The most magical moment of summer 2018 - by far - was getting to visit a herd of horses on the plains in South Dakota. What can I say, I’m still a little girl at heart.
This summer we drove to South Dakota, on a road trip to Eagle Butte to see 
The family runs about 100 acres of land, creating a beautiful swathe of free range for these beauties.
While some are broke for saddle riding, most of these friends are relatively untamed and used as breeding stock for future race or rodeo horses. Not all horsemen are the same - and this family clearly had a unique connection to these beautiful animals and a wonderful way of seeing their role as their caretakers and protectors.
Imagine my utter delight to come across this friendly mama and her baby!
I was raised around horses, took riding lessons, hopped along a few cattle drives, and generally have always had a love and appreciation for ponies of all sorts. Life has gotten in the way of my love affair with horses - city living is not exactly conducive to horsemanship - and getting up close and personal with these friends filled places in my heart that have been empty for awhile.
Oh, look! A nose bump. <3
Another nose bump - this time from a bigger nose.
Getting to see horses running wild across open plains is amazing.
These are the kinds of shots I see in movies, but easily forget exist in real life. I wish I could have lived in the times when horses roamed our country freely in mass quantities! While some still do, of course there aren’t as many as there once were. Today, there are about 75,000 wild horses and burro in the US, with access to 26.9 million acres of public land across 10 states.
While these horses are protected on native land by a wonderful family, not all horses are so lucky.
Unfortunately, wild horses in the US have systemically been eliminated from national lands by our government. The American Wild Horse Campaign cites that the government currently allows 16,300-27,000 horses and burro roam, while they allow about 727,000 cattle to range on public land. However, as stated above, there are currently about 75,000 horses on the range, rather than the government quota. This issue is deeply tied to agriculture and ranching practices within rural areas - where many say that wild horse overpopulation is the root cause of ongoing range damage.
Each year, thousands of wild horses and burro are picked up and taken to government holding facilities where they are at a high risk of slaughter. A Nat Geo article stated the US has about 45,000 wild horses in holding pens.
This is a horrible truth, and I’m sorry to share it in the midst of these beautiful, happy pictures. I guess I’m always thinking about the complexity of what I’m seeing - and I can’t help but remember that these horses have their freedom only because of Native protections. Many activists are calling for the government to try out different approaches, including PZP, a vaccine that is 90% effective at reducing wild horse fertility. While we still wouldn’t get to see massive herds of horses roaming, we would see more humane treatment of those who currently exist.
Other options for wild horse management include neutering:
Check out this Nat Geo article about the the Future of America’s Wild Horses!
Although millions of dogs and cats are spayed and neutered annually, the BLM receives harsh criticism and lawsuits from activist groups when they try to conduct research or spay mares. If permanent sterilization became an option, it would allow the horses to live out their lives in the wild as a non-breeding population rather than in a holding pen.
A final option is adoption or rescue services.
There are already many organizations working to rescue and rehome wild horses. In fact, our friends here in South Dakota are hoping to work within their tribe and local connections to turn this 100 acres into a preserve for wild horses one day. It’s a beautiful dream that I can only hope comes true! Unfortunately, currently only about 2500 horses are adopted each year, while 10,000 are born so this is not a fix-all solution. Would you ever consider adopting a wild horse?
Despite all the complexity around wild horses in America - they are one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen.
It also didn’t hurt that we had such a beautiful sunny day to visit, that blue sky was an incredible backdrop for a remarkably special experience.
And that’s what I have to share with you today! What’s your favorite horse-related experience?
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BIG LOVE, Lily