Windcross Conservancy, Buffalo Gap, South Dakota, USA
Visited: October 2014
'Great Faces, Great Places' is the slogan of South Dakota and the state where I volunteered for six weeks at the start of my travels in the Americas. At Windcross Conservancy I was given the fantastic title of 'Horse Wrangler' which felt very fitting whilst taking care of a 30-strong herd of Spanish Mustangs in a small corner of the state which features endless rolling fields, the stunning Black Hills and the epic prehistoric landscape of the Badlands National Park.
The family that runs this conservancy are, of course, completely devoted to their animals, which also includes a few cats, three dogs and dozen slightly zany chickens, which often preferred to lay eggs in the comfort of the downy cat beds. The family's knowledge of the breed and each individual horse's personality is incredible, and for the horses means that they get to do the work they enjoy the most, whether it's driving, riding, or being a friendly face when visitors come. The conservancy is well worth a visit to get a truly personal experience with this majestic breed.
The 'power couple' of the herd is the barrel chested Thunderhawk and a confident mare named Little Star. Although a gelding, Thunderhawk took no prisoners in maintaining his dominance over the rest of the herd and always maintained an impressive personal bubble of space around the feed troughs. He was a complete gentlemen with us humans though.
There is also the dazzling mare Raffaella. Although she looked like the epitome of the Spanish Mustang breed with her radiant coat and messily gorgeous dark mane, was extremely skittish, rarely coming within 10 metres of any person, even those who had known her for years. But she's often a favourite with visitors because of her because her nature is the essence of the wild mustang that people expect. My soft spot however, was for a soppy roan gelding named Lonesome Thunder. He'd always come up for a chest scratch in the mornings and only mug you a little bit for anything edible you might have lurking in your pockets.
The family that runs this conservancy are, of course, completely devoted to their animals, which also includes a few cats, three dogs and dozen slightly zany chickens, which often preferred to lay eggs in the comfort of the downy cat beds. The family's knowledge of the breed and each individual horse's personality is incredible, and for the horses means that they get to do the work they enjoy the most, whether it's driving, riding, or being a friendly face when visitors come. The conservancy is well worth a visit to get a truly personal experience with this majestic breed.
The 'power couple' of the herd is the barrel chested Thunderhawk and a confident mare named Little Star. Although a gelding, Thunderhawk took no prisoners in maintaining his dominance over the rest of the herd and always maintained an impressive personal bubble of space around the feed troughs. He was a complete gentlemen with us humans though.
There is also the dazzling mare Raffaella. Although she looked like the epitome of the Spanish Mustang breed with her radiant coat and messily gorgeous dark mane, was extremely skittish, rarely coming within 10 metres of any person, even those who had known her for years. But she's often a favourite with visitors because of her because her nature is the essence of the wild mustang that people expect. My soft spot however, was for a soppy roan gelding named Lonesome Thunder. He'd always come up for a chest scratch in the mornings and only mug you a little bit for anything edible you might have lurking in your pockets.
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