at such a young age.
Also, as far as being in holding pens their whole lives. Yes, these horses stand around in relatively small holding areas, sometimes in cramped conditions. Lots of scuffles occur, injuries happen. They do not get to move and run and develop like a regular horse. A lot of times they compensate for that loss of movement, and can then become unsound or injure themselves when they finally do get a home and have more space to “be a horse”.
When I get a mustang I am glad to get a blank slate. No bad training to undo. Just slow, methodical, consistent work to get a beautifully responsive riding partner! But, you do also have to take into consideration, there is going to be no PPE done. What you see is what you get. And what you end up may not be what you wanted. If you are willing to take those risks, then a mustang is right for you. But please understand the hundreds of hours of work it will take to put into one of these horses, and please be committed to the process. There are waves of adoptions in my area, a lot of people think it will be cool to bring along a “wild horse” and create some Spirit type of relationship. But it is not like the movies. It takes blood, sweat, tears, lots of ups and downs. A lot of times you may feel like giving up. A lot of people do. I see these mustangs bounced from inexperienced home to inexperienced home, relatively quickly, because people don’t realize the reality of just how much work and dedication it takes to bring one along and make a solid citizen. It takes skill, you can’t learn feel off of online videos (although videos can be a GREAT complement to good training. I love following Warwick Schiller and sometimes pick up new things that really work with a particular horse and can get you over a training hump).
I do want to say, the BLM website says she has an incomplete adoption. Did you change your mind? I believe every single horse in those pens is owed a chance at a life outside of the pens. I truly hope if you do adopt her, that you keep us updated on your progress! I love following others journey with these really unique horses. I haven’t met one mustang that is alike. They truly are interesting animals!
Each mustang I have worked with, has humbled me. They truly do show you the holes in your horsemanship and training.
I am so confused as to what would lead anyone to conclude from that video that they were purchasing a horse with “a very special movement capability”
there’s just no content there to remotely make a determination.
How does a rank beginner total novice have a long history with horses?
I’m really confused by this entire thing.
@soloudinhere I think the OP meant rank beginner in dressage, not horses in general.
OP, like others have said, it’s hard to say by that video. I’ve seen horses canter like that when they are extremely amped up and in a small area.
I don’t see a spectacular mover, but again it’s hard to tell. Maybe with relaxation and dressage, she’ll move better.
Mustangs are fairly popular in my area. I have ridden a few. They can be cool horses. I have one friend that had a mare she bought for $125 and later sold that mare for $15k. Obviously the mare was very athletic and she put a lot of training (eventing) into her.
There is a trainer here that retains lots of them and many turn into great lower level ammy mounts.
But I’ve seen some that are rank movers or never easy to work with. It’s a risk, like with any horses.
Good luck in whatever you decide.
-eye-of-the-beholder thing. i saw spectacular movement, athleticism. it is what i saw with my eyes.
-rank beginner to dressage. i’m 66, have owned horses most of my life. i currently have 8 horses and two mules. decades of horse experience. just never dressage. Now that i’m old, it’s time for me to settle down to more civilized horse activities. Except for the gentling and training wild horses part…but the way i do it is very slow and soft. not reckless.
-sorry to have confused you, that was unintentional.
Great post!
What a trot! Agree with others, you can’t judge that canter in that little pen. She’s a cutie.
Those who are putting their noses up at the words “dressage prospect” and mustang together should be ashamed of yourself. People cry and moan about breed bias in dressage, Well, embrace diversity. I think most with non-warmbloods know that you will have to work harder/smarter with them to make suitable dressage partners.
'humbling" yes, that is exactly the word i use to describe life with a wild horse. “incomplete” means that she hasn’t come into my hands. (the virus has shut down the facilities!) I have three awaiting my pickup in Illinois (2 hrs away from my farm) but they are closed until sanctions are lifted. The other three haven’t been transported from out west yet. I adopted/purchased 6. (so far)
i do understand the commitment actually. I am the last house on the block. Who comes here, stays here…if she is not rideable and has a condition, i will get her vet/chiro/meds/uv treatment…whatever she needs. And she can roam hundreds of lush acres with the rescues i’ve brought in. Some of which are rideable and strong, many of which are not. It’s about 50/50 with the 10 i currently have.
I’ve got nothing but time and nowhere to go. ALL i want is to study a new ‘language’ (dressage). Inside, enclosed. So not every single time i get up on a horse it’s to go check my sheep or my cattle or ride the fences looking for trees fallen. I would like civilized fun and a new form of communication. I choose a mustang to aspire with. That’s my goal. To build disciplined movement, layer by layer on a horse that i’m keenly interested in getting to know. No goal to win ribbons or level-up or anything like that.
