Deseret.com - Full Story and video
A 23-year-old Utah man embarks on 7,000-mile, 30-state journey to raise awareness of the mustang crisis and urge Americans to consider adopting one of their own
By Katie McKellar
Oct 17, 2023,
Six-year-old Denver’s ears flicked back and forth and his dark, shiny coat rippled with tension each time Jake Harvath bumped a heavy leather pack against his sides.
Jake was gently testing his youngest mustang’s memory of what it was like for a 65-pound pack to hang against his rib cage. At first, Denver flinched each time his human partner heaved the bag up, then down, up, then down. He stood still, eying Jake with more trust than uncertainty until he no longer quivered. Eventually, Jake clipped two of those packs to Denver’s saddle, one on each side.
Now to test him in movement. Denver trotted steadily around Jake until the packs bouncing on his back spurred his instincts to take over and his legs lurched out from beneath him in fear. He fought to break out into a gallop, but Jake firmly jerked the mustang’s haltered head in to keep him under control in a tight circle.
“It’s kind of like a high-fiber breakfast,” said Jake’s dad, Daniel, as he watched his son work Denver from behind the tall round pen fences at his home training facility, Sage Creek Equestrian, near Heber City, Utah.
“It’s not always easy to watch, but it’s really good for Denver. In the long run, it will help him feel calm and at peace. A lot less fear,” Daniel Harvath said. “These creatures, being herd animals, their biggest challenge is fear. At the core, that’s all Jake is trying to teach them, to work through fear.”
Jake is going to need Denver and his two other mustangs to overcome a daunting challenge of his own — a more than ambitious solo pack trip to crisscross America that he’s been planning since he was a teenager...
See more here:
https://www.deseret.com/2023/10/17/23856986/wild-horse-mustang-blm-horsemanship-record-longest-horseback-ride
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