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I'M SOLD
By Tammy Melvin
Every now and again, you hear of someone meeting up with their soul
mate. Most of the time, its a story of two people, believing that they were put on this earth, to spend their lives
with each other. This story, however, is slightly different. This story
is of a soul mate, sent to a family. This soul mate, not only was sent
to spend the rest of her life with this family, but also had a bigger
purpose than ever imagined. And this soul mate, is NOT another person,
it just so happens to be a horse! Not just any horse, she is an American
Wild Mustang. This is the story of Castiel...
My name is Tammy, and I have been raised with horses. I was six years
old when I got my first pony. My parents
didn't have any knowledge about horses, but lived in a place where
we could have them. So, they got me a Shetland
mare, and basically turned me loose with her. That little Shetland mare
taught me so much, as I began focusing on my school work, as I had to
become a better reader. I read everything I could about horses. By seven
years old, I had read the complete book, of the horse Encyclopedia, and
it didn't stop there. Horses WERE my life. I had made it my personal
goal in life, to absorb as much knowledge as I could, about EVERYTHING
horse.
As years passed, and I outgrew the pony, my parents upgraded me to
larger ponies, then to horses. At the age 8, I was hired to train ponies
and small horses, by a local trainer, who was too big to get these
horses going under saddle. I began showing as well. At 15, I had gotten
my work permit, and was working at a horse farm. Throughout the years, I
had worked for several farms, doing anything from cleaning stalls for
board, to foaling manager, to head trainer, to farm manager. Working
with many different breeds, I decided I wanted to expand, and opened my
own farm, importing, breeding and training Andalusian and Friesian
horses. I don't want to spend a lot of time on the subject of
myself, but just wanted to give you an idea of the experiences that I
have had with many breeds, as I feel its pretty important in this short
story.
Anyhow, to make a long story short, my daughter, Taylor, age 15, had
obviously been raised with horses as well.
She had shown client horses at the age of four, has helped me train,
bathe, clip, etc, trained her own horse, and even helped with live cover
breedings as well as artificial insemination. She though, unlike me, was
not as enthusiastic about horses. It was more of a chore for her. It was
not her passion, as it is with me. About three years ago, she had
decided that boys, and an image of the typical teenager, was more
important, than spending time in the barn, getting dirty, with her
horse. She asked me to sell her horse, and had nothing more to do with
them.
My husband, Todd, was never really into horses. He liked to trail ride
occasionally, but that was really about it. I think he would average
about ten rides a year. But, both he and Taylor supported my insane need
for anything horse, and put up with my ever expanding thirst for horse
knowledge, allowing me to dominate the TV many nights, watching videos
or by holding horses for me to collect stallions, trim hooves,
inseminate mares, and take photos of horses, etc.
Last year, I had the opportunity for a once in a lifetime job, in which
was not horse related, so I took it. It was an electrician
apprenticeship, and required me to work full time, and take classes a
few nights a week, as well as MANY hours of home work, and all day class
on Saturday. I tried to keep up with it, as well as my horse farm, but
found out quickly that it just wasn't possible. After missing the
birth of one of my foals, which had never been done before, I decided
that I could not possibly do foal watch, and still keep this job. It
wasn't fair to my animals. They were not going to suffer because of
this job. So, we decided that since these horses were not cheap. We
could not justify having pastures full of $20 thousand dollar ornaments.
They needed to be ridden, and loved and I just didn't have time for
them. So, we sold every single one of them.
I hit the biggest depression I have ever known. I couldn't even look
out at the barn without wanting to cry. So, I told my husband that I
just couldn't live without a horse. He understood, and admitted he
and Taylor even had a bet, to see how long it would take for me to get
another horse. I told him that I just HAD to make time for it. And that
I wouldn't get an expensive import. So he agreed and after looking
on the market, not finding anything that remotely interested me, and had
watched the Extreme Mustang Makeover, decided THAT was what I wanted to
do. I wanted to adopt a wild mustang.
So, I looked online, and found that at that time, there was indeed an
internet adoption taking place. I called the number, to see about the
requirements, and to get approved. She mentioned that there was actually
an adoption being held at the Ewing facility at that moment. She got me
approved, and Todd and I drove the next morning to take a look.
Taking a look, ended up to bringing home! When we arrived, I was
overwhelmed. I couldn't believe that there were so
many mustangs. They were nothing like the type of horse I was used to.
