Gayle Graham, Program Coordinator; Veteran Bill Hancock; Veteran Charles Bunyard, Jr.; Veteran Julian Jimenez; Veteran Harold Cosper; Veteran Penny Sammons-Velder; TIP Trainer, Katie Ketterhagen
Among our romantic notions of America is the Old West and an image of free-roaming wild horses.
Somewhat surprisingly, there are nearly 100,000 feral Mustangs roaming freely or gathered in federal facilities out West and five of them arrived from Oklahoma Feb 6 for training and adoption, sponsored by the Mustang Heritage Foundation in Weir.
The horses are part of the Mustang Mentor program in Williamson County. The Program pairs military veterans with feral Mustangs with the goal of helping the veteran recover from injury, PTSD or other combat-related trauma, as well as finding a good adoptive home for the horse.
The Mustang Mentor veteran program is 100 percent privately funded. Every dollar received goes directly to funding the pick-up, gentling, and training process for each Veteran and Mustang. They bring new horses home 2-3 times per year for a 12-week program of training.
The wild horses are acquired just for the veteran program. If a person is wounded in combat, he or she can choose to stay in the military or retire. In retirement these organizations help people choose their next path. The idea is horses or similar programs give the veteran a new purpose or direction to help them cope, deal with anxiety or adjust to normal life events.
Veteran and former APD Officer Bill Hancock was invited to apply for the program after eight years of other therapies. “I am looking forward to being around the horses because you’re trying to gain and earn each others’ trust; nothing is given. Being around an animal that size is very calming and very rewarding; they are good listeners. The horse I used to care for would follow my car and wait for me to scratch his neck and he knew how to open my pocket to get at the peppermint he knew I was always carrying. It’s going to be a great few months here.”
Hancock also mentioned that he has been somewhat of a homebody for the past eight years and he and his wife are so pleased to have found something to inspire and support his continued recovery.
The Mustang Foundation includes many other programs to foster awareness and support for the animal population. They have summer camps, children’s programs, training contests, and multiple “Extreme Mustang Makeovers,” which give trainers 100 days to train a wild horse for adoption. Trainers compete for cash and prizes while displaying the trainability of Mustangs to find suitable adoptive families.
To join the Mustang Nation visit MustangHeritageFoundation.org. They are always ready to welcome new volunteers, sponsors, and horse fans.
