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Post by erikasbackyard on Jun 19, 2006 20:49:40 GMT -5
Bought a pony at an auction last year in Virginia. The folks selling are dealers and among other things they said he was "an indian pony" and "a Dakota pony". I had forgotten all about that, but when he shed out this spring, the brand which we hadn't even noticed in the sale barn became tantalizingly almost readable. So. Can anyone tell me anything about where this brand might be from? 
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Post by lesliew on Jun 19, 2006 21:36:10 GMT -5
Erika, its looks like you bought yourself a mustang which is not at all unlikely as there are a good deal of them in NC and Virginia. There is a section here about reading the brand here www.cowboyshowcase.com/brands2.htm , but you need to contact BLM at some point as you should have recieved a title with him. I'm not saying that you bought a stolen horse, but it is very likely that his title has been lost if he has gone through several auctions. |
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Post by erikasbackyard on Jun 19, 2006 21:58:49 GMT -5
I'll be. I wouldn't have believed them. I still wouldn't call him a mustang, as he is a 12.2 pony who doesn't look at all dwarfish, he's just a pony. But that's cool. Unfortunately, I still can't make out much. I'm GUESSING he's a 1999. But after that... I can't make heads or tails of it. Being a BLM horse would explain a LOT about his behavior. Anybody care to tell me how those symbols translate? All I see is a bunch of 8s, and I find that unlikely!
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Post by erikasbackyard on Jun 19, 2006 22:02:01 GMT -5
What in the world are these "eastern states" from which they are gathered? I was not aware of any BLM horses in NC or VA. I thought the chincoteagues were managed by state/local agencies. I don't see the Dakotas mentioned, either. Huh.
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h2opony
Global Moderator 
Me
Posts: 2,184
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Post by h2opony on Jun 19, 2006 23:19:16 GMT -5
That is definately a mustang brand.. and all of them do not get over 14 hands... My friend has three two of which are both under 13 hands... But yes i agree definately a mustang... can probably track him through the BLM do you have any full body shots of him?
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sophie
Outhouse Monitor
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Post by sophie on Jun 20, 2006 0:03:56 GMT -5
We live in PA and 3 years ago we attended a BLM sale. I guess they only come around every few years because I have not seen them since. All of the horses and donkeys thay had were from out west, the usual BLM horse states. I talked to one of the wrangles there with the BLM and he explained the freeze marks to me. I can't remember it all but if you see 1999 that is when they rounded him up. Then there are roman numerals or letters that explaine some other "stuff" about the horse. I just can't remember it all. Maybe if you check the BLM site it will have the explanationon it. Good luck!....And yes, I also think there should have been some papers with it. There is a time span in which you (the origional buyer) can not sell the horse. Once again I can't remember how long but I do know it is at least 5 years (I think:))
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Post by twnpnds on Jun 20, 2006 2:30:04 GMT -5
BLM holds adoptions all over the country. The horses and burros are from out west. They also hold adoptions via internet and satellite tv. They go through a lot of stress between being captured, tested, branded, and shipped all over the country. A mustang can become your best friend with a lot of patience, understanding, and kindness. And talk about some tough feet! A farrier told a lady I knew not to put shoes on her mustang. He said those were the toughest feet he had ever trimmed and if he could handle all that rocky terrain he could handle dirt and pavement. This mustang was 14.2 hands tall. Most of the BLM mustangs I have seen were in the 14 hand range. Part of this might be due to genetics but a lot has to do with their environment. Mustangs are are mixture of breeds with a lot of them having some spanish blood. One other thing to note is that mustangs aren't truly wild horses. They have domestic blood therefore are feral horses. True wild horses have no domestic blood and there are only 2 or 3 true wild horse breeds in the world. I hope you find out what this brand means and please let us know if you find out.
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Post by erikasbackyard on Jun 20, 2006 8:22:25 GMT -5
BLM website says one year before you can sell their adopted horses/donkeys. Unfortunately, it also says they really don't want to hear from me until/unless I can divine what those numbers are. If I can give them a number, they can give me info. So I'll have to give up, but at least I know what sort of brand it is.
The mustangs, like most "wild horses" in the US, with the exception perhaps of the chincoteague ponies, have very little "Spanish" blood left. The myth of the wild horses has tremendous appeal, but they just feral mutts nowadays. I know there are various islands which may have older lines. I also know that at least one NC or SC island had horses they claimed were "wild" and "Spanish" which were clearly traceable to the people who had been living on the island at one time in quite recent years and left them there. So I'm unimpressed by the romance of having a mustang, which I prefer to call a BLM horse. I guess it's kinda nifty. Mostly it explains why he is such a dingdong and some of his surprising preferences about how he is caught - we have to herd him out of the pasture, through the (fenced) back yard, into the small paddock that we use now as a roundpen for him, and sometimes into a stall, sometimes into a corner. This is routine, and not very exciting, just how it has to be done.
Last night was a huge step forward, in that I herded him toward Gi (in the roundpen) and he chose to go over to her and let her catch him. Far as I know, he has never moved voluntarily toward a person before. He has been ridden, but doesn't care much for it. We've been working on it, but he was intended for her as a riding pony. One of those "if we don't like him we'll take him back to the sale" deals. And she's about ready for a beast that is a little less ... well, feral. Not his fault. Just one of those things. Anyway. Hopefully being a "mustang" will be appealing to somebody when I sell him.
Thanks for the help with the brand - it has been driving us crazy all winter!
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Post by lesliew on Jun 20, 2006 13:23:46 GMT -5
Let me know if you do decide to sell LOL.. I love mustangs and have quite a bit of experience with them.
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Post by erikasbackyard on Jun 20, 2006 15:04:53 GMT -5
Leslie, I would sell him to you this afternoon! My yearling is the only other horse in the backyard right now, but he doesn't seem especially attached to Lawrence (the mustang) and I think he'd be fine with just the pigs and chickens and the dogs and cats and me for company until the brothers come home for the winter or we find Gi a horse. "All" we need is a horse that is not a skyscraper that a small adult can ride once or twice a week at a walk and occasional trot. It can be elderly. We are not afraid of that. I need to talk to the hay man about his 19 and 20 year old geldings, maybe borrowing, but the "get rid of them" mood seemed to have passed after that one afternoon. Drat. Anyway, I am not eligible for adoption from NCERL or anywhere like that because I share a fence down one long side with my neighbor, and it is barbed wire. Good, tight, well-maintained barbed wire, but still not okay with them. So. If you stumble over a horse who needs to be mostly retired in non-glamourous digs, I need him. :-)
Meanwhile, come get Lawrence. I will be here all evening. ;-)
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Post by merlinsmomtwh on Jun 20, 2006 17:19:43 GMT -5
A lot of the BLM Mustangs I have known are pretty short. I know the government introduced some horses that had Belgian Draft Horse blood in to some of the herds to try to breed in a bit more size and make them somewhat bigger. Not sure which herds got the Belgian-blooded horses though. Where my folks live in Sparks, Nevada, they are not far from a BLM Holding Facility. I had always thought about getting one when I was a kid, and of course what kid doesn't want a Chincoteague Pony  |
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