Mustang

Dr. Yvette Running Horse Collin is a Lakota scientist who studies the history of Native Americans and horses. Through her research, she is challenging the dominant narrative that horses went extinct on this continent in the last ice age and did not reappear until European explorers came to the New World. Ashley joins Dr. Running Horse Collin on her ancestral lands in the Black Hills of South Dakota during the time of the Sundance Ceremony. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Boo and Ashley nap in the sun and reflect on trust and love and adventures to come.

Stefanie Skidmore runs Wild Horse Outreach and Advocacy, a nonprofit where she trains and rehomes troubled mustangs. She believes even the toughest mustangs can have productive, good lives in captivity, but we have to approach them with the same patience and empathy we strive to show our fellow humans. Stefanie is on the autism spectrum and says her unique brain gives her a special connection with wild horses who are learning to navigate the world of humans. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ashley has her own training struggles with Boo when he bites her and drags her during a session.

Native American Nations across the West have long revered the horse as a cultural symbol as well as a weapon of resistance to conquest by European settlers. Today, thousands of wild horses live on Reservations and are managed by Tribal Nations. Ashley travels to the Spokane Reservation in Washington to meet a woman who is finding a new path for the horses rounded up there. The Spokane have long been a horse people, and today the tribe is managing wild horses on their reservation in ways that keep horses in balance with other animals, plants and medicines the tribe values. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Boo experiences his first trip in a horse trailer.

The Bureau of Land Management estimates that western ecosystems can support about 30,000 wild horses. The problem? There’s almost triple that. And that number rises by 10-20% every year. Too many wild horses – just like too many cows – is bad for the fragile, arid rangelands of the West. The horses can overgraze the native grasses and destroy creeks and riparian areas that provide critical habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse and other creatures. To find out what this looks like on the ground, Ashley heads to Nevada, the state with the most wild horses in the U.S., and gets out in the sagebrush with biologists there. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ashley spends some time getting to know her skinny, scared mustang and wonders what the hell she’s gotten herself into.

For $125 the federal government will sell you a wild horse. When I met my mustang he was skinny and he was scared. The government says western ecosystems can support about 30,000 wild horses. Problem is: there's almost triple that out there – and that number rises every year. I’m Ashley Ahearn and I hope you’ll check out Mustang – a new podcast that explores the complicated world of wild horses.