One wild mustang is getting a chance at a better life, thanks to a horse farm in Hope.
About three months ago, Wendy Harvey, owner of Equine Connections on Gillette Road, welcomed an American mustang who had never been touched by a human, the Penobscot Bay Pilot reported. Today, the mare named Freedom is accepting saddle and bridle, and occasionally a rider.
It’s all part of a competition called Extreme Mustang Makeovers, run by the Mustang Heritage Foundation to increase the adoption of wild horses held by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the BLM removes growing numbers of wild horses from public land in the West, particularly Nevada, Utah and California. As of June, there were nearly 47,000 wild horses and burros in holding facilities.
To aid their adoption, the Mustang Makeover chooses a number of experienced trainers and then gives them wild horses to tame.
Harvey’s 100 days to train Freedom are nearly up. On Aug. 7 and 8, the pair will travel to Massachusetts to show judges how far they’ve come and potentially win a prize. After the competition, the horses will be available for adoption.
Read more about their journey in this report by Lynda Clancy here, and watch this video of Harvey training Freedom:
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=DDYUb9YnvW8″]
