Getting to Know Cat Zimmerman
Getting to Know Cat Zimmerman
Up Close and Personal with a Legendary Mustang Whisperer
"When I bestride him, I soar. I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes." —William Shakespeare
Did you know many people go through their entire life without sitting on a horse?
Missing the joy of galloping through a field. Wind in their hair. Sun on their face. Feeling the rhythm of the horse’s stride in their bones. They’ve yet to experience the comfort that comes from bonding with an enormous soul.
Others know the experience of riding for pleasure. Training. Competing. They delight in the relationship between horses and humans.
But, few encounter the thrill of taming a wild horse. And not just any wild horse. But, the iconic wild Mustang. Managed, and protected by the United States Bureau of Land Management.
Let alone at age twelve.
The Beginning
Cat Zimmerman, co-founder and head trainer at CZ Mustangs, located in Archer, Florida, harnessed the power and majesty of her first wild mustang Monche at age twelve. Yes, twelve.
Zimmerman says, she “grew up riding at a public lesson riding barn in New Jersey owned by my future...stepfather. I don’t know what it was that sparked my interest in horses, but I was automatically drawn to them. I remember pointing out ponies in a back paddock at a barn that had just opened up, begging my mother to take me there. That barn ended up being my home away from home for 10 years before we moved to Florida!”
Her mustang journey began when Cat, on a whim, asked her mom if she could take part in the Extreme Mustang Makeover youth challenge. With little to no experience and a bucketful of passion, Cat signed up for the event.
Participants of the Extreme Mustang Makeover are assigned a young wild mustang and given 100 days to ready them for competition. 100 days from wild-eyed, spirited, and untouched to gentled, bonded and giving. Cat, young in age but mighty in spirit, took the opportunity seriously.
Persistence and Patience
Gentling a wild mustang is no small feat... Patience. A peaceful spirit. Humility. A gentle hand. And, the willingness to put life aside and wait for the right moment. Give and take. Genuine love for an animal. All skills embodied by a twelve-year-old girl ready to tackle the challenge.
The voyage from wild to tame proved demanding as Cat had no formal training. Cat notes, “While I spent a large part of my life around horses working with and helping to train green horses, I never trained my horse until I was 12, about to turn 13. Not only was it my first horse I had trained, but it was also my first wild mustang, Monche.”
Patience and spending up to five hours a day with Monche created the bond and trust needed to successfully make it to the end of the 100 days.
Her mother, Sarah Price, said, "In the beginning, it was really hard because Cat had no experience training horses, especially one that had never been touched by a person. She used love to tame that horse. And at the competition, both Cat and Monche demonstrated the power it means to bond with a horse." 1
Cat and Monche placed fourth out of sixteen at the 2015 Extreme Mustang Makeover in the youth division. An amazing accomplishment. And the beginning of something amazing.
Not ready to part ways, Monche found her forever home alongside Cat. Enjoying many adventures at her mustang training facility in Florida. “I am beyond lucky and grateful to have had an amazing first mustang that...tolerated enough to let me use trial and error to train her; even though I was the one having to train her, she taught me more than I could have ever expected.”
What’s Next?
Even greater than the bond formed between Cat and her four-legged best friend was her desire to continue gentling wild mustangs. And helping with the growing problem of BLM-housed mustangs needing a forever home.
After Monche, came Belle, and then many others. What started as a whim turned into a career path for this determined and confident young lady.
Similar to the ups and downs of their 100-day transformation journey together, the career path for Cat hasn’t been an easy one.
“This little mustang and I have been through a lot in our 5 years together. It’s been an incredible journey, and in the beginning, I became used to the idea of others doubting us. I was surrounded by doubt, negativity, and constant mocking of my goals, but when I finally began to let go and not care about what others thought... things started to come into place and change for us. I will never forget the adventures this mustang and I have been on, most of my favorite memories were with her by my side. We have done some amazing things together, and we truly have grown together over the years and continue to do so. I am blessed to have her in my life. Monche is one of a kind,” says Zimmerman.
Letting go of what others think, grit, determination, and raw talent has allowed Cat to continue with her career. “I have been blessed with the opportunities to have gentled 27 horses/mustangs since picking up my first mustang in 2015! Each one of them has impacted my horsemanship and life in so many ways, they are the greatest teachers,” says Zimmerman.
The Work
Cat and her mustangs have earned countless titles and top ten winnings. What Cat and her mustangs achieve in 100 days, some equestrians never accomplish in a lifetime.
