Wild Mustangs of Nevada

[Music] you I'm standing on the bed of a lake gone dry in a four year Nevada drought these animals are Mustangs wild horses and they seem curious about me I'm certainly curious about them my most vivid memories of Nevada feature Mustang stallions guarding rocky eminences sudden eruptions to territorial violence [Music] herds flowing over undulating terrain and castel light a week later and 20 miles north on the outskirts of Reno a black hole is born spring is the best time for foals but this little filly has never seen a spring and can't change her birth date while she can do is shiver and stay close to her mother her plight fills me with questions was our mother find enough food to produce milk will she freeze in Reno's 15 degree nights how do mustangs live and thrive in northern nevada Spearin winters and blistering summers but wait I'm getting ahead of myself I began filming Mustangs in the fall of 2015 at first I was looking for dramatic shots but soon realized that spectacular fights and Stan penises our only feeding episode in the lives of Mustangs the more I watched the more I questioned how much do they eat how long do they live [Music] does the stallion help raise his foals our stallions dangerous books gave some answers but Mustangs themselves with the best source of knowledge I began watching them several times a week in different locations during all seasons and in all types of weather understanding Mustangs became a passion as I began to appreciate their intricate constantly changing social interactions I was on a journey into the lives of Mustangs as few have seen them [Music] Mustangs reached full adult height at four and live about 20 years foals are horses at either six less than one year old Colts are males less than four years old fillies are females less than four stallions are adult males and mares are adult females in winter when Mustangs have thick coats it's hard to see which horses are mayors and which are stallions without looking closely by spring the muscular necks and shoulders of stallions are easier to spot Nevada Mustangs aren't a separate breed because they descend from abandoned and escaped horses of different breeds they come in many colors bei chestnut Palomino paint black and Rome which is brown or black mixed together especially adult Mustangs weigh a thousand pounds and need to eat the equivalent of ten pounds of hay each day they have relatively small stomachs and drift across the landscape eating as they go here's a Mustang skull these incisors are angled outward to clip plants very close to the ground there are no teeth in this area these are the molars this is the eye socket and the jaw hinge is behind it food is scarce in Nevada especially in winter they spend most of their time with lowered heads seeking green shoots with their strong lips and clipping them with sharp teeth Mustangs survive on tiny shoots of grass miniature weeds and even sagebrush [Music] this bony stallion shows the combined impact of a four-year drought and winter in contrast these spring horses are sleek and fat adult horses drink 5 to 10 gallons of water a day they get some water from green grass and snow but depend on Springs and creeks in summer they usually stay within a four-mile radius of their water Mustangs get salt and other minerals from natural deposits in the ground [Music] horses eyes are larger than the eyes of any other land mammal and they see in every direction except directly behind they're very sensitive to movement but have binocular vision only to the front they raised their heads and stare when curious they see much better at night than demons and can see blue and green colors but not red they're hearing and sense of smell are better than ours these cults are using vision hearing and smell to investigate me they approach closely if I stay perfectly still but shy away at the slightest movement after an inspection they move away and ignore me this lip curling is called the fleming response and it enhances their ability to smell Mustangs don't seem to have much on their minds they placidly eat stand or lie until some physical need or instinct prods them into action experts say horses aren't as smartest dogs or even birds these horses straight into an alfalfa field and then onto a road leaving a mayor in the field behind a fence they're trying to regroup but can't remember how they enter the road the fence has them completely baffled [Music] Mustang have a strong herd instinct and live together year-round the smallest herd is a family group of a stallion his harem of several mayors and their foals Colts and fillies live with their family until about age two family groups are often part of larger herds ranging around a source of water stallions in large herds maintain some space around their families and keep their mares and children from wandering into other families the location and composition of multifamily herds changes from day to day as Mustangs graze over their ranges horses are prey animals who shared their prehistoric world with saber-tooth Tigers great bears and later men who hunted them their strongest instinct is to run and surprised or fit these Mustangs the far out in the desert and fully when they see me at a distance it's sometimes possible to approach weary Mustangs by waiting until they