# Mistreated Mustang



## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

So I'm not sure if this topic really belongs here, but it seemed to go here best.

I've been taking care of this mustang for the past couple months. Background on this horse: She is a blm branded captured horse who was adopted out, and then put in a stall for around a decade and never taken out/worked with/anything at all. Her owner is convinced she is dangerous to other horses, so for a while she had barbed wire around her stall-which one day got tangled and wrapped around her legs and tail. The owner of the horse in the stall next to her took it off her/medicated her and just left the barbed wire off the stall since it wasn't really necessary. The horse has no shoes (she doesn't need them), but always has ridiculously grown out hooves since her owner never comes out to check on her. Women who have boarded their horses at the ranch for 5+ years have never seen this woman, or anyone take care of this horse at all.

So anyways, I have been the only one really to work with her/make a relationship with her. She has really bonded with me, but the thing is, I'm moving across the country in about a year and cannot take her with me. When I leave she will go back to just standing around in her stall not being taken care of at all.

I guess the point of this topic is to ask what anyone thinks of this situation? The owner doesn't want her in the pasture-she thinks shes too dangerous (which is silly since she used to be in a herd -.-), and no one at my barn seems willing to take care of her. The owner doesn't seem to want to sell her either... I'm not sure why (its not as if she has even seen her in years)


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## sandy2u1 (May 7, 2008)

I don't want to sound mean or anything...but this isn't your horse and there isn't a darn thing you can do about it.


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## countmystrides (Sep 9, 2010)

that's a super tearing feeling i know what you mean .. it seems as though you can't do much, but it's a year away so let it all play out. hopefully something happens. have you tried buying her? offer something she can't refuse? if you love the horse enough, that sounds like a reasonable option to try and make it work.


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## Kiki (Feb 7, 2007)

yeah i know the feeling....I have done the exact same thing and it hurts like hell when its all over.....but as the above said, not your horse etc

maybe you could call the authorties but......


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## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

i know theres not much i can do, but i mean i have already done a lot with the horse. i've been allowed to retrain her, etc. if she didnt mind me working with the horse i'm thinking she wouldn't mind someone else working with the horse. just feel bad because the lady just needs to sell the darn thing. she's never done anything with the horse-she shouldn't even have bought her in the first place...

i was working with her today and it just hit me that in a year i'm all of a sudden going to disappear to this horse and she's going to be sitting in her stall doing nothing. i just felt really guilty i guess. i think it was a lot of my hormones kicking in, but i pictured a sad little horses feeling abandoned haha..


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## NinthHeroine (Sep 19, 2010)

Aw, that's a really sticky situation :-/ I'll be hoping for the best for her... but ya, that's just something there's not really much you can do with.

I'd continue to talk to the owner and convince her that selling the horse might be the best option--she's doing nothing with the horse, just counting up bills, and there's a heart underneath every horse that someone will be able to touch. What I mean is, for a reasonable price someone out there must want a nice project horse or something... the owner probably wouldn't want to do this as it would be trespassing on her pride but a rescue isn't out of the question, sometimes they're the only places that will take mustangs.


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## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

i think her owner doesnt have faith in her horse-she didn't know what she was getting herself into when she adopted her, and then just figured she was a bad horse. she's really not though, in the past couple months i've got her out of her stall (she used to be scared just coming out since she hadnt been out in years), lunging without anything except myself, sadling up, bridling up, lining up, etc. she's now very respectful and not as pushy as she used to be, as well as she neverrrr spooks (i did a lot of work on desensitizing her).

her owner i think really needs to come and see this horse for herself. if she doesnt sell her she needs to realize this horse isn't untrainable and work with the horse herself. but i dunno, its not really up to me


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## iloverascal777 (Sep 17, 2010)

I think you should try to sit down and talk with the owner. Tell her about what you've been doing with the mustang and tell her that this horse IS a fantastic horse and that she should work with her and keep training her. Tell her that if she can't work with her, that there are people out there looking for a horse that they can call their own  She has to know that this horse has feelings and she doesn't like being stuck in a stall 24/7. She needs to know that something has to be done because the horse doesn't deserve that, and you're running out of time to help.


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## justinebee (Jul 21, 2010)

i definitely agree with that  thanks


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## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

Hmm... this is a long shot, but I'll throw it out there. When someone adopts a mustang, the BLM retains ownership of that horse for the first year. After that point, it is the owner's responsibility to apply for the horse's title and official ownership. If this mare's owner had already given up on her and stopped associating with her, it's possible that she never bothered to apply for the mare's title. In which case, the BLM still technically owns her.

IF this is the case, you can contact the BLM and notify them of the situation. In order to adopt and keep the mustang it is a requirement that the horse be provided with a minimum of 400 square feet. If she's in her stall, she's probably not getting that. If the BLM agrees that she is not being properly cared for (and she still hasn't been titled), they have the authority to take the mustang back and offer her for adoption to another individual.

You should only go down this road if you feel that there are no other options after talking to the owner yourself. If the owner finds out you're snooping into HER horse's past, she may not appreciate it. If it does come down to this, interpret the mustang's brand and send the information to the BLM so that they can look up whether she has been titled. Even if she has, the BLM may be able to suggest another method of ensuring that this mare lives well.


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