Randy Olson, Melissa Farlow Photography

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  • A Kiger mustang stallion watches guard of the herd. Kiger mustangs possess a demeanor and coloration of the original Spanish mustang.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_2737067.jpg
  • A herd of colorful mustangs including Paints and Palominos graze through sagebrush as evening approaches. After stopping at the waterhole, they headed toward salt licks and to roll taking dust baths in Oregon's high desert.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222868.jpg
  • Kiger mustangs graze peacefully on public land in southeast Oregon.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_2737064.jpg
  • Two paint mustangs playfully bite while grazing at South Steens mountain in Oregon. The wild horses are friends and hang out with other bachelors in the herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222905.jpg
  • A man feeds carrots to nearly tame mustangs in a Nevada subdivision. Residents in the Virginia Range are accustomed to wild horses grazing and then visiting their yards.
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  • Two mustangs groom each other, a common social behavior among wild horses. The mutual grooming brings heads together and reaffirms bonding between horses, reducing social tension within a herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222797.jpg
  • A wild horse enthusiast is greeted by a band of mustangs that recognize her truck.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222821.jpg
  • A young trainer calms one of the 50 unwanted wild mustangs she and her mother adopted.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2737133.jpg
  • A horse trainer chooses a wild horse to ride on the ranch where she and her mother adopted 50 unwanted mustangs.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2737110.jpg
  • Wild horses thunder across parched desert wilderness on public lands in Nevada. Dust kicks up as their hooves pound the scorched, barren rangelands. Mustangs are a mystic symbol of freedom, courage and the rugged, untamed American West.
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  • Wild horses graze at dusk as the moon rises over a ranch in land in South Dakota where mustangs and burros are protected.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222785.jpg
  • A Palomino mare follows a trail through the sagebrush with her newborn foal and other horses in their band. They grazed near a waterhole then moved to join the herd of wild mustangs that live in Oregon's high desert on public lands.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222780.jpg
  • A foal stands out in the herd as mustangs head down a dusty trail to a waterhole. Wild horse herds have a distinct social order and as with other animals that live in large groups, establishment of a stable hierarchical system reduces aggression. A lead or “alpha” mare guides the herd to food and water while stallions follow behind protecting their bands from predators and threats.
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  • An illusive band of wild horses crests a ridge under a full moon and a night sky. Horse sleep only a few hours a night ever on guard for their safety from predators.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222870.TIF
  • A cloud of dust rises as two helicopters guide 870 mustangs across the desert into a trap. They were rounded up from the Winnemucca Rangeland Area after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) determined that the number of wild horses there could not be supported on public land. Drought and wild fires created a dire situation for the horses, but advocates of mustangs believe horse herds are systematically being eliminated from western lands.<br />
Although there were as many as two million mustangs at the turn of the century, their numbers are much smaller and reduced regularly by these BLM gathers.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222849.TIF
  • A stallion nips at at another stud as they fight for dominance in a wild horse herd. Dust rises as the pair clash in the dry summer months in the West.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222803.jpg
  • A bachelor band of horses group together for protection and company while grazing in the high desert of Steens Mountain in Oregon. Males in a herd form a family when they are young or old but have no mares.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222866.jpg
  • Under a threatening storm, a herd of horses crosses a stream following the lead mare. In a wild horse herd, she leads them to food and water while the stallions follow behind to guard. A herd is similar to a neighborhood and made up of bands that are like families. These horses have dark dorsal stripes and primitive markings. They are genetic descendants of the Gila herd that came with Spanish Conquistadors to North America in the 1600s.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222824.TIF
  • Golden light of early morning illuminates fog lifting around horses in a pasture at Wild Horse Sanctuary in Northern California.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222807.jpg
  • A curious yearling approaches warily and wind-blown, shedding his shaggy winter coat. Although cautious, the horses’ ears are forward showing interest and openness. Horses are very social. Young ones play fight and gallop showing little fear as they test their skills while they navigate the hierarchy among members of a wild horse herd. These horses are descendants of a herd bred for the US Cavalry in the 1800s. Rounded up during WWI and WWII, they were shipped to Europe serving as "War Horses" pulling artillery and serving as mounts.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222880.TIF
