A Long Way from Home

   He might have been panther food or dog food. His birth might have warranted curses in different circumstance except to say... today the BLM wild horse population number increased by one. His color is rare, he's a true "perlino" with peachy colored mane and tail, darker peach/dun color hocks and knees and frosty peach fuzz color body. His big curious eyes match his coat color. His pedigree, well safe to say, its out of "Nevada Pumpkin" by truck. We will never know his sire and its doubtful he will ever see or know the wild range his parents wandered and his ancestors haunted for several centuries.

Pumpkin (91531736, signalment HF1AFAEIE) was born April of 1991 at the Palomino Valley Facility (NV53F) in Washoe, Nevada. She remains a bit of a mystery horse because she shows up on the BLM records through 5/16/91 and then was unaccounted for until she showed up in the wild horse gather 2/15/02 in Rock Creek HMA Nevada. Pumpkin's attitude is curious as well. She showed from the February 2002 capture date that she preferred the company of people. Included in the Internet Adoption of August 2002,"Pumpkin," was one of the lucky.

"I was looking for a horse with potential to be a nice size saddle horse, and scrolling through the site, "Pumpkin" was one of the smallest and the oldest at 11 years. I passed over her several times, chosing to start the bidding on several horses that were over 14 hands. I kept going back to her because of her photos. They showed a bright sorrel, minimal sabino colored mare, literally, draped over the photographer assistant handling her. Most of the other horses on the site showed wild eyes, high heads- the typical wild scared kind of look, but the little red mare clearly enjoyed the company of her new photographer friends. The internet auction is kind of fun except you don't really know about the horses from just looking at pictures. I did the opening bid on her, figuring someone would outbid me and she would get a nice home elsewhere. My first choice was one of the wild bunch, a Utah captured mare.

Karen Malloy of the BLM emailed me at the bid closing with the note I had high bid on two horses; I was approved to adopt one, and which would I choose. My first reaction was to turn down "Pumpkin" in favor of the larger mare. I returned to the site, looked at the photos and knew "Pumpkin" had to come to Georgia, too. Hasty preparations were made to adopt and house two horses and I was finally approved to take possessioin of both to be shipped for pick up to Cross Plains Tennessee.

We had problems with vehicles and although we arrived at Cross Plains during their adoption open house in September, we had to make arrangements to wait until October to bring the two mares home. Although given the option of declining the mare, and despite the observation that I might not want her because they believed she might be in foal, "Pumpkin" marched right up to me from the pen full of wild horses, nuzzled my sleeve as if to say she knew she was mine."

Sam Powel (www.asksampowell) gave a tremendous clinic on Saturday of the BLM October Adoption in Cross Plains. His training methods, "almost a whisper", proved compelling as he spent the day with a young unhandled three year old stud who ended up being a "pocket pet," as Sam had the stud following him like a pup. The buckskin stud was even convinced by Sam's method to calmly load himself in and out of a trailer nemerous times at the end of the session with no human assistance. Horses, the majority from Nevada, left the facility destined to be pets, companions, pasture mowers and horses for people from all walks of life, from all parts of the East Coast. So it was that "Pumpkin" and 'Squirley Shirley" the Utah Appaloosa, loaded out, not as calmly as Sam's stud, but loaded out with gusto, destined for a small central Georgia town.

"People asked why I adopted garbage horses from the government Many debates started with just that statement. I found the majority of the horses at Cross Plains to be of above average quality in terms of sound straight legs, big kind eyes, solid feet, and balanced conformation. Most were on the small side if you were comparing them to sporthorses, but right on the money in size if you were comparing them to endurance or competitve trail horses. "Pumpkin" at barely over 13 hands was one of the smallest there, but exhibits a pleasant ground covering walk that has promise of being a great trail gait."

"Pumpkin" started life in Georgia with a refresher course of "Sam Powell" methods, and clearly demonstrated respect for fences and her new home. She earned the priviledge of being loose in the big pasture as she eagerly trotted to the gate anytime she was called and literally crawled into her halter to go for a walk. Observing her ballooning figure, it was calculated she probably was in foal, and estimated she would foal late in the year, based on her capture date of February. Last night a front moved through, it rained, the air turned to fog, then a slow misty drizzle set in as "Pumpkin" and "Shirley" were fed their hay in the early darkness. Nothing seemed unusual with the pair. This morning, a small leggy tawny figure froliced around the feet of "Pumpkin" at the pasture gate. "My daughter thought a deer had wandered into the pasture and had followed "Pumpkin" to the barn."

"Mister Nobody" arrived with no human assistance, with no fanfare, no anticipation of great things he was bred to accomplish. He won't run the Derby, he won't be an Olympic prospect, he won't be a wild herd sire on the Nevada Range. " Mister Nobody" is just the newest "goodwill ambassador " for the BLM Adoption program. Already he has held court to a bevy of visitors, greeting them with a tiny high pitched wicker, and a sleepy head nodding look. His first days work as "Ambassador" has him all tuckered out. "Pumpkin " as a mom--- well she is adamant that he not even look at or wander near another horse, but she noses and prods him to meet all his new human admirers. It's almost as if she knows how lucky he is to be born where he is so admired.

"Pumpkin" and "Mister" are not unusual in their circumstance of being adopted, but clearly they are unique in place. At the opposite side of the continent, Mister is now an Eastern Mustang of the BLM. They are a long way from their Nevada ancestors home.

Jan Davis, Editor/Member Western Writers of America