Packing with mustangs?

[Oldffemt]

Does anyone do it? Anything to watch out for? The grey is a 4 yo captive born mare, the other is my son’s 2yo gelding mustang/Navajo pony rescue. I hope to get them out on some training trips this spring. We did quite a bit of work with my son’s last summer and fall and he’s like a big ole dog that just wants to please. I’m working with the grey to gentle her up a bit as nobody has ever really paid much attention to her. She let me halter and lead her with no drama. She’s had several opportunities to kick me into next week due to my inexperience but seems like she just wants to be friendly. I should probably also mention that I’ve gotten both of them “free” by volunteering at a local rescue.

 

[Tobe_B]

Been around plenty of mustangs. Minus their feet being a little more difficult to handle, they take to most everything else just like a Quarter Horse. Train them and use them like you would another horse. I really like them in backcountry, but I prefer a wild raised mustang versus captive ones. They’re harder to get going, but have more experience in the wild that I find useful in certain situations.


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[rayporter]

i would never recommend an untrained horse for someone as a first animal.

 

[Oldffemt]

i would never recommend an untrained horse for someone as a first animal.

I understand why and what I’m getting into. Blind leading the blind and all. I’m taking it slow and have help from some pretty experienced folks. I don’t plan to rely on them for packing until next year. I would like to get them out on the trail by the end of the summer but a lot of that will be up to them. We have already had simulated “panniers” (empty plastic boxes) on the gelding and he acts like he doesn’t notice. His biggest hang up so far is crossing water. I mean a patch of mud will make him lock up sometimes. We had made good progress with him last fall but that habit has crept back in to an extent with everything being frozen for the last 6 months. I’m able to mess with them daily, so I see that as a positive. We’re in full spring thaw right now and I’m leading him through every puddle and trickle of run off I can find. The mare got ~40 stitches on her chest a week ago so I’m just buddying up to her still. She has a hard time with being cooped up in a stall but it’s giving me some opportunities too.
I appreciate the responses and advice.

 

[Tobe_B]

I understand why and what I’m getting into. Blind leading the blind and all. I’m taking it slow and have help from some pretty experienced folks. I don’t plan to rely on them for packing until next year. I would like to get them out on the trail by the end of the summer but a lot of that will be up to them. We have already had simulated “panniers” (empty plastic boxes) on the gelding and he acts like he doesn’t notice. His biggest hang up so far is crossing water. I mean a patch of mud will make him lock up sometimes. We had made good progress with him last fall but that habit has crept back in to an extent with everything being frozen for the last 6 months. I’m able to mess with them daily, so I see that as a positive. We’re in full spring thaw right now and I’m leading him through every puddle and trickle of run off I can find. The mare got ~40 stitches on her chest a week ago so I’m just buddying up to her still. She has a hard time with being cooped up in a stall but it’s giving me some opportunities too.
I appreciate the responses and advice.

His fear of crossing water is a fight or flight response. You need to teach him to think not react. Locking up is reacting. We usually put tarps, logs, flags, and other various items in round pen to create obstacles and lunge our horses through and around those. They learn how to think about an obstacle versus reacting to one.

I don’t see a problem with an untrained animal and unfamiliar horse person. I can’t tell you how many horse owners I’ve seen with tons of experience get hurt from complacency. A new horse owner is usually slower, but more attune to what’s going on.

Consult with people more confident and train your animals. You gotta start somewhere.

 

[Ram94]

Documentary called “Unbranded” follows a group of guys who break and pack a string of mustangs from Mexico to Canada. Been a while since I’ve watched it but I remember it being very entertaining. You might pick up some knowledge from it.

 

[Oldffemt]

I kinda view it the same way. I gotta start with what I have. I’m learning right along with them. I was talking with another friend recently and he’s offered to help me out some as well. I’ll try starting small with them in the round pen and a couple obstacles. We had Gus pretty confident with a tarp on his back over the “panniers” walking through piles of poles while my son was cracking a whip, but never in the round pen. Water is just kinda foreign to him, he didn’t like snow much either at first.
Thanks for the recommendation on the documentary! I’ll definitely check it out.

 

[Oldffemt]

Looks like it’ll be a while before I can do much with “Sage” the mare. She has a 4”x6” hole in her chest. The vet stitched the flap of skin back over the wound almost 2 weeks ago. I left town for 2 days and when I got back she had torn it back open and the vet had stopped by and just cut it off. She’s acting pretty skittish again.

 

[Tobe_B]

Horses suck. She’ll be back before you know it. Keep up the desensitizing and daily handling.