begin eating and then edging forward but not these they can only be approached by creeping up ravines and staying out of sight [Music] stampedes may be led by mirrors francs particular folds or possibly the fastest most frightened horse and encourage the a black box the startled birds individuals run because everyone else is running [Music] what started the me run for a mile or more in contrast these animals live on the outskirts of Reno and come right up to beg for food but all Mustangs are wild in the sense that they are untrained and uncared for living as their ancestors did millennia ago stallions are lured to the desert the biggest strongest wild animals in Nevada they're 1,000 plus pounds own sinew and muscle their tyrannical this value is driving a mere evacuates here [Music] they're protective I've gotten too close to this fold first John is coming to warn me away and move her to safer ground and they're vicious stallions are driven by instinct to defeat other stallions acquire a firm of Mayors and father many folds competition for mayor's is intensive and stallions don't reach peak strength until about six years of age fighting stallions can inflict grave wounds or even kill one another Mini's Giants bear the scars to prove it this giant has a big chunk bitten from his side this one has fresh wounds on his neck telogen excuse aggressive displays to confront rivals without deadly combat many challenges and responses center around piles of droppings known as stead piles this sequence is typical approach sniffed and displaced the prevailing stallion adds his done to the top of the pile this heads up fluffed tail posture is a warning to me stallions don't usually attack humans but the more I watch the more I fear them I approach slowly avoid aggressive postures and weave quietly away if I make them nervous herd stallions are always on the alert competitors lurk near herds looking for an opportunity to dash in and mate or steal Mayor's they stay between their families and interlopers as they defend an ever-changing space around their continually moving herds I call this giant Abbi he's a heard Steinem and he's on a mare hunting trip his rival comes out to challenge I call him Lapierre because part of his ear has been bitten off they make a display enhance with some kicks and Eppie turns away now the roles are reversed la peers investigating a peacefully Eppie arrives and drives him back law protects his mayor's from a pea herd stallions usually prevent their mayors and children from wandering too close to other stallions these Colts are about to get into trouble they've approached the mirrors of a nearby base Jolyon who came out to challenge them the Colts black father arrives the two stallions make displays and the bay returns to his nails [Music] [Music] but the Colts aren't safe yet their father lowers his head making a threat display the Colts note a painful bite is on the way and run back to their own herd stallions are the center of gravity when their family is grazing they keep mayor's from straying too far with a head down ears back posture [Music] plus a little chasing panic mirrors can lead stampeding herd away from threats but stallions control most of the movements the setter approved the general direction of movement and follow to make sure no one strays [Music] sometimes they run out to challenge other stallions along their routes other times they drive their mayor's quickly pass to competitors stallions defend their families against all dangers they often Scout roads before allowing everyone to cross these mayors are coming to investigate me there stallion places himself between us I can imagine him saying stay back ladies let me handle this [Music] mayor's live in family groups new families are created by stallions who either collect fillies driven from their birds or steal mayor's from other stallions families of mayor's are relatively stable and remain together if new stallions take over their herd mayors have their own social hierarchy and established their status with occasional kicks and bites they'll also attack mayor's from other families that drift into their space mayors don't make obvious threat displays like stallions so it's harder to see which is the top mayor dominant mayor's ultimately their herds to food or water mayor's can bite and launch vicious kicks without warning this one's making me nervous she follows even when I move quietly away and gets very close maybe she's just curious but I don't trust her go away get away go away nice horse go away mayor spend their days eating nursing their foals and loafing there usually eating with their heads down and that is interesting to watch us Italians their most important activities inside their body for their making folds layers begin meeting at around 18 months of age they have an eleven month gestation period and come into heat soon after their foals are born as a result mirrors are pregnant for most of their lives spring is the most active time for mating but it also occurs in other seasons foals weigh 100 pounds at birth [Music] they can run with the herd almost immediately mothers are especially protective of new foals and keep other family members away for the first few days mayors have two nipples located between their hind legs and may continue to nurse until they have new