three million Years ago in North America Came Equus the fleet Big-Hearted athlete of the plains ranging and roaming this predecessor to the Modern horse Traversed the bering land bridge and eventually reached Europe the middle East and Northern Africa Suddenly 10,000 years ago everything changed What happened to the North American Horse is a mystery they disappear? then in 1519 the Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortes reached the Americas and marched against the Aztec empire the horse returned to its native habitat Of his success Cortes said we owe it all to God and the horse Legend has the during Cortezes voyage to the new world a foal was belonging the belly of his ship When it arrived the young horses skate as Cortezes army marched on six more horses ran off When the six happened onto the one a new band formed and they headed for El Norte the land of their origin They swept like a fast-moving secret first partnering with the tribes it gave rise to a whole new culture Northern Plains Horse Culture in 1775 at Midnight a Mustang Brown beauty delivering news to the world On her back was Paul revere and within the year the colonies became the united States of America, then came settlers from the east blazing new trails and building new cities the horse became the standard bearer for how man defines energy and the engines that drive us horse power and One day the Buffalo were gone and the Indians had vanished and victorious men galloped the plane on their steeds But not all had been tamed Vast Rivers of horse still ran the plain they flowed into the deserts and canyons at home on the range They re occupied the niche that had been sitting there waiting for them Unfortunately some came to see the horses money on the hoof They would chase the horses with airplanes and then with trunks Portia was shot by the hundreds of thousands for dog food you'd get several hundred dollars a horse others were shipped off to foreign Wars 300 thousand horses were rounded up between the boer war and the end of World War one by mid-century flourishing population that had once been 2 million wild horses was once again pushed to the brink of extinction then a sign of Hope folks call me Wild horse Annie because I'm responsible for the act of congress prohibiting airplane roundups of wild horses on the public lands and While the wild mustangs still calls the American West its home The debate over its future continues some of these herds are so small. They are genetically unsustainable we need to maintain range conditions We need the roundup stop the numbers. Do need to be controlled It's never too late to do the right thing so love oh We're getting dangerously close to not having any more wild horses and yet an ever-increasing number of wild horses continue to be rounded up ships two points unknown and Forever marked with the one thing that says they are no longer free my dream always starts the same I sent something coming a Stallion gallops so close he almost runs me down. I feel the ground Shake and the wind on my face I Want to touch him, but I can't this is a wild horse That's when I see that other horses coming And so beautiful Sometimes it's a small band of their times It's an entire herd Their Wild horses running free And I want to be with them The first horse I ever loved was a mustang. He was captured in, Nevada the owners of my barn adopted him They chose him a thousand other mustangs. I've never seen a wild horse before he was afraid of people I Wanted to take care of them, and maybe even write in some day Start coats get them gentle get them ready to ride Last year my brother, and I started around 200 horses. Maybe it doesn't of them are mustangs. I work with horses every day I Try not to own them I think buying a horse is the cheapest part of owning one First horse I started for money was a mustang. I'm 12 years old you start on like any other horn They're a little more complicated Domestic horses they've been bred to work with people cause things they can be pretty tough then watch out for themselves like my dad used to say We don't know much about our colds, but we don't know any about anything else The General public they see a horse kicking and they don't really understand or realize the amount of power. That's there I mean the truth is if you kill you not even mean to Mustangs, they're so aware of their surroundings they can feel snowflake land on their butt in a blizzard Only reason we use a flag is to try and get used to something. I'm not trying to scary I just have jim catching about hindfoot. Give me a little more safe. Just so I don't have to take the chance to get hurt They only paid a hundred and twenty-five dollars to adopt him I've never had a horse of my own, but I can see how this could work out And they get him gentled I'm going to try to buy him This could be my horse There's a lot of stories about mustangs, but the truth it's somewhere between romance in reality I've loved horses since I was a little girl I Rode them drew pictures of them and wished for a horse of my own at every birthday The only horses I knew were domestic horses, and I saw how people and horses could have an amazing connection but when I learned about horses in Awhile, I Realized how the relationship they have with each other are what makes this connection with us possible? As a wildlife biologist, I traveled around the West Studied them for years and eventually I became a wild horse happy The bond between a horses is one of the strongest among all men Most animals come together to breathe the male's leave and the mothers raise the babies But with horses they stay together as a family band with complex social relationships The Mayor's are loyal to their staff and devoted to each other The Stallion Provides protection in the wild and keeps the family together and the babies safe I'm bachelor Stallion spend time creating and establishing a hierarchy amongst themselves Later I'll