Warning: This post is probably going to be pretty long and wholesome.
2020 has been a wild ride for sure. With it's ups and many downs, it seemed like this year would never end. Now we are finally here, days away from the New Year (and RO!), and I have some of the most fantastic news to share with you all!
Everyone has a horse they see in their dreams. That one "heart horse" that feels as if it is a part of you, perfect to you in every way; the one with which you can surpass any obstacle with or win any competition. My dream horse, an approximately 4yo OTR (off the range) chestnut Mustang mare, was recently adopted- by someone else.
In October of 2018 while I was looking at the mustang listings on the BLM auction site for OTR Mustangs, I found a mustang that I simply couldn't get out of my head. Upon first glance she was nothing special, a sinny, rugged-looking, 14 hand, dull chestnut mare with mud up to her knees so thick you could only guess if she had any kind of leg markings. But when I saw her face, I couldn't tear my eyes from the screen. Despite the mud and fear she was likely feeling, her eyes seemed so gentile and curious, and she had the most unusual blaze I've ever seen.
If I'd had the means and experience to adopt a mustang, I would have adopted her then and there. But I didn't, and still don't, so I let her go hoping she would be adopted and not have to live in holding for long. Unfortunately, the auction finished and she did not have any bids. Despite this, I was a bit relieved as I had been scared she would be sold to a kill buyer, since at that time the laws on kill buyers purchasing mustangs from the BLM were a lot more relaxed than they are now.
And so, time went by. I would check the site every few months to see if she had been sold, but each time I would get to the second last page and see her beautiful face on my screen, while the stunning pintos, heavy roans, and fresian-looking mustangs that made up the first few pages were all being sold off, hopefully, to lovely homes to be trained and loved.
Then, finally around early fall of 2020 I checked her listing and saw she had recieved a bid. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed that now there would be absolutely no hope in my adopting and gentling her, but I still do not have the capabilities of owning a trained schooling horse that is basically a couch with legs, let alone an off the range mustang. Besides, she was finally getting adopted and would be leaving the holding facility for good. But what I didn't know is where she was going. SInce I saw her I had been scared she would end up as part of the unlucky few sold off to kill buyers. I would have done everything I could if I found that was to happen, but I simply didn't know. So I waited. I checked her listing every month and currently still have a tab on my laptop open just for her and another mustang I had seen in the recent auction, a gorgeous bright flaxen chestnut sabino mare with lovely conformation who was sold after multiple bids. I had been checking her location to see where she would end up, and noticed she had been moved to the Ewing holding facility in southern Illinois. So, I googled the facility and found a facebook group people had started for the facility. I began looking through the pictures group memebrs had posted of their mustangs and those still in the facility waiting to be taken to their new homes, and quickly found a post of the little chestnut mare using the BLM picture from her auction listing, and a comment from her buyer exclaiming their excitement over buying her. I was so relieved to find that she had been adopted by someone who was going to care for her, but with the COVID restrictions, it was apparantly a bit tough to actually get out to the facility if you were not living in IL, so again I waited to see when she would be picked up.
I happened to check her listing on the BLM site again late last night, and found that her location was listed as "Adopted". I immediately checked the Ewing facebook page, which I had already open in the next tab, and found that not only had her owner posted at least 20 pictures of the little chestnut mare, but she had taken probably close to a few hundred pictures of other people's mustangs so their owners could see how they were doing. I then went to her owner's FB page and saw she had posted a picture of the mare, now named Renegade aka "Wren" about a week ago all cleaned off, two bright back socks shining, and wearing a halter. Honestly, I don't think I could have come up with a better name for her myself.
Now, I don't cry. I'm not the type of person to get super emotional and never have been, but when I saw that post I had to wipe away a few stray tears. For 2 years I had been so scared she would be sold to a kill buyer and helpless because there was nothing I could do about it. Seeing that post, where new owner revealed she likes listening to the camera shutter and butt scratches, made me more relieved than I could ever have imagined. I may not have been the one to give her a forever home, but I am so insainely happy that Wren now has a loving home to care for her in a way I wish I could have been able to.
2020 was rough for everyone, but just two days before the new year, this is probably the highlight of my 2020.
As the saying goes, "If you love it then let it go" or something like that, and I am so happy I did. It would not have been fair to her for someone so inexperienced such as myself to care for her, as I am only just recently stepping back into the equestrian world after a long 6 year hiatus, even if I had the funding and capabilities to own her, which I don't. Seeing Wren happy and healthy is all that I ever wanted for her, and I am happy she is now somehwere where that is possible. Thank you to her new owner, and I hope you and Renegade have a wonderful 2021 full of new adventures and lots of butt scratches!
Before:
Now:
Warming, with Sleet and Heavy Icing
