Marvel is the type of Mustang dreams are made of. He’s probably the prettiest Mustang I’ve ever seen (and I've had 5 in all the colors :)—and he’s just as handy as he is good-looking.

He’s 9 or 10 years old, 14 hands, and short, stout, and built like a tank. He’s wide and substantial enough to comfortably carry my 5'11", 200-lb husband on trails and pasture rides, but short enough that my 5'1" self—with a bad knee—can get on him just about anywhere. He’s always been barefoot, has great Mustang feet, and is an easy keeper.

Marvel is an Onaqui Mustang. His BLM papers have unfortunately been lost somewhere along the way.

THis horse is BROKE. He has all the fancy western buttons, but he’s also perfectly happy in a snaffle with rein contact and doesn’t mind playing around English and loves jumping (in my farmer/backwoods way). He’s truly a jack-of-all-trades horse who is good at a little bit of just about everything.

He’ll lope pretty circles in the arena and then head out and ride trails all day. He’s done a little 4-H, a little steer stopping, a little gaming, and lots of sorting and gathering cows (which I honestly think bores him). He’s led guided trail rides and packed novice riders through the woods. In the winter, he tows our kids around the pasture on a tube and has even taken them skijoring on flat ground. He went to a working equitation clinic and absolutely loved it. He’s the kind of horse you can look at something new and say, “Well, let’s see if Marvel will do it”—and odds are, he will.

On the ground, Marvel loves kids and will stand there all day soaking up scratches and attention. Under saddle, though, he thinks of himself as a bit of a professional. 😂 He appreciates a rider who knows what they’re doing and can get a little annoyed by someone who is constantly off balance or unsure of themselves. His response is generally pretty telling of his personality: if he senses that his rider is uncomfortable or getting off balance, he mostly just stops. He’s packed novice riders for us plenty of times, but being someone's deadhead beginner horse is NOT the job he wants.

Marvel is a bit of a quirky guy, and I think he does best when he has his own person. The more I watch him/ride him, the more I feel like he’s simply bored here. We have a lot of horses and a lot going on, and while he gets used for all kinds of things, he doesn’t get the consistent one-on-one time or mental stimulation that I think he really wants.

I think he would absolutely excel with someone who wants him as their primary horse—someone who enjoys working on their overall horsemanship, trying different things, giving their horse a job, and building a real partnership. He already has a tremendous amount of education, but he’s smart enough that I think he wants someone who will keep asking him questions.

I can’t help but feel like I’m holding on to someone else’s dream horse.