Photo: Courtesy Shane AdamsShane Adams and his horse, Mongo, have been reunited eight years after Mongo took off during a camping trip to run wild with aherd of mustangs.“He was his calm, mellow and normal self — like he had never left at all,” Adams, 40, toldThe Washington Poston Monday after federal officers with the Bureau of Land Management returned Mongo, who is now 18 years old and “a few hundred pounds” skinnier.“I was overjoyed. I couldn’t believe it,” he added. “It was like a dream come true.“According to Adams, Mongo ran away with the wild mustangs during a March 2014 camping trip in Utah. He attempted to run after his horse and then drove around the area to widen the search, but sadly had little success.Courtesy Shane Adams"Then I went back every weekend for three years to see if he was there,” Adams toldThe Post. “I reported him missing and tried every person I could to find him. But I never saw Mongo again.“According toThe Post, Mongo spent the next eight years living among the 71,000 horses that run wild in the western part of the U.S., per the Bureau of Land Management’s 2021wild horse populationstatistics.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.It was only when the federal agency, which manages about2.4 million acres in Utah, came across him during a September effort tomanage the horse populationduring a drought at the Cedar Mountain Management Area, that Mongo was eventually found — largely because he behaved like he’d been trained in the past and carried branding on his coat.“There’s not a lot of food out there with this drought, and the horses look like walking death because they’re so skinny,” Adams told the newspaper. “I get why Mongo ran off — horses are tribal animals and will follow each other. But I’m happy we can take care of him now and make sure he eats enough food.“Courtesy Shane AdamsMongo’s escape had grown into something of a legendary tale within Adams' family, and Adams himself is re-learning to ride saddleback after he sustained a serious brain injury in a 2021 car crash, according toThe Post.Though Adams told the newspaper that doctors said it would take him a minimum of five years to ride again, he and his two children are already taking Mongo out for exercise.“I’m a firm believer that you have to look past your trials and trust that things are going to get better,” Adams said. “Everything happens, but you’ve got to keep your chin up. I mean, a month ago I would’ve never imagined Mongo would be back.”
Photo: Courtesy Shane Adams
Shane Adams and his horse, Mongo, have been reunited eight years after Mongo took off during a camping trip to run wild with aherd of mustangs.“He was his calm, mellow and normal self — like he had never left at all,” Adams, 40, toldThe Washington Poston Monday after federal officers with the Bureau of Land Management returned Mongo, who is now 18 years old and “a few hundred pounds” skinnier.“I was overjoyed. I couldn’t believe it,” he added. “It was like a dream come true.“According to Adams, Mongo ran away with the wild mustangs during a March 2014 camping trip in Utah. He attempted to run after his horse and then drove around the area to widen the search, but sadly had little success.Courtesy Shane Adams"Then I went back every weekend for three years to see if he was there,” Adams toldThe Post. “I reported him missing and tried every person I could to find him. But I never saw Mongo again.“According toThe Post, Mongo spent the next eight years living among the 71,000 horses that run wild in the western part of the U.S., per the Bureau of Land Management’s 2021wild horse populationstatistics.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.It was only when the federal agency, which manages about2.4 million acres in Utah, came across him during a September effort tomanage the horse populationduring a drought at the Cedar Mountain Management Area, that Mongo was eventually found — largely because he behaved like he’d been trained in the past and carried branding on his coat.“There’s not a lot of food out there with this drought, and the horses look like walking death because they’re so skinny,” Adams told the newspaper. “I get why Mongo ran off — horses are tribal animals and will follow each other. But I’m happy we can take care of him now and make sure he eats enough food.“Courtesy Shane AdamsMongo’s escape had grown into something of a legendary tale within Adams' family, and Adams himself is re-learning to ride saddleback after he sustained a serious brain injury in a 2021 car crash, according toThe Post.Though Adams told the newspaper that doctors said it would take him a minimum of five years to ride again, he and his two children are already taking Mongo out for exercise.“I’m a firm believer that you have to look past your trials and trust that things are going to get better,” Adams said. “Everything happens, but you’ve got to keep your chin up. I mean, a month ago I would’ve never imagined Mongo would be back.”
Shane Adams and his horse, Mongo, have been reunited eight years after Mongo took off during a camping trip to run wild with aherd of mustangs.
“He was his calm, mellow and normal self — like he had never left at all,” Adams, 40, toldThe Washington Poston Monday after federal officers with the Bureau of Land Management returned Mongo, who is now 18 years old and “a few hundred pounds” skinnier.
“I was overjoyed. I couldn’t believe it,” he added. “It was like a dream come true.”
According to Adams, Mongo ran away with the wild mustangs during a March 2014 camping trip in Utah. He attempted to run after his horse and then drove around the area to widen the search, but sadly had little success.
Courtesy Shane Adams
“Then I went back every weekend for three years to see if he was there,” Adams toldThe Post. “I reported him missing and tried every person I could to find him. But I never saw Mongo again.”
According toThe Post, Mongo spent the next eight years living among the 71,000 horses that run wild in the western part of the U.S., per the Bureau of Land Management’s 2021wild horse populationstatistics.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
It was only when the federal agency, which manages about2.4 million acres in Utah, came across him during a September effort tomanage the horse populationduring a drought at the Cedar Mountain Management Area, that Mongo was eventually found — largely because he behaved like he’d been trained in the past and carried branding on his coat.
“There’s not a lot of food out there with this drought, and the horses look like walking death because they’re so skinny,” Adams told the newspaper. “I get why Mongo ran off — horses are tribal animals and will follow each other. But I’m happy we can take care of him now and make sure he eats enough food.”
Mongo’s escape had grown into something of a legendary tale within Adams' family, and Adams himself is re-learning to ride saddleback after he sustained a serious brain injury in a 2021 car crash, according toThe Post.
Though Adams told the newspaper that doctors said it would take him a minimum of five years to ride again, he and his two children are already taking Mongo out for exercise.
“I’m a firm believer that you have to look past your trials and trust that things are going to get better,” Adams said. “Everything happens, but you’ve got to keep your chin up. I mean, a month ago I would’ve never imagined Mongo would be back.”
source: people.com
