THE WILD HORSE

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 August 1929, Page 9

THE WILD HORSE

DISAPPEARING IN U.S.A. They call it a round-up in Montana. In the South-west the old Spanish equivalent, “rodeo,” has passed into the language of the country. But Montana claims the advantage over Arizona and New Mexico of still possessing herds of wild horses, whereas most of those in the South-west have been corralled during the last two decades and either sold as riding horses or made into glue, says a writer in the New York “Times.” Rarely, and then only in remote places, will the wayfarer in Arizona see the sight that was so familiar 20 years ago—a band of horses that have never felt rope or saddle surprised while grazing, and, whirling instantly, heads high, manes blowing, tails raised, gallop to security at the mere smell oi- sight of man.

In the remoter regions of Montana these days this sight is again common. They are rounding up th© wild horses, so as to get them off the range and turn a few honest pennies by selling them. Under the custom of the country they are any man’s property—always excepting unbranded colts running with a band of branded horses. It is not so long since the man who attempted to claim such an unbranded animal was summarily dealt with. In the cattle country an unbranded calf, if motherless, is called a “maverick,” and the finder is allowed to place his own brand on it. The wild horses are in a class apart. There are bands of them which frequent Government lands. Not far back, they, together with camels and donkeys, were protected by Arizona’s game laws. Yet the Federal Government authorised the Federal game hunter on the Kaibab Plateau to shoot a wild horse when he needed meat for his dogs. In that region, owing largely to overstocking the range with deer, the last remaining wild horses have disappeared. Tradition has it that wild horses have been known throughout the Western country since the early days of the Spaniards. The presumption is that the Indians acquired Spanish stock and that, in the natural course of events, horses ran wild. Doubtless others brought in by the early settlers also escaped, and added to the stock. Those which survive are almost as elusive as wild animals, able to outrun most domesticated horses. Like the broncos and mustangs in the “Wild West” stories, they lead a stormy career when caught. The common practice is to drive a band into a box canyon or into a specially prepared trap which has a corral at the end. They make wild efforts to escape. But if the cowboys know then' business —as they still do, despite their partiality for automobiles—the animals are outwitted. One by one, they fall under th£ lasso, and many a fierce struggle may be seen when the rope first tightens about the neck of a “broric.” The rest is familiar even to city dwellers —the horse is blindfolded when necessary, and tightly held, while the hated saddle is tossed on its back, and the rider mounts for his first tussle with a thousand pounds of living dynamite. Few are the horses which remain “mean” for life. Most of them are quickly “gentled” and pass on to ranches, and occasionally even to polo fields, with only the memory of the wild, free days before they knew the feel of leather or the command of man.