The Road is Sometimes Rocky

The road to Devil’s Garden is strewn with peaks and valleys, ups and downs, highs and lows. One day I’m studying the Double Devil Wild Horse Corral’s Facebook page, eagerly picking horses to apply for; the next I’m struggling to see a way through.

Those Are the Highs

The highs are amazing. I spend way too much time comparing the merits of various Devil’s Garden horses, trying to choose the best ones for my husband and myself. Laying in bed at night scrolling through the photos is better than sleep any night!

I’ve always wanted a dun with primitive markings (what we used to call a zebra dun), or a buckskin, but there are no duns in the Devil’s Garden horses. Should I get two buckskins so we have matching horses? There are a pair of sooty buckskin geldings that are buddies—keeping them together would be a kindness to them, and also mean that our horses are compatible, and they’re well-matched in size, conformation, and temperament. They might even be brothers.

Perhaps I might get a black for Brent and a buckskin for myself, so would this buckskin mare and that black gelding (a former range stallion) be compatible? Or should I go for a pair of black geldings that are also buddies? They are well-matched and already known to be compatible. And size isn’t a major factor, except that the horses chosen must be able to carry us comfortably for several hours in the saddle eventually. I don’t want horses under 14.2 or so because I feel that we are both too big for horses that small considering that we’d like to be able to do overnight camping rides, and eventually cross-country rides. With conditioning, they may be suitable, but why risk stressing their backs and legs? Why not just go with the bigger horses to start with?

There is also an appaloosa—not from Devil’s Garden, but from nearby McGavin Peak—that I would love to have. While I love the Devil’s Garden type, I’m not married to it. I love the toughness of the Devil’s Garden horses, and the larger size and heavier build (like a Warmblood) that would be suited to a wide range of equine pursuits. While I don’t have anything against the finer-boned, smaller sized horses, I think both my husband and I need something bigger and sturdier.

I originally wanted mares. For some reason I just believe that mares would make better (more loyal?) companions than geldings. And I really am looking for my heart horse—that rare creature who is as much bonded to me as I am to her; a horse who will protect me as much as I protect her, who will be the leader of the herd when things get dicey, but let me lead in situations where I know better than she does. Mustangs are better suited than any other breed to choose a path safely when their humans aren’t directing them actively, and mares are natural leaders. In other words, I want a partner, not a pet, ornament, or status symbol.

But what if the mares I choose are bred? Being wild horses fresh off the open range, there’s a very good chance that could be the case. And while mustang mares (and most horses, honestly) have no problems with foaling, there will be vet bills that geldings or non-producing mares wouldn’t have.

As mentioned, I’ve always preferred mares, but the possibility that they’re bred is causing me to hesitate. I could get a couple of geldings this year, and if they aren’t 100% what I want I could show them in one of the Challenges, sell them, and get mares next year when I’m better set up to deal with foals. Right now, that seems like the best option. But I know me—I’ll fall in love with the geldings I get this year, and won’t be able to let them go.

Then There Are the Lows

Finding a place to keep the horses has been extremely difficult. I thought I had a place lined up early, but when he heard that the horses were mustangs, he immediately backed out. I was heartbroken because this place was about a mile from our place, and it was a flat rate for the pasture, not a per-horse charge each month. I really can’t afford the $350-$550 per horse, per month that is the norm around here. And I can’t count on any help from anyone. I still need to buy saddles and some other miscellaneous stuff, so all this will add up in a hurry.

On another day, I found a great deal on a round pen which could be used to work the mustangs until they’re comfortable enough with me to be out on the trails. I talked to the lady (or man—hard to tell since both male and female names were thrown around) and made arrangements to buy it, but then found that it was all fraud. Even though I didn’t lose any money, I still felt betrayed. Maybe that wasn’t as big of a setback as the pasture, but these things tend to pile up.

There are days when I know without a doubt that this will never work. Thankfully, those days are few. I don’t believe that really, but there are days that it feels that way.

I focus instead on how to make this happen. My first priority is to find a place to keep the horses that meets Forest Service (and BLM) requirements and doesn’t discriminate against mustangs. So that is my task for the next few days.

Next is to get USFS and BLM approval for adoption. That’s just a matter of filling out the necessary paperwork and emailing in to the respective agencies. I can’t imagine this going wrong, but part of me worries anyway.

I need a few supplies—halters, leads, and at least one lunge line for starts. I bought (foolishly, maybe) a pair of bosals with mecates already tied on. One has horsehair reins, and boy are they rough on the hands! The other has soft cotton reins and I’m in love with that one. Might have to sell the first and get another of the second. The reason this is probably a foolish purchase is that I’ve never used a bosal. It’s always far better to train the rider before the rider attempts to train the horse. (Well, almost always. There was Amber…. But that’s a story for another time.) I may have to take some lessons on a well-trained bosal horse (hackamore horse, I think is the correct term) so that I know a little better what I’m doing.

I also need to check the shed out back to see what (if any) brushes and such I might still have. I just can’t remember if I gave all that stuff to the lady who leased Amber the last few years of her life or not.

I’ve got a vet lined up to check the horses over after they’re reasonably gentled and can be examined. I still need to line up a farrier and possibly an equine dentist. Farriers or vets used to do teeth, but I’m told it’s better to get a trained equine dentist, so I’ll go with what’s best for the horses.

We have been checking the price of fence panels, and they are so wildly varied that I don’t know what to think. New pricing runs from $100-140 a panel, and used pricing seems to be just as much or more. Gates are $25-100 more, each. And I need (at a minimum) two 20X20 square pens until the horses are gentled enough to be out in regular fencing. I’m looking at going with two 24X24 pens to start. I don’t know if it will work, but once the horses are good with regular fencing, I hope I can use the square fence panels to make one large round pen for working the horses.

Those are the sort of things I need to consider, and the list keeps on growing.