A scene in a 1939 western starring Tyrone Powers called for a horse and rider to plunge off a cliff into the turbulent waters below. The scene was dramatic, and the movie, Jesse James, was a box office hit. The stunt rider survived unscathed, but the horse wasn't so fortunate. It was killed.
His death was not entirely in vain. This act of senseless cruelty sparked such outraged protests that the American Humane Association established a relationship with Hollywood as humane consultants the following year. Since then, film sets with animal performers have an AHA representative on site to ensure their safety.
The classic Black Beauty has been used for decades in many schoolroom humane education programs. Its graphic descriptions of cruelty, neglect and abuses of hard working horses, told from the horse's viewpoint, touches readers of every age. It's no wonder that the abuse of cart horses seen daily in most city streets in the 1800s sparked the founding of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other humane organizations. Today, the strenuous work of pulling carts, coaches and plows has been taken over by cars, trucks, trains and tractors, but, unfortunately, the abuse of horses hasn't ended.
Not until 1971, with the passage of Public Law 92-195, did Congress declare "wild free-roaming horses and burros [to be] living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West." The law was a much celebrated victory following a long, impassioned struggle to save America's rapidly dwindling herds of wild horses.
The classic David versus Goliath battle pitted freedom-loving, often romantic horse lovers, animal welfare warriors, a best-selling children's book author and hundreds of thousands of America's youth against the powerful forces of big business, wealthy ranchers, and government bureaucrats.
The outlook seemed hopeless in the '50s and '60s, when it was virtually open season on the wild mustangs of the West. Only a few herds remained of the millions that had once roamed free. The law offered no protection because the animals were classified as feral (once domesticated), not wild. And their enemies were many: ranchers who wanted their land for cattle; sportsmen who wanted their land stocked with target animals to shoot; profiteers who sold their carcasses to dog food canneries; and an assortment of others whose hatred seemed to stem from resentment of their untamed nature.
The war against these beautiful, gentle but powerful animals was mind-numbingly brutal. Ranchers and profiteers frequently chased the herds with small planes and helicopters, running them mercilessly for miles until many dropped dead from sheer exhaustion. The "lucky" survivors often arrived at their destination with nothing but bloody stumps for hooves. With no food or water available on the long ride to canneries or the auction block, many more died in cramped boxcars from dehydration, heat exhaustion, or suffocation.
One woman, Velma Johnston of Reno, made it her business to put a stop to the cruel slaughter. Her enemies derisively dubbed her Wild Horse Annie, but Velma wore her nickname with pride in her tireless efforts to expose the brutal practices. The Wild Horse Annie Bill, passed in 1959, was a hard-won victory but limited in scope. Not till 1968 did the mustangs have their first refuge, when Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Refuge was established. Passage of the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act in 1971 finally gave the horses federal protection.
With Marguerite Henry's prize-winning children's book, Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West, Wild Horse Annie became a popular heroine to millions of American children. With clear, innocent vision, they quickly grasped the heart of the issue, as one young reader's letter to Ms. Henry shows:
"It makes me angry and I think that the horses should be allowed to run free. They will soon be like the Buffalo that used to roam the plains of America. Extinct."
Hope Ryden, in her provocative book America's Last Wild Horses, presents the definitive history of this shameful episode in America's wildlife and environmental history. And many young Americans responded passionately to the first edition of her book. It's hard to summarize the story better than in their words:
Dear Miss Ryden,
Here's what I don't understand. Long time ago when they had horses
for transportation, that's the only way they could get somewhere.
And now these horses are being killed. I wonder how they feel,
the horses, after doing all that work and risking their own lives
in battle. Now why can't they have a little peace and quiet?
Your friend,
Lisa Beatty
Dear Miss Ryden,
When they ask you what good are they . . . meaning the horses
. . . the horses are plenty good. They're beautiful! Consider
this please.
Sincerely yours,
Kathy Burns
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