When Trapper, a 5 year old mustang, makes a connection with you, it is profound. It takes calm patience to relax this normally shy and easily worried horse. Once he understands that you are simply there to be his friend, he becomes a puppy dog – enjoying pets, grooming, and any attention you want to give him. 

Trapper is an eye-catching red roan color gelding with 4 white socks. He was gathered from the Triple B HMA (land owned by the Bureau of Land Management – BLM) on 2/20/18, in north Elco, Nevada. Four months after he was gathered from the wild, Trapper arrived at War Horse Creek in June of 2018. He was brought in alongside two of our other mustangs, Hawkeye and Emmy Lou. 

At the time of his arrival, Trapper was seen as Hawkeye’s shadow. Skittish and afraid, he would hide behind his more confident companion for protection. Our staff had their work cut out for them to help Trapper understand he had arrived in a safe, loving, and protected home. With time, patience, and a lot of trust-building, Trapper opened up.

Trapper has proven to be intelligent, sweet, and gentle. His wild instincts can still cause him to become worried or nervous. However, through regular groundwork, desensitization, and exposure to new people, he is gaining confidence. 

As part of our Veteran Transition Program called War Horse Creek, we hosted a small group of female veterans to work with the horses. One veteran, Megan, was assigned to Trapper. The two clicked. After an hour of learning some basic groundwork skills, the group was asked if they wanted to try an exercise of walking the horses over a wooden plank bridge. This task may seem simple, but a wooden plank bridge can be intimidating to a horse. The sound, the change in texture, and the slight elevation off the ground are foreign to a mustang who has spent their whole life on dirt, sand, and grass. 

One by one, each veteran walked their horse over the bridge. It was explained to Megan that Trapper was still a little uncertain about the bridge and may not want to approach it with someone he just met. She confidently decided to give it a try anyway. With guidance from our staff, Megan maneuvered Trapper up to the bridge. Within a few moments, Trapper cautiously put two feet up on the bridge. It was a big moment for this nervous little gelding and it showed just how much trust he had put into Megan.

Trapper exemplifies the remarkable spirit of mustangs. In the wild, he learned defensive skills of being on high alert, ready to run at even the crack of a twig. He easily could continue to believe every scenario is a dangerous one. Instead this little mustang has put his trust in the people around him and tries with all his might to understand that he is in a safe environment now.