  • A Kiger mustang stallion with one ear stands guard protecting the herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_2737068.jpg
  • A curious Kiger mustang band of wild horses noted for their intelligence and stamina.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_2737066.jpg
  • Bureau of Land Management contractors use a helicopter to push wild horses toward a trap during a roundup. Wyoming has "checkerboard" ownership of public land abutting private ownership. Ranchers won a lawsuit to have mustangs removed because they cross unfenced lines while grazing and searching for water.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222908.jpg
  • A former wild horse, adopted and trained, now works the Wyoming range with a sheepherder and his dog. Owners find that mustangs are sure-footed on a trail and spook less than domesticated horses.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222788.jpg
  • Two gray stallions put their heads together to smell a territorial marking. Although it may look friendly, the mustangs are exhibiting behavior typical in a wild horse herd when studs are vying for dominance. At this point, they may fight or walk away to battle another time.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222872.TIF
  • Bachelor mustangs spar and mock battle to practice their fighting moves and build up the courage to challenge a stallion to steal mares for their own bands. A thick blanket of fog made it tough for the dominant stallion to keep a watchful eye to protect his band.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222827.TIF
  • A herd of mustangs move across the grasslands as a summer storm builds over the high plains. It is believed that over two million wild horses roamed the largely unfenced American West in the 1900s.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222811.jpg
  • Portrait of a wild horse in the snow-covered Ochoco National Forest in the Big Summit Wild Horse Territory in Oregon. The origins of the herd are not entirely clear according to the U.SD. Forest Service. Early accounts describe local ranchers in the 1920s turning loose quality animals from a good breeding stock to ensure a future supply of good horses. Recent genetic testing has linked the Ochoco Mustangs to Iberian and Andalusian stock, leaving much to be discovered about their true heritage.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222777.jpg
  • Young studs playfully practice their moves to fight for dominance in the White Sands Herd. A well placed bite may give one an advantage in a battle for mares during breeding season. The instinctual training is to insure preservation of the strongest in the herd. Brutal fights can leave mustangs scarred and injured so the yearlings practice as they mature.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222776.jpg
  • Two stallions battle for dominance in a war dance of wild horses showing typical fighting behavior in a herd. Many mustang studs have missing ears, and their bodies are battle-scarred from bite marks and strikes from front hooves. <br />
The mustangs' primitive markings are consistent with ancient coloration of horses brought to North America by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1600s.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1200520.TIF
  • A trainer rides down a steep embankment trusting his sure-footed mustang. Many adopters of wild horses say they are calm and confident when riding on a trail.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222893.jpg
  • Spectators donning cowboy hats fill a Texas stadium to watch trained wild horses in the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition. Thirty trainers were given unhandled wild horses and thirty days to train them. The competition is organized to show off the skills, talents, and trainability of wild horses. They were auctioned off to the public following the two day event.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222864.jpg
  • A charismatic mustang stallion looks like a white horse on a merry-go-round as he arches his neck and proudly walks through a flowering meadow in the Wild Horse Sanctuary. Phantom was well-known in the wild, and after capture, his fans raised money to find him a safe home with his band.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222796.jpg
  • A patient cowboy trainer works with his mustang to for the Extreme Mustang Makeover competition. The two-year old Nevada horse had never been handled and within thirty days he was trained and ready to show off their abilities.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222840.jpg
  • A Pryor Mountain  mustang lifts his lip to catch a scent in a wild horse range in Montana. The behavior is called a Flehmen response when an animal curls his upper lip in this manner.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222832.jpg
  • A yearling mustang watching the wild herd move down a ridge top to a watering hole.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_2737054.jpg
  • Head lowered and ears laid back in an aggressive posture, a stallion is "herding" or "snaking" or to control his mare and foal. The white mustang is also sending a warning to others. Wild stallions protect their families and this behavior is in reaction to a threat to his band.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222801.jpg
  • A wild mustang stallion chases studs away from his mares. Other horses in the herd graze, rarely stopping to watch.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222882.jpg
