On Thursday morning, I’m in route from Phoenix, AZ to Austin, TX, spending a week with my parents. I’m picking up my life and moving in with my brother, just because I need a change. Then the change happened: I visited a little ranch called Mustang Camp in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, interested in a future volunteering opportunity. I’m offered a job on the spot: Work at Mustang Camp for a month and I’ll be treated as an assistant trainer immediately, and paid something on the side.
So here I am, learning to tame wild mustangs, freshly caught from the forest service land near the New Mexico/Colorado border (Although there’s no actual forest there) and ready to get their training on. Mustang Camp works to train wild mustangs to stop fearing humans, and to take a halter and lead rope before allowing them to be adopted by private owners all over the state of New Mexico and farther abroad. Anyone who can prove they have the facilities necessary to house a horse, and some basic knowledge of horse care and training can apply to adopt a mustang from the US government, through the Mustang Camp website.
Mustang Camp trains exclusively with operant conditioning and positive reinforcement. Basically, good behaviors are rewarded, and connected with an external stimulus (the clicker method) so that the horse knows when it has done what the trainer wants. As the training progresses, the horse becomes more and more comfortable with humans, as good always comes from their interactions, and the trainer is able to guide the horse into behaviors such as accepting a halter, following on a lead rope, and brushing. I’ll discuss more specific examples from mustang training on later days.
I hope you’ll enjoy this adventure as much as I already am. On my first day, I’ve worked with three horses, learning the basics of clicker training and learning my way around the ranch. Mustang Camp should be a unique experience!
Good to read an update on your life! I miss you!
Congrats! They are lucky to have you there. I’m glad you’ve found something amazing to explore. Good Luck there and I hope everything is going well for you.
Thanks! Nice to hear from you 🙂 Are you doing anything interesting with life after college?