No shiny coats, no pick me personalities. No $20K price tags. What I
found were more than a hundred head of scared to death, shaggy, dull
coated, snort and blowers.
BUT, as I looked through the holding pens, something changed inside of
me. I began looking closer or maybe it was further, or even into what
could be, instead of what is. My heart felt as if it had been ripped out
of my chest. I cant really explain this feeling I had that day, but can
remember it like it was yesterday. I saw these poor horses, ripped away
from their families, away from their homes, and away from their freedom.
I tried to see things through their eyes. And what I found, was fear,
loneliness, and sadness. It's not that they were not being taken
care of, as they had good quality hay, fresh oats, a never ending supply
of water, and all in good flesh. But, I saw a longing in their eyes. A
sadness for something they had lost. My heart was crying inside to help
them all find what they were looking for.
I hear people say horses cant talk, and they are right. At least not in
the human tongue. But if one studies horses and their behavior long
enough, one can pretty much understand every single thing that a horse
has to say. I had made that my priority in life, and feel I have a
fairly good ear, or eye per say, to listen to horses. After watching
them all for what seemed like a few hours, I had decided that I was
going to be taking a mustang home with me.
Down the row of pens we walked, admiring each horse for who they were,
my eyes caught sight of a little brown blur at the back of one of the
pens. I stopped dead in my tracks. I told Todd, "that is the one". He
pointed out to me, that I couldn't even really see her. As she was
way back there, and I didn't even have my glasses on that day. To
him, she looked like a scrawny, little, scared, plain old bay. All I
could really see, was a brown outline in a horse shape, with a BIG
arrow, pointing down from the sky, pointing her out to me. It was if God
himself were showing me that this horse, was the horse we needed to
help. Todd said to me that we should just keep on looking, as a lot of
the horses were up closer to the front of the pens, eating hay (ever so
carefully, as they were scared to death of people walking in front of
the pens and troughs). He said that those horses, we could get a good
look at, and check for any injuries, and look over their conformations.
It was if I were wearing concrete shoes, for at that moment, I
couldn't have lifted my feet to walk away even if I had wanted to. I
told him I would wait for her to gain the courage to come for a bite of
hay. I waited, and waited for nearly three hours. Seemed like days. He
continued on, down the row, to see if there was anything that would
capture my heart, as he pretty much knew me by now, and the taste I have
in horses. After a while, he came back, and told me about several nice
horses that he thought I would like. Most of the ones he chose, had
beautiful golden colors, or paint patterns, or just
beautiful to the eye. I told him that after I got a better look at this
one I had been waiting for, I would make my way over and look at the
others.
Finally, in her own time, SHE cautiously approached the manger. When I
looked in her eyes, she connected glances with me. I felt as if the
world had been put on pause. Only she and I existed to me at this
moment. Tears literally began dripping down my face. I don't know
why. She was nothing like I had imagined bringing home. She was small,
scraggly, and trembling. She was a plain old bay, as my husband then
called, with a single white star. Fuzzy mane, flying in every direction
possible. But, she was oddly enough, compared to my jaguar expensive
taste in horseflesh, BEAUTIFUL! I felt overwhelmed with joy, sadness,
fear, anticipation, doubt, confidence and every other imaginable feeling
all at once. I had never in my life felt
like this before. "This horse does things to me!" is all I could say.
"WE MUST TAKE HER HOME WITH US!". And we
did just that.
We arrived home late that night, as we decided to stay to watch the
whole adoption process, and to watch the demos.
It was a very exhausting day, I was drained from all of these feelings,
and strange changes that had taken place with me, after seeing these
wild animals up close for the first time. So, we quietly unloaded our
new arrival, and left her alone for the night. She had to be stressed,
and needed to explore her new surroundings in peace.
The next morning, I went down to the corral so excited, I had to calm
myself before approaching the pen, so as not to scare her. I gathered
myself mentally and made my way slowly to the pen with a small amount of
grain, two flakes of hay and an extra bucket to sit on. She knew what
the hay was, and immediately faced me, extremely cautious, but hungry. I
slowly tossed the hay over the corral to her direction, and she began to
eat. I sat there beside the corral for her to eat every single blade.