foals foals are born with no tear and eat grass in addition to nursing they take lots of milk bricks [Music] like human babies fools need lots of naps nothing cheers me more than seeing a new full full skein about 400 pounds in their first year Colts are Playboy's of the desert frolicking and sparring to hone the fighting skills they'll later need should we then keep mares this colt has the urge and equipment to mate but lacks experience with females [Music] his half-sisters not in the mood she runs to her mother [Music] their father shows proper technique first he runs out to confront rivals and clear his face then he approaches his mayor from the side where he's less likely to get kicked and nuzzles her she seems receptive so he performs his role in the endless cycle of reproduction in general Hertz Giants drive their Colts and fillies away when they're about 2 years old which reduces inbreeding but I've seen lots of variability Mustangs spend part of the day grooming each other and work mostly on necks and shoulders they also roll on their backs [Music] [Music] this muddy weedy cult has been rolling in a puddle of water there's nothing like a good scratch hordes of insects arrived with warm spring days family members huddled together and she flies with their tails this group of many herds totalling more than 100 animals has assembled in a bear area where there are fewer bugs Italians establish spaces around their families and soon it's nap time expelled Colts join bachelor herds until they're strong enough to get their own mares usually at six years of age some bachelors are in continuous uproar as they practice their fighting skills [Music] the matches are mostly playful but real violence also here this group includes a cult with a crippled leg the others giant seem to protect him bachelors have several ways of getting mares perhaps the easiest is to pick up fillies who've been driven from their birth herds this buckskin stallions approaching affiliates she seems interested in him but her black father's not ready to let her go the Buckskin follows and the blacks Thailand makes a weak defense maybe he senses that it's time for his daughter to leave [Music] most bachelors hang around the outskirts of herds waiting for the chance to rush in and steal a mirror they can also try to defeat a herd stallion and take over his harem [Music] defeating a Hertz giant in his prime is a daunting task these Mustangs are fearless aggressive and skilled at fighting here's Lapierre trotting out to confront a group of bachelors all but one wisely move away as he approaches a fine-looking paint decides to challenge they posture and Lapierre executes a quick perfectly aimed pivot kick which hits the Challenger in the jaw here it is in slow motion [Music] the pivot and kick actually took less than a second and my natural instinct to fierce Jonna grow stronger this old horse was once a powerful herd stallion now he leads a solitary life with birds if his companion Mustangs are individuals with distinct personality this horse is the model of a herd stallion he moves his family to Good Thief keeps other stallions away and judging from the arrival of three folds in six weeks does all that a stallion to do this odd family includes discards diets a scruffy scarred mayor and her filly [Music] the busted very aggressive sports neighboring stallions but the bay dominates meeting with the scruffy mayor they're in constant turmoil the white biting trash of the Mustangs this handsome paint stallion seems to lack a strong mating instinct he's been guarding his mayor's from a gray rival for several days meanwhile his Colts are meeting with his mares behind his back [Music] this is the saddest thing I saw at first it looked like a typical situation a ruined stallion guarding two mares in a filly from a scarred bay veteran then I saw this Jolyon roughly heard a fold from the area gradually I realized a terrible truth the mayor's ignored the full they didn't nurse it Muslim or protected I don't know why the cyanide to pick it up and carry it toward the mayor's but only heard it a day later the foal was dead this story isn't over here's the veteran hurting one of the mayor's not away from her herd but back toward it the mayor refuses to return and the veteran follows her laronne stallion remaining mayor and filly follow the ruined stallions reign as Lord of the desert has been a disaster he's lost a fool and his harem the veteran and strong-willed mayor our new rulers of the herd i film mustangs to fall winter and spring now it's early summer I've learned a lot but many questions remain do mares and stallions feel affection for each other do Colts and fillies feel sad when they're driven from their families maybe they're just dumb beasts coping instinctively maybe not in any case I love spending time with Mustangs strong splendid bodies drifting through spectacular scenery tender moments and sudden violence rhythms of life from an ancient past preserved in the present man for those willing to watch [Music] you [Music]

Channel: CarlAnthonyAdams

Views: 3,595,853

Rating: 4.6205835 out of 5

Keywords: Mustangs, Nevada Mustangs, Stallions, Mares, Colts, Fillies, Mustang Bachelors, Fighting Mustangs

Id: EZk8k5X78MI

Length: 31min 28sec (1888 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 23 2017