have to fight timing Mayors of Their own these powerful Hierarchies establish enduring family Uniquely horses have allowed humans to experience that kind of bond with planet Observing wild horses in their natural state on the North American land where they evolved millions of years ago I came to appreciate their true value They belong they have an integral place in the tapestry of the western landscape you My Family's run cattle here for almost a hundred years Cows are my livelihood and the best part of ranching is the partnership. I have with my horse to work at This is being country and we need horses more things always They say America was built on the back of a horse But these days ranchers the only folks I know who still use horses to get the job done I'm a horseman, and I love anything that has to do with horses This was made by a photographer Named muybridge who was hired to settle a bet about whether all four feet of a horse ever left the ground at the same time Muybridge was obsessed with figuring it out So he lined up 24 cameras on a track and set the shutters to fire when the horse ran through He invented this machine called a zoopraxiscope To study horses in motion at the very same time Horses were being replaced by machines. This was the first motion picture ever And I like that it stars a horse When I heard about the government's plan to round up the white Mountain wild horses We formed a team to challenge their claims that horses were damaging the range The local cattle grazing association was pressuring the blm the bureau of land management to remove more horses than ever They insist that wild horses are over grazing and damaging the land Since there are 50 times more cattle than horses on the range Their math is a mystery We set out to find the white Mountain horses in Wyoming We saw nothing for days and days and then we found the herd Helping your horse. Cope with the heat hello. I'm ken Anderson with Hoofbeat on Brownfield Dr.. Kim conover is an equine veterinarian This is a pretty big ranching operation It includes a grazing lease for about 20,000 acres of government land I Wouldn't call myself an environmentalist because I hear plenty from them that I don't like But I love this land Having cattle out here is the best use for it There's plenty of wildlife out there including antelope Deer jack rabbits you name it The mustangs are another story. They're basically trespassing and they compete with my cattle for grass It's my belief that if you leave them alone they'll overrun the place and in no time destroy the range The range is for cattle right, right? Back in the day when they had too many mustangs. They'd just go out and shoot These days it's officially the bureau of land managements or the blm's job to round them up and keep the numbers down Luke is doing everything he can to build trust Looks like somebody's got a crush this one could be a heartbreaker Just trying to show him. There's nothing to be afraid of He's doing real good. It's just gonna take some time. It's just kind of the way it is he'll learn oh Wild horses would have disappeared from the western United states in the 70s. If it weren't for the passion of one woman Velma Braun Johnston Wild Horse Annie you I'm doing a report for school on my personal hero Wild horse Annie If it wasn't for her America's wild horses would have disappeared forever She got thousands of children across the nation to write letters to congress to protect the mustangs it Was quite a scene when Annie personally delivered tens of thousands of letters to a live session of congress They were so moved that they voted unanimously to pass the wild horse and burro act of 1971 congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros Are living symbols of the historic pioneer spirit of the west and enrich the lives of the American people? Am I going to be susceptible to pressure? Am I going to be influenced by a bunch of children am I going to support a bill because kids are? sentimental about Wild horses you bet your Cowboy boots I the law banned hunting and Private Roundups of Wild horses Made the blm responsible for their protection and management now instead of protecting our mustangs They round them up and destroy their herds We need another Wild horse Annie It broke my heart to watch what happened the blm scoured the land with helicopters searching for every last horse young foal struggled to keep up and older horses fell behind They were chased nearly 20 miles over several hours stampeded into traps Terror Family Bands are destroyed Mayor separated from Fools It's a brutal process injured and others died Despite our protests and our legal challenges. We couldn't stop them This was the day the white Mountain horses lost their freedom torn from the range now property of the us While I like a horse red to work with people Because it's easier to train It's just more economical It's true. You can train most any horse wild or domestic They have the capacity to connect with people. I guess the reward of getting that trust with a mustang. It's pretty cool You better have the time and know what you're doing? Messed things aren't for beginners that girls here cheese. Green is that horse. I just don't want to see her get hurt Look, what I made you pegasus Now that I know what your life was like before I can see why you're scared and fighting But it's going to be okay You've just gotta trust us This is your new home When you're ready, you're gonna fit in really well around here you every blm roundup ends the same families are torn apart They are sorted by age and sex and then all the stallions are castrated The horses lose the two things that matter most their families and their freedom While a few of these horses will be adopted The majority will be sent to long term government holding. We're the lucky ones, we'll get to live out their lives What really gets me is? all of this management Wouldn't be necessary if the blm