Mustangs are the latest twist in the Young Horse Program at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.

Started in 1999 by Associate Professor Sarah Ralston, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVN, the program teaches students about handling, training, and nutrition of young horses.

The program initially used draft cross weanlings from PMU ranches. With the increasing expense of the PMU weanlings, Ralston chose to include mustang yearlings because, “they were the size of my weanlings and no wilder. Plus you can get a three-strike BLM mustang for $25. The other issue was my Premarin horses didn’t need promotion anymore, but the mustangs do,” Ralston said.

This year’s program features four mustangs, four draft cross yearlings, and four draft cross weanlings