Sara & Juno
“There is just a romantic nature to mustangs out in the American landscape- it’s just cool,” says mustang owner and lover Sara Wulff.
Her mustang, Juno, munches on hay next to us, her face relaxed- but alert, checking in every few moments between bites. The sunset dapples Juno’s magnificent, rich buckskin coat- her long, milk chocolate mane backlit with a brilliant bronze of the orange hue.
Juno was born in a holding facility in Fallon, Nevada and was adopted as an untouched two-year-old. The HMA she came from remains a mystery, as the BLM dumps various herds into Fallon, without documentation. And not too longer after found herself listed on a Facebook ad.
Sara, scrolling through her feed, stumbled upon the advertisement and was instantly in love with the horse she saw in the photo. Shortly after messaging with the previous owner, Sara found herself meeting the mare, who awaited her with knickers behind the stall bars. Sara put a deposit down on the same day.
"She wouldn’t load for anybody else there. I don’t know why, but I was like, this is mine... From then on, I just knew she’s supposed to be my horse."
Sara’s love for training and forming partnerships with horses was started with her first horse, Babylon, a one-eyed Appaloosa. After an injury, Babylon helped nurture Sara into having confidence in her abilities and passion for horses, which began the path to her first mustang. Their relationship has blossomed into an incredible partnership through extensive time bonding and achieving liberty goals. Translating the love language of horsemanship, or the intimate balance of pressure exchange, has been a hallmark of the learning process for Juno.
“A lot of her training has to do with letting her release her own pressure... She gets it really quickly and she'll figure things out really fast that way. They’re really expressive and in tune with what’s going on. I haven’t met a mustang who wasn’t like that… just so alert and attentive."
Sara and Juno have plans to continue their relationship together through liberty and trick training. Confidence is key, and by working as a team, the options are endless on what they can do.