Although some think this mighty mustang whisperer has a natural gift, she will humbly tell you about the time and effort poured into each horse. “I don’t believe this is a gift I’ve been given, I’ve just worked extremely hard with so many mustangs to constantly grow and try my best to get better for these horses!” Every horse to come into her life benefits from her heart’s desire and get it done attitude.
Cat’s drive to tame wild mustangs and willingness to help others in the process keeps her busy.
“I am constantly getting new mustangs to train, whether they’re a wild mustang coming in to be gentled, or an already gentled mustang coming in for training. Out of the two possibilities, it is usually every month or two that I am getting a new mustang in!”
Days are long. But the reward is sweet. “In my current day-to-day life getting a new wild mustang, I try to spend 2-3 hours in the beginning with spread out sessions. Once they’re gentled and halter broke, I usually do two one-hour sessions a day.”
“A lot of the work I do is gentling and groundwork development that applies to riding-prep and development. I have a lot of mustangs that come to me to be gentled and started under saddle, but they need a good amount of groundwork prior to being started. There isn’t one [riding or groundwork] that I’m doing more than the other, especially since I always have horses in training that are at different levels!”
Cat’s creativity and willingness to be flexible in how she works with each horse allow for growth and progress. There are many philosophies and techniques to train horses. Cat developed her style stating most of what she knows the mustangs taught her.
“I do not use treats as a reward for a lot of my training, but I do use them for trick training, liberty work, and for the horses that need extra encouragement. Using positive reinforcement and clicker training has helped tremendously with my mustangs that don’t enjoy people or working, and some of my lazier mustangs that don’t want to put effort into their work. Rewarding the little efforts and attempts to try that they give, makes them want to try harder and overall really improves their mindset when it comes to their sessions.”
Taking the Show on the Road
Along with training and competing, Cat travels around the country putting on exhibitions to teach people about the majestic power and trainability of the wild mustang. She aspires to educate the equine community about their tremendous versatility.
Cat states, “They have huge hearts, are incredibly smart, and so versatile. They can do anything from cutting, barrels, to dressage, jumpers, or hunters. They literally can do anything. Not a lot of people see them as the amazing horse they are, and they should."2
Cat uses various methods to prepare her mustangs for performances. Patience and a gentle hand are at the forefront of her approach. Not only does she need to gentle and ready the horses, but also familiarizes them with loud music, the noise of the crowd, and any unforeseen surprises.
“Over the time training a wild mustang, they get so much desensitization done as it is. Their confidence grows with every new and scary thing we work through, that by the time we get to a show environment, they’re not only confident in themself, but with me as their handler as well. With the past few competitions, I’ve done, something I’ve started to do is spend some sessions with a big speaker playing loud music to prep them.”
Along with patience, and a soft hand, Cat understands her horse’s need for downtime.
“My mustangs will usually get a week off after performances that are far from home, usually we are traveling a couple of hundred miles for 2-3 days of performing, so they get some downtime afterward. They then go back into a normal work schedule of a few liberty and trick sessions a week along with their other working jobs. Once we are getting close to our time to travel and go perform, they’ll usually get 5 sessions a week about a month before leaving. We do have plenty of smaller performances close to home, and things keep on going as normal for those as it isn’t too hard on them!”
Zimmerman shares her enthusiasm for educational performances next year.
“Monche and Bella will be my main performance mustangs for 2021 with some appearances here and there from some of the younger members of the team...I love my mustangs and love sharing that love with the public everywhere we go. The next few months I’m making sure that I can take the time to touch up maneuvers, teach new things, and shape together new routines to bring something different into next year! I can’t wait to get back to performing with the mustangs.”
Trailering - Everyone Wants to Know!
All equestrians have experience with persnickety horses who don’t want to trailer load. Accomplished equine owners have some horses who load with ease, and others who refuse to even step into the trailer. If you have seen any of Cat’s work with wild mustangs in their first week of training, they hop right in! How does she do this?
“I like to introduce trailer loading to these mustangs as soon as possible as it is a necessity not only for the sake of travel but in the case of an emergency. They don’t need to have a fancy groundwork handle on them to learn to self-load, it isn’t quite as complicated as it can be drawn out to be. By the time I’ve gone through my groundwork program with my mustangs and have developed a relationship with them, trailer loading becomes so simple! The majority of my mustangs have just walked into the trailer by the time we have developed a good foundation and relationship. It’s not so much a secret or anything special, but I do believe with these wild mustangs, once you have their trust and a good relationship, they become so willing to try to please you, like with trailer loading!”
