Susan Martell, age l3, of Kansas City, Mo., for her question:
Are there any wild horses in America?
Many paintings of our breathtaking prairies show fleet footed horses galloping freely in the wild. These unshod beauties with wild blown manes certainly are not tame or domesticated animals. But neither can they be termed real wild horses.
Herds of so called wild horses enjoy their freedom in certain lonely regions of our western mountains and prairie lands. some of them escaped from life on the range and the rest are descended from ancestors that were domesticated horses. In TV westerns you sometimes see startled horses gallop away leaving their riders stranded far from nowhere. Maybe you wonder what happens to such deserters in real life.
They can find food and perhaps enough water to make a living for themselves. The lucky survivors wander far and wide and in time they manage to rid themselves of their saddles and trappings. some of them Meet up with a herd of other horses living in the wild, and if they are accepted by the group they have a better chance of surviving.
However, these horses are very different from their domesticated kinfolk. The new arrival must be able to accept their ways of life and perhaps he must face a mighty challenge. Horses seem to have their own ideas of family life and it is very different from ours. The male horse is a mighty stallion with a definite family plan of his own. He assumes the protection of a number of wives and he fights fiercely to guard the mares and foals of his own personal harem.
If the newcomer happens to be a stallion, he is challenged by the proud lord of the herd and the two may fight until death. As a rule, the battle is won by the wild horse for he is toughened by hardships and used to fighting. His victory, perhaps, is better for the herd because his experience has taught him how to protect his family from the hazards and hardships of the wild. If the newcomer is a mare, she is welcomed to join the herd. Sometimes a so called wild stallion goes so far as to entice a mare from a ranch and gallop off with her to freedom.
Millions of years ago, herds of really wild horses roamed America, but they disappeared from the scene long before Columbus arrived. Domesticated horses were brought here by the settlers and in every generation some of them escaped to freedom in the wilds. The maxes and foals often are recaptured and retained to live with their domesticated cousins on the range.
Many horses escaped to the wilds when America was torn by the war between the states. Afterward they belonged to anyone fast enough to catch them and many ranchers added to their stock with these free horses. Indians still catch a few strays from the herds. And when a stallion makes a habit of stealing mares from the ranges, a determined posse hunts him down.