An enduring symbol, the mustang, symbolizes the largely mythological vision of the West as a place that is wild and free, similar to the eagle and the bison. The word comes from the Spanish mestengo, meaning wild, free or having no master. The modern mustang is descended from the original horses brought here by the Spanish, which over the centuries have combined with various other breeds that escaped or were turned loose by later settlers, ranchers, or Native people.
Like all other wildlife/human relationships, the mustangs have been subjects of divergent points of view. Many a rancher or working cowboy during the early American expansion into the West would build a herd of horses by capturing and breaking the feral horses. As more and more cattle and sheep came into the picture, some looked at the mustang as competition for forage needed for their domestic livestock.
As photographers and painters raised awareness of the mustang through their art, a third view rose. People believed that the mustang should be allowed to remain free roaming in the West with no human interference. By the 1930s, the pressure from hunting and ranching interests got federal policies introduced that dramatically reduced the populations of the mustangs, often by lethal methods.
In 1971, Congress passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which mandated the protection, management and study of unclaimed and unbranded horses and burros on public lands, except national parks. Like all federal regulations, enforcement and interpretation change over time depending on the administration in charge and political pressure.
There is also the constant conflict between the state, and federal policies and desires.
We are currently seeing that conflict play out. Four years ago, a working group was formed in Colorado with state and federal partners to determine the best way to take care of excess populations of feral horses and burros. Last year, state lawmakers and the governor created the Colorado Wild Horse Working Group. The Senate passed legislation to fund the group and a mandate to recommend non-lethal and humane methods for control of the populations. For the past nine months, the state and federal partners have discussed plans to bring this to reality.
In May, the BLM announced it will use helicopters to round up and remove 85 to 110 mustangs from the Little Book Cliffs near Palisade, which has angered the state and local federal managers. Helicopter roundups are the worst way to gather the horses. Foals and mares are often separated. Broken legs and other serious injuries occur far too frequently.
There are far better ways to gather and sort the animals. In the 1970s and 1980s, I helped gather in three different states. We treated the gathering like we did when moving cattle on horseback. We moved them slowly, never pushing them into running. In recent years here at Mesa Verde, they have been gathered by using food and water as bait.
To those who believe that they should just be left uncontrolled, you are denying the reality of nature. Any species can overpopulate its living space. They run out of forage and during drought years, they lack water. They die slow deaths. To those who believe that they should all be eliminated, why? Just to allow a few more hunting opportunities or a few more cattle and sheep to graze?
To my mind, both groups are wrong. In either case, the result would be the elimination of this symbol of freedom and we would all be poorer for it.
Scott Perez is a Durango area-based former working cowboy, guide and occasional actor. He has a master’s in Natural Resource Management from Cornell University.
