ANACONDA — Mesquite, a 10-year-old mustang, has been a crowd favorite at the Butte St. Patrick's Day Parade for about five years — but a recent trail ride left him with a nail lodged in his hoof — a life-threatening injury for a horse, if left untreated.
His owner, Ciara Pares Kempf, said the injury happened while riding on old roads that snake through the public land behind her home outside of Anaconda.
"All these roads in the Forest Service behind me, all go back to the 1870s, and every spring as the snow melts and the gravel churns up with the runoff, we find all kinds of different pieces of metal," Pares Kempf said. "Strange stuff: oxen shoes, axe heads, who even knows what kind of scrap comes off wagons."
WATCH: From wild herd to parade star 🐴🍀 Meet Mesquite, the mustang rehabbing to march again
Pares Kempf described Mesquite's mood as 'full of vinegar' and excited about the spring-like weather when he stepped down on the rusty nail.
Pares Kempf immediately knew something was wrong and dismounted.
"That's the nail, and it was stuck right in there," Pares Kempf said, holding the bent nail to the bottom of Mesquite's hoof. "When he stepped on the nail, he took three big bobble steps, so I knew something was wrong, and I wasn't able to get the nail out."
Mesquite spent the first couple of years of his life with the Cold Springs wild horse herd, managed by the federal government in Oregon. Pares Kempf adopted him for just $25 at a Bureau of Land Management adoption event.
"The moment I got him, he wanted to be gentle," Pares Kempf said. "He was just a good boy. He was still wild. He was unsure, and he didn't know people, but it took a really short time for him to come around. Shorter, perhaps than your average mustang."
That trust between horse and owner has allowed Mesquite to participate in the Butte St. Patrick's Day Parade, which welcomes upwards of 10,000 revelers each year. Pares Kempf said his wild instincts actually help him stay calm in the chaotic environment.
"In some cases, it even seems like in a wild environment, like a parade, they get more focused on you and your relationship," Pares Kempf said. "Being a wild horse, he knows that being in his herd is the safest place for him to be, and I'm his herd."
That bond also allows Pares Kempf to dress Mesquite in elaborate costumes, including dragons, unicorns, and butterflies.
As Pares Kempf soaks his hoof in an iodine mixture and wraps it, she said the outlook is promising.
"The Celtic Cavalry will still be riding," Pares Kempf said. "We're doing the Year of the Fire Horse this year. The likelihood is that he's going to be just fine. He's healing really well. So as long as everything continues on that route, we are a hundred percent."
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