Day 21: A walk on the “wild” side….

“The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.”  ~Sharon -Ralls Lemon

 

 

I went on a walk yesterday, which was a bit difficult on the knee, but I was motivated by hopes that I would catch a glimpse of the wild mustangs that frequent a certain spot near my home.  It was a warm almost summer evening with the sun about two hours from sunset.  Mosquitoes had just begun to make their presence known with their annoying fly-by’s.  I passed the one mile mark and the knee had decided it wanted to return home. But I have that stubborn way of ignoring pain and so I just kept going.

As I approached the end of a dusty road, I felt a smile emerge. I might as well have been looking back in time at the Old West.  In front of me was a band of 10 wild mustangs being playful in the field behind a wire fence.  I quietly and slowly approached, trying not to spook them. Suddenly, the mustangs became agitated—but not because of me.  Two of the large mustangs quickly turned their heads to the South. A stallion in full gallop was charging the band of mustangs just feet from where I stood.

The tension and anxiety in the air was palpable. I realized I was witnessing something that could have been aired on the Discovery Channel.  In an instant, the relaxed band of mustangs bolted at full speed to evade the charging stallion.  There was a cloud of dust that hid the mustangs from my lens. The sound of their hooves hitting the ground was thunderous. Their stride was long and as they emerged from the dust, I was able to see every muscle in their hind flex and extend as they planted each leg. Their manes flowed in the breeze like a scene from a Frederick Remington painting. These large, magnificent descendants of the Wild West were more agile and nimble than I expected. They darted left and right and stopped just short of a fence.

They had been galloping for a good 3 minutes and looked tired. But in a flash, they turned as one and galloped up a desert mountain.  The lone mustang that created such a stir retreated across the creek and back into the distance from which he came.  I was left standing in awe of the majesty that these horses conveyed.  These are the horses of history… the horses of strength and endurance… the horses of hardship and triumph… And, unfortunately, they are also the horses that many ranchers wished didn’t exist.  Yes, you heard me correctly, many ranchers despise these horses.  They would love to see these symbolic icons of the Old West sent to slaughter.  Why?  In order to understand the complexity of this debatable issue, we must first understand what the wild mustang represents.

The wild mustang was first brought to the U.S. by the Conquistadors.  Spanish explorers Cortez, DeSoto and Coronado brought horses to the U.S. and some escaped.   Native Americans captured some of the escaped war horses and trained them with techniques that they learned from the Spaniards.  Soon the Native Americans became the most feared horseback warriors in the world.  As the Indians were subjugated to reservations, their prized ponies were released into the wilderness.  It was during the Civil War and WWI era, that the Calvary released stallions of different lineage to breed with the wild mustangs.  The offspring were trained and used for the Calvary remounts.   With the advent of modern warfare, and the end of horse mounted soldiers, the demand for mustangs diminished and their population in the wild proliferated in the western states.    These horses were then killed and used for pet food.  Eventually the cruelty that surrounded the slaughtering of these symbols of the Old West was brought to light in the movie, “The Misfits”.  The goal of these men that rounded up these mustangs was extinction.  Following this movie, the slaughter subsided and the horses remained on the open range.

Today, there is a battle that exists among the ranchers who use the open range to allow their cattle to graze and wild horse advocates.  Ranchers believe the range is being degraded by the wild horses and their cattle are left with little vegetation to graze on.  The ranchers are required to have permits to graze and they pay a fee to essentially “lease” the grazing rights on federal land.  Unfortunately, most ranchers detest and despise these wild animals.  The money the ranchers generate from their cattle is more important than tolerating the living history that is embodied in the mustangs.

Where I come from, out in the Midwest, farmers and ranchers “own” their property… they take care of “their” property… they put up fences on “their” property and pay taxes for it.  They don’t whine and complain about horses or other animals on “their” property.   It is hard to have sympathy for the rancher who pays grazing fees for land my taxes paid for and then complains about the animals that live upon it. Ranchers complain that the horses are not a native species. They forget that the white man isn’t a native species, either.

Alas, I have digressed a bit….  Let’s return to the wild horses….  There I stood, with the horses dashing off into the distance.  I thought about the years that they have traveled this western state and what their ancestors may have seen.  The changes they have had to adjust to and how their land is being taken away by ranchers and developers.  Their ability to adapt, persist and persevere through circumstances such as climate, drought, and the human experience is nothing short of amazing.  I thought back to the days when they lived with the Indians, some of the greatest horse whispers… I thought about how they courageously charged into battle not knowing what to expect.

My personal belief is that the revered wild horse, should remain as such… revered…  The rich history that it has supplied this nation, the bravery for which it stands and the constant change that it had to endure and evolve through, require nothing less than strength and courage.  In this moment of thought, I felt lucky to have witnessed such a magical sight tonight…  wild horses in a full gallop, riding free into the mountains of the West…   I turned to head home and with the first step my knee had told me that the distance might be too much. Then I willed myself to have the strength of the mustang on the open range. With every step closer to home, I held onto the precious memory of those horses. I truly look forward to the next time I can witness the power and glory of this courageous living history.

Having witnessed such a sight tonight… the amazing horses of history… the horses of strength and endurance… the horses of hardship and triumph…  Feeling fortuitous… Wondering what tomorrow will bring!!!