Not looking her in the eye, and not moving a muscle. When she was
finished, I took the bucket of grain, and the extra bucket into the
corral, and sit there like a rock. After a few minutes, she began moving
closer to me. I didn't look at her.
After what seemed to be fifteen minutes or so, she slowly progressed to
me, and stuck her nose in the feed pan sitting
on my lap. She tasted it, and liked it. She took tiny bites, and looked
at me while she chewed. I looked down at her feet, glancing occasionally
up at her. She didn't move away from me. I offered my hand to her,
palm down, and she touched it with her nose. It was if hot wax were
poured over my head, and dripped down over my whole body. I felt nothing
like this before. It was wonderful. The first willing touch of a wild
horse to a human may not sound like much to many people, but to me, it
was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever encountered. Its
right up there with a mother seeing her newborn child for the first
time. Not as good, but almost! I wish I had a camera. A moment I will
never forget as long as I live.
From that moment on, I felt as if we were a part of each other. She must
have felt the same thing, as from that point on, it was if she had
decided that I could be trusted. For after that, she agreed to
EVERYTHING I asked of her. After finishing that small amount of grain,
she allowed ME to rub her nose, then head, then scratch her head. That
blasted halter that the BLM felt she had to have put on, before coming
home with me, had to be itchy. So I softly and slowly removed it from
her pretty little face. I felt it would be more of a fair game to her,
if she wasn't already at a disadvantage of having a capture device
on her head.
I then scratched her head, her neck, her chest, her barrel, her back,
her hip, her legs, all with her unhaltered, unrestrained, and free to
move away if she chose. I then got my grooming tote. She approached me,
and I brushed her whole body, picked her feet, braided her mane to one
side, dematted her tail and even used show sheen to gloss up her coat. I
sprayed her with fly spray too. She never moved a hair, except wriggling
her nose in pleasure. She was a god sent. I felt as if I were in heaven.
I then sent her around the corral, using body language that she
understood, and responded to. I asked her to change directions, to and
away from me. Then I took my rope and tossed it around and all over her
body. This scared her, but she didn't explode, just showed me her
fear, and I would sooth her by talking, singing or humming to her. Then
she learned that approaching me, would allow her to get more scratches
and friendly games. She allowed me to put her rope halter on and off, so
then I attached a lead and began teaching her to give to pressure, then
to move her hindquarters around and away
from me. Then to move her shoulders away from me. Then to take a step
with me on the lead. This little horse was not a rouge as I had imagined
she would be. She was a baby doll, starved for affection, love and
leadership. She was a willing partner.
I visited her several times during the day and next few days. Giving her
hourly breaks in between my visits. Each time I came back to visit her,
she became more and more relaxed and comfortable with my presence. A few
times she even nickered to me upon arrival. By the end of the third day,
she was meeting me at the gate, standing perfectly still unrestricted by
halter for grooming, spraying, feet picking, clipping bridle path, and
would walk with me at liberty, back away from a point of my finger, free
lunge around me going at the direction I pointed at, side passing next
to me and returning to me, on just my body language alone! She led
perfectly on the lead, had been on several walks around the farm, and
had learned to touch anything
with her nose that she thought was scary. This little horse was not like
any other I had ever met! I had a connection with her that people only
dream about. We seemed to understand each other, and had a great bond.
Within a week, I released her into my pasture, after preparing her body
for the grass, by taking walks around the farm, allowing her to slowly
get accustomed to grass being reintroduced to her diet. She absolutely
adored her freedom. She danced, she ran, she pranced, she played in the
creek, she jumped the creek, all of course after completely observing
the pasture, making sure there were no cougars or other predators out
there to eat her.... She didn't want to go out there at first. She
was afraid. I walked in front of her, allowing to see that there was
nothing out there, that was going to harm her. That was another
undescribable, wonderful feelings. Walking out in the pasture, with a
wild mustang following you on her own free will, out in the open. I sat
down in the lush grass under a tree, and she came right up to me, and
began grazing next to me, making sure not to step on me, she carefully placed her toes up to my body. It was
if I were dreaming.
