Unbranded : four men and sixteen mustangs : five states and five months : one improbable journey across the American West

"On an epic 3,000-mile journey through the most pristine backcountry of the American West, four friends rode horseback across an almost contiguous stretch of unspoiled public lands, border to border, from Mexico to Canada. For their trail horses, they adopted wild mustangs from the US Bureau of Land Management that were perfectly adapted to the rocky terrain and harsh conditions of desert and mountain travel. A meticulously planned but sometimes unpredictable route brought them face to face with snowpack, downpours, and wildfire; unrelenting heat, raging rivers, and sheer cliffs; jumping cactus, rattlesnakes, and charging bull moose; sickness, injury, and death. But they also experienced a special camaraderie with each other and with the mustangs. Through it all, they had a constant traveling companion - a cameraman, shooting for the documentary film Unbranded. The trip's inspiration and architect, Ben Masters, is joined here by the three other riders, Ben Thamer, Thomas Glover, and Jonny Fitzsimons; two memorable teachers and horse trainers; and the film's producers and intrepid cameramen in the telling of this improbable story of adventure and self-discovery"--Publisher's description Preparation -- Inspiration -- Why Mustangs? -- The Kickstarter Campaign -- Choosing A Route -- Production Team, Cindy Meehl -- The Horses -- Picking Out The Mustangs -- Training The Horses: Month One, Ben Masters And Lanny Leach -- Training The Horses, Jonny Fitzsimons -- Val's Lessons -- Shoeing The Horses And Resurrection, Thomas Glover -- The Crew -- Ben Thamer And His Horses -- Jonny Fitzsimons And His Horses -- Thomas Glover And His Horses -- Ben Masters And His Horses -- Arizona -- Logistics -- Day 1 And Day 2 -- Cameraman Down! Phill Baribeau -- Violet's Injury -- Val At The Vineyard, Val Geissler -- The Cholla Incident -- Dysentery, Benthamer -- The Grand Heatstroke -- Utah -- Logistics -- Round One: Losing The Horses -- The Longest Day Or Leave Your Guns At Home, Jonny Jonny Fitzsimons -- Hell's Hole -- Trail Food, Ben Masters And Kory Kazmarek -- Impassable -- Round Two: Losing The Horses, Thomas Glover -- Idaho And Wyoming -- Logistics -- Two-second Rodeo Career -- Horse Care -- Donkey -- Trout Fishing Into A Thunderstorm -- Losing Our Minds -- Montana -- Logistics -- Seeing The Production -- Fly-fishing Horseback -- Burned Out Of The Bob -- Glacier -- The Last Mile, Jonny Fitzsimons -- The Finish Line -- Reflections -- Auctioning Luke -- Mustang Dilemma -- In It For The Long Ride. Ben Masters. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. On an epic 3,000-mile journey through the most pristine backcountry of the American West, four friends rode horseback across an almost contiguous stretch of unspoiled public lands, border to border, from Mexico to Canada. Ben Masters is joined here by the three other riders to tell the story this improbable story of adventure and self-discovery.