The Day the Wild Horses Set Me Free
Wild horses of the Challis Herd, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
Near the East Fork of the Salmon River, a few hundred wild horses roam free on 167,000 acres of protected land. On a fall afternoon, I hiked the rugged terrain, hoping against all odds to photograph the mustangs.
In the vast wilderness area, it would take a pinch of magic and a twist of synchronicity to be in the right place at the right time to catch sight of the wild horses.
Turns out, it was a magical day in Idaho. I found the wild horses and knew I would never be tame again.
The Salmon River Mountains near Challis, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
The magic of synchronicities on a fall day
I climbed to a high vantage point and glassed over the sea of foothills surrounding me. Through the binoculars, I scanned in every direction for the mustangs. Then, to my amazement, I spotted a group to the north on the side of a distant rise.
I set up my camera and tripod, assuming the mustangs would quickly graze up and over the foothill, out of sight.
The horses blended so well with the fall grasses, I almost missed them. I knew my images would be unremarkable at such a distance, but they would be enough to remember the mustangs at home where nature created them eons ago.
Little did I know synchronicities would continue to unfold throughout the day.
The horses spread out single file at the top of the rise and broke into a gallop. They ran the short ridgeline, silhouetted against the sky. With manes and tails flying, I sensed the mustangs ran for the joy of feeling the wind.
Wild horses run a ridgeline, Challis Herd Management Area, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
At the end of the ridgeline, the horses turned in my direction, slowing again to graze their way down into a deep bowl between us.
I scrambled through the sagebrush across rough terrain, hoping to get as close as I could without spooking them. I could not have imagined when the horses noticed me, they would close the gap between us to greet me as though we had gathered for a family reunion, and I was the cousin with the cooler of cold beer.
Wild horses of the Challis Herd, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
Walking in reverence for all of life, we find the value of our own
I am always careful to approach wildlife slowly, watching for signs I’m making them uneasy. If I see them signal an alert, I back away. No photograph is worth disturbing their peace.
Once I reached the bottom of the bowl, I kept a reasonable distance. When the wild horses approached me, I felt I had slipped into another realm. They were curious and playful, moving closer and rearranging in small groups, pairs, and singles. Then they would pause, staring straight at me as though they were taking turns for family pictures.
But it was their complete ease that stuck with me.
I may someday understand more about the connection between humans and animals in the wild. Right now, I only know they whisper to me. Not in words, but in whisps of thought and emotions reaching deep into a shared and distant past. A past grounded in reverence for the earth and all of life she sustains.
Wild horses of the Challis Herd, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
The mustangs do not survive in the rugged terrain. They thrive.
On the hike out, I thought about how easily the horses had returned to their wild nature. After thousands of years of domestication, they roam freely in the land where they began.
Some folks refer to wild horses as feral, domesticated animals turned wild. However, that view looks only back to the 1500s when the Spanish reintroduced horses to North America.
There’s more to the story of the horses’ return to their wildlands. Recent mitochondrial-DNA analysis revealed the modern horse is the genetic equivalent to the species that evolved on this continent two to three million years ago.
A lone mustang of the Challis Herd, Idaho. By Kris Cochran
After all this time, the horses have found their way home and live at ease in a challenging environment.
I wondered, why can’t we?
Why do we yoke ourselves to another man’s plow? Why run our hearts out in a race for someone else’s glory? Why carry the burden of battles we do not choose?
There is land just over the next rise in our imagination where all beings are free to express the wildness in their souls. It is a land where we trade our gifts in harmony with one another and purchase the freedom to run for the joy of feeling the wind.
I’ll meet you there.
Thanks for walking with me,
Kris
Learn more about wild horses as native North American Wildlife:
