34: and Wild Horses

Dear Friend,

We’re writing from Nevada, it’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Frank and I will be on our own this year, at least as far as table settings go, but we will be thinking of our loved ones, Friends and family, including you.

We’re grateful for you.

Families come in all sorts of packages. We recently met this group of wild horses, they were together every time we saw them, couldn’t that mean that they’re a family?

Frank and I both love animals. It is a major ‘in common’ pillar in our relationship. And, though we’ve been together for over 22 years, I am still learning about Frank. It’s a long story, one for Frank to tell … but I will say that Frank, by default, has a horse sense, a keen ability to communicate in his own way with horse and other animal friends.

It is uncanny and precious, watching him work with these wild horses.

We met them at our next camp site after we said farewell to the wild burros and left the hot-springs (from last week’s blog/letter, Tracks 2025 33: including wild burros). We hadn’t traveled very far across Nevada before we stopped to camp again above a reservoir at 6880’ elevation.

We knew it would be a very chilly visit, but we were also the only people there, and that always feels like an invitation to stay.

Before unhooking the trailer from the truck, Frank was out with his camera, looking for burros and wild horses, wondering if they were around. He eventually came back that afternoon, huge smile on his face, tears in his eyes. He’d had a great photo session with seven wild horses, keeping his distance, the long-lens on his camera, he caught some beautiful, priceless moments.

Over the course of the week, the herd became used to his presence. Never intruding on their space, Frank would nod to greet the herd.

A chestnut stallion would nod back and the herd would go on about their business, grazing or playing together.

The black mare seemed to be the leader, along with the chestnut stallion. Frank loved every minute of his time with these horses. We were at that campsite all week.

These horses are very skittish. It takes a great deal of patience and time to earn their trust. The weather isn’t at all people-comfortable but horses can handle a huge variance in temperatures, thriving between 18• and 112• Fahrenheit.

As you can see, the temps were below 30• F, a beautiful frosted scene.

And, though we dealt with trailer condensation, battery issues, and a shortage of water, we have zero complaints, we know how very fortunate we are to have been able to be in this place where these horses are naturally free.

Wild horses (aka Mustangs) are sometimes also called ‘feral’ horses, this is because they are descendants of domesticated horses. The difference between wild and feral seems to have to do with who or what is ‘managing’ them. If they are on land reserved for wildlife, they are called wild horses. When they cross over into areas, like private cattle grazing land, or wander into towns, they are called feral horses and are often unwelcome intrusions.

Either way, these horses are able to fend for themselves. They can and do move between 20 and 50 miles a day for food and water. They are often found to have a healthier diet than a lot of ranch horses. Equine Colic is a horribly painful condition in a horse’s intestine that can limit a horse’s ability to move about, and in a lot of cases, if there isn’t human intervention, the horse might not survive. Colic can come on suddenly, can be brought on by a poorly balanced diet, stress, over-crowding, over-eating, not enough exercise, change in diet, etc… and is a leading cause of death in horses.

Wild horses tend to avoid colic, they move often, nibble a huge variety of plants, are un-rushed, and tend to get the hydration, nutrients and fiber that they need in the plants that grow where they roam. (Though their freedom to roam open-space is an on-going human-resource controversy).

Meanwhile, if people encounter and feed wild or feral horses, they introduce imbalance, and increase the chance that those horses will get colic, even if the well-meaning person is just a temporary snack dispenser. (Colic is practically untreatable in these free-roaming friends, wild animals don’t have a way to call a vet). A veterinarian explains further in the video, What is Equine Colic, link at the end of this Tracks post.

One huge problem with feeding wild animals (of any kind) is that animals tend to seek out resources and will quickly equate all people with the snacks that some people have given them. Animals get hurt and worse when they venture into roadways in search of human-dispensed resources. What we’ve witnessed first-hand: the kindest way to help wild animals is to keep them wild, don’t feed them.

Another way we can help animals is to keep the environment clean.

That seems like such an overly-nagged suggestion, but just imagine, running along, your legs becoming entangled in unspooled, wayward, barbed-wire - down you’d go, you’d be hurt - and what if no one was coming to help you?

That actually happened to me one summer, when I was about 8 years old. I ran through a field of tall grasses and ragweed, didn’t see a large nest of old, rusty barbed-wire until it had wrapped around both of my legs. Down I went, landing with a belly flop on top of a red ant hill. Rusty or not, sharp metal, wayward wire, and broken glass should not be left out in nature. The injuries that they cause are so preventable. Since I landed on my belly out in the middle of a field of tall grasses, no one could see me, no one knew where I was, no one was coming to help.

Short story: it was a great lesson in mind-over-matter, red ants were running everywhere, my arms, legs, face… we all panicked, them and me, they simply wished I’d never come along… I wanted to flee! But my legs, socks and shorts were snagged in the barbs of the stupid wire. The barbs poked worse when I moved. There was blood. I don’t know, it seemed like hours but I was probably only there a few minutes. My sister found me, got me untangled, went on her merry way to the rope swing at the creek, and I limped along via a well-worn pathway.

To this day, when I see wayward wire splayed out in nature like a treacherous snare, I can’t just leave it there. If I am not able to pack it out, I do what I can to wrangle it into one place, preferably near a fence-line or large shrub or tree. Sometimes it takes more strength than I have to move the stupid wire, and, to others observing my tugging and grunting, it may seem that I’ve gone insane, but I’m spurred on by the thought that an animal might become entangled, lacerated, broken – and, way out in the wilderness, who would be coming to help?

Frank gets some amazing shots out in nature, though wild birds and animals usually keep their distance. And he’ll miss a shot because he chooses not to scare them just to get a photo. It is such a rare treat to see wild animals doing what they do.

These seven horses are free to roam, though, as I mentioned before, because they are descendants of domesticated horses, we’re told that they aren’t truly wild.

The closest thing that our planet has to a truly wild horse is the Przewalski’s horse, (Pronounced: Zewalski’s horse). Their history includes their extinction in the wild, saved by a dozen individual horses that had been captured and placed in zoos across Mongolia, China, Russia and Europe, where careful breeding practices have been instrumental in bringing these horses back from extinction. A link to a video about Przewalski’s Horses follows this Tracks post.

Whether we call them wild horses, Mustangs, feral, or domesticated, whether they run free or work hard, horses bring beauty, spirit, and grace to our world. They are both fragile and strong, and they are survivors. We love them… how do you feel about them?

We always enjoy hearing from you! Please Write to Us and tell us about your Thanksgiving traditions or share a horse-story! And thank you for being here to read Tracks by the Post!

Wishing you and yours a lovely, colic-free, Thanksgiving week, as you take the time to share gratitude for each other, whether together or many miles apart, goodnesses upon your heads!

Gently Be,

Leslie and Frank

PS: Here are the video links:

WHAT IS EQUINE COLIC?

PRZEWALSKI’S HORSES