Within the next few weeks, I had been allowed to put a curcingle, saddle
pad, saddle and sacked her out without even a halter on her, and she
never moved a step away. She accepted every single thing I did to her.
she never bucked, kicked, or bolted away with any of it. I always made a
point to NOT have her haltered, so she always felt she could leave, if
she felt unsafe or scared. But she never did. After one month, I
contacted my farrier, who had done a lot of barefoot trimming with
mustang rolls. Katie is a tiny woman. She is good with the horses, and
knows how to do a great trim. I had always hated shoes and left using
them long ago. She understood me and my wishes, and has been trimming my
horses for awhile, after my firing five in the prior three years,
because they took away the sole plane I was trying to rebuild on my
horses. I am ANAL about my horses, especially FEET and diet. Anyhow,
when I told her I had gotten another horse, she was ready to trim. BUT
when I told her it was a wild mustang, she was very skeptical. She had
bad experiences with a few of them, and really didn't want to get
into mustangs again. But, after talking with her and knowing how I am
with my horses, she finally agreed
but made it clear that she would only TRY. If it got ugly, she was out.
When she arrived, Castiel was a little worried about a stranger touching
her, but I think it also had something to do with the fact that Katie
was also nervous. so, I took Castiel (Cass as we call her) into my
indoor arena, and showed Katie what Cass and I could do on Liberty. We
went through all our little games we play, with the side passing, and
backing etc. all without a halter. This relieved Katie, and she said she
was ready to try. I told her that I didn't want to put a halter on
Cass, and she looked at me like I was crazy. But, said she would try.
Cass stood like an angel. Even letting Katie put her foot on the tripod
in front of her. Katie admitted after the trim, that Cass was one of the
best clients she had ever worked on. She couldn't believe I had only
had her for a month, and that she had never had her feet trimmed before.
Now when I call Katie for a trim, she says she will be right over to see
her precious mustang friend.
It was a hard winter for me. My job sent me to another location in which
I am forced to drive three hours a day to
get to work and back. I was working outside in the cold, snow and wind,
up on a JLG lift anywhere from thirty to fifty feet up in the air. So,
when I would come home, cold and worn out, the last thing I wanted to
do, was be outside in the cold.
So, I must admit, I didn't do much with Cass at all. Todd was
feeding her for me, so there were actually weeks that I didn't even
go outside to see her. I was sick a lot, and exhausted.
So, there were several months that I didn't do much with her, except
groom her on the weekends. But, as spring came, I started feeling
better. In March, I decided that I would get back into it with Cass. So,
I started working with her after I would get home from work. The first
day, I went out there, and groomed her, saddled her, then haltered her
up, took her for a walk, and asked her to load in the trailer. Again,
perfect angel. But not what I had expected, since I hadn't spent
much
time with her. She really is the joy of my life! After fitting her up
with exercise in the arena, I decided that I would go ahead with under
saddle training. I expected she would do much like most horses, when I
get on, she would either lock up and not move, or bolt. She did neither.
She walked off, with just a halter and lead rope. She turned when I
asked, and stopped when I asked. Taylor and Todd had expected a rodeo of
the event, and decided to watch, as they thought they would be helping
me back onto my feet. They saw no rodeo. It was funny to me, to watch
the two of them, jaws to the floor in amazement, as the little wild
mustang maneuvered around the arena, proud as a peacock to carry her
partner in crime, myself.
After the second ride, my daughter tells me that she was amazed at Cass
and her progression. She felt she would like to spend time with Cass, as
she would like to have a horse again for herself. She liked what she saw
in the connection that I had with this little wild horse.
One day with Cass was all it took for Taylor to fall head over heels.
They connected immediately, much like I did with her. Another match made
in heaven. Cass would even lick Taylor and get her all slobbered up.
LOL. Taylor said she wanted Cass to be her horse. So, since I had longed
for Taylor to be involved with horses again for years, I agreed to give
Cass to her, and adopt another mustang for myself. But, I would put at
least thirty rides on Cass, to sort of polish her up for Taylor, to make
sure that this wasn't a fluke, and that she wasn't going to go
all rodeo on us, before turning Taylor loose completely with her.
After the fourth ride, each going better than the ride before, I asked
Taylor if she wanted to try riding her around the arena for a little
while. She of course, said yes. So, Taylor asked her to stand next to
the mounting block to get on. Cass was a doll baby for her. Doing
everything Taylor asked of her. Riding like a dream. Taylor said she was
more in love with Cass than she had ever loved another horse. She too
was hooked! After putting a few more rides on Cass, and observing Taylor
riding her, We have decided that Taylor's' knowledge and passion
with Cass is plenty enough to let her finish Cass's training!!! She has
not once offered to do anything mean or spooky with Taylor or myself
under saddle. She is coming along beautifully!
