The ground begins to faintly rumble under your feet as your stand on a hillside admiring the beautiful mountain scenery. You wonder where this powerful feeling could possibly be coming from. Faster than you can associate what the source of the great sound may be, the rumble gets closer and louder and even more vibrant through the masses of earth and wild grass you stand on.

From over the hill stampedes a great herd of wild horses in flashes of wild colors. A hundred feet pounding in close unison, source this rumble as these majestic, historical animals prance and pound by.

Sadly, there are several issues plaguing the survival of this of horse. Primarily, culling of large groups of these horses is the main road to their demise, followed by habitat destruction, horses being stolen and sold for profit and an ever demanding need by these animals for food and water.

While researching for this article, a new release from Horsetalk.co.nz posted in early October stuck out from the numerous other search results. This story states that:

"...Hundreds of wild horses in Western Australian with strong Arabian bloodlines may be lost in a cull, a campaigner for the animals fears... There are more than 5000 wild horses living over the area from Bililuna to Balgo, mostly around Lake Gregory, a 100km-wide freshwater lake formed from the Sturt Creek, which has its origins in the Northern Territory..."

Source: Horsetalk.co.nz: Hundreds of part-Arab wild horses under cull threat, http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/new s/2009/10/073.shtml

Unfortunately, New Zealand is not the only place this happens.

Like many other species, the main danger for these animals has quite a bit to do with the encroachment of humans on their natural habitat of grasslands and large expanses of land. Grazing lands, shelters and safe migratory routes to water and food for these beautiful animals are being more and more threatened every year. Housing developments, recreational facilities, and shopping malls are being erected where these horses once grazed and houses surround lakes and line riverbeds blocking these horses from clean water sources and pastures. Migratory paths to plentiful water sources used in the past are disrupted by fences, houses and highways. Due to these issues, hundreds of these horses are endangered, pushed to and killed on the North American highways every year.

Long ago, when horses ran wild all over a world without fences; grasses, hays and alfalfa grew rampantly for all animals to gorge on. Travelling generally in packs, they require a large amount of food at meal times and a generous supply of water. Nowadays, food and water is available for these animals in the spring and fall months provided there is rain. However, winter and summer is a different scenario. Lakes and creeks freeze up; the few grazing pastures available to these horses cover up with a deep layer of snow leaving these animals to scrounge for whatever they can to survive over the long winter.

In Canada, groups such as Critteraid have been stepping in to attempt to assist the horse in southern British Columbia through the winter by assessing the plausibility of supplying hay and water over the tough months of the year. However, this is only a small step. A solution does need to be found to protect the true wild horse and the wild mustang that were once known to roam the open lands and fields of our planet. Wild horse sanctuaries can be found all over the globe. These facilities work extremely hard to save these great animals. Provided below is a collection of links to sanctuaries found around North America.

Sky Mountain Wild Horse Sanctuary, Santa Fe, NM, http://skymountainwild.org/

Chilcotin Wild Horse Sanctuary, Friends of the Nemaiah Valley, Victoria, BC, Canada, http://www.fonv.ca/activities/ articles/wildhorses/

Return to Freedom, American Wild Horse Sanctuary, Lompoc, CA, http://www.returntofreedom.org /

The Wild Horse Santuary, Shingletown, CA, http://www.wildhorsesanctuary. org/

Simply, humanity is closing in on these animals, as it is for all wild animals. We are the main reason why wild horses are in danger.

Learn more about this author, Jessica A. Tucker.
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