Freedom for Wild Horses

It’s a new year, and while it may be easy to get bogged down in all that’s wrong, I’m encouraging you to dream with me of positive change for our beautiful wild horses.

In this episode, I list a course of positive actions that we can and should take to protect all wild horse families, today and into the future. Wild horses are valuable in and of themselves, and they inspire us. They remind us what it is to be a part of nature. They deserve our respect and our protection, and should remain a part of our nation for many years to come.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/23

During the holiday season, we are all reminded of the familial bonds we have. Families don’t necessarily consist only of blood relatives, and perhaps unsurprisingly, this is true for wild horses as well. Wild horses aren't just roaming free, they're living in tight-knit families.

However, roundups by the Bureau of Land Management are disrupting these tight-knit bands and causing physical, emotional, and mental distress by separating mares from foals, stallions from mares, young from old, and thereby threatening an iconic American species. In this episode, I underline why it's so important to keep our wild horses in the United States on our public lands, wild and free with their families.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/22

Are you curious about what’s it like to photograph horses in the wild? Have you been dreaming about visiting one of the Western states and seeing the wild horses in person? If so, this episode is for you. I share my expertise photographing wild horses, emphasizing the importance of understanding horse behavior and habits to capture great shots. Allow yourself to drink in the magic of spending time with these magnificent national treasures in some of the best parts of our wild lands.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/21

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law which gives the public the right to access records from any federal agency. Debbie Coffey is an expert in obtaining FOIAs, and has used her skills in aiding advocacy for the wild horses and burros with many organizations and for many lawsuits. She joins me this week to discuss the increasing complexity regarding obtaining FOIAs, the BLM's direct use of evasion, deception, and misrepresentation regarding wild horse population plans, and more.

Most importantly, listen in to find out how you can help, especially if you’re a new advocate for wild horses and burros. Debbie offers a solid source for the history and next-steps of this ongoing journey into equine advocacy.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/20

This week, I share some of my favorite horses from the McCullough Peaks Herd and how every horse here has a story, relationships, a life. All of them deserve to live out their lives, wild and free in their home, on public lands, with their families.

Sadly, the BLM has other horrible plans for them. The November 15th roundup needs to be stopped. And at this point, public outcry is the only thing left that can make a difference. We don't want these precious wild horses to fade away into history. So please, listen in to hear how you can help.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/19

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is home to just under 200 wild horses and it is the only national park with horses living in it. Today’s conversation with photographer and wild horse advocate, Christine Kman, informs us of the Park’s ongoing plan to eliminate the entire herd of horses, and why we don't want their plan to come to fruition.

Tune in this week and find out how you can help save the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. People have the misconception that with all the support that we have, the horses will be saved. That is not the case. I invite you to listen in and join us in the fight to keep these beautiful horses in their home, to live free, and be enjoyed by our future generations.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/18

From the moment I first heard about Sable Island over 20 years ago, I was captivated and determined to go. There are currently only two ways to visit the island, by air or by sea. Wild horses, and the largest grey seal colony on Earth, are the only mammals found, aside from the few humans staying at Main Station. Last week was my third time visiting Sable Island.

In this episode, I reflect on what makes this place and these horses so special. The wild horses have not been interfered with or captured by man since the 1950s. They are protected and allowed to live out their lives as nature wants, not humans. This is my dream for all wild horses in America, it's what I'm fighting for, and I invite you to join me in this fight.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/17

Jim Brown has lived in Wyoming all his life, exploring and photographing the landscape and wildlife since he was 11 years old. He has been visiting and following the wild horses in the North Lander Complex for the better part of 50 years. After moving into the Riverton area, Jim has been able to spread the word about the wild horses and gather enough interest and attention to make it harder for the BLM’s plans to go unnoticed.

