By Alyssa Dietrich, MCR Adopter
At the beginning of March, Pocket, a Devil’s Garden youngster and former MCR alumni attended the Pennsylvania World Horse Expo to represent mustangs on Breed Row. She was the only mustang there for that purpose which meant she was in the ring by herself and she was the only one displayed to the public so she did not get much of a break during the day. She was inside the building from Wednesday night until Sunday evening when we left to go home.
Despite all this, she was quite literally perfect.
I would have understood completely if she got bored, frustrated, nervous, and just all around sour from the environment. I had high hopes, but low expectations and was fully prepared to take her home if need be considering she is only 2 and has never been in an environment like the Expo before. All of my worries were for naught though.
This shy little filly has completely blossomed. She never became sour, she never acted out in frustration or boredom, and on the rare occasion that she did become nervous, she kept her cool and looked to me for guidance. She remained friendly and comical while hundreds of people pet her (though of course, she had to search everyone's pockets for treats, she loved strollers/wheelchairs/wagons, and loose clothing was fair game).
If small children or elderly people came by, she immediately knew to be more gentle with them. Kids would swarm her, bouncing and squealing in excitement while shoving tiny fingers right up to her mouth, and at one point a grandmother shoved a whole toddler in Pocket's face before I had a chance to say anything. She never lashed out, she never pinned her ears, she never displayed a sign of annoyance, and she never hid in the back of her stall to escape. I watched her closely for any signs of being overwhelmed in which case I would have taken her back to her private stall where the public could not enter, but she thrived on the attention.
When we were in the ring performing, she was wonderful. She loved smiling for the audience and many, many people would stop at her stall on Breed Row to compliment her performance and behavior in the stadium ring.
We are both exhausted (and someone passed their germs along to me so now I'm sick), but it was such an incredible weekend meeting people and talking about mustangs. Pocket was a true ambassador for her kind, even if some people mistook her for an appaloosa and a Chincoteague pony. I kindly yet firmly explained Pocket is a real wild pony, not Chincoteague pony.
MCR currently has several mustangs available for adoption!
