My First Mustang/Horse Experience

This is me in the Fall of 1991 in a little town called Huston Idaho, outside of Boise.  This is me with Honey, my very first horse ever, a mustang (and I have never owned,or really ridden a horse in my entire life).  By the way, I am 29 years old in this picture and Honey is 2.

Honey was picked up as a wild horse in the spring of 1991 near Burns Oregon and entered into the Idaho Canyon County Fair as a raffle horse by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and the American Mustang Foundation.   This meant she was caught in the spring of 1991, trained during the summer (a few months, and then entered into the fair in August).   I was leaving the fair with my boyfriend at the time and I looked over at the horse and I realized that I was in love.  And not really with my boyfriend.....
I bought about 10 raffle tickets for this beautiful palomino paint and I said to my boyfriend, "I'm gonna get that horse, and when I get that horse I'm gonna name her Honey".  I bought the tickets from a man named Calvin .  I didn't remember him at the time.  I only had eyes for Honey.
2 months later, they had the drawing near Eagle Idaho. I didn't know what a horse playday was, so I was pretty anxious to win my mustang and go home, however my boyfriend and I had to wait all day until the play day was over before I could win my mustang and take her home.  I spent most of the day petting her and telling her everything was going to be okay once I got her home.  There were two young boys there at the corral telling me THEY were going to win this horse but I just ignored them.  Later I found out they were Calvin's sons, Adam and Brian.  They were about 6 and 8 years old.  I don't remember seeing Calvin there.  I only had eyes for Honey.
So finally the raffle name was picked and Honey was going to go to a 14 year old Boy.  I got on the back of my boyfriends Harley and cried all the way home.  I couldn't believe how upset I was.  Then, my boyfriend said, "Why don't you contact the American Mustang Foundation? Maybe the kid that won that horse doesn't have the facilities to keep her and they'll have to draw another name."  EUREKA!!  That was it!  The kid wouldn't be able to keep the horse and THEN I'd win my mustang Honey.  Nice thought, isn't it?
So I called the President of the Mustang Foundation, a wonderful man by the name of Larry Leach (god rest his soul).  Mr. Leach told me that the kid did not have the facilities to keep the horse but he really wanted it.  So I offered this....How about me and the kid SHARE the horse. I have the pasture for her and he can help with the expenses and come ride her in the countryside whenever he wants!!  Mr. Leach gave my offer to the boys mother (who was the mother of 6 by the way and on welfare).  The mother agreed and we worked it out where Honey could come and stay on the pasture by my house and the kid could come and ride him whenever he wanted!  Yay!  I have my mustang Honey!
The kid came out a time or two to ride him but couldn't make her go and all she did was eat pasture, so he finally bored with her and decided I could have her.  YAY!  I now OWN my first horse, my first Mustang, a two year old green broke palomino paint!  She came 6 months trained with her tack and saddle.  I rode her all over the place and we had a great time.
Then the boyfriend and I split up. He rode east on his Harley, and I rode west on my Mustang.  I managed to find a little place to rent with pasture in Kuna Idaho and this is where Honey and I lived.
I joined the American Mustang Foundation which was a group that organized rides and events with the mustangs.  I was the secretary for the foundation for awhile.  I met a lot of great people.  I remember for the first time meeting a gentleman by the name of Calvin   He said we met a few times before but I didn't remember..  He was a good ol' boy.  Had a Horse Trailer, and he was available to take me and Honey to any events I wanted to go. Life was great!!
Then friend Calvin and I decided to start looking for property to buy.  We decided we would like to get about 5 acres and put a couple of manufactured homes on it and share a barn and arena for our 2 mustang horses.  By the time we found the land we wanted, only one home was necessary (wink wink).  And we were married shortly after.  That was in 1994.  Honey was 5 years at that time and I had just bred her to a smaller black mustang named "Black" out of Sand Hollow, Idaho.  Owner:  Wendy Chamberlain.  Calvin had a mustang horse named Hobbs.  Here is a picture of her and him riding in a parade.

