Randy Olson, Melissa Farlow Photography

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  • Wild horses wade in a waterhole to drink and cool off on a summer evening in the Wild Horse Sanctuary.
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  • Two albino stallions walk through flowering shrubs and grasses at the Wild Horse Sanctuary. Until captured and removed, they were part of the cultural landscape of the Channel Islands since the mid 19th century. They are first recorded as having been introduced to Santa Cruz Island in 1830.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Dune landscape in the wildlife sanctuary, Resrva Nactional de Paracas, Peru.  Sand dunes line the most important wildlife sanctuary on the Peruvian coast that is known for it's clear blue waters, birds and marine life.
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  • Horses graze on green hills at Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary.
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  • Horses graze on steep slopes at a non-profit Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary.
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  • Tourists walk on an outcrop in a wildlife sanctuary, Reserva Nacional de Paracas, Peru. Dunes line the most important wildlife sanctuary, Reserva Nacional de Paracas, on the Peruvian coast known for it's eroded, sculpted rocks and arches and birds and marine life.
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  • Young volunteers at Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary love the animals.
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  • Chilean flamingos dance across the water as the feed in Reserva Nacional de Paracas, a wildlife sanctuary along the Peruvian coast. The bird is inspiration for the red outer panels of the Peruvian flag.
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  • 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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  • 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.
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  • Two young studs playfully spar as they gain confidence and moves that will help them challenge older stallions for hierarchy in the herd. They bite and kick, running in circles and kicking up dust around the other horses.
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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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  • Golden light of early morning illuminates fog lifting around horses in a pasture at Wild Horse Sanctuary in Northern California.
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  • A wild horse takes a dust bath by rolling  in the dirt.  It may be a sign he is happy or it may be to self-clean his coat by eliminating extra oils and to discourage insects.<br />
The more dominant horses will have a favourite rolling spot and will be the last to roll in it. This means that their scent is the strongest and therefore their rank is higher within the herd.
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  • Melissa Farlow, photographer on assignment for National Geographic, sets a camera trap at a water hole so a laser beam will trip the shutter to photograph wild horses.
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  • With a burst of speed, a white mustang stallion charges at another wild horse.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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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.
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  • Wild horses stand opposite ways to flick flies off each others faces with their tails.
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  • Melissa Farlow, photographer on assignment for National Geographic, holds a cracked housing for remote cameras used to photograph wild horses stampeding.
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  • Wild horses follow the leader to a water hole to drink in order of hierarchy in the herd.
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  • Two curious burros watch mustangs drink at a waterhole they share. Burro is the Spanish name for a wild donkey. They have longer ears than horses and engaging personalities liking humans. <br />
The Bureau of Land Management created the Wild Horse and Burro Program to implement the Wild-Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, passed by Congress in 1971. Broadly, the law declares wild horses and burros to be "living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West" and stipulates that the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service have the responsibility to manage and protect herds in their respective jurisdictions within areas where wild horses and burros were found roaming in 1971.
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  • A white mustang stallion challenges another stud as the herd adjusts to the new dynamic of status as horses introduced.
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  • Two foals watch studs fight, learning the behavior they will imitate when they are older. Young wild horses make friends and bond within a horse herd.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • A ghostly gray horse stealthily emerges from the darkness of a dark summer night under a full moon.
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  • A dominant stud shows aggression biting the mustang's neck while attempting to mate in Steen's Mountain.
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  • The horse herd grazes in the last hours of light, and a mustang mare locates and nuzzles her foal.
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  • Two yearling mock battle to earn confidence to battle a stallion. As they mature, stallions fight for dominance in a herd.
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  • Two wild stallions eye each other and begin a ritual to establish dominance. They paw the ground establishing their turf and next they will either walk away or fight. Horses are prey animals with a strong "fight-or-flight" response where they flee for safety but they defend themselves or stand their ground when their hierarchy is challenged.
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  • A young stud lifts his lip catching a whiff of a mare in heat. The Flehmen response is a biological reaction to smell where an animal curls back the upper lip and senses pheromones.
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  • Lightning bolt strikes and a rainbow appears as sun sets during summer storm season. The gate is closed tightly at the end of a long work day.
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  • Stallions kick up their heels as they spar in a battle for mares during the foaling season.
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  • 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.
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  • If you are quiet, they may approach you. A trusting, wild mustang gently nuzzles a wild horse activist.
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  • A yearling finds a low lying limb on a tree to scratch his back.
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  • Skeleton of a wild horse likely killed by a cougar in the high desert has teeth intact in the skull. The horse's natural enemies are predator animals: mountain lions, wolves and humans.
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  • 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.
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  • A wild mustang stallion chases studs away from his mares. Other horses in the herd graze, rarely stopping to watch.
