Profiles of Our Wild Things
Meet the treasured mustangs of Lily’s Wild Heart. Each one carries an authentic past, a singular personality, and unequaled lessons to teach us and the visitors who love them.
Lily
The writing of Lily’s journey from Wheatland to Maryland is a complicated one which currently is in the process of being published in a series on Substack. Lily’s perseverance and fortitude is what makes her the Queen Bee of our hearts and we remain deeply indebted to Mackenzie Cline for gentling Lily from scratch and guiding her rehab after a rough start. Lily has hosted middle school visitors and new-to-positive-reinforcement amateurs this summer and will begin her dental-prep and under-saddle training this fall. We are so proud of Lily’s progress in receiving regular farrier care and love to see her regal personality unfolding.
Vinnie
Vinnie is from Antelope Valley in Nevada and was aged by the BLM at three. He was rounded up so young that we marvel at the mysteries of his past. Of all the horses at Doswell available to adopt, Julie chose Vinnie when she saw him go up in the chute repeatedly and heard his online adopter yell, “Just get me another one!” It was a fateful moment that day when we saw this little guy drenched in sweat, pawing in frustration. But when the new adoption papers got signed, Vinnie went off to Mackenzie’s in Ohio, was gentled using positive reinforcement from the start, went though his mischievous phase, and kept good company with the resident goat. Vinnie’s angsty teen quirks belie a gentle soul and we love being surprised by the variety of brush and briars he gets in his mane. Vinnie is an expert with the farrier and learned how to accept a dental speculum this June for his first float which went spectacularly…and we’re happy to report, no problem wolf teeth!
Behne Peregrine
Behne was rounded up in the 2021 Sand Wash Basin gather and has been my best teacher. The first night he was out of holding it was 15 below. Turns out that was nothing for this diamond in the rough. Behne is perceptive and faithful, stalwart and kind. He has come so far since Sam Couper of Equine ABCs helped us load him on the trailer to Foxfyre Farm and his growth through positive reinforcement has been profound. Behne loves his sessions and has learned hoof handling, face and body targetting, and the reverse round pen. He is also expert with syringes, had his first real dental last year, and trusts his vet, Dr. Mandel of Tidewater. The name Behne is Shoshone and translates as “friendly greeting.” Of course, peregrine means “wandering” or “traveling” so reaching the milestone of thriving in the human sphere embodies the contentment of having arrived at a true home.
Buddha
Buddha was also in the Sand Wash Basin roundup in the fall of 2021, survived the equine influenza virus that swept through the Canon City Wild Horse and Burro Facility in Colorado in the spring of 2022, and went through the first Online Corral Auction that fall with one bid. His story is a complicated one; as a much older and newly cut stallion, his odds of acclimating to humans were nil. Buddha was adopted in January of 2023, waited until July to get out of Canon City, and was trailered to The Wild Horse Refuge by August. Buddha quickly found his soulmate, an impressive gray mare with Iberian traits, a wavy tail, and a pink snip on her nose. This is the life for the wildest of the wild.
