National Geographic: The Noble Horse Page #2

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that would prompt the

announcement of a new species.

In a race for specimens,

stallions were slaughtered

to subdue mares.

Mares were killed to

secure foals.

Dozens died en route to zoos

and animal collectors

in the West.

Przewalski's horses

were last sighted in the wild

in the 1960s.

A decade later,

fewer than 300 survived

in captivity only.

This endangered species was

declared extinct in the wild.

In 1992,

European reserves

touched down in Ulan Bator.

Their journey was

the crowning achievement

of Dutch conservationists

and Mongolian authorities.

Transports were blessed with

mare's milk

as the horses arrived at

a nature reserve

established in their honor.

The homecoming

delighted local people.

Their name for the horses

is takhi.

The word also means spirit.

Today,

some 80 free spirits roam

under watchful eyes.

Park rangers closely track

the animals' health

and behavior.

Breeding success is high:

two generations have been born

in the reserve.

To increase the gene pool,

horses are still brought in

from the west.

But prospects for

self-sustaining population

are promising.

Mongolia's preservation

of the takhi

seems a fitting tribute

to an animal who has given us

so much.

Domesticated, the horse

revolutionized our world

but in the process,

he was also transformed.

The legendary Arab is just one

of more than 150 breeds

some honed for work,

some for sport,

others for sheer show.

The Spanish horse

boasts one of

the oldest pedigrees.

His speed and stamina were

praised by the Romans.

The famous Spanish Riding

School in Vienna

was founded in his name.

A dancer's grace made him

a favorite of monarchs,

and earned him the title:

"Royal Horse of Europe."

Today, he inspires

a new generation

at the Royal Andulusian School

of Equestrian Art

in the town of Jerez,

in southern Spain.

Few gain admission here:

only first-rate horses,

trainers and students.

A strict curriculum has produced

several Olympic competitors.

The school also keeps

tradition alive.

Once a week,

the public is invited in,

to enjoy the splendors

of another age.

In 18th century costume,

riders recreate the height of

classical horsemanship,

as it was practiced throughout

the courts of Europe.

Most spectacular

are the

"airs above the ground."

Horses naturally leap and kick

when fighting.

Centuries ago,

cavalry mounts were trained to

perform these moves in battle.

Eventually

each gesture became an end

in itself

as formal as ballet.

A supreme effort,

virtually in place

Few can perform

this exacting dance

with the power and precision

of the Spanish horse.

The purity of the breed is

proudly protected in Spain,

yet his bloodlines extend

far and wide

for this

was the horse

who once conquered a new world.

Some 500 years ago,

Spanish explorers rode upon

the shores of the Americas.

Some native people

mistook man and mount

for a single fearsome creature

But soon,

they would make the horse

their own.

Through stealth and trade,

Native Americans embraced

the horse.

It was said

"they came to each other

like long lost brothers."

Some called him "Sky Dog."

He opened vast horizons

in this life,

and haunted their visions

of the afterlife.

But this cult of the horse

would not last.

By the 19th century,

Native Americans

had been robbed of land

and livelihood.

Their beloved Sky Dogs

were shot,

or simply set loose.

Scores of Indian ponies

joined strays and runaways

already thriving

in the wilderness.

By 1900,

over a million horses

roamed the American West.

But not for long.

To make way for cattle

and sheep,

public lands were cleared

of animals

considered worthless pests.

They were slaughtered

by the thousands

for pet food, fertilizer,

and mere sport.

In the 1950s,

public outcry denounced

the abuses.

Still,

numbers had dropped

below 20,000 by 1971,

when a federal law was finally

passed to protect the wild horse

as a "living symbol of the

pioneer spirit of the West."

Today,

the Bureau of Land Management

oversees some 45,000 horses

on public lands in 10 states.

On the Montana-Wyoming border,

the Pryor Mountain Wild

Horse Range

is home to a herd of about 160

Most live in small family

groups of several mares,

their foals

and a single dominant stallion

His role

is to guard his "harem"

and protect

his growing offspring.

This stallion, known as Raven,

is one of the most dominant

on the range.

A heap of fresh droppings

called a "stud pile"

alerts him that potential

rivals may be in the vicinity.

A band of

young bachelor stallions

prompts Raven to move his

family to a safe distance.

Then he advances

on the intruders

and confrontation

becomes inevitable.

Raven may be outnumbered,

but at ten years old,

his maturity and experience

give him the advantage.

As he enters the fray,

his band stays put on

the sidelines.

Most clashes between stallions

are more about asserting rank

than inflicting harm,

and serious injuries are rare.

In the end,

the bachelors move on

unscathed but chastened,

and Raven returns to his mares

Occasionally,

even mature stallions

form alliances.

A stud named Starman

acts as a subordinate

or "lieutenant stallion"

to Flash,

who has a mare and foal

of his own.

Flash tolerates

Starman's presence,

but allows him no access to

his lone mare.

In summer,

a waterhole fed by

melting snow banks

attracts this small band.

The mare enjoys

a soothing mud bath,

while her three-month old foal

plays with the idea.

But for now,

the water holds no appeal for

Flash's lieutenant stallion.

Starman

picks up the scent of

another mare,

and sets off in hot pursuit.

The mare's yearling son tries

to intercept Starman,

but fails to impress

such a mature stallion.

This mare's own stallion

must be just out of sight

a boon for Starman.

Still,

she rejects his advances.

In the end,

she gets away,

and Starman can only observe

the tactics of

more successful suitor.

At times,

the Pryor Mountains seem

heaven-on-earth for horses.

Though much of the terrain

is arid

and winters are harsh,

summer pastures can be glorious

The horses have few predators

to fear:

most were eliminated by

ranching and land development.

With high fertility rates,

the horses' numbers can increase by 10,

even 20 percent a year.

And that means trouble

in paradise.

In the last three decades,

the Bureau of Land Management

has removed more than 100,000

wild horses from the range.

The round ups are intended to

protect public lands

from overgrazing

and ensure the health of

the herds.

Excess animals are placed

in adoption programs,

but supply far exceeds

public demand.

Horses deemed "unadoptable"

live out their days

in holding pens.

Even now,

the fate of America's

wild horses

remains an open-ended question

Some 4,000 years

of domestication

have failed to deprive the

horse of his wild instincts.

His natural impulse

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