Utah resident Shane Adams was joyfully reunited with his beloved horse, Mongo, 8 years after it escaped to roam with a group of wild mustangs.
Shane Adams has been an experienced horseman since his youth and had a special bond with a horse named Mongo. Unfortunately, while on a camping trip in the West Desert, Mongo ran away and was lost.
In the early morning, Adams heard a commotion outside his tent and discovered that Mongo had run off after a herd of wild mustangs. Despite his attempts to retrieve Mongo, a snowstorm hindered his efforts.
“I thought he would return soon. He was not the kind of horse to wander off too far. I never imagined he would be gone forever,” Adams said.
He filed a report about his missing horse, and for three years he went back to the same place where he last saw Mongo, but there was no sign of him.
Adam ensured that everyone was aware that Mongo was missing, and he also contacted the Bureau of Land Management in Utah and their local brand inspector.
Adams eventually had to return to his job as a foreman for a large construction company, which demanded more of his time and attention.
“It’s impossible to oversee a 100-million-dollar project and be absent while chasing wild mustangs only two days a week,” he said.
In 2017, Adams finally let go of his hope of finding Mongo and assumed that he may have died. Even the workers at BLM Utah lost their optimism of locating Mongo after they failed at capturing him.
After five years, Adams was surprised to receive the good news about Mongo. An employee of BLM Utah sent him a message on Facebook stating that his favorite horse is still alive.
Mongo was located at a round-up in Dugway Proving Ground, which was organized to control the number of horses in the area.
Upon seeing Mongo, a horse specialist from BLM immediately noticed that he behaved differently from the other horses, indicating that he might be a domesticated horse and raising hopes that it could be Mongo.
Adams traveled for four hours to see the horse, hoping it was indeed Mongo. Fortunately, he was not let down because although the horse wasn’t as robust as before, he recognized it as the same horse he had lost eight years prior.
“Due to the drought, there’s not a lot of food out there, and the horses appear emaciated, like they’re on the brink of death,” Adams clarified.
Adams was overjoyed to be reunited with his old friend. “This was really good, the only positive thing to happen to me in two years.”
He had experienced several difficulties in the past few years, such as losing his house, going through a divorce, and being in a life-threatening car accident.
He also believed that his father, who had passed away, would have been ecstatic to see Mongo once more. “My dad would have been thrilled. He would have been extremely happy,” said Adams.
Mongo is enjoying returning to his domestic life while Adams is trying to relearn how to ride saddleback again, after sustaining a brain injury from the car crash.
His doctor said it would take him at least five years to ride horses again, but he knows that one day he will be able to ride Mongo again and relive their memories together. For now, he and his children are delighted to take Mongo out for some exercise.
“I firmly believe that you have to look beyond your trials and trust that things will get better,” Adams said.
“Everything happens, but you have to keep your head up. I mean, a month ago, I never would have imagined that Mongo would be back.”
Rewritten Source: https://mypositiveoutlooks.com/horse-missing-for-8-years-running-wild-with-mustangs-returns-home/