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[Oldffemt]

Little update. Sage is still healing up but I was able to let her out into the small pen attached to her stall. Seems to make her more comfortable being able to just get outside. About another week or so and hopefully I can let her out to run without having to worry too much about her tearing the hole back open. I’ve also been able to halter and lead her around the barn a bit. She’s not sure about the leading part yet but I think we’re making small strides in the right direction. I start out every day with a good brushing to get her calmed down and give her a treat when I get her back in the stall when I’m finished. The other day I was putting her away and the ranch owner (not knowing that I was still working with Sage) let her 4 dogs into the barn. Sage got wild eyed but just stepped into the stall and out of the way so I could close the door and keep the mayhem away. I feel like I’m earning some trust at the very least. I’ll be leading her daily until she’s healed up enough to turn her out with the other horses. Anything else I should be doing?

 

[missjordan]

Little update. Sage is still healing up but I was able to let her out into the small pen attached to her stall. Seems to make her more comfortable being able to just get outside. About another week or so and hopefully I can let her out to run without having to worry too much about her tearing the hole back open. I’ve also been able to halter and lead her around the barn a bit. She’s not sure about the leading part yet but I think we’re making small strides in the right direction. I start out every day with a good brushing to get her calmed down and give her a treat when I get her back in the stall when I’m finished. The other day I was putting her away and the ranch owner (not knowing that I was still working with Sage) let her 4 dogs into the barn. Sage got wild eyed but just stepped into the stall and out of the way so I could close the door and keep the mayhem away. I feel like I’m earning some trust at the very least. I’ll be leading her daily until she’s healed up enough to turn her out with the other horses. Anything else I should be doing?

The easiest thing to do is just spend time with her. Even just go sit and read a book for a bit and test to see if she comes up and wants to engage with you after awhile. It’s ok if she doesn’t too. I really like Warwick Schillers approach for extremely spooky horses. He’s worth checking out on YouTube and a lot of his methods you can do while your waiting for the wound to heal.


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[tkhuntsman]

We had several in our outfit over the years they make great mountain stock and train up like any other horse. What set the apart is their tough and keep really well. They also tend to be very surefooted and ours all had nice tough feet.

 

[Oldffemt]

Yep, they both seem to have good feet. And leading them around the ranch it’s easy to see that they’re sure footed. I’m spending as much time as possible with her. Unfortunately the ranch owner turned her out with the rest of the horses Friday to make room for another mustang gelding. This limits what I can do until the snow is gone as there’s an aggressive camel that can’t be put in his summer pasture just yet. This place is close to home but it’s a shit show and she has way too many horses and other animals there. I’ll be fencing a property my mom bought as soon as the snow is gone. Always best to have a backup…

 

[Mtncowboy]

We had a mustang that we used a packhorse. At first I did not like her at all, but eventually she turned into my favorite packhorse. One thing that was interesting, she hated to be led, but if you took the lead rope off, she would follow like a dog and could pick her way through blowdown timber exceptionally well!

 

[Mtncowboy]

I have been smiling today thinking about ol' Missy the mustang. One time we had rode 30 miles and were within about 300 yards of the trailhead and she bucked the whole pack off just because she could. There is a big dent in my aluminum pot from her on a different trip. One of the best, we were riding at night in a snowstorm with about a 30 mph wind, we went to cross a river and she blew up and disappeared into the black of night with our tent and sleeping bags, luckily she came back. I'd love to tell you the whole story, but it requires a good campfire! Have fun.

 

[Colby]

I got one this winter that I’m going to use for a rider. He’s coming 4 and has a good start on him by someone I trust. He’s doing good so far. Pic is from the first time I test drove him.
My buddy has a couple that we use for packhorses that do fine.

 

[Oldffemt]

Snow is melting fast! 60* in the 10 day forecast!! Sage and Gus have buddied up on their own. That should help Sage with her confidence because Gus is about as loyal as my border collie. No lead required for him, I only use one so it won’t spook him when I put one on him when we’re out in the woods. Sage is mostly healed up and her and Gus are getting lots of exercise ripping around the pasture.

 

[BKehoe05]

Yesterday this mustang put on his first pack bags. Tomorrow he gets loaded with 50 lbs per side and back out on the trails. He’s been the 4th or 5th best mustang I’ve had in the last 3 yrs out of more than 20.

As they say, there are too many good ones to keep a bad one. I’ve sifted through a whole lot of frogs to find the horses I wanted. This one looks like he will stick around a bit.