Buddy says, "HI!"

This is Mustang Buddy Boo. Our youngest son adopted him from the Bureau of Land Management in the spring of 2003. He wasn't such a goober then. He was wild. Very wild, as in never been touched wild. We often wondered what we had been thinking when we gave our then 16 year old son the permission to adopt the 3 year old gelding from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). When asked how progress was going in Buddy's training our typical response was, "Nobody died, so it was a success". And after one cracked rib and one broke arm and about 6 months time we were riding him. But boy how he loved to buck! When first saddled he bucked 26 minutes and he hated the saddle so much that we actually sat on him bareback the very first time because he trusted us more than that stinky piece of leather! We were patient and inventive in how we worked with him and now 5 years later he is a pretty mellow fellow. Last summer was his first year of being a mount for visitors to the ranch and he did just fine. He is never going to be a quality mount, he's sluggish and stubborn, but he's safe and knows how to walk down the trail fairly straight. He does have a tendency to weave and wobble a little! He likes to do a couple of silly tricks, like the half baked smile above and also a bow of sorts. Someday he might even learn to lie down and maybe fetch and sit as well!


You might notice in the photo that his face doesn't look quite right. Unfortunately, soon after we adopted him, he found a gap between the bottom corral board and the ground, only a couple of inches, but apparently it was enough room to tempt him to reach out his lips for something scrumptious, and he ended up getting his jaw caught which damaged a facial nerve and now he has a droopy ear and lip. Actually one whole side of his face sags, sort of like Bells Palsy. It really gives him a comical look and adds to his clown personality. Here is the view you get from the back of Buddy's back.


Being on this ranch is good for Buddy as he gets to roam free across our acreage with his little band of horses and now also a mule. And a little orange kubota 4x4 comes by regularly and a nice lady brushes him and gives him treats and occassionally he takes folks for a tour of the place that he calls home.