# Can you truly tame a wild mustang?



## horsey*kisses (May 12, 2008)

mmm im not so sure about tamed but they are able to be caught and trained to ride if thats what you mean, im looking into adopting one this spring, 
im pretty sure its illegal to catch one like they are at your house but then again every state is different so i would call your BLM office and ask about it


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Yes, it's against the law.

In the right hands, an experienced person, they can be wonderful horses.


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Oh that is a great idea! I know there is BLM Land on the other side of the river so they would probably have a local office or is it a state office?


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

DOI: BLM: Wild Horses and Burros


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## horsewithnoname (Oct 16, 2008)

*can you truly tame a wild mustang*

I had a friend do it once when I was a kid but it was mean and he eventually let it go! 

Curious about the land you bought. Do you know if there is anymore out there for that price and who to contact.


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## sandy2u1 (May 7, 2008)

i have a friend that go one of those wild mustangs from nevada. my friend go her to the point where she is very gentle...she loves to be rubbed and petted, but she has never been saddled. they have a show on rfdtv where they have a competition where horse trainers take the wild mustangs and train them for a certain period of time. then they compete and the horses are auctioned off at the end. its amazing what those trainers can get those horses to do.


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Thank you guys for your information. I did call the BLM in Colorado and they do adopt them back to the public. We may try that once we get our cabin built and settled. 

To "horsewithnoname": they have a website Colorado Land Sale, Colorado Properties, Colorado Lots I do not see any more on there for $5,900.00 but there is one on there for $6,500.00. Who knows we could end up neighbors!

Thanks Ya'll!


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## Tazmanian Devil (Oct 11, 2008)

Yes, you can definitely "tame" a wild mustang.

The ones you see wandering around almost certainly belong to the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). You could get into a lot of trouble for "taking" them. At the same time, it is very easy to adopt one through the BLM. They have regular auctions.

If you are not up to the task of training one yourself, a good idea is to go to a "Mustang Challenge" or "Mustang Makeover." Both are run by the Mustang Heritage Foundation, in association with the BLM.

The challenge basically takes 50-100 trainers, and gives them each a Mustang. They have 100 days to train the horse. After that, they come to a central location and compete to see who did the best. At the end, all horses in the competition are auctioned. Some of the trainers do bid on their own horses, but many do not.

A trainer I work with participated in mustang challenge this year. Not only did he get his horse at auction, but I and another friend each bid on and adopted mustangs from the challenge. They are basically green broke 3 year olds, but that "green broke" training makes all the difference in the world if you are not a professional trainer.

All the mustangs I have seen (from that competition) are VERY calm, level headed, laid back horses. They are not "wild" or crazy. They are very smart and quick to learn. Most seemed to bond very well with people..

For what these horse were doing in the competition, the price is amazingly low. This is the best value in the horse world - as long as you understand you are dealing with a young, green broke horse. These are not 12 year old, been there done that, bombproof horses. The advantage of that is you have a solid foundation and can train them the way you want from there.

Check out MUSTANG HERITAGE FOUNDATION : OUR LAND, OUR HORSE for more info.


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

No idea what the law is regarding taking one and adopting tem(tho I doubt it's legal) and yes you can tame a horse into riding. The fact it's a mustang has nothing to do with how tamed a horse can become but having said that, if feeding an apple to the horse scared you, I wouldn't suggest you taking a wild horse in


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Exactly. Mustangs aren't first horse, horses. It's asking for trouble.


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## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

they also have a prission program that trains blm mustangs, to they pair prisssoners with mustangs and teach them how to train them....i agree with solon and m2g if you are a first time horse owner i DO NOT recomend a wild mustang


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Thank you everyone for your great advice! Yes at this point I think I will hold off on the wild mustang! I will just enjoying watching them graze near my land. I have included a picture for you mustang lovers to enjoy!


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## horsewithnoname (Oct 16, 2008)

That is a gorgeous picture! Thanks for posting the link for the land. I am going to contact them and see what they have. Thanks again!


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

That's so unbelieveably BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! That's just jaw dropping beautiful.....seriously. And they're wild to boot. You are so blessed!!!!


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Gorgeous photo! I would love to have wild horses nearby like that, how neat!


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Yes, we were amazed at how many were just roaming around. It was part of why we decided on our land purchase. The people we bought our land from have some really cool pictures of several wild mustang! You can view a bunch of pictures on their website coloradolandsale.com. One of the photos they had was a wild donkey! I would have love to have seen him when we were out there because he is huge! We are heading back out in a couple of weeks to have a pad graded on our property so we can pull our camper out for a few weeks at a time. I will get some more pictures and post for you to see!


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## shawbulldogs (May 15, 2008)

Beautiful picture! 
I have adopted a total of four Mustangs from the BLM. The first time, I got a four year old mare and her two month old filly. I paid $500.00 for the pair, that was about 15 years ago. The mare was taken to a trainer and broke to ride, we kept her for about three years. The baby is now a beautiful stallion. He is halter broke but we never rode him. Then about three years ago we went to another adoption to look around and ended up coming home with a weanling colt for $125.00 and a gorgeous bay mare for $25.00. Your enclosure has to meet certain requirements and the horse isn't officially yours until you've had it for a year and then have a vet come out and verify it is healthy. But yes, a wild Mustang can truly be tamed.


