Horses are honest.. and they live in the moment. This is not to say or assume that they do not remember the past, things done to, or for them - because they do remember!
But they worry more about real enemies and threats to their life... they don't generally waste energy plotting the destruction of one of their own kind - they may have heated discussions with other horses, whether it be over a mare, a watering hole, or just because they are in a bad mood. And then they go on about their day, doing what needs to be done, ensuring protection where it is needed, and not wasting time fighting with their fellow horse, but banding together with him if it betters their chances in life.
Humans, especially those who wish to see wild mustangs to stay wild in their wild territory, could perhaps learn from the example of these wild ones.
Because our enemies have taken lessons and they are sticking together like glue.
Yesterday I shared a post about this mustang.... Aegirs Fire - I shared in it my frustration at those who have claimed Skydog took away their chance to have Blue Zeus for themselves - and my personal opinion that if one truly loved that stallion as expressed, they might have in his place adopted one of his foals not taken in by Skydog. In a bizarre twist several took that to mean I was bashing Skydog.... and we were attacked as being bitter, bashing a sanctuary that did nothing but good, bashing sanctuaries in general, and being part of the problem.
So here I sit.... typing up a blog and spending energy on something that is really a bunch of petty nonsense, when there are much more real and threatening fights to be had at this moment for wild mustangs. And I am doing this because it feels as if this petty nonsense has become the norm lately.... and it needs to stop.
I am going to make it very clear here... I will not bash Skydog unecessarily, I respect and am thankful for the horses that have been taken and given a good home by them, several of which I have known and walked with for many years in the wild. I also will not sit in blind adulation.... Skydog is managed by a human that acts on human assumptions and reacts with human emotions, it really is that simple. All of us are guilty of this..... if you tell me you have never made an error, never been needlessly cruel or selfish, or fibbed, or made yourself look better for another, you are kidding yourself - to be human is to be imperfect and make not so great decisions and to react irrationally in our emotions. No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I age and learn, I still have moments that I regret with retrospect.
It would be so much easier for me to deny my failings, to bury my awareness, and live in blissful naive blindness. But this horse.... this wild mustang living with me, he requires that I be honest. He requires that I be watchful and vigilant of my own failings, because if I am not then what I do may not be the right and correct thing, it may be half-assed because I did not do my due diligence in learning what needs to be learned to fight this fight in a winning way. He is my partner in this, when I am writing a blog he is almost certainly peering over my shoulder.... listening to my thoughts, nudging my spirit to keep me on track and keeping me on course to do what is right and proper.
And correcting me when it is needed.
So here is what I am asking of you... stop the bickering!! And this a request as much for those of you following photographers, sanctuaries, advocacy groups, educational writers and all the others you may follow, as much as it is for the leaders in this wild mustang community. Stop with the egos and defensiveness.... there is not one single entity who alone will save the day for the horses. It will take the proverbial village of people working together with integrity and respect to bring change... and we need every single member of that village to help!
We need ALL of the photographers to be out here spending their time documenting these wild horses and their range and sharing it with the public - there are not as many as you might think.... there are ranges that have maybe one or two photographer visitors - we need more active photographers because without them no one would know any of these wild ones! We desperately need those that go and observe roundup operations - and there are precious few who will do that for weeks on end.... I am so unbeleivably thankful to those like Carol Walker who has sacrificed her personal life and bank account to show up and be there at these horrid soul-destroying things for weeks on end. We need sanctuaries that adopt families that need to stay together, older mares and stallions that will give up and die if left in holding facilities, and the injured or unhealthy and otherwise unadoptable mustangs. And we need the individuals who adopt one or two or three mustangs.... sanctuaries are not the only ones that can give a good home to a mustang, and sanctuaries cannot take all of the mustangs that need a good home. We need people who like to research and write.... who love getting into the dirty details and understanding the history of a place and the facts of what needs to be done. And we need cheerleaders.... when you feel you can not contribute because you don't live close or travel, because you don't have land or money, or a computer and time to research, you can be the cheerleader. You can give the rest of us the support that is needed to keep us going, remind us that what we are doing is actually useful and much needed - you have no idea how many times a good word has made my day!!
When any of us posts something, anything, about wild horses, there should not be fear we will be attacked by people we thought were fighting for the same thing as us.
We should have to expect attacks only from those that want the horses removed - those are hard enough for us to answer back, but at least they are expected.
The real and true enemy... they know this fight, they know how to present a united front to the public - they never ever falter in their support of each other! If we learn nothing else from them let us learn that lesson - be united, save the bickering and attacks for behind closed doors. You don't agree with me? Great! Have a gripe session with your bestie.... tell them what a bossy snotty brat I am and how much I annoy you!! But stop letting the enemy see you destroy someone who is trying to get to the same goal as you - stop letting the real enemy get the last laugh at our expense while another wild mustang loses its freedom.
Let us be kind to each other and follow the example of horses.... we are after all as wild and untamed as these mustangs that have stolen our hearts, souls, and imagination. We hate for others to tell us what to do or think, we each have very strong opinions of what is the right thing to do or not do. And that is okay.... even good - we need all of the ideas!!
We also need all of us working together to win against the real enemies of the mustang.
Aegirs Fire: A gift of gold so bright he is a fire lighting the darkest of places.