We bought a 'used' mustang last July (1998). She was described as 5 yrs old, 'green broke' and flighty - impossible to catch without a bucket of grain. We went to look at her three different times, then finally decided to buy her.

My ten year old daughter had been begging for a mustang and this little 13 hand mare certainly needed a real home. The current owner had put a saddle on her a few times - but she wouldn't move forward for him and he said she didn't *like* him at all, so had just been turned loose in a pasture for almost a year. We checked the title against her freeze brand before we brought her home and we were amazed to find out she had originally been adopted in 1993 as a 4 yr old! So she is nine yrs old. We brought her home and put her in our round pen and she was very wary, always showing the whites of her eyes and moving as far away from people as she could get.

My daughter Katherine and Wind Dancer bonded very quickly - within a week she could walk up to her, put a halter on her and ride her bareback. It took me quite awhile longer to gain her trust, but now, 6 months later, she is the sweetest mare. She is the first in the morning to speak to me and late at night the one that will tolerate and even enjoys being petted and hugged. I can cradle her whole head in my arms and she just leans into me and sighs.

The people we bought her from acquired her through an auction and know nothing of her past. I got brave this week and called the original adopter - he had adopted 3 mares, one stud and only kept them 1 1/2 years. He said he had gentled this mare and got a beautiful colt from her. Trained her to be saddled, but never rode her because she wouldn't *move* for him. He doesn't know who she went to after he sold her. So we have a gap of a little more than a year that she was *somewhere* else.

I can't figure out why so many people would give up on such a sweet mare. Katherine grooms her now, picks out her feet, walks & trots her and thinks Wind Dancer is just wonderful. Katherine is not an advanced rider - she slid off her back one day during a quick turn riding bareback & Wind Dancer just stopped and waited for Katherine to get back on again.

Is it possible to have a 'green broke' kid safe horse? Sounds kinda silly, doesn't it?