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Wow, that is really positive news! Was this in Colorado or another state? Also where our land is there are other wild mustangs that graze there. If we were to adopt through the BLM program would I have trouble with my mustangs wanting to get out or would the other mustangs bother mine? I am not sure, I would kind of feel bad that I am not letting them roam! I would love to hear your thoughts!


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## Tazmanian Devil (Oct 11, 2008)

wildspirit said:


> Wow, that is really positive news! Was this in Colorado or another state? Also where our land is there are other wild mustangs that graze there. If we were to adopt through the BLM program would I have trouble with my mustangs wanting to get out or would the other mustangs bother mine? I am not sure, I would kind of feel bad that I am not letting them roam! I would love to hear your thoughts!


In your case, I think you would have to take extra precautions to keep your Mustang from escaping. Being used to living in the wild, they may be even more likely to try and escape if they found a local herd to join. This could be more of an issue if your Mustang was the only horse on your property (no companions). Although the few we adopted down here have bonded pretty well with humans, they definitely like being around other horses. I guess this is true of all breeds.

Of course, the wild ones may sit around drinking beers and laughing at your captive.


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Yes, I am starting to agree with you and they are all over the place out there so maybe I will just keep some feed out for them. Make friends with them and then we can all sit around and drink a couple of beers laughing at the thought of me going to the trouble of trying to contain them!


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Here is another picture I have but it is not as good because it was a little windy. This mustang looked like he either got in a fight or something. That is his bone showing through. That was part of the reason I wanted to help them all. We may just put up a structure for the winter for them and put food out. I don't know.. big plans but got to build my own cabin first! LOL!


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## Tazmanian Devil (Oct 11, 2008)

wildspirit said:


> We may just put up a structure for the winter for them and put food out.


Please don't do that. They are "wild" animals and it is best to let nature take its course. They are plenty capable of surviving on their own.


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## wildspirit (Oct 16, 2008)

Thanks for all the info!


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## Cowgirl Kristin (Jan 18, 2010)

If anyone is still interested in mustangs, there are places that you can get them for FREE. Our local vet gave us 9 mare mustangs, free of charge. They came with coggins tests, were wormed, and recieved shots. We just let them roam around the ranch. They are good, hardy horses. The vet said they had run wild for 10 years before she ended up with them. Vets and Shelters often give these horses away or ask for a small donation. You don't have to pay the expensive adoption fees if you don't have that kind of money. Just be patient and keep looking!


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## AlmagroN (Jul 19, 2009)

Tazmanian Devil said:


> Please don't do that. They are "wild" animals and it is best to let nature take its course. They are plenty capable of surviving on their own.


it wont hurt anything. where do you think horses came from anyway? they werent all born in captivity! besides, theyre going to be building a home on that land.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

First there is no difference between a mustang and any other horse other than several generations of inbreeding and starvation. You can find some that are reasonably good but most are garbage. You can know for sure if they are mustangs if you can see a freeze brand up by the mane. You will be much better off to buy a nice old broke horse and learn to ride then in ten years if you still want an inbred scrub horse then you can buy one. In case you can't tell I am not a fan of the feral horse program as run by the BLM. They waste over half thier budget housing these unwanted horses that are unadoptable.


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## jesredneck98 (Dec 11, 2009)

Wow okay don't know where to start so here goes. Kevinshorses has made a very great point and I would agree with him 100%. Most of the horses are a pain in the a** to farmers and ranchers. These loose horses get in with other heards and start breeding, this is not good for ranchers who make a living a breeding horses to a certain breed. They do a whole lot of damage and the BLM does alot that I don't agree with and there program is a bit screwed up. However with that said, it was my dream to have a mustang when I was little because of the movies, not a reason to get a horse!!! When I was old enough I had an oppurtunity to save one that some friends of mine had that couldn't afford the horse anymore. I got the horse and started re training and riding the horse. He did really well but he was alot of work, training horses are not generally for the inexperienced. Training a horse no matter what breed it is, is trying. He had so much energy that I didn't have the work for him to do on the farm and he got restless. I sent him down to a friend of mine who NEVER wanted a mustang and now its the best ranch working cow horse he has had in awhile for not being a cow horse. He is no match for the real thing though. I would again agree with Kevin that buy a great ready to go easy horse that you can ride. GOOD LUCK!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I agree with kevin up to a point. However, my mustang that I regularly ride and use is one of the best using horses I have ever had. Sure, he can't stick with a cow like one bred for it but he has a bigger heart than any stock horse I have ever ridden. But they are generally ugly horses with a very high flight instinct, a wild one is certainly not for the beginner. They won't win any beauty contests but with good training, they make as good a horse as any other. However, finding a trainer that is willing and understanding enough to work with one is sometimes hard.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

I've seen some mustangs that are very good horses and some that are even quite good looking but they are few and far between. Some on this forum like to bash backyard breeders but most of those horses are far and away better than the average mustang and backyard breeders don't get tax money to feed thier horses.


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