At first, Indigo didn’t want anything to do with Jennifer Steager and classmate Whitney Mahloch, who have been taming and training the wild mustang since early March.
Slowly, the yearling warmed up to his doting human handlers, and by Thursday, it was clear a close bond had formed between Steager and Indigo, or “Indy” for short.
The 32-year-old Steager, an equine training and instruction major at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, decided she couldn’t live without the now playful, affectionate yearling. “I fell in love with him,” said Steager, who moved to Terre Haute from California about three years ago.
She’s adopted the black stallion, one of nine male mustangs that found a temporary home at the college through a partnership with the federal Bureau of Land Management’s Save the Mustangs program. This is the fourth year the college has participated in the program.
Federal protection and a lack of natural predators have resulted in a thriving wild horse population that increases every year. The mustangs at The Woods were rescued from Wyoming, Florida and Montana.
A symbol of American history, wild horses are descendants of animals released by or that escaped from Spanish explorers, ranchers, miners, U.S. cavalry or Native Americans.
The Woods’ equine studies program receives the horses at no cost, and students work closely with the wild horses as part of a training and handling class. The goal is to find good homes for the horses.
Five of the mustangs (including Indigo) had been adopted as of Thursday, and four others were taken to a fostering facility in Brazil on Friday.
This summer, Indigo will remain at the Woods, where Steager plans to work. By next fall, she’ll find another home for her guy.
“I’ve always wanted a mustang,” she said Thursday as she prepared for a practical skills final with Indigo as part of the freshman-level training and handling class.
Steager wasn’t worried about how the mustang would perform on the practical skills final. “He knows what he needs to do,” she said. “I’m more nervous I’ll cue him wrong.”
She talked affectionately to the horse she’s adopted. “I have you all over me,” she said to Indy, who is shedding his fuzzy, black winter coat. Part of that fuzzy coat was on her.
As the students and mustangs waited for their turn during the practical skills final, equine studies major Lauren Nelson started teasing Indigo’s forelock so that he had a puffy hairdo.
“I hope it stays fluffy,” Nelson said. “I think there’s a curly gene in him.”
Nelson and a classmate worked with a chestnut-colored mustang they named Code Red. “It has been a challenge, but a lot of fun and a very rewarding experience,” said Nelson, a freshman from Carmel. “Red” has come a long way, but “he’s a fighter. He’ll fight you every step of the way,” Nelson said.
She’d like to adopt him, but it’s not possible at this time in her life. Nelson knew it would be difficult to say goodbye on Friday.
Steager, a former history teacher, grew up around horses in California, but typically they were adult horses and already trained. Now, the college’s equine studies program and its work with mustangs have given her an opportunity that, until recently, has been a distant dream.
A member of the Indiana Air National Guard, she’s a full-time student at the Woods. Her long-term goal is to have her own business in which she trains horses and gives riding lessons. She still needs a lot more experience, she acknowledged. She’s learned a lot from Mahloch, her classmate.
Nineteen students have worked with the mustangs since the first week of March, and last week was finals week. The equine students are totally responsible for the mustangs and must clean them and their stalls, feed them and train them.
The students have been training the horses to stand quietly while tied, pick up all four feet and to walk and trot while being led by a student. They’ve also work on loading the mustangs into trailers.
In one “sacking out” exercise Thursday, the goal was for the mustangs to step on a large piece of tarp. Sacking out is a way horse trainers desensitize a horse to potentially frightening situations or objects.
On Thursday, Indigo did pretty well on most of the exercises, although he refused to walk on the tarp. He readily walked into a trailer, though, not once, but twice.
“Young man, you seem to have issues with the tarp again,” Steager scolded him. He did successfully “ground drive,” a pre-cursor to riding in which the handler stands behind the horse and directs him using long reins.
As she put a bit in his mouth, Indigo showed some resistance. “I know, it tastes funny,” Steager said.
Sara Schulz, an instructor in the equine studies program, said that when the horses first arrive at the Woods, they are afraid, reactive and untrusting.
When touched for the first time, some of them try to jump over gates or kick or bite. “All their defense mechanisms are up when we get them,” Schulz said.
But after six weeks of working with the students, “It’s almost like you see them melt in front of your eyes,” Schulz said. “It’s just amazing to see the transformation.”
The Bureau of Land Management provides the horses to the college at no charge. “Otherwise, we’d have to try to buy or solicit horses,” Schulz said.
At the end of the final exam, Steager and Nelson let Indigo and Code Red play and gallop around the indoor arena. Indigo playfully kicked Code Red and even jumped on his fellow mustang. Later, the boys romped outside.
On Friday, the four remaining horses were taken to a fostering facility in Clay County operated by Jane Loughmiller, who said someone already has adopted one of the four.
Those interested in adopting the remaining three can contact her at (812) 239-1211 or jane@loughmiller.com.
Loughmiller has adopted several mustangs of her own, and she’s boarding some that others have adopted. “They are very special horses that find a way into everyone’s heart,” she stated.
On Friday, as Loughmiller took the remaining mustangs to their new home, the students were sad to see them go, said Angie McMillin, a Woods equine instructor.
