It's hard to tell who's more scared at this Oklahoma ranch….the mustangs being rounded up and loaded into a trailer….or the would-be cowboys now in charge of domesticating the horses.
"They've never seen a human before until now, and it's just all new."
The goal of the non-profit program, Mustang Mentors for Veterans: to teach veterans new skills and make the horses gentle enough for adoption.
Veterans only have 100 days to train the horses.
Laura Parunak admits it's not easy. "I knew it was going to be hard. And I knew there was going to be days like this
Laura spent 10 years in the Army flying Apache helicopters and was deployed twice to Iraq.
Her new mission is gaining Roscoe's trust.
Just being around the mustang is helping Laura rebuild her life. "I don't know (sniffs) that I could ever continue my life without some exposure to horses
Larry spent 17 years in the Army before medical issues forced him to retire.
He's teaching the mustang some basis commands and learning a few things himself.
"It teaches you patience.
At the end of the program, the horses are put up for adoption.
Laura tried to buy hers, but was quickly outbid. Then a longtime supporter of the program stepped up.
"We want to buy her horse for a $1,000 and give it back to her.”
He did the same for Larry.
“He's taught me more than I've taught him.”
Now, two veterans of the program are blazing a trail with their new companions.
The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates there are around 22 million veterans in the United States.
