That being said, Funny Farm Mustangs takes the TIP horses to a much higher level and will put a solid, safe foundation on the mustangs through several desensitizing and sensitizing ground exercises and if feasible, start under saddle, time permitting. We especially like groundwork, desensitization and obstacle training. While each TIP horse in our care will be available as soon as it meets the minimum training requirements, training is an on-going process and the horses will continue to advance in their training while they are here. If you are not experienced with starting horses we highly recommend you have a trainer put a minimum of 30 days and preferably 90 days of saddle training on your new horse. Again this depends on the horse and your own confidence level and riding ability. Funny Farm Mustangs can and will put further saddle training on your mustang, but this will be done in a “donation for service” setting.
Adoption Requirements The BLM has a complete list of adoption requirements on their website, which can be viewed HERE. The requirements for housing a wild mustang or burro in the link above are different than those gentled prior to adoption, which is what Funny Farm Mustangs does. For TIP/Funny Farm Mustang horses, keep in mind that you may keep the horse in any standard, safe stabling arrangement including box stalls and standard pipe stalls. Gentled mustangs do not require 400 sq foot pens with 6′ high fences. Most of our mustangs will find a 12 x 24′ 5′ high corral adequate. We will advise if something larger is necessary for an individual horse.
Wild Burros: The Adoption Process for wild burros is the same for wild horses except with burros, we only gentle them in accordance with the Federal Government’s standards. We do not train them to be pack animals or to pull carts, however, for a nominal fee/donation, we will train them to be pack animals or pull a small cart after the gentling process is completed. Again, the adoption fee paid to the BLM, not Funny Farm Mustangs, is only $125.00.
Private Training: On occasion, we have conducted private training for individuals with mustangs or other horses that may have some issues, which require specific addressing. This is done on a case-by-case basis and only when there are no mustangs or burros in training. This is a fee for service and is not associated with the Funny Farm Mustang organization.