In this episode, Jim and I ask you to join us in opposing the BLM’s plan. This plan is truly the most egregious, most punishing plan I have ever seen. Jim has been fighting the constant spin and untruths from various wildlife hunting groups, livestock groups, and the BLM itself, but the BLM doesn’t want observers and they don't want people witnessing what they're doing. Tune in this week to learn how you can help shine a light on what they’re doing so we can protect the wild horse herds in the North Lander Complex.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/16

I was driving on Crooks Gap Road through Arapaho Creek one fall morning looking for horses. I had been visiting this area for the past four years and had gotten to know several wild families of horses over that time. It just so happened that on this particular day, I would find the most beautiful horse I had ever seen.

The last time I saw Blue Zeus in the wild, he was standing watch over his family as they grazed. He seemed more alert than usual, and I think it was because he could hear the helicopters in the distance. As tears rolled down my cheeks, I made a promise that I would do everything possible to make sure that he and his family would be together in a safe place. Listen in to find out if I was able to keep my promise to Blue Zeus.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/15

The horses captured in a roundup will never see their families again. They will never again see the land on which they were born and know so well. They will be taken to holding facilities which may riddled with diseases, offered for adoption, or they may not be. They won't have shade or shelter, and they may not get enough food; many die there. 

The BLM needs to stop torturing wild horses and start humanely managing them on the range, their home, where they belong with their families. This week, I'm discussing the inhumane act of rounding up wild horses, what the “The Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act, HR 3656” is, and how you can help put an end to roundups. America's wild horses deserve better, and we can do better.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/14

Sandy Sisti of Wild at Heart Images has been a photographer for over twenty years and a lover of wildlife and nature since childhood. Currently, most of her time is devoted to observing and documenting the wild horses of the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area, a group of horses she considers like family. The BLM recently put out an environmental assessment that talks about removing a large portion of the McCullough Peaks herd and, I have to say, it's terrible. We're discussing the hardship facing these horses and how we can all help.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/13

If you've wondered what you can do to help save wild horses from slaughter, then this episode is for you. I’m interviewing Susan Wagner about the 2021 SAFE (Save America’s Forgotten Equines) Act.

Susan Wagner founded Equine Advocates after discovering the horse-meat slaughter industry for horses, ponies, donkeys and mules. As you'll hear, this is a very complex issue that affects all horses. From banning horse meat consumption for humans and pets to intrastate transport to slaughterhouses on Indian Reservation land, the urgency of the matter cannot be understated and it truly deserves your support.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/12

Are you curious about the wild horses living in one of the largest herds in Wyoming? If so, then listen in as I take you on a tour of Salt Wells Creek. I’ll describe the horse families that live there, the uniqueness of some of the horses, and the very real danger they’re facing.

I want to introduce you to a few of my “friends.” There’s the Curly stallion named Bubba. The Cremello foal, Julian. The bay roan stallion Valentino. The stallions Blaze and Silverado. The mares Lavender and Genevieve, and so many more. It is truly amazing how tough these wild horses are, possessed with a deep will and spirit to survive and live free. Let’s make sure photographs and memories are not all that is left of these herds.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/11

I recount the story of Chiron, a stunning black and white Pinto in Arapahoe Creek, and his family. Hear how they had lived their entire lives wild and free as the wind on the land they called their home. However, the winter of 2022/23 brought a ferocity and devastation unseen in this desert since the 1970s. This is the story of Chiron's legacy, and how from the harshness of winter, out came Ghost Warrior.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/10

I am absolutely delighted to have Suzanne Roy, the executive director of American Wild Horse Campaign, here to talk about the lawsuit that AWHC filed just a few days ago against the BLM. The government agency has plans for a massive land grab in Wyoming, as well as plans to zero out the wild herds living there and reduce another to a much smaller size.

Find out why this lawsuit could be one of the most important cases for the wild horses, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and all wild horse protected land in America, and how you can support this cause.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/9

Over the course of my years spent chronicling America’s wild horses, I’ve also visited the holding facilities where the horses are taken after a roundup. I’m sad to say conditions have steadily and shockingly deteriorated. Today, I am sharing what I’ve seen.

