ARROW's STORY

Montego following Arrow and the little sulphur mares (photo Debbie Lang)

Arrow trying to herd his little charge from Montego

Arrow confronting Montego(Bay), Photo Debbie Lang

Still trying to sort things out (Photo Debbie Lang)

This happened in June 2011 at the sanctuary and there are witnesses to the actual injury, but when Melody and I visited in August, Arrow was with a band of bachelors and his eye had healed. Here is the beautiful painting she did of him.

Arrow's story...this could be your horse sometime...

Here is Arrow's story. He was born to a band of horses at the Caballos de Destino, a breeder near Hot Springs and came to the Sanctuary as a yearling. They considered him a promising colt and so he was easily identified and sold. Not having enough time for training to lead he was sent into the trailer and shipped off. He did return. This summer 2011, 4 years later, the 5 year old arrow came back, not trainable and not desirable. He was turned out onto the coffee flats with two new arrivals at the sanctuary, the two Sulphur Springs fillies from the BLM. Unfortunately the young gelding was not equipped to immediately understand the terrain and order on the flats. So he was challenged by two other geldings Tico and Montego (Bay) and in the process was able to hold on to the fillies but received an injury to his left eye, which rendered him badly compromised. He let go of the fillies eventually and joined another group of horses, when I saw him during my first in august. He was so appealing, that Melody painted a beautiful portrait of him and I requested him for training. I did not know about his injury then and to this day don't know whether he can see proper. He is dear to my heart and when he choses to come to me I appreciate his presence.

This is the Horse circle heads in butts out to prevent predation....

This is what they do,when they see me coming. And little do they know I recognize them by their tails. They are all individuals with stories as long as their manes

WELCOME TO THE CAPTAIN MUSTANG CIRCUS MANEGE...

After a refreshing morning ride to the cheyenne river I head to the training barn, the red barn is mine, the silver one belongs to Martina who trains quarterhorses...As they see me coming the horses try to hide behind each other, but they realize that I can catch them because there is food in my hand and so before too  long I have the barn door open, fresh smell of hay and to the music of Ian Tyson La Primera they let themselves be seen and addressed and selected for variable pieces of work.

Journey-woman and souvereign...

Praise the tall but saddle the small. My assignment is to train mustangs. Spanish, Sulphur and BLM...to train to lead, train to ride and train to display and engage in whatever form will please them and the public. There are tours scheduled each day. The visitors of the sanctuary range from drive-by occassions to intentional mustang afficionados. The latter is rare. The target group is in line with the other local attractions: Rushmore, Bison, Petroglyphs, Badlands Deadwood, Hot Springs, multiple use. People have limited time, interest, patience and funds. A 3 hour  $75 tour is not in everybody's budget. The initial arrival will yield the view of the beautiful valley circled by the Cheyenne River, sometimes the discriminating eye can distinguish a horse on the ridge behind the hilltop...one of the wild ones. The horses at the fence line are first and second generation x-breeds between mustang mares and paint and quarter horse stallions. To my knowledge there has not been an intentional introduction of a feral Stallion to the mares. The only stallion with bunch is the sulphur stud Don Juan, who lives in the southern section of the fields. There are 20 BLM mares amongst the horses at the fence line and only one mare PRAIRIE LARK (trained and ridden by Dayton Hyde) - she is about 26 years old is the last living one from the initial rescue in 1988 which prompted Dayton Hyde to rescue the mares in the Nevada Feedlot and start the sanctuary.Then there is the mares and foal corral. (Birth control has been successful and fewer and fewer babies are born) These horses are all for sale...the little girl tries to attract the horses to the front, but they keep their distance...Living wild has taught them well...then there is the chicken coup and on the other side, the paddock of the CURLY horses, we are still learning about them...they have curly mane tail and coat and are hypo-allergenic.good for people with asthma and other respiratory problems...These have come from the mustangs but they also have their origins in the mongolian continent...If you are lucky, you are early and the bus will leave in an hour. That gives you time to see the approaching rider on the beautiful golden dun, called Aragon. That is me, coming to greet the visitors and entice them to ask their driver to stop by the training barn after their tour to watch me train and demonstrate some of the characteristics of the mustangs...Aragon is a wonderful ambassador of the spanish mustang and deserves all the cookies in all our pockets....see you at the barn.

...Catching up is hard to do...IRAM I Rescue American Mustangs...Institute for Range and American Mustang

What is it like to wake to the view of 100 horses breathing in the rising sunlight - the cackle of wild turkeys and white peacocks interwoven with the occasional whinny and neighing of the citizens of the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary...Aragon, Veedawoo, Silhouette and Galicio, my 4 spanish mustangs had travelled the 280 miles from Redfeather to Hot Springs to reconnect with part of their history...
Aragon's sire Texas Pony Syndicate had lived and died on the sanctuary and now we were able to see his half brother high on the Wild Side into Hell's canyon with his small but very picturesque and elusive band of mares and foals...I rode among wild horses...To run with the Wild horses, to be carried away...in thought and imagination....

then the overall, the walk to the paddocks, the grullas, duns and roans...my charges for this autumn season: Arrow (5 year old sorraia) from Caballos De Destino, Cognac (2 year old grulla) Don Juan offspring born here, Mr. One Blue Eye, so very Paso Fino sabino paint (2years) from Roger Thorp, Esperanza, little 2 year old gaited Sulphur Springs BLM mustang from Utah, Desertsand (yearling) just brought down from the mountain possibly a syndicate grandson and...they mill around the big round bales and their forelocks display an illustrious assembly of weedseedlings...Water in the tanks and some extra flakes for the coralled horses and I am back through the sticky weeds to the airstream to have the morning cappucino...it is just 5am...

BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY - IRAM - SOUTH DAKOTA

I have settled into the Sanctuary with my silver bullet airstream and have cleared and prepared a beautiful small performance arena (covered) for mustang training demonstrations and also workshops and seminars. It is now up to US to spread the word and get the tangential visitor, especially the ones from other countries involved and asking....questions...
There are 5 young mustangs I am working with at different levels of training, none of them old enough to ride but all of them interested and engaged in ground work. My horses will arrive by the end of the week and then the Menage is ready for manege....and bigTop Circe du Monde...cavallo...

BLACK HORSE WILD HILLS SANCTUARY...

I'm going to Rushmore but I'm not going to rush more....Surrender to the process...I keep thinking of the Cheyenne River flowing in all 4 directions North west south and east on the 11000 acres of the IRAM institute...I am thinking of WILD HORSES...and in my dream I hear horses stepping amongst ancient stones...I forget for a moment about the antiquated and mid..(Mid-evil) round ups going on at the present and concetrate on invoking a PAUSE...There is not enough appreciation of individual effort...however whimsical...
So I'm going to Rushmore but I'm not going to rush more....Mummy Fortuna's Mignight's Menagerie is on the wagon - it is a'rollin...the last unicorn and the BIG TOP are in expectation of good things to come...

"HIGH" DESERT SABINO - Nevada Feral sire of Merketide/Silhouette

The work is never done. Once we have a proper census of the horses in the respective 188 Horse Management areas, decisions about size, genetic viability and character of herds have to be revisited. Less is more....Here is a BLM stud integrated into the program of the Cayuse Ranch in Oshoto, founded by Bob Brislawn in 1957 to prevent the extermination by all wild horse herds across the country. After the passing of the Federal Protection Act in 1971 (be aware that the mustang is the ONLY wild animal protected through an ACT of CONGRESS) the responsibility of Management was delegated to the BUREAU of LAND MANAGEMENT...to this day they claim that they are a land management entity not a horse management agency...

NORTHERN COLORADO MUSTANG RIDERS FOR HIRE....Sept practice for ACTHA Performance on Sept 10th

Photo: Mike Hillman

More videos of the practice and events on Facebook: Northern Colorado Mustang Riders...please visit and participate...engage in your local mustang events.

NORTHERN COLORADO MUSTANG RIDERS FOR HIRE....Sept practice for ACTHA Performance on Sept 10th

Photos courtesy Mike Hillman

The efforts to grow and improve the mustang riders continue. Even though people come and go the fun stays and we are showcasing these wonderful horses, which to emphasize are mustangs from this and last years Mustang Makeover and also privately adopted horses and spanish mustangs from the greater Northern Colorado area. Even though I will be leaving to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, the group has a good foundation and the individual members use their talent and imagination to promote and exhibit their horses in nationwide events and then come together and perform here in Ft. Collins and surrounding area. Please consider joining or creating your own mustang riders events.

MUSTANG RIDERS OF NORTHERN COLORADO

Photos by Michael Golembeski

WE ARE GEARING UP FOR OUR SECOND PERFORMANCE ON SEPT. 10TH DURING THE ACTHA RIDE AT SPIRITDANCER RANCH IN NORTH FORT COLLINS, COLORADO. LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ABOUT 10 RIDERS AND SOME SOLO PERFORMANCES, THIS TIME WE WILL BE RIDING IN THE OPEN FIELD WITH NO BOUNDARIES AND A GLORIOUS LANDSCAPE IN THE BACKGROUND.

Mustangs volunteering for the Forest Service...

Veedavoo, 7 year old spanish mustang (photo Lourie Zipf)

I returned from 4 days patrolling for the Forest Service in the Roosevelt Natl Forest (west of Ft.Collins). Since more than a decade my mustangs have climbed the ridges of the Rawah Wilderness, North Lone Pine, Jacks Gulch and the rest of the Roosevelt Natl Forest to support the Forest Service in educating and assisting the public recreating in our Natl. Forests. Initially meant to supplement the work of the rangers and due to economic cuts, shortage of manpower and limited resources, the volunteer mounted Patrol and the hiking volunteers have become an essential asset of the Forest Service saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY

Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary - (Photo Melody Perez)

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT - NOT HORSE MANAGEMENT....

When we look at the current dilemma of the plight of the American Mustang we shall take a close look at the agency that was appointed for it's protection and management on the range. Consider that this is the only congressional act issued for the protection of an animal, reason being that it is the mustang neither considered wildlife nor domestic and therefore does not fall under wild life management.
Look at the events of the TAYLOR GRAZING ACT, the advent of the invention of Barbed Wire and the institution of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM - part of the dept of Interior) to prevent overgrazing and regulate range utilization.
1971 WILD HORSE AND BURRO PROTECTION ACT:....
Since 40 years have passed and at present the BLM is widely considered dysfunctional. Dysfunctional for itself internally and dysfunctional for its stakeholders outside the agency as a tool for the dept of Int...
WHY?
1.There is a brazen conflict of interest: the BLM manages the range for multiple use: Ranching cattle and sheep, oil, nat.gas drilling and exploration, hunting and recreation at last but not least wild horses. Readily apparent is the conflict of interest.
2. Lack of transparency (Internal and external) )The public wants to know and have access yet is denied such on a regular basis when it comes to decision making and distribution if rights and entitlements.
3. Lack of adabtability and flexibility: Even though the agency was created to halt land abuse and regulate indiscriminate claiming the very same standards and entitlements are still enforced today...(Ranchers insist on old established rights of use without restraint)
4. Corruption (Science is for sale) Studies and resulting issuance of permits for drilling and stock use are in direct conflict with balanced multi-use since profitability dictates distribution. Culture of corruption dates back to the large landowner-disputes.)
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN:(WHAT WENT WRONG)
There are a variety of responses:
1. Abandon of true faith (without third party independent monitoring the principles will not be upheld)
2. The demand to maintain the old status quo vs. the demand to upgrade and modernize
IT BROUGHT ABOUT THE DECLINE OF THE RANGE - FIND CULPRIT AND REMOVE
Our responsibility and a great opportunity as citizens is now to design and acquire new guidelines and strategies to revamp the management of our public lands to multiple but sensible and aware utilization. That requires time and research. The elimination of the wild horses is only a symptom of the ailment...  Part of the broader transformation is to identify and define the statistics and means and balances and then approach a new reorganization that would possibly not imply the traditional agency.
Until then our wild horses represent the second hand on the clock that is ticking...their numbers reflect our conscience.

TEXAS PONY SYNDICATE - out of TEXAS PONY LYNN: ARAGONS SIRE...

To explain my move to the Black Hills Wild Horse sanctuary could take many pages, but a couple of thoughts...I love the mission statement and will work to fullfill it to the best of my capacity. Aragon's sire Texas Pony syndicate lived for the last years of his life on the sanctuary and died there last year. Mustang Eco Tours could not find a better location for our adventure rides....and the horses derserve to be showcased as one of the most desirable, versatile and valuable resources of our wonderful wild lands... sustainable equitable and fair...
To be part of something bigger...to integrate into an already existing concept is a new exercise for me, one I have longed for since most of my life was determined by solely my decisions. I am independent and free and able to adapt to changing challenges and scenarios, which is probably one of my most well developed skills and talent. Through the career as airline pilot my forte is problem solving that includes spur of the moment decision making and instinctual reaction and reflex...

The LAND is of beauty without words and the CHEYENNE RIVER flows in all 4 DIRECTIONS, there are 500  HORSES on 14 000 acres...what more could my heart desire...

WORKING WITH MUSTANGS - HERE TIM SINGEWALD's Willy and Walen...

After the Extreme Mustang Makeover I have focused again on my horses hoping to get my One-Trick Pony show on the road...I have tried to have all 6 in a roundpen circus style, and circus-style it was...so I have to come up with some 5 helpers, who all hold one horse on the longeline and then we work in unison to get them to parley and prance...Meanwhile I have stepped back into Tim Singewald's roundpen and took on Willy and Walen...the sadness is that these two 5 year olds were born in captivity and still are more goosy and wild than the ones caught on the range...Such little effort would be required to do some foal training and they all would have such a better start. Which reminds me of the conversation at Canyon City, where we wondered why only male prisoners worked with mustangs...??? Ever thought about that???
Well the female inmates had started a program with the foals but never got it off the ground - I think they have to try again....
Well here are a couple of pictures.

DON'T LET IT BRING YOU DOWN - IT'S ONLY CASTLES BURNING...

 my favorite quote from "ALL THE PRETTY HORSES": In his sleep he could hear the horses stepping among the rocks and he could hear them drink from the shallow pools in the dark where the rocks lay smooth and rectilinear as the stones af ancient ruins and the water from their muzzles dripped and ring like water dripping in a well and in his sleep he dreamt of horses and the horses in his dream moved gravely among the tilted stones like horses come upon an antique site where some ordering of the world had failed and if anything had been written on the stones the weather had taken it away again and the horses were wary and moved with great circumspection carrying in their blood as they did the recollection of this and other places  where horses once had been and would be again...Finally what he saw in his dream was that the order in the horses heart was more durable for it was written in a place where no rain could erase it...

SCIENCE FOR SALE>>>>each argument for science....

....should conclude with the phrase "Science for sale" - the corruption of short term profit oriented exploration pays no respect to the concerns of the citizens. It is still puzzling how the need to control and explore is not harnessed by insight and awareness of consequences...And as much as Wild Horse Advocates call and demand transparency to understand the motives behind Wild Horse Eradication in this country we can find our answers piece by piece in the industrial advances onto Public Lands...This video is one example of the encroachment of uranium mining into the pristine Landscape of South Dakota, and the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. Similar fates can be witnessed in the Little Bookcliffs Colorado, Piceance etc. riddled with attempts and advances of Natural Gas Exploration....OUR BODY IS 90 percent WATER
youtu.be:S_d3B-jeNYc

youtu.be:M_v2dy2hrHw
Picture this....Aragon, Escalante, Galicio, Silhouette, Veedawoo and Ruigoord...ON THIS LAND....Aragon grazing on the same grounds that his father TEXAS PONY SYNDICATE (Texas Pony Lyn) was spending the last years of his life and then died last year...Picture Escalante, GREY EAGLE's son galloping through the brush of the wild turkey alley...his silver coat glistening in the sun...picture this...

MORE MISSION STATEMENT>>>.

Photo by Melody Perez

Gabriele Moritz/Dayton O. Hyde (photo Melody Perez)

Melody Perez, Susan Watt, Gabriele Moritz 

BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY - IRAM - SOUTH DAKOTA...O

ARROW from the Spanish herd in the BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY. There is currently only one known intact stallion with mares and several years of PZP have resulted in only one known foal this year. From a very high vista point overlooking a breathtaking valley we could glass and see what easily was a group of more than 15 horses, which are not identified since they live in a very remote and unaccessible part of the 14 000 acres of the institute. BEAUTIFUL as the Cheyenne river winds through the canyons and meadows...

On my bucket list, or 100-item (things I want to experience or do) LIST has been the BLACK HILLS WILD HORSE SANCTUARY. In august 2011 in conjunction with the MUSTANG DAYS in DOUGLAS,WY. Melody Perez and I traveled to an art exhibit of hers in the Pioneer museum and then continued on to Hot Springs South Dakota...after driving through celebrated country witnessing a wildfire burning south of the Custer Natl forest and painting the evening sky in a crimson veil we were greeted by a band of horses in the setting sun...we put up for the night and had a tour the next morning following the cake truck onto the 14 000 acres of former Honeywell Sanctuary property owned by the IRAM (Institute for Range and american Mustang) founded by Dayton O. Hyde (in 1988). Susan Watt followed her calling to the sacred lands of the Black Hills 17 years ago ... Since then she has worked tirelessly to promote and enforce the FOUNDATION's mission statement.

 Institute of Range and American Mustang 

Mission Statement

The Institute of Range and American Mustang (IRAM) founded by Dayton O. Hyde in 1988 is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation registered in the state of South Dakota. The Institute’s federal tax number is 46-0401462.

IRAM owns 11,000 acres of private land dedicated to range preservation and a balanced ecosystem. IRAM’s finest gift is The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, whose purpose is to provide not only freedom for unadoptable and unwanted wild horses, but also a research area dedicated to solving wild horse herd management that will contribute to the well-being of wild horses everywhere.

The Sanctuary and its staff and volunteers are devoted to the spirit of the wild mustangs by giving America’s unwanted wild horses a quality life. The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is a showcase where the public can see large herds of wild horses running free and come to understand our efforts toward land conservation and the preservation of our western heritage-America’s Wild Mustang! 

Construction of the BERLIN WALL August 13, my birthday...

CELEBRATING MY BIRTHDAY WITH GALICIO, who was born august 15, 3 years ago and Ruigoord, Escalante, Aragon, Veedawoo and Silhouette...

The Quiet War Against Wyoming's Wild Horses - The Atlantic

The Quiet War Against Wyoming's Wild Horses - The Atlantic

Working hard on Escalante to get him ready for the Mustang Riders...

The goal is to have all my 6 horses under saddle and going steady developing their utmost potential and allowing them to perform to their best abilities...Ruigoord 26 does not have much more to prove he is a standing member of the gentlemen's club and always willing to be a schoolmaster for a newby or a great first experience for a child...Aragon V, now 16 is entering that 3rd phase where horses settle into their own and will continuously grow and become who they are meant to be. He performs perfect with the drill team, is an outstanding herd member, perfect gentleman and reliable Poudre Wilderness Volunteer. He taught Coppersmith the ropes of relating to me. LOVE is walk/canter departures and his jump, will not ask him again for FLYING lead changes, but will insist on more lightness in the hand....Escalante 8 is WORK IN PROGRESS and he is working with the LG bridle. His arena is the dressage competition and I hope to have him in a couple of training shows next year. Veedawoo is 6years old and the proof is in the pudding. He is the mountain horse per se, water rocks up and down, standing tied and patient and also jumping and accelerating if necessary, Cows no problem, water swimming and even though he is not the love of life fellow I knew when he was just a yearling, he is still the most fun horse...(besides his eating mania)Just what is going on with the cross firing in the canter, unbelievable how he switches in the back...
Silhouette still a little unwritten and mysterious. I will have to see her through the fall and winter to say more. She is the only mare I ever owned and there is a special relationship to be discovered, since she also gave me Galicio. This summer I switched from trying to elevate her action in the trot to realizing that she is a gifted western style motion, she can travel smooth and enduring in a shuffle like pace that gets places without noticing. She also has the most ground covering walk and the mother attitude is very valuable when it comes to estimating questionable situations. I love her.
Leaves Galicio, who is turning three in a couple of weeks. He has started ground school, second chapter.   A lot of spanish in there and elegance, know him from birth on (none of the others) and hope that his mind keeps up with the growth of his beautiful frame.