WILD HORSES OF THE WEST by Jan Drake is a gorgeous, enchanting coffee-table book filled with breathtaking photographs. I learned so much about the amazing lives of these beautiful wild horses, mainly of the Utah desert, both through close examination of Drake’s luscious, detailed photographs, and by her text. Wild mustangs – mustang is like the word mutt, which I hadn’t known, basically meaning non-thoroughbred – travel in herds but can branch out into smaller bands, and sometimes, when they are older travel alone or with an older mustang. Drake focuses in on some of the regulars she photographs – like Old Man, a beautiful white stallion who kind of looks like an elderly man who’s seen it all, Black-and-White pinto, the Cremello Brothers, and the colorful herd of Cedar Mountain horses. She details various aspects of their lives – finding food, drinking at the waterhole, playing, rolling in mud, birthing, mock fighting, actual fighting, and traveling. Because there are too many wild mustangs for the land to maintain, the Bureau of Land Management works with nonprofits to administer birth control to the horses to keep their populations down. There are also several nonprofits that help “gentle” the mustangs (as opposed to “breaking” them) to become human companions – to be adopted by a family, or to become therapy animals. Drake discusses the work of her organization, the National Ability Center, which trains the mustangs to work with physically and cognitively disabled people, such as people on the autism spectrum. The horses “have a sixth sense” she says and know which kids need to be taken care of. The kids in turn gain confidence and develop new skills.
The photos are truly breathtaking, and the text is so educational. You gain so much respect for these wondrous creatures. This book makes the perfect gift for a horse-lover.
Would like to have this book.