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Our Once Wild Children

Writer's picture: Sarah DavisSarah Davis

By Charlene


Red Rock
Red Rock

Red Rock and Chase are wild Mustangs from Nevada that arrived at the rescue on April 15th 2023, after having lived with a family that adopted them a year earlier in Bell, Florida. But the family soon discovered gentling two completely untouched wild mustangs was just more than they could manage.  


Because Red Rock and Chase were untouched (wild), they were at risk of being sent to auctions where they can be sold in Canada and Mexico by weight (or for their meat!!!), so the family decided to find a better option and reached out to us. We did not yet have a horse trailer, which was quite an obstacle to overcome. Fortunately, thanks to a volunteer, we were able to secure a trailer and bring both Red Rock and Chase back to Horse “N Around with the Rescue Pets of Florida! 


Now begins the fun part, gentling two completely wild mustangs! But first, they needed names. No, they did not come to us with these super cool names, our followers named these guys! As a rescue, fundraising is one of the only ways to help these and many other animals, so for $5 you could have your name choice added to a list, and at the end of a week, names were drawn from a bucket! 

Chase
Chase

Okay, they have names: Dream Chaser a.k.a. Chase and Red Rock, let’s teach them to be domesticated wild Mustangs!   After a few days of acclimating to their new surroundings, we began the process, starting with getting them to accept a halter and lead rope. We use a process called “gentling,” common with wild Mustangs, that focuses on building trust, mutual respect and communication versus force or intimidation. 


Chase and Red Rock were about 2 and 3 years old when they came, and we think youth helped in their gentling process, because they accepted a halter and lead rope very early on and were eligible for adoption in just 90 days! At first, it was discouraging trying to find their forever homes, because we wanted to find homes that were willing to adopt and agree to allow them to grow up and their bones to mature before they were heavily worked. 


While it took just over a year to place Red Rock, and more than a year and a half to place Chase, I’d say we hit the jackpot! Not only did we connect with two separate homes that will allow them to grow and mature, but they will both be doing endurance riding in the future! Chase will be doing a type of endurance riding called mountain backcountry. This is riding through rough, mountain trails, unpredictable weather, and all sorts of wild environmental challenges. These experiences test both the horse and rider, pushing them to their limits as they take on steep climbs, rocky paths, and ever-changing altitudes. 

We could not be more thrilled about the homes that these two boys got after all they had been through in their young lives. They have amazing futures ahead of them. 


If you’d like to help us them, you can join our Facebook page to help get the word out, you can apply to volunteer, or even donate to Rescue Pets of Florida!

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