My Wild Horse Story: Doris and China Boots

By Doris Lora from Tehachapi, CA

As a youngster growing up, I rode donkeys, ponies, and horses. I went away to college and my father kept the horse my sister and had shared. She was an amazing horse, believed to be a Morgan/mustang cross. An awesome line back dun with a black mane, tail and legs. More than 25 years would pass before I have horses again.

I read a newspaper article and learned about the Ridgecrest BLM corrals and found out I could adopt a horse or burro. I talked it over with my husband, looked for a suitable facility where a horse could be kept, then asked my dad if he could help transport a wild horse. Things happened quickly. On January 2, 1991 we made the 90-mile drive to the Ridgecrest wild horse and burro corrals. We were getting our daughter a mustang.

Donna Nunn was working in the office, and Gene Nunn was the Wrangler in charge of a huge facility, acres, and acres of large corrals. But at the time, they had relatively few animals available for adoption. Three to be exact. Two bay geldings and one 6-month-old Sorrel filly with a white blaze. She was friendly as she had been born at the facility. Donna took a liking to her and spent time with the filly. Her dam had been adopted and she was left behind, maybe a little lonely.

We decided on the filly. She was passed through the loading chutes, haltered, and loaded into our trailer, ready for the journey home. She was a very petite mustang with very tall stockings on her hind legs that looked like white ‘Go Go Boots.’ Her legs were very fragile, delicate like fine China. She was born in China Lake, so we named her China Boots. Booty for short. She was easy to halter train, we enjoyed 21 years with her as part of our herd of mustangs we would eventually acquire.

Since she was on the smaller size she was primarily ridden by children and small adults, although I did ride her a few times. I preferred lighter weight riders for her. In 1999 we took her to a friend in Bakersfield, California, Carl Smith, who trained her to pull a cart. And in the Summer of 1999, she delivered a Bride, via a cart, to her wedding venue.

China Boots went to Bishop for the Bishop Mule Days Parade where she was ridden by my then 4-year-old daughter, while being led by my husband Mark. I took Booty on horse camping trips to the coast. Later, because she was so comfortable around children, I took her to a foster home where she was greeted by an handful of anxious children wanting to pet a horse for the first time.

Since China boots was easy to gentle, I returned to Ridgecrest in February 1991 to adopt one of the Bay geldings we met in January.  That is another story.

Find opportunities to bring home your own wild horse or burro.