would manage the herds on the range The blm continues to treat them like Livestock headed to sea They are run through shoes squeezed into a steel box and flipped onto their sides in the Wild horses where their hooves down naturally But in captivity their hoofs have to be trimmed all because they have nowhere to run In the last 10 years the blm has stockpiled over 50,000 mustangs in government holding They ship horses around the country and they hire contractors to feed and care for the horses The cost of the blm's failed program has risen to nearly 80 million dollars incredibly there are now almost twice as many horses in holding than living free on the ranch and Every year they just round up the captive Mustangs receive a brand when they lose their freedom Within the brand is a code that uniquely identifies each horse Even with this distinctive mark emblazoned on their neck clearly denoting them as protected by law the Blm Salesmen by the Truckload For only $10 a piece And truckloads of horses just disappear There's a market worldwide for horse meat, but Americans can't stand the thought of When as far as I'm concerned real men don't eat horses Even though 40 years ago. Well of course and you say the wild horses. They're in danger again I'm Taking a stand for American mustangs. We have to save them That's why I'm doing this report So people will know We created a wild horse Sanctuary We rescued a herd that had been taken from the wine The Sanctuary was designed to be a model for better on the range management of Wild horses our Goal show the blm a better way a more humane and less expensive way that doesn't require Rounding them up and removing them from the range in Regions like ours where predators have been decimated and the ecosystem is out of balance We use a birth control vaccine on the Mayor's which keeps the population from growing, too quickly The blm could be doing this with horses on the range This method preserves the essential social dynamics of the herd and the behaviors that make wild horses Wild Hi, Luke. Hey How's it going? All right? Can that help you on saddle him, okay? You? Can just turn him out make sure you get some feeding water would be good Okay Hello, I don't know he's got a lot of wild innie you sure know how to pick them My report is called blood on the Road Bock Horse Annie grew up struggling with polio She had lots of health problems, and she was shy, but she dreamed of life on the ranch and true love Eventually both of those dreams came true when she fell in love with the Cowboy Then one day she saw blood on the road dripping from the back of a truck When she followed it It changed her life forever there were wounded horses jammed tightly together a trampled colt and horses with their homes completely torn off and a Stallion had both eyes gouged out by mustang gers But Annie knew that if people understood then they would care so she spoke up while horses were being rounded up and taken off federal land and The government was supposed to take care of them for all the American people and annie made sure they knew it Annie was amazing She had Mm She didn't act alone though She had help from people all over the country Including kids that made calls and wrote letters to congress so that wild horses would be tweet treated with respect How can we make sure that wild horses are part of our future forever? They only have a voice if we speak out for them Right topper you have a voice allowed one ready My grandfather was a mustang you could roll a cigarette in one hand and hold the reins and the other Captured mustangs for the killing plant look for good money back then This is my report all about wild horse. Annie we talked about it in later years you could see how it affected me Yeah, a lot of regret about that Not too much different now They break up the herd crammed in with him bales of hay. It looked like a bunch of wood ticks and prison My grandpa wasn't proud of his mustang in days the bottom line was he was in a tough situation had to feed his family It's what folks did back then Wild horses can cover as many as 30 miles a day They need a lot of land because they run so far and so fast They're very strong and sure-footed but parts of a horse are also delicate like a deer like the Wings of Birds Horses remember everything that happens to them good or bad and Some injuries well they never recover Americans have always loved horses the Wild horse included, but there's a battle reaching over whether or not they have a right to unfree on our Nation's public land Y'all want beef on the table. How the heck do you think it gets there? Huh? You think it gets raised in the back of a grocery store? No roast beef is raised on commercial feed lots in the midwest less than 3% of American beef is from cows grazing on public Land it wouldn't change the price of a big mac one penny if privately owned cows were removed from public land at the blm We have to balance the interests of Livestock Wildlife Energy and even recreational folks we aim for healthy horses on a healthy range They got a deal with a bunch of horse hug and menopausal do-Gooder hippies You're supposed to manage public lands for the benefit of all Americans Not just a handful of special interests Wild horses have more right to be out on the range than the millions of domestic raised cattle for Private profit Horses are in native species and current blm policy is managing them to extinction our delicate Ecosystem cannot Survive, the Impact of all these wild that's absurd what about the impact of millions of cattle eating their way through the ecos water What if what if the pie was divided so that livestock mining and energy didn't dominate every decision? We also have to manage resources like water carefully You're sucking a huge amount of water from aquifers to support mining and fracking and then you show the media a photo of a handful Of wild horses standing around a little dried-up spring as