The Wild Mustang

In Montana near the Wyoming state line, lives one of the most genetically pure herds of Spanish colonial wild horses in the USA.

The Bureau of Land Management, which operates the 38,000 acre Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, decided in their wisdom to round up the entire 190 strong herd, corral them and then remove 70 horses.

Wild horse advocacy groups are opposed to the operation, saying it is unnecessary as the animals are well fed, healthy and are not in need of thinning out. In fact they have plenty of expert opinion to back their protest, saying the move will actually harm the herd.

All wildlife, left to its own natural way of things, will usually control its own population given a certain amount of habitat and food supply.

However, in this case we have a government agency, the Bureau of Land Management and by golly they are going to manage these horses, whether they need it or not.

This is the problem with government agencies; they have to constantly justify their own existence. If the wild horses are doing just fine on their own, someone might suggest we thin out the herd of unnecessary bureaucrats.

Actually, that wouldn’t be a bad idea; save the tax payer some money. These horses are to be rounded up with helicopters and on the ground horse wranglers. I wonder how many thousands of dollars this operation is going to cost.

The reason this story touched me is because when I lived in Southern California in 1990, there were wild mustangs living in the California desert.

Many of these horses were descendants of animals brought there during the migration of people in the 1800s and then abandoned when the automobile came along.

There was a similar move then to thin out the herd, only this time the horses were shot with high power rifles. The carcasses were lifted by helicopter, loaded onto trucks, and the meat and skins were sold down in Mexico.

I had a friend who owned a recording studio, and he was approached by someone who was making a documentary movie on the killing of these wild mustangs. He wanted a song written for the movie soundtrack.

My friend asked me to assist another songwriter to produce this song. I wrote the lyrics, and for whatever reason the movie never got made. However, a good song came out of it. Here it is, called simply

The Wild Mustang

Hoof beats sound like thunder,
Like the broad sky he’s under,
His beauty is a wonder of creation.
In the land of the free
He’s a page in history,
His forebears helped us build this great nation.

Heroes on his saddle,
Charged bravely into battle,
While Old Glory waved on high he was there.
The marshal or the outlaw
His master was whoever called,
Who needs him now, does anybody care.

He’s a Wild Mustang running free,
Hear his silent cry for help, just let him be
He should live and let my children see,
A Wild Mustang running free.

Westward with the wagon train
‘Cross mountains and the open plains
His strong back helped to make this country great.
When they were through, abandoned him,
Now kill him for his flesh and skin
One so brave, deserves a better fate.

Head held high, tall and proud
A shot rings out, clear and loud,
A bullet tears deep into his side.
There’s no one there to shed a tear,
Because there’s no one there to hear,
His cry for help as he lies down to die.

He’s a Wild Mustang running free,
Hear his silent cry for help, just let him be
He should live and let my children see,
A Wild Mustang running free.

The Black Racer

There are over forty species of snakes in South Carolina where I now live, and I look out for them as I ride on a local bike path. Most are harmless, only six are venomous and not much danger while riding a bike, but I try to avoid running over them. However, yesterday I did just that.

It was a Black Racer Snake; very common in my area, I see a lot of these, often swimming in the water next to the bike path. Known as a racer snake because it moves extremely fast on land, and that is how I came to run over this one.

The path was clear ahead, I took my eyes off the road for a second and when I looked back again there it was moving swiftly across in front of me. There was no swerving around the unfortunate creature, as it was about 5 feet long (152cm.)

There was a quick bump, bump and it was over. I stopped, but when I turned the snake had already disappeared into the bushes. I felt pretty bad; this non-poisonous snake is a particularly beautiful one; shiny black with a dark bluish tint in the sunlight. 

Black Racers eat rodents, birds, frogs, lizards and insects. Although non-poisonous, a bite from one could become infected because of bacteria.

The most common venomous snake in South Carolina is the Copper Head. (Left.) 

I see a lot of these while riding, usually sunning themselves at the edge of the road.

Other poisonous ones are the Cotton Mouth, and the Eastern Coral Snake. (Quite rare in SC.)

There are three types of rattlesnake; the Carolina Pigmy Snake, the Timber Rattlesnake and the Eastern Diamondback. The last one can grow to over six feet (183cm.) in length.

Most of these snakes are rarely seen, and even the venomous ones will avoid humans if they can. Like most people I am both fascinated and a little scared of these reptiles. However, I hate to harm them, so I will have to be a little more careful in future as I ride my bike.

Question: Does anyone else have any stories of snake or other wild life encounters while riding their bike?