I picked up Scout on April 1, and I’m not sure if that will ultimately be meaningful. I found the ad for him on Craigslist where he was advertised for free as a companion horse with photos of a horse that seemed to have a kind face. If I remember correctly – much has happened since then – the ad mentioned that he was ear-shy and that his sides were sensitive. After corresponding several times with the owner and thinking that surely someone would pick him up before I had a chance to (the owner was giving him away to the first person who showed up), I headed out on the four hour drive with my horse trailer in two.

The only thing that was disappointing when I saw him was that he was pigeon-toed, but this does not seem to be uncommon in mustangs. He was shy, but the owner said it just takes time for mustangs to warm up to new people. Once she put my halter on him, she took him in the round pen for a few minutes while the brand inspector took care of paperwork, and then she hustled him into my trailer before I had a chance to say whether or not I was actually taking him. Before I left, I asked if she wanted to get updates about him, and she said no, that it was like moving out of a house – one needs a clean break. She did text the next morning to make sure we got home safely. I wasn’t sure how well he would unload, but he was fine.

I left the halter on him since I wasn’t sure I would be able to catch him, and that was probably a good idea. Ultimately (long story), I ended up moving him to a place with a smaller pen and took the halter off then. It didn’t take long for him to accept treats from me, though.

Since I didn’t buy Scout, an eight-year-old mustang, “acquiring” seems like the most appropriate term. He had been gathered as a yearling, so he wasn’t directly off the range and had some saddle training. His name was actually Tang, partly for the orange tint to his coat and partly for “mustang.” Since he seemed fearful and nervous, I wanted to give him a name that reflected curiosity and courage but when I was drawing a blank, I turned to the Facebook “hive mind.” One of the suggestions was Brave, but I’ve already had a gelding by that name. My favorite of the suggestions was Scout, which seemed a perfect choice for a mustang.

Since he hadn’t been worked much for a couple of years, I decided to start working with him as if he hadn’t been mounted yet. Watch this space for more updates about Scout’s progress.