Wild Horses.Wild Horses I've seen wild horses running free across Nevada plains. The duns and bays, blacks, sorrels, roans, with flying tails and manes. Coat colors true to Spanish roots, glistened in the sun. My heart beat faster as I watched those mustangs on the run. Descended from the horses conquistadores rode, The mustangs have been traced to them through their genetic code. But some will soon be going, gone, and taken off the range, Because a bill became a law, the horses' fate will change. Tacked onto a spending bill, and hidden out of sight A rider aimed at wild horse herds was passed without a fight. The old and the unwanted ones held in captivity would be sold off to packing plants, their meat shipped 'cross the sea. These ponies ran across the West, expressing U.S. mails. They carried Texas cowboys North, trailed longhorns to the rails. With stamina and courage they helped settle western plains. They worked the roundups, cattle drives, accompanied wagon trains. The herds are living legends. Our past lies in their genes. The symbol of the West, no less, is what this law demeans. Once horses marked for slaughter have been cut out from the herd, Herd numbers on our public lands will decrease by a third. If we deplete the gene pools now, then blood lines could be lost,, And future generations will be those who count the cost. While economic impact may be practically nil, The impact on our souls is such we can't afford this bill. Though there's a problem to be sure,
this rider's no solution.
The end result might be, in fact,
the horse herds' dissolution.
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