Jodi & Dixie, a mustang, competing in Western Riding Class
Story after story of the phenomenal performances that take place at the end of the Extreme Mustang Makeover gloss over those Mustangs that go through the program and have meltdowns in response to the pressure they are put under and the amount of change they are forced to deal with in such a short time. Makes you wonder if the program needs to be revamped and called THE Mustang Makeover, period. What man will do to an animal for the sake of winning an award or money is beginning to show in this, albeit well intended, show.
There is no getting around the fact that once money and animals enter the same room, money will win and the animal becomes merely a vehicle of human achievement. What is the point of getting a wild animal to jump through fire or into moving vehicles if his new owner cannot even get him through a gate or away from the barn to enjoy a trail ride? Yes, it is a wild animal. I have been taught to give a “domestic” horse up to two weeks to adjust to a new owner and home. One of my own horses took a full year to be “at home.” Only then did he start the bonding process and he was a seven year old show horse.
I am very glad that I have gotten to know so many first generation Mustang owners, but they are the ones that are telling me how many hours, days, weeks, and months it has taken for their ‘wild’ youngsters to adjust to life in confinement. These are babies that have not lived even a year on the range and are still very pliable. How much slower should the adjustments and training of an adult Mustang be? Those that have survived on whit and herd mechanics, that have earned their rights to be alive and have breathed the breath of freedom for so long.
Before you get mad, I give high accolades to those who understand the true purpose of this program and spend the time to get a solid foundation on the horse and steer clear of all the circus training. The program is to take these animals from wild to ‘domestic’ life in 90 days. To produce an animal to be relocated to yet another home, able to adapt and provide its new owner the enjoyment of this beautiful, intelligent, and sound piece of American legend.
So while the crowd loves a good show, consider the object of entertainment. It was not his idea to leave his home of contentment and freedom to jump through hoops for man. While it is awesome to see how much these animals will endure for their trainer, it would be even better to see what these animals can do for their final owners. It really should be a focus on how the trainers have prepared these animals for what they are going to deal with for the rest of their lives; gates, dogs, trailers, confinement, trail rides, only to name a few. It should commend and only allow those maneuvers that pertain directly to the Mustangs new ‘everyday’ life, so they are able to prove themselves happy partners and gain a permanent home with a new owner.
You see, I have to deal a lot with the Mustangs that have been ‘ruined’ by either ignorance or abuse. They are a very impressionable animal and come into man’s world a blank slate. Those formative months and years are paving the way of his life. If well trained and adjusted he can become someone’s life long companion. If his confidence is shaken and his mind is blown he may spend the rest of his life bouncing from home to home only to be labeled unruly and dangerous and left to stand in a stall, forgotten and ignored. Extreme makeover, indeed.
