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Question:
I would like to
know your opinion of the mustang breed. I’ve heard both good and bad
things about them. I am looking for a horse and I am interested in
what you think.
Answer:
I have to tell
you that spending time on the road, I have been asked many times,
“What is your favorite breed?” My favorite breed is any breed that
is good minded and has good feet. I have had many other breeds here
including mustangs from the Bureau of Land Management. Some have
taken me two months to get to a point that I can mount while others
I could mount in two days.
One thing about
the mustang is that having been out in the wild they are usually
very hearty horses. They have had to learn to live in the elements.
I used to buy horses out of South Dakota that were pasture bred and
raised out in the elements. They have some very harsh winters up
there and those horses were nice and very healthy. That is the way
with mustangs. The most fit horses survive. If you have an
eight-year-old mustang, he probably has decent feet. While not all
mustangs have good feet, you usually don’t find a Mustang with bad
feet because they become lame and fall prey to predators.
I have a little
mustang here right now that I got as a two-year-old. She was so
small that I thought she was a yearling. I had to wait eight months
for her to grow up and get bigger bones. In the meantime I did the
basic foundation ground work with her and when we got ready to ride
her it was a piece of cake. Mounting and riding was not an issue for
her. She can be pushy but she has a good mind.
It really
doesn’t make any difference if it is a wild horse or domestic horse.
A domestic horse can be just as flighty as a wild horse. I have had
mustangs in here that you would think had been born in a domestic
herd.
What you want
to look for, in any discipline, is a horse with a good mind. The
horse should not have a high flight instinct or high emotional
level. You also need to look for a horse that has good feet.
Conformation is important depending on what you plan to do with the
horse, in other words, your discipline.
A horse that is
long bodied and long legged does not make the best cow horse.
Thoroughbreds are not usually used for working with cows. I have had
more than one thoroughbred here with a really good mind and a good
work ethic. I have had others that were flighty and took a long time
to make into decent riding horses. I have had some Arabians here at
the ranch with good minds and nice big feet. They made really nice
performance horses. I have also had Arabians that were flighty,
difficult to ride and very high maintenance. By high maintenance I
mean that you can never relax and just hack around. They had to be
ridden and really worked regularly.
Find a horse that has a
quiet, good mind.
Make sure the feet are
strong.
Depending on your size,
you may want a horse that is taller or shorter.
Consider the
conformation based on the type of riding you plan to do.
Consider the age and the
amount of training the horse has had.
Having the horse checked
by a vet is always a good idea.
In closing, I
have no favorite breed. No one breed is better than another although
some breeds are better for specific disciplines. One last thing to
remember, a horse is always going to be a horse. They all have the
flight, fight and herd instincts. Because they have been out in the
wild, Mustangs do have a stronger social structure. Good luck and
have many happy rides.
Charles Wilhelm
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