Mustangs and The Land

In federal lands, like the Pryor Mountain Preserve, wild horses roam free. After legislation and public protection, the horse once again is secure in its role as "one with the land" but only in sanctuaries and public lands where they are protected and observed as a valuable asset. In certain cases the horses themselves protect the land from the ongoing encroachment of man's urban sprawls. A critical relationship exists between the wild horse herds and the land they roam today.

Wild Horses and Public Land

The Pryor Mountain Wildhorse Range near Lovell, Wyoming, is one of the few places remaining where mustangs roam free and interact with the land in their own ways. In 1968, the U.S. Government created this first wild horse refuge to protect a legendary band of mustangs. Today biologists visit Pryor Mountain to study the mustangs' natural behavior and relationship with the land.

Biologist Kate Schoenecker studies the herds in the Pryor range. "We're kind of lucky with this population [of horses], that they will behave, and do a lot of their normal, natural social behaviors while we're here and while we can get pretty close to them."