Yesterday, 
These guys were just chilling on the side of the blacktop road. They are obviously accustomed to tourists stopping to gawk at them ;) I was able to snap a few photos while we were in the car. They didn't take off into the woods until we decided to park the car and get out to take a closer look.
We have been visiting this area for a long time, and we have never been lucky enough to come across these wild beauties until yesterday when we were least expecting it! They are most commonly spotted outside the towns of Eminence and Winona, which are about 45 minutes to 1 hour from our home town.
Here is an excerpt from an article on floatmissouri.com that explains a little bit about these extraordinary creatures:
Shannon County boasts two great Missouri Rivers – the Current and Jack’s Fork – and about 35 wild horses that roam freely between these two rivers, surrounding the county seat of Eminence. The horses are a legally protected group today, but this was not always the case.
No one knows exactly the origin of these horses, but it is believed that their ancestors were domesticated horses who were set free during the Great Depression, by farmers who could not afford to feed them. And so they lived, reproduced, and died on land that is a part of the Mark Twain National Forest.
We were absolutely thrilled to happen upon these beautiful, wild creatures after looking for them for so many years! It was quite the experience. Jason got some nice shots of them too, so be on the lookout for more photos very soon!
Thanks for checking it out!