Wild horses can at times seem like mysterious animals. They often give off an aura of being akin to mythical creatures that feel as if they have just emerged from legend,
ready to bring on their backs legendary figures from the distant past back to our own time.
Yet this romanticized view of wild horses doesn’t answer some of the basic questions that many people have about them.
Wild horses often don’t have the same kind of ready information available that normal horses do and so we are often left to ponder vital questions about them such as how do they find food? How do wild horses trim their hooves?
All of these are important questions which are why this article will set out the answer for you so that you will feel as if you know more about these curious animals than you previously did.
What Counts As A Wild Horse?
Let’s start with a fairly simple question first – what do we count as a wild horse?
You might think it would be difficult to determine what exactly counts as a wild horse, but it is easier than you might think. A wild horse is classified as a horse that is feral and not owned by anyone or any group of people.
A wild horse doesn’t have to come from generations of wild horses but in fact, can simply have been born wild because its mother was abandoned or the horse itself was abandoned at a young age.
Now that we’ve explained exactly what is meant by a wild horse, let’s move on to discussing how wild horses trim their hooves.
How Do Wild Horses Trim Their Hooves?
You might be wondering that given that no human interacts that much with wild horses, how on earth are they able to keep their hooves trim?
The simple fact is that they can keep their hooves trim because they are wild. You see, whilst domestic horses need their hooves to be maintained in pristine condition because for long periods they generally don’t move much.
However, their wild cousins move quite a lot. It is due to the friction that is caused by their continual movement.
You see wild horses simply move much further than domestic horses and this is how they keep their hooves from ever-growing too long and from ensuring that it ends up hurting them.
This is exactly how nature intended it and indeed, horses having their hooves looked after by humans is very unnatural indeed.
Now that we’ve explained exactly how wild horses trim their hooves, let’s move on to another important issue – can you actually buy or even own a wild horse?
Can You Own A Wild Horse?
The question of horse ownership shouldn’t be seen as a complex matter. Indeed, in most cases buying and selling a horse is fairly simple and is a process that isn’t overly complicated even for a beginner.
However, this isn’t the case with wild horses because of the very fact that they are wild. So, you might be wondering – is it possible to therefore own a wild horse?
In the United States, wild horses are considered to not be for sale so you cannot buy one. Nor can you capture one as per the Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
This act gives the Bureau of Land Management power to ensure that wild horses are protected from being captured, branded, or killed because of their historic significance to the USA.
However, it is possible to adopt a wild horse but only if you are an experienced horse trainer. This is made possible by the Bureau of Land Management’s adoption program.
Due to wild horses potentially causing problems for farmers and other homeowners, every year a few hundred selected wild horses are taken out of circulation by the Bureau to be adopted.
If you wish to adopt a wild horse, you need to fit certain criteria. To begin with, you need to be at least eighteen years of age. You also need to own an area to keep the horse that is at least four hundred square feet wide and six feet high.
You also need to be able to prove that you have no convictions for inhumane treatment of animals and that you have a plan to keep your horse in the USA for at least a year to ensure that it is titled.
You can easily find out more about the adoption process by visiting your local Bureau of Land Management offices and enquiring about the process.
If you fit all the right criteria, then you should be able to adopt a wild horse in no time though, of course,
it is crucially important that you are fully aware of the sheer scale of your responsibility; you must make sure that the horse is well looked after or else you could face serious consequences.
Summary
Wild horses are an important part of American culture. They represent a time when the United States was much freer when it was a land that anyone could roam and set their hat down and lie underneath the stars.
They are a crucial part of our historic land and as much as possible must be done to protect them to ensure that they are there for future generations.
This is why it is so important that we all know about wild horses.
By owning a wild horse or by ensuring that we all know more about them we can make sure that they survive for another generation at least and make sure that this proud part of America’s history is there for a long, long time to come.
We don’t want to be the last generation to enjoy seeing wild horses which is why we must make sure that we all know as much as possible about them and do all we can to protect them.
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