  • Kitty gentles and trains wild horses on her ranch in the high desert where the wild mustang trainer rides rides on trails with her children.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222924.jpg
  • A trainer uses a rope as she works with a wild mustang on trusting to be touched. She learned gentling methods from her cowboy grandfather and patiently earns their confidence. She was a champion cowgirl going up and competing in rodeos.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222892.jpg
  • A blue-eyed mustang mare is a descendant of horses bred in the Nevada's Sheldon Range. The horses were used as mounts for cavalry, and in later years, shipped to Europe to serve as war horses during WWI and WWII.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222881.jpg
  • The horse herd grazes in the last hours of light, and a mustang mare locates and nuzzles her foal.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222879.jpg
  • A white-hat tops a cowboy who competes with the wild horse he trained in thirty days for the Extreme Mustang Makeover. For this exercise in the competition, the horse is turned in circles keeping inside the square of orange cones.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222862.jpg
  • A Palomino mustang mare with a blue eye has distinctive, unusual coloration.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222818.jpg
  • A rumble of thunder, crack of lightning, and winds blow dark clouds across the prairie alerting a mustang herd that a summer storm approaches. When the sky opened with torrents of rain, the nervous young wild horses bolted to outrun the storm.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222808.TIF
  • With a burst of speed, a white mustang stallion charges at another wild horse.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222805.jpg
  • A white mustang stallion challenges another stud as the herd adjusts to the new dynamic of status as horses introduced.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222800.jpg
  • Profile of a curious, young, fuzzy mustang foal.<br />
Foals are often born with a pale shade of their adult color. In the wild, the dull colored coat camouflages babies from predators. They typically shed their fuzzy foal coat at three or four months of age, however, and evolve into their adult coloration.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222790.jpg
  • A frisky mustang foal romps in a meadow.<br />
Foals are often born with a pale shade of their adult color. In the wild, the dull colored coat camouflages babies from predators. However, they typically shed their fuzzy foal coat at three or four months of age and evolve into their adult coloration.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222782.jpg
  • A protected wild mustang foal naps in a meadow near his mother. Newborn horses sleep up to twelve hours during the day, but graduate to adults that sleep only three hours -- and often standing.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222774.jpg
  • Phantom, a charismatic white mustang, fights a roan stallion at the Wild Horse Sanctuary. He was captured by the U.S. Forest Service and rescued by loyal fans who raised money to save him. Once released with other horses, he was tested for hierarchy in the herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222773.jpg
  • A wild mustang trudges through snow pawing at drifts foraging for grasses to survive on in the Ochoco Mountains.
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  • Phantom, a charismatic stallion, challenges a rival stud after he was captured then released with a herd in California's Wild Horse Sanctuary. He roamed free on public lands in the Nevada wilderness for 17 years leading his band of mustangs out of the mountains and through the valley to water.
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  • A Palomino mustang mare intently gallops with a blur and ears pointed forward.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222873.jpg
  • A dominant stud shows aggression biting the mustang's neck while attempting to mate in Steen's Mountain.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222779.jpg
  • Evening on the ranch, a young cowboy stands under a full moon with his trained former mustang, Paiute. Decked out with a black hat, a sheriff's badge and red cape, Tanner follows in the footsteps of his mother who trains wild horses and learned the talents of her grandfather.
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  • An animal activist watches a young mustang foal roll in the dirt. They were out for a walk when the young foal stopped and dropped. <br />
Horses roll for pleasure and to clean their coats with sand and soil.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222822.jpg
  • A wild mustang foal nuzzles a wild horse activist.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222789.jpg
  • If you are quiet, they may approach you. A trusting, wild mustang gently nuzzles a wild horse activist.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1200576.jpg
  • A young girl gives big hugs to a beloved, recently adopted mustang.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2737118.jpg
  • Woman horse trainer reaches out slowly to let a wild horse smell her hand attempting to win the mustang's trust.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2737116.jpg
  • A horse trainer faces a wild mustang and speaks softly approaching the wary horse.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2737115.jpg
  • A horse trainer encourages a reluctant young mustang to come into the water.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2737102.jpg
  • A young rider trains her newly adopted wild horse mustang so he can be ridden.
