Mustangs are the epitome of the wild west. With manes and tails flowing behind as they gallop across the open range, it's easy to understand where the romantic notions of the "Spirit of the West" originate. Stories have been written about them movies made about them and cowboys and cowgirls dream of testing their skills by training them.
Sadly, their survival is not as romantic as it may seem. The range conditions offer a hard life based on survival of the fittest. Long, frozen, snowy winters and hot, dry summers mean little food or water is available for a large portion of the year. If left alone, horses sometimes starve or dehydrate to death, stallions sometimes fight to the death, foals get aborted due to the harsh conditions.....life is tough out there.
Fortunately, these beautiful creatures are not completely abandoned. The Bureau of Land Management's wild horse program oversees and manages wild herds on over 26 million acres of land in 10 states. Part of their job is to determine how many horses the land can sustain. Excess horses are routinely rounded up, sorted, vaccinated and dewormed, freeze-branded, and either sent to permanent pastures under contract, or placed up for adoption in temporary holding corrals around the nation.
You can help the plight of the mustang through donations to the Mustang Heritage Foundation, or even by adopting a horse or burro!
