Re: RC: Re: Barefoot/Strasser/fads...

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated Thu, 28 Jun 2001 10:39:32 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com> writes:

<< MY guess is that people put them there then abandoned them.  They're 
probably feral, not  truly wild.  I'd bet (my .25 limit, of course) that if 
you took all of them off the island, put them someplace where other wild 
horses live and flourish, after a year or so they'd look a lot different - 
better!>>

Well, Lif, this is true of all free-roaming horses in North America--they are ALL technically feral, NOT wild, as they have been abandoned by man, and are not native.  They have no game species that can out-compete them, and very few of the predators make much of a dent in them, so if populations are unchecked, they can quickly become much like what Howard described, even here on our western rangelands...  A good reference book on this subject is THE WILD HORSE CONTROVERSY by Heather Thomas.  I believe it is out of print now, but there is a good chance your library may be able to get it on interlibrary loan, if they don't have a copy.  The book has an excellent bibliography as well, if you want to follow up on any of the author's sources...

Heidi