Wild At Heart

This breathtaking herd of about 110 wild mustangs had been living, grazing and surviving in this canyon near what was now a dry riverbed for more than four decades and they had been largely undisturbed during that time. They had adapted to the climate and its ecosystem and were thriving here.

These were a spectacular array of feral horses of every color and shade and type. There were older alpha stallions, young colts, mares, an alpha mare, fillies and foals of various age ranges. Though wild and free, these horses held a deep and instinctive bond among all its herd mates.

One older stallion and one older mare maintained dominant roles over the group. Wherever these two went, the herd would follow as they peacefully grazed and wandered and claimed about 25 square miles of range area. It was a wonderful unfettered life for these beautiful stately creatures.

 There was one particularly frisky colt that was very high-spirited, inquisitive and regularly strayed away from the herd, always causing problems! Either the alpha stallion or the alpha mare constantly had to nudge him back to the safety of the group. He could be seen kicking and bucking and running with the other colts. But his adventurous nature sometimes got him into trouble. This rambunctious colt was quick to play and not so quick to detect danger.

He was a beautiful mottled color of brown and black with white hooves. And he had a very distinctive almost diamond shape on his forehead.

A few months ago, the colt got separated from the safety of the group when he ran away after spotting a cougar lurking close by.

The alpha male saw what was happening and he and the alpha female broke away and, rearing up on their hind legs and stomping and vocalizing loudly, chased the cougar away.

The two adult horses ran to the frightened colt that quickly got the message to join the herd once again!

One warm sunny day, the herd was nervous. Their sharp instincts told them something was wrong. A group of cowboys was in the area. The horses had observed the intruders from afar in the last couple of weeks. The cowboys could be seen putting up fencing in the area and today they had ropes and lariats and were looking to capture some of these wild horses and add them to their herd on a ranch they had just purchased.

The young colt had not yet learned to be afraid of humans. So that frisky young colt was curious and he walked right up to the cowboys and was promptly lassoed and captured. 

The cowboys then rode up on the rest of the herd but the herd was lightning fast and they scattered, mostly following the alpha mare. She reared up and the most of the herd managed to follow her and run like the wind back through the canyon with its steep-sided arroyos to safety. 

Because the alpha male was protecting the group from the rear, one cowboy had his lariat at the ready and swung it rapidly in the air tossing it and trying to loop it around the old horse’s neck. The cowboy missed and the old horse raced away from the interlopers.

The old horse turned and ran in the opposite direction trying to lure the group of cowboys away from the rest of the herd, furiously snorting and baring his teeth as he ran. 

Because of all the new fencing in the area, the old horse was unaware of its existence and he ran right into it and became entangled in the barbed wire. He struggled violently, but was too tightly wrapped in the sharp barbed wire. It dug into his flesh.

The horse wasn’t hurt too badly but he was unable to free himself. He snorted and vocalized loudly through his pain and predicament.

Back at the herd, the group of cowboys managed to capture several of the wild horses to take back to their ranch. The horses were without either lead horse and the group was vulnerable to the harnessing ropes and lariats.  

Satisfied with the number of horses they had captured today, the cowboys headed back to their camp several miles away. 

On the way, they spotted the old alpha horse ensnared in the barbed wire. One young cowboy dismounted quickly and rushed to the horse’s aid. He took out his wire cutters and freed the old animal who promptly escaped. 

The old alpha male raced back in the direction of his unbound herd and reunited with them. The poor old horse licked his wounds for days, but he was still strong and resumed his position as the lead alpha male.

      The herd was now spooked and insecure. Rather than calmly keeping some distance between each other, they stayed close together, pawing the ground and raising their noses to the air and snorting. They knew that several of their herd mates were no longer with them.

      The alpha male and alpha female instinctively knew they needed to reunite with their captured herd mates.

The two lead the herd out of the canyon and began to follow the trail the cowboys had come from. It took a few hours as the herd proceeded cautiously, stopping occasionally to listen and sniff the air for any looming danger, such as lurking cougars or cowboy raiders.

      They soon came upon a ridge that overlooked a deep ravine where the cowboys were camped. The alpha male and mare recognized the members of their rustled herd, including their feisty colt.

      Darkness was falling. The old alpha male and female knew just what to do and they knew the rest of the herd would follow them. 

      As a cohesive group, the team of horses ran down the ridge, excited, motivated, angered - letting their protective animal instincts take over. Down the ledge they went legs flying, angry, snorting and vocalizing loudly, leaving a trail of thick dust in their wake.

      The captured horses were contained by a rope corral. And the herd rushed upon their imprisoned herd mates. That spunky colt saw his team approaching and knew what was happening so he reared up and started stomping the flimsy rope corral to the ground. The detained horses, led by the young spunky colt, quickly escaped through the now open rope corral. The entire herd escaped into the darkness, back to their canyon, back to their home!

      The dejected cowboys were shocked at the resourcefulness of these horses. How did they know where their captured herd was? How did they know to trample the rope corral? They didn’t have the answers and they did not return to this herd of horses. They went the opposite direction and found another wild herd to rustle for their ranch needs.

      The herd was left undisturbed for a couple of years. They went back to their peaceful ways. 

It was late summer now. The weather had been particularly hot and dry. Rain had not fallen in the canyon and their grazing area for most of that summer.

 The herd had to wander and graze farther and farther to find food and water. Along the way, they scavenged bushes, leaves, tree bark or twigs and took water from seeps or from scant narrow waterfalls trickling down from the mountains above. Their situation was growing more desperate by the day.

      And the old alpha male was getting slower due to age and his old injuries from being entangled in the barbed wire a couple of years ago.

      One day, the rambunctious colt, now two years older and wiser, sensed that the herd was in trouble. When the herd stopped to rest, he kept going, continuing farther away from the group, stopping to sniff the air as he went. 

      After a couple of miles, the colt was alerted to a sound. He cautiously walked toward the sound - what was it?  As he cautiously ventured around a jagged outcropping of the rocky ledges, he saw the source of the sound: it was a water fall inside a cave.

      The brave stallion walked into the cave and felt its cool dampness and saw that it had a large pool of water being fed by that water fall, which was coming down from the mountains above the cave.

      He drank a long time from the pool ingesting the cool liquid. Then he spied some large reeds and moss growing around this reservoir of water. He instinctively knew he needed to lead his herd mates back to this place.

      The young horse turned and bolted from the watery cave and ran at full speed back to the herd.

      When he arrived, he went straight to the alpha male and mare and started pawing the ground furiously and snorting and vocalizing loudly. The old stallion and mare were alerted. The colt then turned and started walking in the direction from where he had just come.

      The two lead horses knew what to do. They started following their young colt and the rest of the herd followed their lead instinctually.

      After about an hour, the herd arrived back at the cave. The young colt lead the way. The rest of the herd sauntered in, the alpha male and mare leading the way. They all took a place at the cool water’s edge and each drank their fill and munched on the reeds and moss growing along its banks.

      The young mischievous, yet venturesome colt had saved the herd from sure death.

      They had found their new home and were now thriving in and around the foot of this rocky mountain with its protective cave and continuous source of food and water and safety.

      The young stallion that had saved the herd soon took the lead. The old alpha male silently knew the young stallion’s authority and instincts would now head up and protect the herd. 

His newfound dominance and leadership were established and he knew the herd would grow and thrive here in their new home with their new lead horse.

      The young colt would never be tamed and the antics of his youth were behind him, but he was now a stallion and he would forever protect his herd mates and his territory. And he would always be wild at heart!