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  • Ears pointed forward, a wild Palomino canters blurring at a fast pace through grasslands and prairie. Palominos are recognized by the color of horse distinguished by their cream, yellow, or gold coat and white or silver mane and tail. The Palomino horse is said to have originated in Spain around 1519, at the beginning of the Spanish New World and Cortez's reign. Although the exact development of these horses is unknown, their origin is rooted in Spain. Ears tipped forward indicate excitement or interest.
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  • 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.
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  • As night falls, a blur of galloping horses reveals a stud that is chasing a younger male from the band. When males come of age showing sexual maturity, they are driven from the family to find a mate. It is believed this is their natural way of warding off inbreeding. The younger horse must find other males to form a bachelor band or win a mare for his own.
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  • A sleek stud challenges a paint stallion as they clashed near a water hole in Oregon's high desert. Wild horses drink in order of hierarchy that is determined by their dominance. Their hooves thud when pounding each other in a fight within the herd.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7517_1222867.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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • A wild horse is seriously wounded from running into a barbed wire fence. The western landscape is full of old fences that once divided ranches and they are hazards for unsuspecting wildlife.
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  • 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.
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  • Stallions battle for mares during the foaling season which is generally in the spring, There are constant conflicts that interrupt the wild horse's grazing habits.
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  • A wary foal stands with his mother near other mares in the herd as they graze together.<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.
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  • 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.
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  • Scars and open wounds prove the fights are fierce. When wild stallions battle for mares and status in the hierarchy of a herd, the injuries can be brutal.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Two young foals explore a scratching post tree after watching other horses in the herd pass under it  creating a well-worn path.
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  • An older red stallion scarred from bites and fights intently watches a challenging stud. Battles for dominance in a wild horse herd can be brutal.
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  • A full skeleton of a wild horse is played out in the high desert and was likely killed by a cougar. There are few predators besides mountain lions and man on herds in Steens Mountain.
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  • A pair of protected wild horse foals wander through tall grasses. The black and white orphan babies were rescued and later adopted after their herds were captured by the Bureau of Land Management.
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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.
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  • A wild horse enthusiast is greeted by a band of mustangs that recognize her truck.
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  • 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.
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  • Strong winds blow rain from a storm cloud that violently erupts with loud claps of thunder that sends a band of horses running for safety. The young foal runs behind, following her mother and another mare.<br />
The wild horse herd nervously watched as a storm approached in central South Dakota. When lightning and thunder began, they galloped to a far away fence where they could go no further. The "fight or flight" instinct of behavior is powerful and horses often panic and flee when they sense danger.
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  • Portrait of a young, gentle-natured wild yearling scratching his neck on a tree limb. Ears pointed forward indicate the curious young horse shows little fear when approached in a slow, calm manner.
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  • A wild mustang foal nuzzles a wild horse activist.
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  • 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 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Curious foals are drawn to a water hole making a reflective, pastoral scene as the herd grazes in early spring in South Dakota.
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  • A Palomino mustang mare intently gallops with a blur and ears pointed forward.
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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.
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  • A mare and foal crest a hill under darkening gray skies of a looming storm in South Dakota.  The silhouetted pair are part of the Gila herd of wild horses with Spanish origin that came to North America with the Conquistadors in the 1600s.
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  • 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.
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  • A Palomino mustang mare with a blue eye has distinctive, unusual coloration.
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  • 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.
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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.
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  • 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.
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  • A wild horse's mane flies forward as the stallion stands after rolling to take a dirt bath on a foggy morning. The more dominant horses will have a favourite rolling spot and will be the last to roll in it. This means that their scent is the strongest and therefore their rank is higher within the herd.
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  • Born in the cover of a dark night, a foal slowly takes his first steps to walk beside his mother at dawn. Young foals are stand and walk within minutes of birth. Instincts drive the mares to move their newborns to safety. The mare has a freeze brand on her neck indicating she was once a wild horse captured by the Bureau of Land Management.
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  • 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.
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  • Young studs playfully mock battle to earn confidence to battle a stallion. They practice their moves by chasing, biting, kicking and fighting.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Detail of the main on a colorful wild horse rescued from the Sheldon Wildlife Refuge.
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  • 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.
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  • An alert, young foal with interesting markings and roan colors is part of a herd of approximately 120 wild horses in the Pryor Mountains. <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.<br />
The herd range is in the high meadows down through rugged juniper-covered foothills to colorful desert-like badlands that border the green fields of Crooked Creek Valley. Bureau of Land Management's Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range in Wyoming.
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  • A wild horse struggles to find food in the snow packed Ochoco mountains. They are adept at pawing at ground under trees where drifts are not as deep.
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  • A wild mustang trudges through snow pawing at drifts foraging for grasses to survive on in the Ochoco Mountains.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • A northern gannet lands at a migratory seabird sanctuary.
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