My name is Aramis, and I am one of the strongest horses you will ever meet. While I am strong physically, I mean that my strength is great mental toughness. I have endured so much, but I am capable of enduring just about anything.
Play was my first language…oh how I loved it. Sparring with other colts was the best part of my days. I had big ideas about who I was to become and what I wanted to do among the wild horses. I remember playing and fighting with just about anyone who would take notice, as I was becoming stronger and stronger by the day. Growing up with my dad, Dartanyan, and brother, Independence, gave me plenty of time to watch real leaders at work, and I got to play with them too. They made me tougher and taught me all about limits.
My dad kept our band outside of the basin area, and we were taught to be elusive by him for what now seem like obvious reasons. He always kept us from humans, although he was not able to save us all from the helicopter roundup.
I remember the first time I felt cold metal against my body. I was in a metal pen for the first time in my life. And I could feel the cold, cold steel as I pressed up against it, hoping that it would give and that I could run free again. I had never experienced anything like it. You could tell that this cold substance was not formed naturally. It was straight and exact in its composure, not like anything I had ever experienced before. I had heard of water troughs out and about, the big metal tubs that hold water, but I didn't know that the same material that men used to nourish us and quench our thirst would be the same material that they used to hold us captive.
You can tell how much a human understands your needs by how much room they give you to move around. When I was first captured, I had hardly any room at all. I was being poked and prodded through slats in the fence, and I felt entirely out of control. My life had changed so drastically from one day to the next. Actually, it changed that drastically from one hour to the next. But I experienced many different sizes of enclosures for many days that seemed like forever. The confusing thing is that we didn't know what would happen to us or where we would go; we just knew that we had to take every single day as it came.
When I finally got off of the big trailer that brought me to For the Love of Aria, I knew I had come into something special. Not only was I surrounded by many other mustangs from my home, but I had so much room. I could roll, stretch, run, and inspect the surrounding shrubbery and fences. I could walk the fence, which was a huge gift compared to where I had been living in cramped quarters.
I have made my way through the ranks here at For the Love of Aria. I know that this might not be my forever home, but I am open to what may come. I expected the worst, and coming here has shown me that life outside the area where I was born may not be as bad as I had feared. I am respected, listened to, and honored by the people here. When I have said no, or slow down, I have been heard, and that is such a relief.
While being treated well is important to me, what is even more comforting is that I have family here. I have a couple of familiar faces with me, and I have been told that my mother, Cece, will be joining us. As for my father, I don't know if I will ever surpass him in sheer strength and magnitude of spirit, but I watch him closely. My full brother, Renegade (Independence), is also here, which is a greatly comforting familiarity. I now watch him as well because he is a strong warrior. I have watched him at a distance as he keeps a bigger herd than anyone else. He is wise, and along his path, I hope to follow.
As for now, I am looking forward to meeting more human friends. I have just been through a clinic that focused on Mustang Gentling, and while it was a long three days, I could see the quality of the work being done. Everything had a purpose, and everything was designed for
me. It was wonderful to see my new human friends working with my horse friends and family in a way that demonstrated to me that we are all in this together as a partnership is being built.
Please come see me and meet me if you would like. I am very fortunate to have found this place because my best interest is the first priority here. I wish all horses who get rounded up get to experience the same kind of soft landing.
I also want to thank my sponsors. I have a group of friends who, with the three of them together, sponsor me entirely. If you are looking for a horse to sponsor, there are so many here who don't yet have a human who wants to sponsor them.
If you and your friends have seen a face that you love, but you aren't quite sure you can sponsor them yourself, what a Mustang would tell you is that there is safety and power in numbers. You can do a lot with life when you have the support of good souls around you. Check out our herd and look at my friends, such as Watson, Whistler, Windwalker, Shoshoni, and Phoenix. None of those guys currently have sponsorship on any level, and I can tell you from being with them they are just as deserving as any other horse, including me.
Thanks for taking the time to read a little bit more about me. I look forward to meeting you one day! You should tell me that you read my bio, and I will know what you know about me, and then I will show you so much more about the new horse I have become today. It's never over. We can all believe and begin again.
"There is strength to be found in he who bends to accommodate the ways of the world. Like water, being fluid is the best way to achieve a goal without expending too much energy." ~Aramis
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