I think the oldest dream I can remember is of taming something wild. Gaining the trust of an animal who had been unable to trust others. Bucephalus. The Black Stallion. Flicka. So when I saw an ad for a mustang stallion who: “Needs a lot of work. Needs work with picking up back feet. Beautiful fairytale looks! Gets along with other horses no problem! No “true” interest in mares – would rather eat =D”, I was intrigued. I did not need another horse at the time and was not looking to buy any animal at all. But this mature grey stallion was so gorgeous I had to know more. Here’s the pic that stopped me cold:

At the price he was listed for, I thought he either had to have hurt someone badly or was unrideable due to an injury. I called the owner and she explained to me that he kicked when you tried to pick his back feet, was terrified of saddles, and had recently started bolting on lead when practicing his groundwork. By all accounts he sounded like a mustang with an extremely strong “preservation instinct”  – which really boils down to extreme sensitivity to their body being touched/handled and a huge flight distance. No aggression, just caution and complete lack of trust. He sounded like a horse made for the clicker, and when she told me that the way to his heart was through food, I made up my mind to buy him.

Tarot got here mid-November and he didn’t move on to Idle Moon Farm until December. He was exactly as his previous owner said. Calm and careful. Suspicious of any man-made objects. Extremely careful about his body orientation to you – he prefers to face you so he can see what’s coming and there can be no surprises. But he loves food. And now he also loves the clicker. Please watch our journey together and enjoy.