Wild at heart

My little blue horse and his half brother on their way home

There is something so special about a wild horse, or really a wild animal of any kind. It is not often that you get the chance to form a bond with a truly feral animal. Something more than just feeding it so it comes around, or being able to pet it every now and then. But to really have that animal trust you completely is a whole other experience. 

Theodore Roosevelt Nation Park

I am so thankful I was able to drive out and pick up the boys from the park. Getting to see where they are from and just how harsh and wild that place really is was amazing and eye opening. These wild mustangs live and die in that park. A lot of the foals born there don't live to adulthood. Not just the elements to contend with, the park is also home to predators that have taken young horses. While the park and the mustangs are managed they are truly wild animals.

Working with my mustang Wayne really opened a whole new world to me. I had started young horses before and have been riding since I was five. But working with Wayne gave me an honest assessment of my skills as a horse trainer. That information to me was priceless as I am starting my own horse training business, training horses is the skill I am asking people to pay me for so I best be good at it.

Mustangs in my mind are very honest horses, they have no bad habits and have no agenda other than survival. They give the person working them straight up honest real time feed back to your horsemanship. They were the teachers as much as I was the trainer.

Knowing your skill level in a service based business is vital, you don't have to be the best at what you do, however you have to be competent at it. Wayne was the horse that showed me I was and gave me the confidence to really put myself out in the world and show what I had to offer. 

Wayne pushed me into the most important part of starting a business: Just do it.

Fear

What holds you back?

Fear

You have a dream, something outside of the 9-5 "normal job". What keeps you from balls to the wall going after that dream? For me it was fear. All the other obstacles I put up in front of myself wasn't really the big hurdle keeping me from going for it. For years I half assed my way through, knowing full well that if I just committed and put all my effort and time into this dream I could make it happen. I didn't though, because I was scared to fail. Scared that if I did go for it and couldn't make it I would have wasted so many years of my life and looked like a fool in front of everyone who knew me.
There is no magic cure for fear, no 10 steps to concur and destroy all self doubt. It is something you have to learn to deal with and not let control your life. An important thing to remember when battling fear back down to the dark depths of your mind, is that it can and will come back and most likely will do so at the most inopportune times. That doesn't mean you have failed. It just means you need to refocus, take a deep breath, remember why you are doing what you are doing, and whack-a-mole that shit back in its place.

I still get scared just thinking about what it will take to make it in the horse industry, the amount of money I need to bring in is crazy overwhelming to think about. When I lay down at night and think about the whole thing in its entirety it scares the crap out of me. It seems impossible to be honest, even now when I think about it I'm not sure its do-able. That fear sitting in the back of your mind will haunt you if you let it. Your mind is telling you you have failed before you even gave it a try, a real try that is. 

Knowing what the "Big Picture" is is very important, you have to know what you are working for, but you have to focus on the little steps that will get you there. The day to day things you need to be doing that will one day lead you right into the "Big Picture".  Easier said than done. It can be so hard when you don't see the progress you are making. You will feel like you're spinning your wheels and gaining no ground. There may be times that you are stuck and need to reevaluate the plan, but sometimes you're just too close to see the little changes and the little baby steps forward. When you know you have to walk 10 miles up hill, in a hail storm, the first few steps will seem like nothing, but you can't go anywhere without them. 

A bit of caution is good, keeps you from doing stupid shit that will get you hurt or killed, but fear should never stop you from living the life you want. 

How it all started

It all really started to become real for me when a good friend said "Hey look what I found?!" quickly followed by "We should get one!!!"
What she had found was the chance to adopt a wild mustang from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. They were having an online auction and once approved you could bid on a horse that had been gathered off the park land.
Her and I spent several weeks looking at the weanling horses being offered at that time and it didn't take long for one little blue colt to catch my eye. After much nail biting and near homicidal refreshing of the facebook page where the auction was being held, I was the proud new owner of a wild mustang.
Horses have always been my life, since a small child I could direct any conversation to horses, my love for them, and future career in the equine industry. Much to the worry of my parents I went to college and walked away with a double major in equine science and horse technology. Even though I graduated with very high honors and would with great confidence tell you I was going to be a horse trainer, I had no clue.
I goofed around for several years getting horses to train off and on but never really making anything happen. I had another job that I was splitting my time with and seemed to be the focus of all my effort. I always struggled with working hard and putting 110% of myself into working for myself. Now working for others, no problem! I would kill myself giving it all I had for my employer, but for some reason for myself I struggled to get out of bed.
This little blue horse that came bolting out of the trailer and into my life would change all that for me. He forced me to get out there and work with him every day, he would teach me things no domestic horse ever could. And most importantly he opened my eyes to what I could do when I put the time and effort in.

Making a living in the horse world is not easy, but with the help of my little blue horse I know I can make it happen. This is an adventure I want to share because I spent much of my early adulthood privately doubting myself, so truly if I can do it, anyone with the dream and love for horses can do it too.