MSU students train wild mustangs for Montana nonprofit that helps veterans

MSU News - Agriculture (College)




April 19, 2017 -- By Jessianne Wright for MSU News Service



BOZEMAN -- Nine wild mustangs stepped foot onto Montana State University’s Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm on Jan. 3. They came to MSU virtually untouched, hailing from Bureau of Land Management facilities in Burns, Oregon, then were adopted by the Montana nonprofit, Heroes and Horses, to ultimately be used for therapeutic mountain pack trips with combat veterans.
Heroes and Horses is a program that uses horses and the remote wilderness to challenge and inspire combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The veterans learn horsemanship skills and wilderness survival, then embark on progressive, multi-day horse pack trips in order to overcome their difficulties and replace devastating memories with positive ones.
A handful of MSU students, with the help of local trainers and volunteers, assisted in gentling and training the adopted wild horses over the course of nearly 90 days as the first step in helping these horses transition into a life of mountain adventure. The horses, gelded males ranging from 2 to 6 years old, left MSU on March 28, headed to Arizona to begin the second phase of their training.
“The horses trained by MSU students, faculty and staff will ultimately serve as tools to teach military veterans new skills to start a post-military life,” said Dr. Shannon Moreaux, DVM and an associate professor of equine science in MSU’s Department of Animal and Range Sciences in the College of Agriculture.
“By using BLM feral horses for this service learning project, we are also providing a far-reaching service,” Moreaux said. “The horses will be uniquely repurposed and will have a better life than living in a long-term holding facility; we will have provided a significant amount of publicity for the BLM Wild Horse adoption program. And, ultimately, we save taxpayer money while helping to protect sensitive ecosystems from overpopulation.”
Professional trainers, including renowned horse ...

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