"Why do they fight for wild horses and not other - more - important things!"

This is a question that gets asked by those that do not really care for wild horses or captured mustangs, sometimes by people that see them as an amusing but unimportant thing, and often by those that really just want wild horses removed and out of the way of whatever they believe is a more appropriate use of public lands.

Today I would like to give my answer to this question, because even though I consider the why to be a fairly obvious answer, I don't think I have ever really put it down in writing, and maybe it is time to clarify the reasons I pour my time, money, and soul into the cause of wild horses.

First and foremost, I fight for wild horses and captured mustangs because they deserve to be treated so much better than they are being treated by humanity right now.

We are taught from birth that humans are the smarter race of beings... that humans are able to reason, to make decisions, to make smarter choices, all based on that humans have the ability to reason and have compassion - and that animals have neither of those things.

Humans justify their actions towards animals with the belief that animals are unable to reason, they do not have the capability to feel and act that humans do, and that they do not have souls, spirits, or the ability to love in the same way as humans.

All of that is of course absolute rubbish!!

But lets assume for the sake of argument these things are true....

If we humans are the smarter and more superior race, then are we not responsible for the care and well-being of these lesser beings? Is it not our responsibility to learn to accommodate for the lesser beings needs, are we not responsible to ensure kindness and care is provided for those given to us to oversee?

Is it not incumbent on us to behave as the superior race we proclaim ourselves, and give kindness and care to those that are only asking that we hear their voice, no matter how different from ours it may be.

I believe that as a native species to this land horses have a natural and rightful place on it, and as the legacies of their ancestors that were partners with man in the winning of the west, they hold both a place of honor and of heritage in this nation and its untamed places - they are the memory of things no longer.

Ancestors of the wild horses are from here.... no matter how often or how loudly the opposition uses the derogatory term of feral - horses belong here, on this land, they were here a millennia ago, and the land has never forgotten them.

Modern historians write that the ancient horse died out, and there were no horses in America until the Spanish brought them over, but I challenge you to listen to the voice of the First Nations people.... as more ancient rock art is found, as more research is done, as more of the histories are shared amongst the people, it becomes clear that many of the native tribes lived with horses long before Europeans arrived.

Today's wild horse herds also reflect the history of how the United States was built.... Calvary horses abandoned along the way, ranch and farm horses either escaping to join the wild herds or abandoned when homesteads failed, most wild horses today are related to the horses that lent their strength and spirit to men when they needed help crossing a great land, fighting wars, plowing fields, and running the great herds of cattle across the plains.

One only need do a little research to find that when humans came west in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they found these wild horses of the mountains and plains, and after quickly realizing the strength and stamina of the wild ones, they turned loose their prize mares with the wild stallions to gain some of the strength and stamina in their domestic horses.

Without horses we would not be the nation that we are today - we owe them a debt.

I fight for wild horses because it is also about humans....

Wild horses share their wildness with us: reminding us that we too are wild, they awaken in us deep joy and wild passion, and they show us we can be strong and kind to each other! All things that this world too often works to destroy in us.

Wild horses heal us physically, mentally, and emotionally.... this is seen over and over again, there are entire programs built around captured mustangs because of the proven healing that happens when time is spent with them.

Wild horses show us what freedom truly is... and that their very soul can remain wild to the core no matter what trappings of man may be worn.

They know that freedom is not about being without responsibility, although they certainly can and sometimes choose that too, they show us how deeply they can love each other in that freedom, the bonds of family and friendship remembered and shared across the years and miles of terrain.

Wild horses remember the past, they grieve for those lost, they sometimes fear the future, they fight and they defend who and what they love.

Wild horses know how in the midst of chaos and uncertainty to live in the moment - finding joy and contentment on a sunny summer afternoon or galloping with wild joy across their sage and wildflower scattered hills.

Wild horses and their wild lands touch our souls in a way that nothing else does.

Wild horses teach us to be better humans and we are better humans for loving them.

So yes, there are so many things that need a champion and warrior - SO MANY THINGS!

And there are many who pick up those fights.... I believe it is incredibly important to make sure all children have food to eat, I believe that sex trafficking is a horrible evil that must be stopped, I believe that missing indigenous men and women is something that really needs more recognition, I believe that wolves, coyotes, bears and all other wild things deserve to not be cruelly tortured to death, I believe that domestic cats and dogs deserve better than to be in over-full shelters where they sit in cages for months only to die unnaturally, I believe domestic violence and drugs and alcoholism deserve so much more attention so that humans themselves can live better lives.

But I am only one person.... with limited time, resources, and one short life, so I had to choose which fight I would stand in - and the horses called to my heart in a way that made it an easy choice for me to choose them.

These are just a few of the things that are why I stand with and fight for wild horses.