Watching wild mustangs in Sebastopol
by Pets
This freeze brand indicates this horse was a wild mustang.
I mean these horses do not look like your average horse. By just looking at their bone structure, their coloring and their eyes, you can tell this is something wild and a little scary.
These horses spent last winter in the wild and were in a BLM pen up until a few days ago. They are now are getting to know humans in a more humane manner.
“I stood in the middle of a pen with about 150 horses and waited for them to pick me,” is how Kathy Sparling of Windhorse Ranch describes how Juno, Magnolia and Alma ended up at her Sebastopol ranch.
Sparling. whose ranch sits in the hills west of Sebastopol, was kind enough to give me a primer on these horses, who are quickly disappearing from wild spaces. Because of amendments in the Wild Horse and Burro Act, it has become easier to get rid of wild horses and burros as “nuisance species.” Sparling barely contains her anger when she speaks of the power of cattle ranchers over the fate of wild mustangs.
Sparling figures if she can calm the horses, gentle them to human touch and get them trained a little, then perhaps someone who appreciates their beauty and uniqueness will also be up for finishing out the training and adopting them.
Sparling knows she is in a race against time and unfortunately we are all in danger of losing a part of our past.
Sue McGuire 
I have been following the wild mustangs via the internet for about five years now. Over the course of that time the numbers of free roaming mustangs have continued to dwindle. There are currently more mustangs in holding centers then there are in the wild. At this time some areas that have historically been home to the mustang are undergoing a “clean sweep” so that all mustangs are moved to another area. This is causing the population to be so widely removed from one another that maintaining a viable and healthy breeding gene pool is virtually impossible.
This land that the mustangs are being removed from is public land. Whoever is a citizen has ownership of this property, yet it is being cleared for better access to cattlemen who via government agreement are allowed grazing access. the government dictates how many cattle are allowed to graze. From what have read this number is rarely adhered to and there doesn’t seem to be any supervision or fining of those who abuse this access priviledge .
Personally as one of a millions co-owner of this property, I would like to vote to keep the mustang on the ranges and far fewer cattle. And for those interested in mustangs, check out the Bureau of Land Management and Wild Horse and Burro category. There are internet auctions and a number of holding areas. Until the government comes to it’s senses about these amazing creatures it will be up to us to preserve it. These living symbols are on the brink of annihilation.
by M. McFarland
These horses have no reason to be out in the wild. They were introduced into the wild years ago when they would escape the settlers and establish their own populations. They are pests that have caused havoc upon the natural environment and helped in reducing populations of endangered species. I say get rid of all of them!
by Tony C.
The wild horses and burros do appear to be falling through the cracks of government oversight.
People in far off cities who do not live near where the horses live, are often ineffectual in doing little to sway the opinions of those who want that land, the cattle ranchers.
I would encourage those interested in rolling back the amendments to the Wild Horse and Burro Act to get involved with their local representatives.
One of the more damaging amendments of late, allows the animals to be destroyed if they are not adopted within three adoption events held by the BLM. This is the so-called “three strikes law” that got on the books. This isn’t three strikes for bad behavior, but three strikes at not getting lucky enough to get adopted.
Get involved.
Horses don’t vote.
by Pets
And cows do have the right to be out in the wild?
How about we find a balance?
by Pets
Cows serve the purpose of feeding people. Horses do not. People have become enamored with horses and with the idea of the wild west, that they have placed horses on a pedastal and have blinders on with regards to the destruction they cause to the environment. And for what, so people can enjoy the idea of a horse running wild. Round them all up and have people adopt them if they care about them so much and keep them out of the wild. They don’t belong there.
by Tony C.
But I am sure some balance could be found that would mitigate impacts from both horses and cattle, but it won’t happen by allowing horses to run rampant in the wild or by giving completely free range to the cattle ranchers.
by Tony C.
Many people do not seem to realize that the modern horse evolved here on the North American continent, not in Europe or Asia. It is theorized that the horse crossed over into Aisa, but then later became extinct in the New World something like 11 thousand years ago. When the horse was brought back to the Americas by the Spanish, basically they were re-introducing a native species. Wildlife biologists have studied the Great Basin ecosystem and have found that horses co-evolved with the native plants, and that there is a symbiotic relationship between horses and these plants. Cattle and sheep on the other hand are not benefitting the ecosystem at all. So I respectfully disagree with Tony C. that the wild horses “don’t belong there”.
This is not to say that the public lands cannot be shared by domestic grazing animals as well as by native wildlife species. But this is one important reason to re-examine the prevailing notions held by the Bureau of Land Management that disregard the role of the wild horse in enhancement of the Great Basin ecosystem.
All uses of public lands need to be balanced. Overgrazing or other uses that damage or destroy these lands should not be allowed. But to make the wild horse the scapegoat is inherently unfair.
by mestenos
As one very astute mustang lover told me that with the controls on wolves and mountain lions, predators of wild horses, have had an impact too.
Be careful what we call a “nuisance species” and what we call a “native species” and the law of unintended consequences.
By the way, I visited the mustangs this past weekend and slowly, they are starting to approach people and giving nice sniffs and licks on the peoples’ heads.
by Pets