Texas And The Great 'Extreme Mustang Makeover'
Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
The wild mustang herds are running wild in the Western states such as Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and California.
The BLM(Bureau of Land Management) is understaffed, underfunded and overwhelmed because of the overpopulation of these horses.
Running free in Utah:
They put a stop to selling them to just anyone because some of those were companies who were taking them to the slaughterhouses. But not selling them of course, increases the population even more.
The BLM has a big problem
They estimate there are as many as 88,000 now and many face starvation in the vast desert-like regions.
Another wild herd:
To reduce the population the BLM is neutering, sterilizing, and culling the herds. By culling I reckon they're talking about euthanizing some of them.
They also capture thousands of them and house them in corrals and warehouses which costs a bloody fortune. Last year it cost 21 million dollars to feed and house them. $51,000 for each of the horses over their lifetime.
A small but effective effort
One of the programs created to get the mustangs into private hands is called The Extreme Mustang Makeover.
The way it works is the mustangs are taken from the BLM and given to trainers who have 120 days to turn the totally wild animals into partners who they compete with in the Fort Worth, Texas Stock Show and Rodeo.
Which of course, is one of the best rodeos in the world.
It's the ultimate challenge for the trainers who are the best Texas has to offer which also makes them the best in the world. lol.
They literally live with them for that 4 month period. Except when they go to bed but I'm not even sure about that!
They totally dedicate themselves to the horses in their care with the best medical services, the best nutrition, and of course the best training and truckloads of love.
The wild mustangs are a breed apart
Even though they come to them completely wild, mustangs are very social animals and the bond they create with their trainers is extremely strong. Interestingly, MUCH stronger than with domestic breeds.
To say they grow close is an understatement.
Once the trainer gains the trust of the horse, which is a slow process, the training begins. Wow, look at this beauty!
After 4 months of long days and intense training the trainers perform a large variety of tricks and programs with their new friends:
The first place prize is $50,000 for the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition but these trainers aren't really doing it for the money I can tell you that.
After the rodeo the mustangs are auctioned off to new owners who will give them a loving home.
Many a tear is shed when the trainers say goodbye to their dedicated partners but then they get ready to train new recruits coming in from the BLM.
The program is a smashing success but of course only a small percentage of horses get to be in it so it needs to be expanded if possible.
The problem is, not that many people ride horses these days. We've turned into a bunch of dang city-slickers. lol.
Thanks for stopping by folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas
Gahhh...not city slickers!!! Them's fightin' words lol
Howdy tamaralovelace! Are you defending the city slickers or agreeing with me? lol.
Hahaaa..agreeing with you!
The pictures are beautiful and the horses are amazing. I learned a lot in this post.
Thanks for this wonderful post :D
Howdy there sarakey! Thanks so much for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I don't know anyone from Serbia so it's good to meet you!
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Howdy esteemapp! Thanks so much for the upvote and the great platform!
Great story Janton and right at rodeo time to boot. Texas has the best rodeos and livestock shows in the world; bar none.
Howdy sir sultnpapper! Good to see you and yes I agree totally of course! lol.
Is this Extreme Mustang Makeover a women's only event? Where's all the pictures of the beefy men?
Lol...I tried to find them, I really did. But I only found a couple of lousy photos of one or two pot-bellied cowboys just sitting on the horse. My impression is that most of the trainers are female. I'm sure they're better at it anyway and they sure as heck look better!
Howdy Janton! Although I understand the problem, rodeo is not the solution. The root of the problem is that cattle is eating the food and drinking the water of the wild horses. https://www.hanaeleh.org/horses-versus-cattle-truth-behind-grazing-rights/
Howdy Miss Lena! I was anxiously awaiting your highly esteemed opinion! And I did read that article, thank you!
Oh I see! You know me so well, even if you don't remember everything I say, lol. My pleasure 😊
I thought the article was very interesting. I mean, being a former cattle rancher I knew how much feed and cattle needed but man, I had no idea the difference between them and horses was so great! Horses don't need much in comparison. That looks like a good organization there.
Unless people stop eating so much beef, and it IS declining isn't it?...then I think they's just have to sterlize a percentage of the herd.
The shots are really beautiful 😅 But not so sure if it's only the horse beauty thebo e I'm staring at.
Thisbis indeed a grwat problem my friend, the ones rulling the us society are people who's only motivation is money... So how to make the preservation of these beautiful herds into something profitable.... That's the question.
Do you have any idea about how to handle this issue?
Howdy sir joelsegovia! It is a very big problem and the government has been struggling with it for 50 years and it keeps getting worse. No, I don't have a solution without sounding cold-blooded.
I think they have to somehow keep the population down so they are sterilizing and that's probably the most humane thing to do. Either that or we start riding horses to work. lol.
I think that it's not an issue of being cold-blooded or not... it's more about craftiness. The thing is that modern society has no room for uninterested actions, we are in the no-profit no-action world :(
Very true sir joelsegovia, I agree!
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Howdy steem-plus and thank you so much for the upvote!
good
Excellent post @janton Ride 'em Cowboy! 👍
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Thank you so much trendotoken and sir wonderwop!
lol..yes indeed....thank you sir wonderwop!