Our First Meeting

Wrangler’s Log, Day One: February 7, 2024

We finally met my new Devil’s Garden mare (formerly tag #8953) and I got first touch within about 15 or 20 minutes while sitting outside her pen, feeding hay through the bars. She blew twice, communicating her caution, but still came up to take hay from our hands. The first few times were grab-and-go forays, but she pretty quickly settled down to take it as quickly as we could offer it. I showed Brent how to turn slightly away when she looked to let her know we were non-threatening.

I noticed when the sun was angled just right, it made her chin hairs look electric blue. I tried to get a photo, but it didn’t come out very well at all. Sometimes photos just don’t reflect reality. In this case the whole atmosphere was a bit hazy from so many mares (there were between 15 and 20 in the barn) moving around pretty much constantly. I suspected that she had white under her chin, but couldn’t really see any. Later, when I wasn’t looking directly into the sun, I found that it’s just a white spot on her bottom lip. I’m guessing the light hairs on her chin are an artifact of that white spot, but not directly a result of it.

The lady who owns the barn—Stacey—was out on a hay run, and there was one other mare in the pen with my mare, so we couldn’t go in until Stacey got back and moved her so that my mare had a pen to herself. But when we were able to go in, we took our chairs and sat beside each other with the hay just a short distance away and let her eat without demands from us. She watched us, but wasn’t at all freaked out by our presence. Brent only stayed for a short while, but this “earning their trust” stage is boring for him, so he went metal detecting and I stayed. Over the course of the day, I moved several times, partly to stay in the warm spots where the sun came through the high windows (it was frigid in there), and partly to slowly edge closer to her hay source, and by extension, her.

I spent several hours sitting in her pen next to the hay. Since there was more hay across the pen, she wasn’t obligated to eat from the pile next to me, but she did more often than not. A good bit of the time she was voluntarily within 3 feet of me, and by the time we went to our motel room she was pretty relaxed with me in the pen. Even when I mucked the pen, she just stayed on the opposite side from me, without any signs of panic.

Did I mention that it’s nearly a two-hour drive between our home and the barn? We elected to stay overnight because I wanted to maximize the time spent with her since the situation at the barn was a little overcrowded and she couldn’t have her own pen beyond the two days until some other people picked up their horses and took them to their new homes. The reason we have her at this particular facility is that it’s the nearest that meets the USFS adoption requirements of six-foot-high fences and a minimum of 24X24 pens until the horse can be caught easily. Plus, we haven’t yet found a single place in our county will take mustangs, gentled or not.

Sadly, I was unable to remove her tag myself as she slipped it off over her head before I arrived. But it is off, and that represents a great step toward a new freedom for her, and peace of mind for me. I no longer have to worry that she will get caught on something and injure herself.

Still trying out a name for her, but we’re leaning toward Lagertha, a Viking name meaning Shield Maiden or Warrior Queen. In Viking lore, Lagertha was the first wife of Ragnar Lothbrok, and a great warrior in her own right. By the end of the day, I was elated, in love, and exhausted. Total time spent in her company: 4.5 hours.