One student kept a journal of her experiences with her mustang, and she plans to give the journal to the horse’s new, adoptive family.
But for Steager, there were no goodbyes; Indigo, whose charm she couldn’t resist, is part of her family now. “He definitely has a sense of humor, and he’s very inquisitive,” she said. “He can be very affectionate and he’s a very quick learner.”
He is a little stubborn when it come to walking on tarp. “We’ll work on that some more,” Steager said.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Horse course: Program at St. Mary-of-the-Woods helps tame wild mustangs, prepare them for adoption
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Valentine's Day a rosy business
Red roses, mixed bouquets and even a bonsai tree or two are being delivered today on perhaps the nation’s sweetest holiday.
-
Downtown gets Wi-Fi ‘hotspot’
Frontier Communications has reached an agreement with city officials to create a Wi-Fi “hotspot” covering much of downtown Terre Haute.
-
Board OKs $5.4M in work at schools
The Vigo County School Board has approved borrowing $5.4 million for an expansion of DeVaney Elementary School and energy-related projects at 15 other schools.
-
Stella’s Cafe downtown plans to close March 2
Not long after changing its name from Bit of Britain Tea Room to Stella’s Cafe, a downtown restaurant has announced plans to close its doors.
-
Bill would ease college credit transfers
Indiana college students worried about whether their credit hours will transfer to another university may get some relief if a proposed higher-education bill passes.
-
Court alters trial date for man accused in 1979 death case
A trial date has changed for a Riley man accused of a 1979 homicide.
-
Shift to online raises school cost concerns
Legislation that would require high school students in Indiana to take at least one online course is meeting resistance from some school administrators who say they can’t afford any more mandates from the state.
-
Cops nab man after squad car struck
A West Terre Haute man was arrested Monday after a police pursuit that began after his vehicle collided with a Terre Haute police car.
-
Victim unhurt when robbed by gunman
Terre Haute police were searching late Monday night for a suspect accused of using a gun to rob another person at about 7 p.m.
-
Man face gun charge after woman shot in leg
A Terre Haute man faces a misdemeanor firearms charge following an accidental shooting during the weekend.
-
Packing the hall
If you didn’t come early, the seats were hard to find.
-
Alternative-fuel project has Rose, ISU students all charged up
The future of Earth’s auto industry is intertwined with the career prospects of local university students, and a world-class team shined with green energy Sunday.
-
Montford Point Marine
In 1943, 19-year-old Ezell Odom was on the sandy beach of a tiny South Pacific island about 7,000 miles from his parent’s home in Terre Haute.
-
K-9 officer Shadow honored as a hero
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
-
Freezin’ for a Reason
Hundreds lined up outside Hulman Center amid frigid air to participate in a warm-hearted cause.
-
Even as law, right-to-work dominates crackerbarrel
The flames of the right-to-work debate were gone, but the coals still seemed to smolder.
-
Vigo School Board to give OK on bonds for DeVaney project
The Vigo County School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the administration building, 686 Wabash Ave.
-
Bridging the gap to ‘forever’
They can be taken from their homes by strangers for reasons they may not understand, with no possessions other than the clothes they are wearing.
-
Students showcase keen problem-solving skills at Rose-Hulman
For the 16th straight year, Honey Creek Middle School students came out on top in the Wabash Valley MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
Ivy Tech to celebrate Black History Month
Ivy Tech Community College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events at its campuses statewide.
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Bacteria Keep Swimmers Off Some Fla. Beaches
Raw Video: Israeli Embassy Car Attacked
Police: Houston Found Under Water, Unconscious
Authorities: Houston Found Underwater in Tub
Coroner: Don't Know Houston's Cause of Death Yet
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Raw Video: Houston Body Flown From L.A. to N.J.
Sandusky Can See Grandkids, Have Local Jury
Valentine Greetings Sent Worldwide From Loveland
Obama Unveils $3.8 Trillion Budget
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Greek Austerity Measures Spark Riots
ShowBiz Minute: Houston, Grammys, BAFTAs
Nordic Festival Puts North Korea in Spotlight
Raw Video: Obama Budget Goes to Capitol Hill
Grohl, Grammy Nominees Cut Up on the Red Carpet
'Rumor Has It' Adele's Rolling in the Grammys
Arab League Wants U.N. Help in Syria
Whitney Houston's Church Mourns Her Passing
Arm Wrestler Not Guilty Plea in Wife's Death
Sports Illustrated Cover Leaked
Raw Video: Hearse Arrives at N.J. Funeral Home
Scarlett Johansson's Bikini P-D-A
Kissing contest heats up
Hugh Hefner's Son Arrested
Jacqueline Kennedy's personal papers released
Romijn's 60 Pound Weight Loss
Iran denies Israeli embassy bombings
Schon & Salahi's Love Story Turned Music Video
Trial Opens for Ala. Man in Bride's Diving Death
Did Tyler Perry Have a Secret Wedding?
Facebook Parenting: Father Posts Video Responding to Daughter's Post
Gregoire: Marriage Equality Is Right for Wash.
'Bachelor' Free Falls into the Ocean
Rosenthal: A's sign Cespedes
Bobby Brown on Houston's Death
Adele's revealing "60 Minutes" interview
