Breaking in mustangs is no big deal for Renae and Shane Bartosiewicz

Renae and Shane Bartosiewicz have both been riding horses since they were too young to remember, and they are still in the saddle. 

The couple met seven years ago at a mustang event that Renae Bartosiewicz won. 

“I won a saddle, and I still use it — it’s a good saddle,†Renae Bartosiewicz said. 

“I let her win that saddle,†Shane Bartosiewicz joked. “She needed it.â€

Shane Bartosiewicz grew up in Glenwood Springs, and Renae Bartosiewicz originally comes from South Dakota. Both ride horses professionally, sometimes on and off as their lives change. 

Three years after meeting, the two married on horseback, living in Crawford, Colorado before coming to the valley last November, settling in Parachute, and living in their ranch together with their seven horses, nine dogs, and herd of cattle, including two longhorns, with a broad view of the Roan Plateau. 

Shane Bartosiewicz recently rode one of their longhorns into Silt to get hay, but the horns almost stopped him at the doorway. 

“He got one horn in, and then he shifted and got both in, but got stuck,†Shane Bartosiewicz said. “I thought I should get him out of there before this gets real expensive.â€

The couple recently acquired two mustangs to compete in the Meeker Mustang Makeoverwhich began in April, and runs through Sept. 18 and 19. At the event, mustang owners will showcase how well they worked with their mustangs before the horses are auctioned.

Mustangs, or wild horses, and burros are being managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)who attempt to round up the horses when herds grow too large.

“They breed too fast, so there’s thousands of mustangs, and when the herds get too big, they start killing each other,†Shane Bartosiewicz said. “They fight over resources, food and water, and the herds become unsustainable.â€

Because of herd management issues, nonprofits such as Meeker Mustang Makeover use competitions to try and help disperse the herds and train them. 

“It’s easier training a mustang because they still have their instincts,†Renae Bartosiewicz said. “They move away from pressure because they were living in the herd, and they move around a lot.â€

Horses that are used to pressure get desensitized to it, which can be harder for the Bartosiewiczs who use the older, Californio bridal style of training, the vaquero style. 

“It makes the horse a smoother ride, functionally perfect,†Shane Bartosiewicz said. “It’s like the difference between a Ferrari and an old pick-up truck.â€

The Bartosiewiczs have found that the vaquero style isn’t very common in Colorado or further east, but they’re training the current in-progress mustangs, Cash and Viento, in the style. 

“We have other mustangs that we’ve used the style on, and they’re great horses,†Renae Bartosiewicz said. “We trained them ourselves.â€

Cash, Renae Bartosiewicz’s newest mustang, is younger than Viento. Renae is working on being able to saddle and ride him.

“He’s much better than he was when I first got him,†Renae Bartosiewicz said. “I can lead him around more easily, he still shies when something spooks him, like my chaps, the fringe was blowing and he didn’t like that, but he’s doing great.â€

Viento, Shane Bartosiewicz’s mustang, is a little older than Cash, and is less high-strung. 

“Sometimes we got to almost wake him up, we have to tell him it’s time to move,†Shane Bartosiewicz said. 

He was able to saddle Viento soon after getting him, and is currently working on riding and training him. 

The Bartosiewiczs are also working on getting their mustangs used to human touch. 

“Cash has figured out that it feels nice, getting scritches, and he’s getting a lot better with letting me touch him,†Renae Bartosiewicz said. 

Trained mustangs at the Meeker Mustang Makeover go for hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on how well their trainers do from April to September. 

The Bartosiewiczs offer riding lessons for beginners to advanced, clinics in ranch roping, trail horsemanship, stock handling, colt starting, and problem solving, and horse training services for working ranch horses. They also offer stock dog training lessons, specifically for people.

For more information on the Bartosiewiczs and their dog, horse, and cow family up in Parachute and the lessons they offer, visit srlivestock.my.canva.site/ or visit their Facebook at S & R Livestock LLC.