This is Calvin and Hobbs in the Mustang Parade in Melba Idaho in 1992(?) or thereabouts.  Calvin had tried for 7 years to get Hobbs bred and she finally took in 1993.  Honey was also pregnant in 1993.  Both of our mustangs were going to have babies.  It was an exciting time for us both!
But then........Tragedy............
We rented pasture for our two mustangs in downtown Kuna while we were working on our 10 acres we bought.  One day, Calvin was tying Honey up to get trimmed by the farrier when Honey reared back and caught Calvin's fingers in her rope.  He thought he had a bad rope burn but it turned out that the rope had shredded his fingers  right down to the bone!  We rushed him to the hospital and they doctored Calvin up.  The next day we were told the unfortunate news that Hobbs was killed by a train in Kuna!  Apparently, with all the fuss about getting Calvin to the Emergency Room, and the ferrier there and showing his own way out, the gate did not get locked properly and 3 horses that were boarded there were loose and standing on the railroad tracks as a train was coming!  Hobbs, Honey, and Calvins Brothers Horse Buster.
Fortunately for me, Honey loved people.  So when a few middle school girls saw the horses on the tracks, they whistled and called for the horses to come to them.  Honey ran right to them.  But Hobbs stayed put.  She was killed instantly, baby and all.  It was soooo sad.  Calvin came home and told me about it and all I could do was curl up in the kitchen and cry and cry and cry.  There was poor Calvin with his hand all bandaged up from yesterday's ordeal and now the cops were telling him he had to get his horse off the railroad tracks.  I was beside myself.  Buster took a beating but he is still alive today.  And of course, Honey is no worse for the wear.  The next day was Friday the 13th so Calvin and I both called in sick to work that day since we couldn't bear anymore bad luck.  As a sidenote, a few weeks prior to this our rabbit was killed by a couple of country labs, our mama kitty was run over and was paralyzed so we had to put her down, a runt kitten died although I kept it in bed with me all night feeding it milk with an eye dropper.  Two of our dogs were shot and killed by the mean neighbor because they 'stepped' on his property.   I won't mention any names....WINCHESTER! So the finger thing and losing Hobbs was about all we could take at that time.  And all of this happened within a 3 week period!  Good Lord!  We have never had a tragedy since then, but Boy Howdy, I should say we had our fill that month in August 1993.  I wouldn't wish a month like that on ANYONE, not even my worst arch enemy!  You know who your are....
So, by the time we moved into our new home on 10 acres we only had a pregnant Honey horse.  Calvin needed something to ride so we bought a 3 year old paint horse at the auction and named Her Patches.  When Honey's colt was born, I was there tapping his little hooves before he was even out of his mama!  I was going to do some 'imprint training' and have the perfect horse!  We named our black little colt Bocephus which means 'little one " in Cherokee.  Here is the final result.

I like to show this picture, because it shows the size of his head!  He is a 16 hand 18 year old mustang (domesticated) now and what a handful he is.  While I was busy doing all that imprint training, I turned him into a spoiled dog and now I cannot control him on the ground at all.  I ride him and love him but I don't ever get off of him or he will go home without me.  Mainly because he has never been weaned from his mother who is 23 now (Honey).  What was I thinking.....? I even sent him to ground training last year.  The trainer (the illustrious Shannon Allison) found no problem with him.  That's when I realized it was strictly a herd sourness trait and nothing more.  However, that doesn't make it any easier when you are knocked down through the corral gate if you take his mother or any of this 'mares' out the gate!  We are learning to adapt however.  We tie him up INSIDE the corral when moving horses around and it is much safer for all!
I ended up giving Bocephus to our niece as a graduation present this year, but he is still boarded here.  She loves him and rides him bareback and double bareback all over to hell and back and has no problem.  He gets loose from her on the ground still, but she is learning the tricks to keeping everyone safe.  Seriously, only a strong strong strong man can keep this horses head in place!  That's my dear friend Raine in the picture by the way.  She usually doesn't get that close to Bo.  See the fear in her eyes?  Just kidding Raine!
So Bocephus became Calvins Hunting Horse in his early years.  Always pawing, always anxious, always concerned about whatever mare was with him and worrying about those that weren't....that's Bocephus.  As Calvin aged, controlling Bo on the ground became harder....So after last year's hunt, Calvin says he will never take Bo again.  Too much work!
Back to Patches, the horse we bought for Calvin after Hobbs passed on.....Patches is 20 now and she is about the best kids and old ladies horse ever.  I am trying to sell her to an 8 year old girl who is just learning to ride.  I couldn't imagine a better horse for a child to learn on.  We'll see how that goes.
13 years ago we bred Patches so I could have another "baby".  Along came Sassy.  Who really wasn't sassy at all.  Her full name is Sassafras.  Here she is.

Just your everyday basic quarter horse paint.  She is 13 now and is exactly like her mother.  Just as gentle and sweet as can be.  Calvin says he will only take Sassy hunting now because she was a perfect angel last year!
So as much as I love ALL my 4 horses, I only want what's best for them.  As I age (I will be 50 this year) and my horses age, I realize I won't always be as "strong"? as I am now so I really want to train my own baby and make it the 'perfect' horse.  I don't think I had enough experience when Bo and Sassy were born, but I think I'm ready for it now!
So that's my horse history in a nutshell.  I now have Marty the Mustang who I just adopted yesterday (my yearling) and for some odd reason, I feel like after 20 years of having horses I am finally ready to make the perfect horse!  Stay with me and I will share my learnings with you.  It should be an exciting ride!