With each generation (about ten years for horses), the Pryor horses have become more wild in spirit and primitive in form. They are smaller than their domestic counterparts, which is an advantage because a smaller body requires less fuel. Many also sport so-called primitive markings: a black stripe down their backs, striping across the withers, and zebra stripes on their legs.
As a small, genetically unique herd, living within a confined area accessible to researchers most of each year, the Pryor horses are ideal for study. Working with Colorado State University, Coates-Markle's team has developed ecosystem models to determine appropriate management levels. "We run different scenarios of weather and cycles of drought, basically trying to mimic environmental situations," she said. "And then we put in different levels of horses and see how the results vary in terms of overall health of the land."
Once an appropriate management level has been established—about 150 horses for the Pryor herd—the next task is selecting which horses should be removed at each roundup. It's a complicated process, taking into account an animal's age and sex, as well as status and genetic importance to the herd.
During the roundup this past September, yearling and two-year-old mares chosen to return to the wild were given primer shots for birth control. By delaying conception by a few years, it's hoped that mares will be in better shape to produce healthier foals. But it will also delay the need to hold gathers from once every three or four years, to once every seven or eight (see sidebar).
Some worry, however, about interfering with nature. "When humans start to select which mares will have foals when and where, then we are starting to enter the world of unnatural selection. And so we have to be very careful that we're doing it right and that we aren't going to create some difficulty down the road," said Ginger Kathrens of the Wild Horse and Burro Freedom Alliance.
Like all management tools, birth control alone isn't a magic solution. With less than 3 percent of the historic herd populations remaining, the problem may not be one of too many horses, but not enough land to support every use. "The West has been fenced in so ranchers can rotate their cattle on our public lands. And vast millions of dollars are spent every year to kill predators on public lands—mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, bears—if they threaten livestock. We have to get the public lands back for the public. And in so doing, we'll give them back to the wild horses and all the wildlife that live here," said Kathrens.
The Pryor horses are lucky. Protected by geography and a team of dedicated researchers, they will be part of the landscape for decades to come. The glory days of the wild West may be a memory. But as long as there are wild horses kicking up their hoofs in freedom, the spirit of the frontier will never be completely lost to history.
• Watch stories like these on National Geographic Today, only on the National Geographic Channel, 7 p.m. ET/PT in the United States. Click here to request it.
|
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
|
