WILDE CHILD SIGNATURE HORSES
From feral to finished.
From misunderstood to extroardinary.
The Program
The Wilde Child Signature Horse Program is a comprehensive, long-term development program designed to take a horse through a structured education from the ground up. Our goal isn't to create a horse that simply knows how to perform a collection of skills. Our goal is to develop exceptionally versatile horses while showcasing what the American Mustang is capable of.
Every horse begins their journey with a foundation rooted in trust, communication, education, and real-world exposure. We don't want to create horses that only perform well in the arena. We want to create horses that can do almost anything the average horse owner may ask of it. Horses that can think, communicate, adapt, recover, and confidently navigate the real world with their human.
A signature horse should be able to leave the arena and confidently enter the real world. Meaning trail riding. Ranch work. Camping. Packing. And so much more.
Changing the Narrative
Our long-term vision is to begin the Signature Horse Program with completely unhandled mustangs. Not horses that have already been started under saddle. Not horses that already understand domestic life. The real starting point is the beginning.
There is a persistent stigma surrounding the American Mustang. They're often labeled as wild, dangerous, untrainable, and more. We don't believe those labels tell the whole story. A mustang's feral beginning doesn't determine their future.
The Wilde Child Signature Horse Program exists to demonstrate the versatility of the American Mustang and challenge the assumption that a feral horse has a predetermined ceiling.
These horses aren't being trained for one specific trick or discipline. They're being given an education designed to prepare them for real life.
What Makes a Signature Horse?
Every Signature Horse begins feral and progresses through a structured, individualized curriculum designed to develop the horse physically, mentally, and emotionally. We want to create a horse that can:
- Think through unfamiliar situations
- Communicate with their human
- Recover from stressful situations
- Navigate new environments
- Ride alone or in groups
- Handle livestock exposure
- Work toward a variety of disciplines and jobs
Versatility is the point. The American Mustang has already demonstrated incredible adaptability in the wild. Our job is to help demonstrate how that same intelligence and adaptability can translate into a life alongside humans.
The 24-Month Curriculum
The Signature Horse Program is structured as a 24-month progressive education. The curriculum provides the framework, but the horse determines the pace.
Meet Hollywood
Hollywood is a mustang off of an unknown Native American Reservation. After months of searching for the PERFECT horse to launch our Signature Horse Program, we came across him in a Facebook Ad. He was originally purchased by a family with the intention of taming him and starting him under saddle, however due to life circumstances he was never handled. We chose Hollywood for a number of reasons.
First of all, he is feral. Our goal with this program is to create confident, reliable, and dependable horses while showcasing the versatility of the American Mustang. Hollywood fits that description. Secondly, we don't choose a Signature Horse purely based on the fact they are unhandled. We look at conformation. Build. Soundness. Athleticism. And personality. After doing an in-depth study and evaluation, we determined that Hollywood fits our physical requirements for this program. And finally, their capacity to learn and adapt. Within the early days of training a mustang, we develop an understanding of how that horse responds to pressure, their curiosity and willingness to engage, and how they recover from unfamiliar situations. A horse who struggles with these concepts within the first month of training is likely a horse that will struggle to quickly adapt in new, unplanned situations - something we need when creating our Signature Horses. Hollywood was able to express curiosity and willingness within one day of training. After one week, he wore his first halter. He has demonstrated exactly what we look for behaviorally when choosing a horse for this program.
Given that this program is rather new and Hollywood is the first official Signature Horse, we will be providing lots of documentation throughout the training process. We want to showcase our training philosophy at Wilde Child, demonstrate the exact type of horse we are trying to create, and allow you guys the opportunity to enjoy the journey with us. Check out our YouTube Series for the latest updates on Hollywood and how he is progressing through the Wilde Child Signature Horse Program!