Introducing Freedom for Wild Horses with Carol J. Walker!
March 6, 2023
Ep #2: Wild Horses at Risk of Extinction
March 6, 2023
Our first meeting was all of a sudden. A grey horse with a charcoal mane lunged to his feet and began running toward me, and I realized that this must be the stallion. As he got closer and closer to me, I wondered if he was going to stop, and then I also wondered; what was I going to do if he didn’t? As the stallion approached, more horses behind him unfolded their bodies and rose up from the sagebrush and I was greeted with the most incredible sight of this beautiful wild family.
Welcome to the Freedom for Wild Horses podcast, the place to find out about wild horses in the American West, and what you can do to help them stay wild and free. These horses are magnificent. They are healthy, they are happy, and they are free, but they are in danger. If you love wildlife, wild horses, and the freedom that they stand for, this show is for you.
In the first episode of the podcast, 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, 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.
To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away a 12”x18” metal print of Blue Zeus called Into the Blue, and two signed copies of my book, Blue Zeus: Legend of the Red Desert, to three lucky listeners who follow, rate, and review the show. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter, I’ll be announcing the winners in a future episode.
What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
- How I was introduced to wild horses and their plight.
- What happens during a roundup, why they happen, and the worst part about them.
- Why wild horses matter to us and why we should fight to protect them.
- How wild horses are in danger despite living on America’s public land and what can we do about it.
- Who owns these wild horses.
- How the Bureau of Land Management and the Ag lobby respond to the situation of these wild horses.
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
- To celebrate the launch of this show, I’m giving away a 12”x18” metal print of Blue Zeus called Into the Blue, and two signed copies of my book, Blue Zeus: Legend of the Red Desert, to three lucky listeners who follow, rate, and review the show. Click here to learn more about the contest and how to enter, I’ll be announcing the winners in a future episode.
- Living Images by Carol Walker
- Wild Hoofbeats: America’s Vanishing Wild Horses by Carol Walker
Enjoy the Show?
- Don’t miss an episode, follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or RSS.
- Leave us a review in Apple Podcasts.
11 Comments
I am really looking forward to this!
Carol, I just finished Episode of your podcast. Can’t wait for Episode 2! Your voice is perfect for helping us see your experience in our mind’s eye. Oh, to be able to go out there with you! Are you planning on bringing on guests to interview? That seems to be popular with podcasts. Suggestions if you do: Those who have competed in Extreme Mustang competitions to show that at least some of these horses eventually live beautiful lives. We have a Youth Extreme Mustang competition near me. Kids up to 18 are given yearling mustangs to gentle. It is so amazing with these kids can do in 100 days. And, dare I say it? Maybe interview the opposition? Thank you for this podcast.
Thank you for doing this. I’ve been following your story for many years. You have brought such awareness, in such a beautiful way to the plight of these horses.
I felt like I was their standing be side you.
You story is so beautiful a sad
The emotion is overwhelming with the fear and pain the separation of the bands .
The cruelty
The hurt
The loss
You took me into the moment so real so raw so true
Thankyou Carol .
Long live the American mustang wildnfree let them be.
Hi Carol…I was very active in attempting to divert the BLM from rounding up the wild horses. It was during the time of Cloud. I am in tears after hearing your Podcast, which, by the way, is wonderful. It brings me such great sadness. You and I both are aware as to why the ranchers play into this and how the politicians are at their beck and call. That has not changed. It won’ t change. Unman beings are evil and there is no forgiving the BLM, the ranchers, etc.
Yes, it brings tears to my eyes listening to this story. I have been following our wild horses mostly through AWHC and Wild Horse Education . It is so great that you bring this home to CO, since we are right next to WY. And sadly the horses of the Sand Wash Basin, Colorado’s own, got rounded up this year. Why???? This is their land! So many people upset and so many people stepped up and through the hoops of the BLM to adopt these horses. What the BLM does, in my mind, is akin to killing children., removing something that is pure and makes no threat. I ‘m so glad that you have made it your mission to bring the wrong doing into the light. So many of us keep trying to get things changed as in no more roundups and no more catering to BLM and cattle ranchers. The fight goes on….. ps you did great on the podcast!
comment above
The Bureau Of Land Management-
What’s wrong with you? YOU are here to protect and serve –
YOU are NOT here to remove a wild animal from this earth – an animal that will be extinct if you keep doing this round-up-BS-
YOU are the government which PROTECTS animals that are in danger of extinction-
NO Wild Horses Belong to us, they BELONG to the wild lands and the lands belong to them, like so many generations of families and bands before them-
The Bureau Of Land Management
Really-What Is Wrong With You?
Don’t let the Wild Lands of the American West be commercialized for Big companies that want to drill, destroy, log-EMPTY the beauty of our wild lands that must be preserved for the dynamic lives of Wild Horses and the humans that appreciate the freedom of the lands and the free roaming wild horses-
Wake up America! Thank you Carol for standing up for the wild ones. I am in Idaho and had a similar experience to yours when I first met the wild horses. I share the love of photography and painting, and find myself spending hours on the range. Idaho is a ranchers paradise and I see it every time I am out there. I am here for the fight!
Thank you for putting together these educational podcasts! Although difficult to listen to at times, they relay the beauty of wild horse families and the importance of keeping them safe and protected on Federal Lands. We need to keeping fighting for them to stay on our public lands safe and free.
This show was wonderful. It truly made me feel like I was there, from your first experience viewing the wild horses, their acceptance of your presence amongst them, and the devastating sense of loss you must have felt as you witnessed your first roundup. I began fighting for the wild horses and burros in 2009 during the Pryor Mountain roundup of Cloud and have been fighting these senseless roundups ever since. I hope these podcasts bring others to support this worthy cause. They are OUR wild horses on OUR public lands and we must never give up until these living symbols of freedom are free and safe as the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act intended. Thank you for all you do for these majestic beings.