    MELISSA FARLOW_04526_2737129.jpg
  • Palomino Valley houses wild horses captured on public lands that are processed and prepared for adoption. A Bureau of Land Management facility in Nevada, mustangs trucked there are fed hay, vaccinated, given a freeze-mark brand and placed in corrals where they wait to be adopted or moved to another facility making room for more captured horses. There is little to no shelter from the sun in the barren facility.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222860.TIF
  • Wild horse hooves kick up dirt as the herd  gallops through the dry Nevada desert. A camera was set on a remote as panicked mustangs ran into a trap during a Bureau of Land Management roundup.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222852.jpg
  • Separated from the herd, wild horses run to safety as Bureau of Land Management contractors bear down driving mustangs toward a trap using a helicopter for the roundup.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222835.jpg
  • Mustangs gallop in a tight pack as hired contractors herd large numbers of horses into a trap chasing them with helicopters. Nearly panicked, they are tricked to follow a tame “Judas” horse let loose in the confusion. The trained horse runs along the jute fence and into a corral expecting food and the wild horses that follow are captured.<br />
The Jackson Mountain Herd consists of mostly brown and dun colored horses. Most were dehydrated and hungry from drought conditions on Bureau of Land Management public lands in Nevada.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1200573.TIF
  • Prison inmates ride wild horses at the Warm Springs Correctional Center creating a dusty, chaotic scene. They are training the mustangs to handle stress and to follow the riders directions in all situations. The horses are auctioned off to the public at the end of the training program. Wardens explain that the men and horses must learn to trust one another.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222901.TIF
  • U.S. Border patrol officers take a break at the Montana/Canadian border after riding their trained mustangs in the rough backcountry.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222898.jpg
  • Mustangs wade through thick brush carrying U.S. Border patrol officers who make their way through rugged backcountry. The riders find the former wild horses sure-footed and sturdy in the mountainous region.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222897.jpg
  • After ritualistic pawing and sniffing, an aggressive gray stallion goes for the throat of another wild horse in a confrontation to establish dominance. Fur flies as the stallion rears back, caught off guard at the attack. Although many conflicts are short and not so brutal, serious injuries can occur as stallions fight. Many mustang studs have missing ears, and their bodies are battle-scarred from bite marks and strikes from front hooves. <br />
White Sands herd from the missile range in Utah have a rare gaited gene.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222894.TIF
  • Protected wild horses come to a water hole drinking in order of dominance in the herd. Ears perked forward, the curious mustang shows no fear.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222855.TIF
  • A yearling finds a low lying limb on a tree to scratch his back.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222907.jpg
  • A powerful, wild stallion with ears pinned back and a mouthful of grass breaks from grazing to chase a challenging stud in the horse herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222820.jpg
  • Foals are often born with a pale shade of their adult color. In the wild, the dull colored coat camouflages baby horses from predators. They typically shed their fuzzy foal coat, however, and at three or four months of age evolve into their adult coloration.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222787.jpg
  • A mare watches over a newborn foal that is her grandson, scolding him for trying to nurse with her. Although he is minutes old and just standing for the first time, she is teaching him his first life lessons while his mother rests after just giving birth.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222775.TIF
  • A bachelor band of wild horses put their heads together to share a good source of food. Males without mares or family create their own bands with other single males.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222795.jpg
  • A ghostly gray horse stealthily emerges from the darkness of a dark summer night under a full moon.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222784.TIF
  • A former wild horse now works a Wyoming range with a sheepherder. Dot was trained by prison inmates and adopted for the ranch. The first week he arrived, a herder was lost in a blizzard and in danger of freezing. The rider dropped the reins and held onto the horses neck as the sure-footed mustang found his way home.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222884.jpg
  • A young mustang foal romps to play in a meadow running circles around his mother while she grazes with other mares in the horse herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222786.jpg
  • A horse trainer on a wild mustang gallops full tilt across the Nevada desert leaving a cloud of dust. He had thirty days to train a wild horse for a competition in the first Extreme Mustang Makeover established to show off abilities of adopted wild horses.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1200572.TIF
  • An adopted former wild horse now works the Wyoming range with a sheepherder and dogs.<br />
Dot, white mustang, was trained by prison inmates and then bought by rancher owners at a public auction. The docile horse earned his keep one week later when he saved the life of a shepherd who was lost in a blinding snow storm. The rider dropped the reins trusting the horse to find his way back home in spite of the blizzard.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222886.jpg
  • Contractors wrestle with a foal attempting to load the colt into the back of a trailer after the herd was captured during a Bureau of Land Management roundup of wild horses in Wyoming.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222837.jpg
  • Tension mounts as two battle-scarred wild stallions face off. In a wild horse herd, the dominant stallion is challenged by other studs in a brutal quest for hierarchy. Eye to eye, the horses stare and smell each other which is the beginning of the fight ritual. Many mustang studs have missing ears, and their bodies are battle-scarred from bite marks and strikes from front hooves.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222817.jpg