if the horses are causing the water shortage People are smarter than that at the blm. We do what we have the funding to do Half the land set aside for Wild horse Habitat has been taken away So the few remaining horses are being squeezed onto smaller smaller pieces of lamb The round Ups are cruel. It's not okay. How about treating wild horses like the national treasure? They are 400 Years ago Wild horses have roamed the western plain and man has set out to capture and tame them ever since If you think it would take wild horses to make you change your brand of cigarette, you're right You're ready for mustang How much you want for I'll pay you I'll give you $200 is that enough? I own everything in this country from here to there I'm Gonna leave most of it to Well to the nation really what I'm Gonna give you is a 500 cal spread on the upper Green River how much of the dog food companies paying for mustang meat now Have your men drop their guns and you can leave quietly? There is no justification for the inhumane way that wild horses are treated now A foal in the wild is born into a family of horses and doesn't need people The moment we take them off the range they become dependent on us And we must take care of them for the rest of their lives But if we manage population growth as needed on the range the horses can live free and in balance with other wildlife Wild horses have been exploited and mismanaged for over a hundred years They've already been removed from half the land congress designated as their habitat Even though our government has the responsibility of protecting them wild horses are treated like pests There has to be reform of the blm wild horse program or mustangs will only live in holding and sanctuaries The American people value these horses in their natural state Wild and free on the range I only knew wild horse Annie at the end of her life She was grateful that so many people Including thousands of school children stood with her to save these beautiful ends But in the end she realized that the federal protections would only work if they included a humane way to manage population Growth Her work is not done Isn't it something? movie started with a horse But here's what gets me The Debate is whether all four feet left the ground at the same time? Now you have to slow everything down In order to see what's right in front of us to see this magical moment There's this magical moment horses flowing horses fly in Mythology pegasus was born in the place where thunder and lightning came from Athena tamed him and when his hoofs hit the Earth Springs came out of the ground and he lifted up his wings and flew Wild and free these horses once roamed over thousands of acres Now their world is reduced to holding pens and steel fences Standing around on the frozen ground waiting to be fed Barely recognizable as the majestic horses we tracked and photographed over the sun Now they look defeated eyes dull Family's Broken apart Five months after the roundup the blm held a public adoption This was the first time they granted us access to the rock Springs facility to look for the white Mountain horses We could only find a Few young ones from the herd When we pressed for information on the fate of the others the blm provided very little information? They claimed that they were still here and that any missing horses were at facilities in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, or Oklahoma Finally a year after the round up when the blm was forced to turn over their internal records receipts indicated that the blm had sold over 1,700 horses to Tom Davis at $10 a head Davis a vocal proponent of horse slaughter claims these horses were given to local ranchers Or hauled to Mexico to be used for the film industry None of these horses could be accounted for and it's believed they went to slaughter I Will always remember them the way they were in the lyle? Today's a day we're going to try to ride pegasus. I don't think he's ready I'm trying to get this horse to trust me have some more confidence Justin a persian goes against the defenses mustangs built up over generations in the wild Once in a while you get a nice one. That's easy to start, but usually it's a long process Ready to me. I'll be able to riding but there's no guarantee. It's going to be easy keep driving I feel bad for pegasus. He's been fighting so hard, but he'll have to give up I don't know Say goodbye six and a half little Bit, Kicky I'm sure You've changed. I didn't know what it would take what it would mean to break a horse like you You'll be like the other horses You are mine when you were free Last night my dream was different. I was in the great herd of mustangs at Sunset an Old Stallion stood apart from his herd He barely moved this is a wild horse who lived his whole life on the range a mustang at the end of his life Born in the Wild meant to die free So did you find a home for him? Taking him to paso robles. Yeah, it'll be a nice course for somebody you bad. I'll have a good home Do you think you'll come back here? Maybe someday someday? Yeah, I'm coming nice to meet you you too, okay? Take care of Pegasus Pegasus that's what I named him sounds like a pretty good name. Yeah, I'm coming, okay I'll never forget Pegasus Someday, I'll have a horse in my own a horse to ride There are people in our country who care about keeping wild horses wild on one of them Pegasus will be ok but I'd rather see him running with nothing but freedom on his back I won't forget all the times. I've waited patiently just like you you you Funny thing you know that I don't the greatest bomb oh Somebody said to me you know that I come when I'm on air That'd be the greatest Funny thing somebody said to me you know that I told me Take that piece five you What a funny thing somebody said to me, you know that I could everyone laughs take that be fuck funny thing somebody said to me You know that I could be Yeah the greatest fun you
