Merlin

Male Mustang

Born in 2000

Merlin’s Story

Merlin is Mission: Wolf’s current mustang mascot, originally born to the McCullough Peaks Herd in Cody, Wyoming. Merlin was a five-year-old colt when he was captured and processed by the BLM. He was then transported to the Canon City Inmate gentling program and adopted out to a loving lady who brought him to us. Merlin is the king of the herd(s), which has been up to six horses, now currently at four. The horses all adore him and respect his leadership. Often Merlin can appear very calm in his dealings with the other horses, almost sage-like. But don’t let that fool you, when provoked Merlin will show his herd mates his kingly colors!

When he first arrived he avoided people at all costs. Merlin is a master at teaching patience, a sense of presence, and mirroring. At first, he refused to be caught with a halter and would barely let anyone come near him. Merlin had previous rider experience but was happy to revert back to his feral natured horse business. For this we are grateful - if it weren’t for these experiences, we would be none the smarter! 

To this day Merlin hesitates to be caught. This, for the most part, continues to create excellent opportunities for others to learn and practice understanding how our body language affects horse behavior. He loves to have unrestricted attention; if you don’t have a halter in your hand, he is all over you like a big puppy dog begging for attention. 

 For more of Merlin's story, read the book, “A Walk In Connection.”