Okay, so these aren't really "wild horses." My dad calls them "feral free-ranging domestic livestock." Most were domestic horses at one time that were dumped by people who couldn't take care of them, escaped on their own, or were set free during forest fires because the owners didn't have time/resources to move them out of danger but didn't want to keep them trapped in case the fire came. Now many are the descendants of those once-domestic horses. All they've known is freedom.
There's a lot of controversy over them. Are they pests causing problems for ranchers and native wildlife? Should there even BE ranchers on public lands? Do the horses need to be culled or captured and taken to refuges? If so, how can we do this most humanely? Or are they now part of the local ecosystem and need to be protected like any other wildlife?
Mostly what I know is that they're beautiful and a treat to see.
These three later wandered into our campsite, bold as anything, and we got to watch them for a long time while we ate. Mogollon Rim Dinner Theatre.
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