By Vivian Gabor

Neither starting a young horse over the course of three months nor preparing for a clinic or show is out of the ordinary for me as a trainer. The special thing about the challenge I write about here, however, was that the young horse I was training was an American Mustang, born in the wild and completely unused to humans, unlike our domestic horses.

I became involved in the “Mustang Makeover” in Germany, which is organized by “American Mustang Germany” (www.american-mustang.de), a group that is working to bring attention to the plight of the Mustang in the wild, as well as those in holding facilities. For the Makeover in Germany, between 15 and 20 Mustangs are imported from a holding facility and made available to trainers who have been vetted and selected to work with them.

For 90 days, the trainers have the challenge of helping their wild horses become accustomed to the new environment, to people, and to the process of saddle training. At the end of this three-month training period, there is a large competition with almost 6,000 people in the audience to experience the event live, and at the end, maybe bid for a Mustang in a special auction.

The Makeover in Germany is also watched by approximately 40,000 fans on social media, so not only are a number of Mustangs given new homes, but many new people are introduced to the problems Mustangs face and how different organizations are trying to solve them. Those interested can follow along with all the participating trainers and experience the exciting progress made with each Mustang over the 90 days. So the Makeover is an event that shows a variety of training methods and encourages thought and discussion regarding the kinds of techniques you would like to use with your own horse.

When I first heard about the Mustang Makeover, I was interested to work with a wild horse, not only as a horse trainer, but also as a behavioral biologist and equine scientist. I like to teach others about horse-appropriate training methodology, but I also like to educate myself and face new, intriguing tasks and challenges. I consider myself fortunate to have been given a chance to be involved in this special adventure.

Read more: Why I Did the Mustang Makeover—and Why I’d Do It Again

by Margret Henkels

The tail is a major part of the hindquarters puzzle. When you first handle it, the tail seems to have little muscle, yet it is essential to freedom of movement for the horse’s hindquarters. Tail releases for stiff tail vertebrae are wonderful paths to hindquarters progress. It’s a miraculous change for such a huge dense area of muscle through a small, easy-to-handle part of the horse. An expressive tail is easy to notice.

The tail is the horse’s coccyx. As you know, it’s a painful injury when you fall on your tailbone. The horse uses his tail to balance. The tail is kept fluid by movement. Wild horses move a distance of at least 50 miles a day over varied terrain. A much more “sedentary” lifestyle means the horse’s tail becomes less flexible: it loses articulation of the vertebrae.

Many tails are like broomsticks: they are stiff, unable to bend laterally, or curve upward. Very few tails are able to curl back to touch the croup, as they would if flexible. In most cases, the horse’s tail can bend laterally somewhat and, perhaps, curl halfway up toward his croup, but that is all he can allow. Many horses are concerned when you begin to handle their tail at all.

Complete release of the tail is vital to improving self-carriage and collection. You can’t spend too much time releasing a tail. Short opportunities bring good results, even when the horse snacks, or when we spend time companionably. The horse loves this kind of bodywork.

Read more: Improve the Horse’s Balance, Movement, and Self-Carriage with These Easy Tail Exercises