Become a more effective advocate and accomplish your wildest dreams with American mustangs, whether out on the range, or in the corral.

Our mission is to bring together people in the wild horse world to network, access knowledge from specialists in the field, and become more empowered as advocates, adopters, caretakers, trainers, and people of all backgrounds with wild horse wisdom.

Connect

Network with other members whose boots are in the sagebrush.

Whether you’re just starting out in the wild horse world, or you’ve been here a while, you belong at The Wild Side. Our community is for:

• Wild horse advocates & specialists

• Mustang adopters

• Wild horse trainers

• Sanctuary & rescue workers

• Photographers & videographers

• Scholars and researchers in the field

• Wild horse lovers of all backgrounds

Learn

Access education on all things mustangs from experienced specialists in the field.

Coming soon! The Wild Side members will be able to unlock exclusive access to online courses, live webinars, and educational content that you can't find anywhere else. Upcoming courses include:

• Wild horse gentling

• Sanctuary & rescue management

• Wild horse photography & videography

• Humane training methods & application

Stay Engaged

Share your stories, questions, progress, and perspectives in a supportive, wild-minded community.

The Wild Side is a safe space of tolerance and inclusiveness for all of its members. A few benefits of membership include:

• Groups to bring members with similar backgrounds with mustangs together

• Posts and polls to start and expand on conversations with other members

• Herd Members Only Groups led by dedicated individuals and change-making organizations in the field

• Events and virtual gatherings that allow for you to create and share your own events or stay up to date on happenings in the wild horse community

Founded by a horsewoman who is wild about mustangs

I first met wild horses at a natural horsemanship facility in Northern California in 2007. They may as well have been unicorns, because while they didn't seem real, I knew that they were very special. I learned the ways of the wild horse gentling at this ranch, and over the course of two decades of practicing natural horsemanship, had the honor of working with many untamed mustangs.

My training experiences with wild horses raised the question, where does the wildness in a mustang come from? Can we ever really "take it out" of them? And perhaps most importantly, how can we rewild ourselves in order to find harmony with them? 

During my postgraduate studies in Anthrozoology, I ventured deeper into the world of the American mustang in search of answers. Throughout my research, I found even more questions and ultimately, a path following the winding trails of the wild horse in the West that I became relentlessly devoted to.

From all my days spent chasing wild horses and countless hours logged studying them, one thing became perfectly clear: we don't just need the tonic of wildness, we need each other. Through the power of community and grassroots advocacy, I believe we can make the world a better place for the wild that exists in all of us, but lives on stronger still in the mustang. 

Thank you for joining me here. I look forward to seeing you on The Wild Side!

Happy Trails,
- Shannon Ray Riley