  • Horses flee from helicopters in a Bureau of Land Management mustang roundup. Bands stay together to protect the younger wild horses as the herd gallops full speed trying to run to safety.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222846.jpg
  • Dot, a former wild horse, patiently waits under a guard dog's watchful eye as a sheepherder checks on the animals in his care.<br />
After the mustang was trained by prison inmates, the horse was sold at auction. He earned respect the first week on the ranch in the Wyoming range when he found his way back to the corral in a blizzard saving the life of his mount.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1201771.jpg
  • Wild horses exhibit a "fight or flight" instinct typical of prey animals. As a noise startles the band, the horse on the right flees, the middle one quickly turns to follow while the mustang on the left looks back to see the threat and why the alarm was sounded for them to run to safety.<br />
<br />
South Steens wild horse herd located south of Frenchglen in the high desert country with extremely rocky surfaces divided by deep canyons, rim rocks and plateaus.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1200575.TIF
  • A U.S. Border patrol officer leads his trained former mustang from the barn to ride in the rough backcountry. The horses are high spirited, but sure-footed on a rugged trail in Montana and generally don't spook as much as a domestic horse.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222833.jpg
  • A cowboy competes with his newly-trained wild horse in the Extreme Mustang Makeover. Thirty trainers were given unhandled young Bureau of Land Management horses and thirty days to prepare. Judges scored them on how well the horses performed certain tasks and an open program to show off more talents. Horses were auctioned off to the public following the event which featured mustangs strengths and trainability.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222895.jpg
  • Stallions enter a trap during a wild mustang roundup. Airborne wranglers working in helicopters with the Bureau of Land Management corral a thirsty herd of mustangs in Eureka, Nevada. Wild horses compete with wildlife and livestock for water and forage. <br />
An estimated 85,000 wild horses roam western lands, many are descendants of Spanish horses brought to the New World in the 1500's. In the 1800's the Spanish stock began to mix with European horses favored by the settlers, trappers and miners that had escaped or were turned out by their owners. Adoption programs and horse sanctuaries are attempts to provide homes for the once wild horses.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_680963-5.JPG
  • Stallions enter a trap during a wild mustang roundup. Airborne wranglers working in helicopters with the Bureau of Land Management corral a thirsty herd of mustangs in Eureka, Nevada. Wild horses compete with wildlife and livestock for water and forage. <br />
An estimated 85,000 wild horses roam western lands, many are descendants of Spanish horses brought to the New World in the 1500's. In the 1800's the Spanish stock began to mix with European horses favored by the settlers, trappers and miners that had escaped or were turned out by their owners. Adoption programs and horse sanctuaries are attempts to provide homes for the once wild horses.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_680963-2.JPG
  • Stallions enter a trap during a wild mustang roundup. Airborne wranglers working in helicopters with the Bureau of Land Management corral a thirsty herd of mustangs in Eureka, Nevada. Wild horses compete with wildlife and livestock for water and forage. <br />
An estimated 85,000 wild horses roam western lands, many are descendants of Spanish horses brought to the New World in the 1500's. In the 1800's the Spanish stock began to mix with European horses favored by the settlers, trappers and miners that had escaped or were turned out by their owners. Adoption programs and horse sanctuaries are attempts to provide homes for the once wild horses.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_680963-1.JPG
  • A stallion puts on his brakes and comes to a sudden stop before entering the trap during a wild mustang roundup. Airborne wranglers working in helicopters with the Bureau of Land Management corral a thirsty herd of mustangs in Eureka, Nevada. Wild horses compete with wildlife and livestock for water and forage. <br />
An estimated 85,000 wild horses roam western lands, many are descendants of Spanish horses brought to the New World in the 1500's. In the 1800's the Spanish stock began to mix with European horses favored by the settlers, trappers and miners that had escaped or were turned out by their owners. Adoption programs and horse sanctuaries are attempts to provide homes for the once wild horses.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_680963.jpg
  • Cattle share land grazing with wild horses throughout the West.
    MELISSA FARLOW_RF4115_2737065.jpg
  • Curious foals are drawn to a water hole making a reflective, pastoral scene as the herd grazes in early spring in South Dakota.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222877.TIF
  • Young studs playfully mock battle to earn confidence to battle a stallion. They practice their moves by chasing, biting, kicking and fighting.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222876.jpg
  • A blue-eyed Palomino mare approaches for a closer look. The U.S. government released Thoroughbred horses at Nevada’s Sheldon range to mix with the Standardbred bloodlines making a bigger, faster “war horse.” During World War I and II, horses were rounded up from Sheldon, loaded onto railroad cars and taken to the East Coast where they were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. Horses that survived the journey had a bit placed in their mouths and began to pull artillery or serve as a cavalry mount. A shipment of 500 horses left every day and a half to supply American and Allied troops.  Nearly eight million horses died in World War I alone. <br />
Remnants of the “war horse” herds roamed free until they were totally removed from the Sheldon National Wildlife Range.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222829.jpg
  • A bachelor band of wild horses stick together to face into the wind picking up scents. Older studs join younger ones forming a family when none have mares or are accepted into another group.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222828.jpg
  • A young foal rests in a bed of chamomile flowers creating an idyllic scene as he watches the herd graze. Newborn horses sleep up to twelve hours during the day, but graduate to adults that sleep only three hours -- and often standing.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222802.jpg
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