Even wild horses couldn’t drag him away.
After eight years on the run, a horse named Mongo has returned home to his owner Shane Adams. And despite spending nearly half of his life with a herd of mustangs, Adams said, “he acts like nothing ever happened.”
Nearly a decade ago Adams was camping in Utah’s West Desert with his horse Mongo when he accidentally got loose. The horse had been tied up to Adams’ tent, but when a herd of wild mustang ran by, Mongo took off.
Adams scrambled out of his tent and attempted to catch Mongo, but it was too late.
Eventually he had to return to his home in northern Utah without his horse.
He told everyone he knew, including the Bureau of Land Management, to keep an eye out for Mongo. And for the next three years he returned to the desert on the weekends to search for his friend.
Without much hope left he stopped visiting the desert and bought another horse, but he kept Mongo’s halter just in case.
Time kept marching on and he never heard another word about his beloved horse until September 2022 when the Bureau of Land Management reached out to him.
They recently rounded up a herd of wild mustangs and noticed one of the horses was tamer than the others.
After taking a closer look they realized he matched a description Adams had given them years earlier.
‘Never in my life’
The two were recently reunited, a moment Adams never anticipated.
What’s even crazier is even though Mongo is much older now, 18, and severely underweight, he was ready to saddle up.
“It’s crazy he still acts the same, same horse,” Adams said. “Eight years of being wild and he acts like nothing ever happened.”
Welcome home, Mongo! May you continue to live the rest of your years surrounded by the family who lives you dearly.