Listen in to learn more about how the Bureau of Land Management is changing terminology and policies that continue to erode the protected status of these beautiful creatures, and how you can help this important cause of saving our nation’s wild horses.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/8

Ashley Avis is an American director, screenwriter, producer and co-founder of Winterstone Pictures. She embarked on what would become a five-year-long passion project in her award-winning documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West, exploring the stunning natural beauty as well as the controversial government treatment of wild horses in the United States.

Join me in discovering Ashley’s winding road from horse lover to wild horse advocate. We discuss how an exploratory journey to the wild horse heartlands to film Black Beauty led her to filming her documentary, which became both an interesting look at wild horses and their families and a journalistic exposé on the corruption that's happening to them.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/7

Ginger Kathrens is an Emmy Award-winning producer, cinematographer, writer, editor, and award-winning author. She introduced Cloud, Wild Stallion of the Rockies, to the world in her famous documentaries. Her documentation of the Pryor Mountain Herd gave us one of the first in-depth looks at the rich and complex society of wild horses.

If you want to find out what the Bureau of Land Management’s new plan for the Pryor Mountain Herd is, then this episode is for you. We discuss the various actions that help wild horse herds thrive, including fertility control, selective removal and proper rehoming, and how you can help.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/6

The horses in Arapaho Creek are some of the most amazing horses you will ever meet in your life. This is because they are that perfect mix of all of the surrounding Herd Management Area horses, and also the unique environmental resources that draw in all the wild horses. My guest this week is Angelique Rea who's been visiting the Red Desert Complex since 2011.

Angelique and I discuss the confluence of events, people, and history of the Arapaho Creek area that have made it so dangerous for horse families to live here. Learn why special interest groups, insurance companies, and state and federal policies are creating genetic viability and extinction issues for future horse generations.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/5 

This year has been the longest, harshest winter I can remember in Wyoming since I started going in 2000. In December, snowstorm after snowstorm swept in and buried the area. The Arctic fronts that moved in brought record chills, making it impossible for the snow to melt. To say that I was concerned about the wild horses and the other wildlife in the area is putting it mildly. But I wonder if any of them could have been prepared for what nature threw at them this year?

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/4 

Wild horse families aren't static. Every time I go out, I see changes in different families. But it doesn't mean that families aren't important or that they don't give continuity to the wild horse society. We can learn so much by observing and studying their behavior and societal structure. Listen in this week to find out why families are the heart of wild horse society and why these families deserve to live their entire lives free on our public lands.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/3 

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act decreed that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death. Yet, wild horses are being culled from their homes and their families, in the tens of thousands almost every year, by the very same agency that is charged with protecting them. At the end of this year, there will most likely be more horses in holding facilities than in the wild. Tune in this week to find out what you can do to help.

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/2 

I share what it was like encountering wild horses for the first time in the Red Desert in Wyoming, and how I began photographing and advocating for them. You’ll hear more about my first experience with these beautiful beings, the shock I experienced going through my first roundup, and how this set me on a mission to show people what is really happening with these beings, and why we need the wildness that these horses give. 

Get full show notes and more information here: https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/1 

I’m Carol, and I love everything about wild horses.

I have spent the last 19 years following, observing, documenting, and photographing them on our public lands in America, but that’s not enough. I have been working as a wild horse advocate to save them because they are under threat by the very government agency that has been tasked to protect them. 

I created this podcast for people who love wildlife, wild horses, and the freedom they stand for, and will be providing stories and education about the horses and the issues facing them so that you can help. 

If you want to learn more about why wild horses deserve a place on our public lands, why we need the tonic of their wildness in our lives, the threats they are facing from the agency that manages them, and what you can do to help, this show is for you. 

I’ll be diving deeper into these topics and many more, interviewing advocates and experts in this space, and showing you why keeping these horses wild and free on our public lands is vital, so that together, we can save America’s wild horses.

Ready to learn more about wild horses? Be sure to follow the show wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode!