Horse trainerJake Harvathhas been passionate about animals for as long as he can remember.
And this has translated into him, and his three horses, taking a 6,000-mile adventure across 25 states.
Where does your love of horses stem from?
By the time I was 12, I couldn’t get enough of being around them.
What gave you the idea for the Year of the Mustang?
It wasn’t really one thing.
This, however, brought me to the idea of doing my own trip.
Eventually, it grew into this massive undertaking.
All the while, through training horses, I found myself working with more and more mustangs.
I could give people a way to see mustangs the way I do.
Can you share a bit about the history of the American mustang and the challenges they face today?
It all starts with the first Europeans to settle in the Americas.
As Spanish colonization spread, their horses would occasionally escape.
Some of these horses would survive and go on to be feral horses.
The Spanish originally referred to these wild horses as mestengos.
which means without an owner.
From this, we later got the word mustang.
The United States later annexed the large northern portion of Mexico.
The horses in off-range corrals are available for adoption by the public.
One of the struggles with that option is getting people to do it.
Why did you decide to adopt your horses from the BLM?
My first mustang (Bella) was actually given to me by my boss and coach.
She and I learned a lot together, and she was my first experience with mustangs.
She made me realize I needed more of their heart and effort for a trip like this.
What was the most challenging or unexpected part of your trip?
While this was easy to expect, the most difficult challenge on going was traffic.
I stayed as rural as I could while still doing what I had to be able to move quickly.
This had me regularly in close proximity to traffic.
Thankfully, we never had an accident.
Just a lot of close calls.
And the most rewarding?
There is one simple thing about me that made me know I could do this trip.
I love to cover the country on horse.
It is my favorite thing at the end of the day.
What are some things people need to consider before adopting a mustang?
So, meeting those requirements is the first thing to consider.
Number two would be to figure out what your goal for that horse is.
Training a wild horse takes consistency, so remember that when deciding what your plans for the horse are.
What do you hope that people take away from your journey?
No matter how big.
Third, I hope people see just how blessed we are in this country.
There is a lot more good in the American people than we give ourselves credit for.
That is my experience of people in every state I visited.
While my horses might be resting easy, I am not.
There will be plenty more adventures for my horses this year as well.
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