Least Resistance Training Concepts
Project Activity Album
Animals Used in the
OLYMPIC WILD HORSE & BURRO PROJECT
Knightsen, CA Segment
Last Revised 8-21-01

In partnership with

4784: Knightsen's Frontier Spirit

This is the flashiest of the three. He looks a great deal like a thoroughbred. He stands somewhere around 16 hands and is a mover. He also seems to be able to jump as he demonstrated for us in the BLM loading chute.

This horse is probably the least emotionally mature of the three. He plays with his water. He plays with his tree. He worries about stuff but he shows no signs of aggressiveness. He has been calm and sensible in the pen.

Age: 3     Height: 16-1 (& growing)
Herd: Centennial
Area: China Lake, CA

Spirit started out very head shy. We believe he may have gotten his halter hung up because he pretty much destroyed it. We had to go slow around his face which set him behind the others, but once he figured out it was OK to be handled around his face and haltered, he's done extremely well.

This horse is built like a quarter horse. He has size and a rather substantial chest and heart girth for a 3 year old.

This horse seems to have the quietest temperament of the three. He checks everything out and is quietly wary, but responds very well to soft approaches. He's not yet really comfortable with being scratched but he doesn't get uptight about it either.

Age: 3     Height: 15+ (& growing)
Herd: McGavin Peak
Area: MacDoel, CA

Magic is too cool to be real. He is definitely the most dominant of the three and the other two have discovered the penalty for messing with him, however he lets them take cover behind him whenever they are uncertain about something new.

He doesn't show much emotion but is a willing pupil. If you bring him along at a quiet, easy pace, he picks up new concepts quite easily.

2829: Lassen Mountain Dusty

This horse is built more like a typical, stocky mustang. He is a dusty chestnut with lots of dapples, a red mane and tail and four white stockings.

He seemed at first to be the spook of the bunch. We had to work him the morning after arrival to resolve a halter problem. Within 25 minutes we could approach him, give him scratches and attach or remove the halter lead at will. Afterwards he would follow us all around the pen. He seems to figure out the deal pretty quickly.

Age: 5     Height: 14-2
Herd: New Ravendale
Area: Lassen Nat'l Forest, CA

Dusty is the brightest of the group. He's always working the angles. If he can charm someone out of a treat, he will. Occasionally he'll get stuck on something new, but as soon as we can get him thinking about it, he figures it out right away. He was the first to have his feet trimmed.

Dusty prefers to do tricks that get him attention by humans.

This Jennet is the leader of the group. She has a more coarse, gray coat and she is a large standard; the largest of the three.

This Jennet started checking humans out from the very beginning. She will approach people and explore anything we have in our hands. She shouldn't be too hard to tame.

Age: 5
Herd: Clark Mountain
Area: Mojave Nat'l Preserve, CA

This two year old is attached to the gray roan with velcro. They are virtually inseparable, to the point that I couldn't get a clear photo of her. (That's her on the left.)

As the gray roan will check things out, the blue Jennet will be close at hand, standing a couple of inches further away of whatever they are exploring. She will probably mimic whatever her leader does.

Age: 2
Herd: Clark Mountain
Area: Mojave Nat'l Preserve, CA

This Jennet is a smooth coated gray with a very bold cross and lots of garters. She is not very large; a small standard.

This Jennet is the shyest of the group, always the last to check things out or explore new territory. She also gives the others first choice at feeding time. She seems quiet enough and should do fine once she gets accustomed to her new surroundings.

Age: 5
Herd: Clark Mountain
Area: Mojave Nat'l Preserve, CA

Being around the burros is like being in the movie, "Night of the Living Dead." We call the experience, "Night of the Living Donks." They quietly creep up on you, rub against you, want attention and scratches, and once they start in, there is no escape!

These are totally delightful animals that provided a sigificant degree of "chuckle factor" to this project.

Adopted Horse Uses