So, not only has Cass been my soul mate, she has also become
Taylor's' too. But, then there's that other purpose, that I
had mentioned at the beginning of this story. I truly believe that her
other purpose was to bring our family closer. She, alone, brought Taylor
back to horses. And not only that, She bonded with Todd too. She got him
more interested in horses as well. When I started riding Cass, Todd
decided that he missed having a horse of his own, and even though he
liked mustangs, felt that he could
never fully trust one, so he found a quarter horse for himself. So, her
purpose has actually turned into bringing our whole family
closer together. She gave us a common interest to share again. She made
my passion of horses, even better, as now, I can share
it with my family, and not alone. Castiel coming to our lives has been
one of the greatest things that has ever happened to us. But not only
that, remember my telling you of the different breeds that I had owned,
trained or been involved with in my life?
Well, I have to admit, I have NEVER in my life, met another breed of
horse, that has ever given so much to me. Most intelligent, most
willing, most loving, least fearful, hardest working, most loyal,
easiest to train, most in tune with simple gestures, most responsive,
than that of a wild mustang. I'm SOLD. I will never own, or be owned
by, another breed of horse as long as I live.
Taylor is also SOLD! From here on out, MUST BE MUSTANGS for us.
By the way, Castiel is from Nevada. She is a Jackson Mountain mustang.
As for the mustang that I had to adopt, since Taylor took Cass from me,
lol, I adopted a three year old colt from Delta, Utah. A Sulphur
mustang. He actually arrived to Ewing, IL two weeks ago, and I picked
him up then. I was hoping that I would feel that same connection with
him. Much to my surprise, when I picked him up on Saturday, he tried to
charge through the corral, and lunged at the BLM official, Todd and
myself.. Todd was very skeptical and thought I should choose another
horse.. But, again, much like before, I couldn't see what he saw. I
felt pretty much the same feelings I had felt back when I saw Cass for
the first time. I was not going to be swayed, this particular, little
gruella colt, was sent here for a purpose. What I don't know yet,
but he came home with me.
After two hours of working with him, Cuervo, as I call him, was touching
me with his nose, allowing me to groom him, and leading.
The second day, he was lunging, picking up his feet, bridle-path
clipped, and literally wrapping his neck around my body, as if he were
hugging me. Todd cannot believe this magic Cuervo and I share. He says
he can clearly see that Cuervo is hopelessly in love with me, and I with
him. We are even more connected than I could have ever imagined. If Cass
is my sun, then Cuervo is my moon. I will continue with him every day,
and progress along, taking it at his speed. He didn't care for Todd
but we figured gelding him would help ease Todd's' fear.
We had him gelded yesterday, and then Todd went into the corral to
establish leadership. after spending time with him, I am even more SOLD
on the mustang.
These are the horses for me. I am currently looking for a nice gelding,
or mare to adopt for Todd. I know he likes his Quarter Horse, but I
believe that if we adopt a young
mustang, maybe a weanling or yearling, that we can raise it up, and Todd
will be able to fully trust it, and share what Taylor and I have found
in the wonderful breed, the mustang. Even my vet told me just today, IF
you can earn a mustangs trust, and establish a leadership, you will not
find another, that will work harder, give more, and protect their
person, the way a mustang will. This new found love is a good thing. I
want to thank God, for sending us these wonderful, intelligent creatures
who have taught me so much, and blessed our lives as they have. And
thanks to our precious and irreplaceable Castiel for bringing our family
closer together, and for teaching me that you don't have to spend
$20 grand to get the best horse in the world. I would rather pay $125
adoption fee ANY DAY, and still get the horse of my dreams. I feel as if
I found a brand new, untouched Ferrari for a quarter!
Although he'd been void of human hands,
this heaven scent creature is oh so grand.
He ran the mountains, he faced the cold,
A living legend the story's told.
A true survivor, caring for his lone,
but now he has a place called home.
I will not break his spirit down,
but cherish this gift that I have found.
Ill give him love, food and health care,
In exchange for him to share;
a trusting friendship, a ride so free.
For when I'm with him, I'm wild as he.
Give these American treasures a chance. Support a piece of history.
Adopt an American Wild Mustang!
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