‘Last Chance Mustang’ Chronicles the Rehabilitation of a McHenry County Horse by Trainer Mitchell Bornstein

Samson, a wild mustang helicoptered from his home, forced into captivity, and physically abused for years, was, to most, a lost cause. Mitchell Bornstein, a lawyer who started training horses as a hobby, saw him as an animal, alone in the world, with one last shot at atonement.

Bornstein’s physical scars from being bitten and kicked, a popped shoulder, being trampled, and, once, knocked out cold after a determined charge from his most challenging four-legged case were not enough to deter him.

Bornstein first encountered Samson while at a consultation for another horse to be donated to a therapeutic riding center. When the owner of the farm nonchalantly mentioned Samson and his current condition, Bornstein knew he had been brought there under false pretenses. Still, he agreed to look at the horse.

“I had been working with difficult horses for a couple of decades, but Samson was at the top of the list for worst cases,” Bornstein said. “He was violent and aggressive toward people and had all of this anger and energy on top of being locked in a stall most of the time. As a herd animal, he should not be segregated like that. He was severely abused, so he learned to be the aggressor. It was a combustible, bad combination.

“He oozed contempt. He was the perfect storm.”

That meeting led to a journey that took years, as the Wheeling resident led Samson down a road back to trust, back to will, back to life. He documented their trying first year together in his new book, “Last Chance Mustang: The Story of One Horse, One Horseman, and One Final Shot at Redemption.” The book, released in June 2015 by St. Martin’s Press, is set in McHenry County, where Samson still lives on a quiet family farm.

The book also details the circumstances that led to Samson’s arrival and eventual abuse at the hands of several owners in the northwest Chicago suburbs from the mountains of Nevada in 2003, what Bornstein calls the mismanagement of the wild horse population by the Bureau of Land Management. A 1971 law aimed at curbing the number of wild horses states that when an overpopulation exists on public lands, excess animals can be captured, removed, and adopted out to families able to provide humane treatment and care. But Bornstein says statistics used to determine what defines an overpopulation, set at 30,000 horses, were arrived at arbitrarily and they have led to the dwindling wild horse population in the country.

“It’s a complicated issue. The adoption program stems from a belief that we need to control the wild horse population. The numbers were not gathered properly and were derived more for those that had vested interest in the land since wild horses don’t bring in any money,” Bornstein said. “They keep shrinking the herd management areas, and they deem that there’s not enough land and too many horses. It’s not a wild horse problem. It’s a political problem.”

Bornstein’s book covers the history of the wild horse population in the U.S. and the program that was created to control it.

“Show me the science that says we have too many,” Bornstein said. “Show me the science, and we can figure out how to manage them from there because we are losing our wild horse population.”

Bornstein found himself akin to horses at a young age, enjoying his first ride on a horse as a young boy at summer camp. Although his mother tried to dissuade him out of fear, he rode again in his late teens and never looked back.

“You kind of feel like something’s in your blood. You feel some connection to it; an innate instinct,” Bornstein said.

Bornstein spent two years on his book, researching and writing between midnight and 3 a.m. most nights. Bornstein used his experiences along with a diary he kept during Samson’s training to tell a story intended to inspire hope and expose the long-lasting effects of animal abuse.

“He’s still a one-person horse. We never really broke down the barriers to that extent, but that first encounter really set the stage,” Bornstein said. “I felt his loneliness and the fact that he had nowhere to go. We were sort of thrown together. I forced his hand, and it worked out. That first encounter, I made a point to show him that I’m not here to hurt you.”

Bornstein likens Samson to a PTSD sufferer and has received calls and mail from people suffering from the same type of emotions Samson struggles with in the book. Many readers find his story relatable, which has built quite a following.

“The book covers the first year of trying to tear down the walls and details the fact that he’s suffered a lot. We unleashed a lot of bad memories. Many people that suffer from PTSD have contacted us, and the book is used in a lot of therapy groups,” Bornstein said. “They found the book to be relatable even though he was an animal, which is what we had hoped it would do.”

Bornstein said a lack of assumption is a powerful training tool, and said he always tried to “start at zero.”

“Don’t assume anything. Don’t presume it’s a bad horse. Don’t immediately attribute negativity to horse behaviors. You get nowhere by being negative or angry or impatient. Those assumptions can cost you and cost you dearly,” Bornstein said.

Bornstein continues to visit and work with Samson at his McHenry County home and has put even more of his energy toward his training business, The Art of Horsemanship, which has seen an influx of clients since the book’s release. And while he said “Last Chance Mustang” seemed to flow freely from him, he finds the idea of a follow-up book a bit daunting.

“There has to be a good story there,” Bornstein said. “I’m not going to write a book to write a book. If I’m going to do it again it has to be a story that touches people. I want to do something that has a purpose, not just be a published author. Samson was a very hated horse and is now loved by so many. It’s a wonderful and amazing thing.”

Originally posted by Northwest Herald