Wild mustang finds trainer, friend

Ja Allen had a low opinion of mustangs until a filly won his heart.

Published online on Thursday, May. 28, 2009

TOLLHOUSE -- There are enduring symbols of the Old West.

Cowboys and mustangs.

Contrary to popular belief, neither has completely vanished into tumbleweed legend.

There certainly is no shortage of mustangs. More than 32,000 wild horses roam free on rangelands across the West and another 30,000 are in Bureau of Land Management holding facilities, according to government estimates.

And there are still a few true cowboys, including Ja Allen. The Tollhouse man breaks and trains horses (usually abused or problem horses) for a living.

This is a story about what happens when mustang and cowboy unexpectedly come together.

It's kind of a love story.

"I've never been this affectionate with a horse ... ever," Allen said while tenderly stroking the mustang's mane. He named the filly Faith.

"I've had lots of horses come and go, but something about this horse is different."

Long before she had a name or government freeze brand (No. 05180377), Faith was born in the high-elevation desert of western Nevada outside the town of Silver Peak. With scant vegetation and an average annual rainfall of 2 inches, it must've been a harsh existence.

Such is life for America's wild horses, managed by the BLM and protected by the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. It's a tricky balance. Since mustangs have few natural predators, herd sizes can double every four to five years.

When wild horse numbers exceed "appropriate management levels," the BLM is authorized to remove mustangs from the range and place them in holding facilities.

That's exactly what happened to Faith on Oct. 17, 2006, after about two years in the wild. Prodded by a buzzing helicopter, she was nudged into a corral and moved to a government-owned facility near Ridgecrest.

All mustangs rounded up by the BLM are branded and examined by a veterinarian. If free of diseases, they are put up for adoption for $125.

Those mustangs with exotic colors or patterns tend to be adopted quickly. But Faith, a plain-looking sorrel with a white blaze on her nose, remained there for 954 days.

"She was in the corral for quite a while," BLM wild horse specialist Art DiGrazia said. "No one must've thought she was an outstanding horse."

No one, at least, until Allen came along. And even Ja (short for Jason, a name he can't stand) was initially skeptical.

Allen keeps more than a dozen horses at his seven-acre ranch and neighboring property at the foot of Burrough Mountain. He's trained thoroughbreds, quarter horses and Appaloosas, but always held a low opinion of mustangs.

"I was one of those ignorant people who thought all mustangs were scrawny, inbred and worthless for doing ranch work," Allen said. "It turned out to be completely wrong."

Allen never considered adopting a mustang until his wife, Tina Jordan, signed him up for a contest in which he and 32 other trainers were assigned government-owned mustangs and given 90 days to train them. After the contest, the mustangs are auctioned to the highest bidder.

The contest, the Norco Extreme Mustang Trail Challenge, is a spin-off of the Extreme Mustang Makeover, created by an advocacy group called the Mustang Heritage Foundation, whose purpose is to facilitate successful adoptions for excess wild horses.

The BLM spent $36.2 million on its wild horse and burro program last year with more than three-fourths of that money going toward feeding and housing the animals. A little more than 3,700 animals were adopted in 2008, down from 5,700 in 2005.

"We try to put up for adoption or sell off as many horses as we round up," BLM spokesman Tom Gorey said, "but the market has dropped off severely."