Mountaineering Mustangs! Throughout the month of January, we are featuring mustangs and mustang crosses.
Did you know that dressage riders who choose a mustang as their mounts are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the American Mustang & Burro Association, Inc. is a participating organization?
Here, a rider tells us about her first mustang, who ignited her passion for gentling and taming wild horses – even if he was purchased by accident!
By Megan Weber
My name is Megan Weber, and my partner in crime is WS Remington, aka Remi! I adopted Remi from the Oregon Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 2019. Remi lived in the wild, on the Warm Springs Herd Management Area (HMA), for the first four years of his life. He was my first mustang, whom I trained with help from my mentor. He was very shut down and depressed when we brought him home, taking a while to gentle as a result. But, after a few weeks, he finally realized we weren’t going to hurt him and really began opening up and showing his true colors.
Once he came out of his shell, he was a joy to train; so willing and kind. One of the biggest things I learned from the gentling/training process is that patience is key, and not to go in with a plan or a timeline; just enjoy the process and go at the horse’s pace.
When I picked Remi out from the corrals, it was a complete fluke. While I waited to go to adopt, I browsed the photos online of some horses available at the corrals. I found a horse who I was immediately drawn to; something about him spoke to me. Once we made our way to the corrals, I had a few horses on my list, but I found one who (I thought) looked like the same horse from the photos. However, with mud covering his legs up to the knees, I couldn’t tell what color his legs were. Once we got home, I found that he had only two white socks… whereas the horse I had photos of had four white socks. So, I only found out after we got home that I had accidentally brought home the wrong horse.
Although it was unfortunate, I knew it was meant to be. I felt the bond immediately. And after winning him over, he became my everything.
I was quite lucky with Remi, since he was my first mustang. He made the gentling and training process quite simple and easy, minus taking a bit more time in the beginning. But, once we began to build the bond, we just kept moving forward. We moved fast enough to have our first ride at six months in. To be fair, we probably could have been riding sooner, but I wasn’t in any rush to get on for the first time.
My biggest accomplishment with Remi would probably be making it to Training Level in three-day eventing. We may not have been very successful in the dressage portion of the shows, but we made up for it in the jumping phases. I was told from the beginning, by some people around me, that he wouldn’t be able to do much, he wasn’t meant to jump, and I shouldn’t get my hopes up. He has proved them wrong time and time again!
Remi inspired me to continue working with mustangs. I started with participating in the Mustang Yearlings Washington Youth (MYMY) Mustang Madness makeover, where I adopted a two-year-old gelding named Badger. This year, I adopted my new project mustang, a three- to four-year-old gelding named Twist.
My partnership with Remi truly made me the rider I am today. He taught me so much, from humbling me, to showing me that there is so much more to riding horses than being in the saddle. I honestly found that I enjoy the process of gentling and training so much more than competing. However, when Remi and I were at our peak, I loved being able to take him to shows and show him off, being able to prove to people that mustangs are fully capable of being competitive against Thoroughbreds and warmbloods. It was definitely a conversation starter, and I feel like Remi and I have shown people in the English riding world that mustangs are incredible horses.
I always like to joke that Remi is a senior horse in a young horse’s body. He is such a kind and old soul. However, he can be quite spicy and have a massive attitude! It’s honestly hilarious when he gets spicy. It’s so not-his-personality that it makes me laugh every time. He also has his “power saving mode”; he can go from working to sleeping in about five seconds. He can come off cross country and be napping about five minutes later.
Mustangs are incredible horses. They truly put their heart and soul into their work and their relationships. Remi has taught me so much as a rider and as a horse person. I truly wouldn’t change a thing, and I wouldn’t be who I am today if it hadn’t been for Remi. Adopting him was the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I wish to continue educating and showing people that mustangs are incredible horses who deserve to be given a chance. I hope to continue training and finding incredible homes for these horses.
