Wide, Wide Nets

Every time I meet a person I have no way of knowing if that person might end up being someone who dedicates themselves to preserving the nearly extinct wild Spanish mustangs of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. None of us who care about these horses were born with a stamp on our foot saying "Future breed conservationist." All of us had a person, a place or a moment that drew us to saving these horses. One never knows what might kindle the attraction.

That is why I take every opportunity that I can to expose people to our little super horses and to make sure that they understand that they are looking at a remnant of all that remains of one of America's most important phases of equine history. Perhaps one out of a thousand people that meet our horses will join in the struggle for their survival. Their preservation is not a one man job. So if I can only hope for one out of a thousand to become part of the effort I better reach at least 25,000 people if I am going to help shape the future of these horses

The writings, the articles, the clinics, the on line classes, the field trips, the Boy Scouts, the Weblos, the county fairs, the expos, the DVD's, the museum presentations, the 50 mile rides, the newspaper articles, the little riders who now own Corollas or 1/2 Corollas, the networking with those who care about Spanish mustangs and/or wild horses, the parades, the ride over to a Mountain Man Rendevouz, the photo sessions, the family tours of the horse lot, these are all part of that effort to get these horses and their plight out to the public.

I stumbled into a fun new way to do so recently. A friend of Lydia's with horse experience wanted to have her 16th birthday somewhere special. Lydia suggested our place. I explained that my insurance did not allow me to conduct commercial trail rides but the kids and their families could come over as my guests at no charge.

Hot dogs, happy birthday, and horses--a great way to turn 16. Who knows, one of the saviors of these horses of the next generation may have ridden her first wild Corolla stallion Friday night.

(These are wild Shacklefords, a strain of Banker horses who are so closely related to the Corollas that we can breed them to Corollas, prevent genetic collapse and maintain pure Spanish mustang horses. I have the son of the wild stallion Dionysus bred to a Corolla who will give birth this up coming spring.)