January Monthly Highlights
Meet Megan of LRTC!
For this month’s edition of the Pinto Post, we virtually sat down with Megan, a volunteer with Least Resistance Training Concepts Large Animal Rescue team. For her, horses - especially wild horses - are a family affair. Let’s dive in!
How did you get involved in wild horses?
Since I could walk, I have always loved horses. I have been drawn to them, and growing up in this area, wild horses have always been in my life one way or another. I got a few riding lessons for my 12th birthday and knew I was hooked. During the time I was taking riding lessons, my parents had a yard sale. My mom had just finished radiation for breast cancer and at the yard sale my mom was talking with two ladies, one of whom had just finished chemotherapy for breast cancer, and they mentioned having horses. As they describe it, I came running from the other side of the garage saying, “Horses?!?!” and we exchanged contact info. The following weekend, I went to my first “horse day” with Least Resistance Training Concepts and they immediately put me hands-on with previously wild horses. I felt myself become a different person. I adopted my first Mustang, Blizzard, when I was 13 years old and, unfortunately, I lost him to colic pretty quickly after his adoption. I adopted my second previously wild horse, Brooklynn, when I was 14 (she was only 18 months old, so we got to grow up together and learn together). She and I are part of the Technical Large Animal Rescue team, doing both on foot and under saddle rescue work. The hardest time of my life, my mom’s cancer, brought me to wild horses, and I am so glad because I have amazing people and amazing horses in my life because of that.
What is your favorite part of rescue?
Making a difference, whether it’s for a wild horse who runs off right when we’ve successfully completed a rescue or for a horse and their owner. Knowing that there’s a small, positive impact I was part of is incredibly rewarding. Even in the sad moments when a horse doesn’t make it, I know I was part of helping that horse reach a peaceful end, and that makes it easier to continue.
Why are wild horses special to you?
All horses are incredible, but there’s just something about a wild horse that’s different. I’ve done groundwork with and ridden many breeds in many disciplines, from drafts to Quarter Horses and off the track Thoroughbreds, and I have never felt safer, more confident, or more at peace and at one with my surroundings than on a Mustang. When you see them in the wild, they’re fascinating to just watch, they have such a special and unique herd dynamic that you just don’t see in domestic settings. They are so resilient. My own mare is my heart horse. We have a bond that I didn’t know could possibly exist between a human and a horse, and we can read each other like a book. We both know what the other one is thinking and we’re always on the same page. Plus, she’s very silly so she keeps me laughing. She is a huge part of why wild horses are so special to me.
How long have you been involved in helping wild horses?
I started working with wild horses when I was 12 years old. I am now 28 years old and with each year I have become progressively more involved in helping wild horses. My first unofficial rescue call was when I was around 14. A young filly had been hit by a car and I was asked to help get her loaded into a trailer to be evaluated. I was around 19 years old when our TLAR team started officially training and responding to calls.
What is your day job?
I am a paralegal for the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s Legal Division and a student. I am approximately 18 months away from completing a Master of Criminal Justice degree.
Anything else you would like us to know about you?
For me, wild horses are a family affair. Since I was so young when I started working with them, then adopting my own, my mom was my “chauffeur” for quite a few years, which gave us a lot of time together having fun and learning while I was in high school. Both of my parents are part of the Technical Large Animal Rescue team.
The day Megan adopted her mare Brooklynn!
Megan on her first mounted rescue
Megan in a parade
The story of Oahu
The beautiful mare Oahu was born around March 3, 2016 to Blue-Eyed Jack and Molassis. She was named by volunteer documenter Jeremy Davidson because her markings looked like the Hawaiian Islands, so Oahu fit perfectly! They were all in the Whiskey Jack band. In 2019 Oahu foaled little filly Moana, who looked remarkably like her momma, including the blue eye and prized eye liner. In 2020, Oahu foaled Hanauma who was named after Hanauma Bay on the Island of Oahu. She’s called Hana for short. Oahu draws quite a crowd with her unique markings and her wise leadership in the band. She and “Hana'' live in the GDB Band.
Thank you Dorothy Nylen for telling the story of Ohau!
Oahu and her parents!
Oahu now
Oahu’s filly Moana
Oahu’s second filly Hanauma