Mustang: From Wild Horse to Riding Horse: One Trainer’s Journal: Groundwork, First Rides, Obstacles, Trail Work, Liberty, Performance and More

One trainer’s journal of discovering partnership and trust with a wild horse as she prepares for the Mustang Makeover. For 90 days, biologist and horsewoman Vivian Gabor recorded her experiences with Mona, the wild horse that had crossed a continent and an ocean to find a new home. Through words and wonderful color photographs, Vivian shares the ups and downs as she progresses with Mona’s training, discovering new insights about horses and their true nature along the way. Informational sidebars on the science behind the process of horse training help explain Vivian’s reasoning for the methods she chooses to follow when working with a Mustang. Steps for patiently and naturally introducing groundwork, liberty work, and first rides are vividly illustrated. But it is the resulting friendship between woman and horse that most resonates, providing all readers an opportunity to imagine what it might be like to train a Mustang of their own. Follow along as: Horse trainer and biologist Vivian Gabor picks up a sorrel mare originally from the wild herds in Oregon in Frankfurt, Germany. Gabor works with the Mustang, from the very first day at home, through the natural, positive, and science-based behavioral training methods Gabor used to successfully start the young mare under saddle. The pair compete at the Mustang Makeover in front of thousands of people. Hundreds of wonderful photographs clearly demonstrate the steps along the way, providing an easy-to-use resource for anyone looking to turn a wild horse into a riding horse.