Time and time again Cat demonstrates the power of building a relationship with her horses. Creating trust between horse and human. Her mustang’s willingness is a direct reflection of the hours spent to connect, relate, align, and meld with her herd.
Staying on Top of Her Game
With a busy competition and show schedule, how does Cat care for herself? Free time is not readily available when you run a “501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to training wild mustangs, retraining surrendered and rescued mustangs, and promoting the responsible adoption and care of mustangs.” 3 But girls still gotta have fun.
“My entire life has been horses, and when I’m not riding or training, I’m still finding myself around them! My free time to me is considered spending time with my horses, instead of just always working client horses! It’s refreshing to me to be able to work with my horses.”
Cat enjoys simply spending time with her horses. As she gives to them, she is keenly aware of what they give back to her.
“The mustangs have been a major part in my personal development as a person over the past 5 years being involved with them. You do need to learn to maintain emotions, be patient, and be understanding with them. Their entire lives have been turned around and they go from being wild animals to needing to be a domestic partner to us. While they can do it and can handle it, it still is a lot for them to take in. Putting too much pressure or expectations on them isn’t fair, but that was something I struggled to understand a lot at first.”
In the middle of her workload, competition schedule, and running a non-profit, Cat strives to find a way to nourish her work-life balance.
“Maintaining my focus and mindset has proven to be difficult over the past 5 years. For the first 3 years I was always motivated and focused but as I started to work the horses 7 days a week, 12-14 hours a day, and came across some truly tough horses... I did feel myself struggling. It’s hard coming out of that, but slowing down to remember what it’s all about, helping these mustangs, does drive me and make me want to keep pushing! I learned the hard way to not overload myself as I started to feel burnt out after so long, and I’m happier than ever working mustangs all day almost every day.”
When working with wild animals, self-confidence is paramount for safety. For the animal, and the handler. In all her years working with wild Mustangs, Cat reports not one injury. Maintaining her focus and mental strength is key to her success. Cat has an acute awareness of her position in the Mustang’s lives. Sometimes fear creeps in...but she is quick to push it aside, remember her place, to press on with her goals.
“For the most part, I’m not usually afraid while training or gentling a wild mustang. I feel comfortable around them and like I know my place, it’s not something that gets me nervous. Something I have struggled with as far as my confidence goes is starting them under saddle. The first several mustangs I started under saddle were pretty easy and not too exciting, so as I started gentling and having to start more mustangs, I unlocked so many different types of horses. After a few scary incidents, my confidence was shaken up and I had to build it back up over time. I’ve only felt myself be truly afraid of these horses when I go to get on them for the first time, as sometimes no matter how much prep work you do, they can get scared as well! I’m at a decent point now as I’ve pushed myself a lot after getting shaken up in the past, but every once in a while I’ll feel that fear scratching in the back of my head!”
Thoughts on the Wild Mustang
Cat is passionate about the plight of the Wild Mustang. The fire in her bones drives her focus and intentions. Helping these animals and finding them forever homes is ALWAYS at the forefront of her mind.
Cat states, “When I perform with my mustangs, put on educational demonstrations, interact with people and inform them on mustangs... everything revolves around educating people on the situation mustangs are in. It’s not as simple as wild horses being gathered from the wild and being offered for adoption…”
“I try to promote the adoption of mustangs along with the versatility and talent of the breed. They are capable of doing so many amazing things, and I’d love to be a part of the change in how people view them and their capabilities.”
Yet to Come
Cat has many dreams for the future. She says, “I would love to continue to gentle wild mustangs and develop my facility more to cater to that — but my main goal with my horses is to develop a strong performance team to travel consistently and perform with, to promote the mustangs.”
And...guess what?
“When your dreams are big enough the odds just don't matter.”― John Passaro
Magnificent Equine Photo Session
Zimmerman, Monche, and Bella teamed up with Cara Taylor Swift and Fast Horse Photography for an opportunity to show off what Cat and her Mustangs do best. The breathtaking photos reflect the deep level of trust between Cat and her equine companions. Cat shares, “[My] photoshoot with Monche and Bella. Featuring their liberty, bridleless riding, and tricks. Cara did an amazing job capturing my mustangs, I am so grateful to have had the chance to work together!”
With big dreams, hard work, and loads of determination, Cat Zimmerman’s future sure looks bright.
