The name I was given by those who observed my band in the wild is Independence or Indy. The name I have been grateful to receive in captivity is Renegade. I am a 5-year-old gelding out of the Sand Wash Basin in Maybell, Colorado.
While I have been given a wonderful home at For the Love of Aria, there is no part of me that is not still wild; I might have conceded my physical freedom, but mentally and spiritually, I am still very much a wild horse.
One thing you will notice about me is my size and athletic build. I am strong and was a good candidate to have my own family of mares on the range. No part of me really understands why this change has taken place. One day, I was living the life that was given to me by my parents and the earth. The next day, it was all ripped away.
You can imagine how scary a change this is for us all, and so I responded both fearfully and angrily. I couldn't understand why this happened, and maybe I never will. While there are challenges in the life of a wild horse, I was so well adapted to that life that I never saw myself being anywhere else.
The people who are currently caring for me are definitely good people. They do not have a total and utter disregard for my very being, and I can sense that they are working to improve my pen and give me more space to move around.
I have heard talk of "pasture" for the horses who came here with me, and that seems to be referring to larger pieces of land that have been sectioned off to allow for horses to interact a little more normally than they would in confined areas.
There are people who have come to work with me to try and "gentle" me to touch and to accept ropes around me willingly. While I can tell that these people are kinder and softer than the ones who were at the roundup, submitting to their intentions would mean giving up the last bit of wildness that courses through my veins. I am uncertain as to whether or not I am ready for that or if I ever will be.
I have certainly met the full range of humans during this experience, from those who treated me and the others like a rock or stone to count and pile up to those here who seem to understand that they are capable of communicating with me even at great distances. That is the biggest difference I can discern; the people at For the Love of Aria don't want to break me and ruin everything that is wild about me. Instead, they want to cooperate with me and create a bond through which I would like to be with them. There doesn't seem to be a rush. They are taking it slowly and letting me dictate the speed by conveying my own level of comfort, which is a great experience to have with people. Those who were at the roundup cared about going at my own speed in no way. That, in and of itself, gives me hope for my future here and with people in general.
I don't really have a lot more to tell you about me other than this: I was wild, and now I am not, and I am trying really hard to trust this new process even though it is not one I would have chosen. Fortunately, the horses who came here with me from the Basin are not only familiar souls but good, kind horses. They are my new family. I am currently housed next to another gelding named Rebel. He is regularly far more settled than I am, so I am trying to take his lead and trust in his experience that I am witnessing since he is a few years older and wiser than me.
If you would ever like to come to visit me, I just ask that you seek the guidance of those who know me well and who understand what I need in order to feel safe. Right now, my trust would be very easily broken were someone to act foolishly out of a lack of awareness and send my progress hurdling backward.
Thank you for taking the time to read about me. I am not currently available to be sponsored because I have three people who have taken me on for life. I am told I will always be at For the Love of Aria, and I know there are people in my life who have promised me a lifetime of well-being and a bright future.
As for now, I am going to try to open my heart and mind in order to teach others who come behind me how to do the very same.
