TORRINGTON – A small but interest crowd gathered at the Goshen County Library Thursday evening to hear Chad Hanson give a presentation on his new book The Wild Horse Experience.

Attendees not only heard about his journey of writing this book but were taken on a delightful adventure into the world of horses, dating back to the first horse to roam this earth.

“Half of Wyoming is public land.  These horses belong to all of us,” Hanson began. 

The oldest horse fossil ever discovered was found right here in Wyoming, near Fossil Buttes.  Hanson said the fossilized horse was about the size of a black lab, much smaller than horses of today.  

Time and environment not only changed the horse in stature but also in location.  Migrating over the Bering Strait land bridge, horse populations ended up centered in Asia and Europe.  Eventually domesticated by Spanish explorers, the mighty horse made its way back to the Americas via ship thus completing their trip around the globe.  

Hanson discussed the culture of the wild horse, going into detail about the way these close-knit family groups use their senses to communicate.

Physical touch is key to wild horse communication with their band mates where they can spend hours nuzzling and grooming each other each day.

Horses have a well-developed olfactory system which they rely on to communicate with each other, other bands of horses and in the domesticated horse world: humans. 

A horse’s sense of smell is identical to a dog, which is why people say horses can often sense things long before a human, especially danger.  

Each horse has a unique voice similar to humans too.  Much as a human would instantly recognize their best friend’s voice on the telephone, so do horses when they hear a whinny from far way. 

Another unique aspect of horses is they can recognize themselves in a mirror.  

The presentation shifted from getting to understand the horse itself to the work Hanson is doing to advocate for the wild horse population in Wyoming.

Wyoming currently has 7,000 wild horses living in 16 designated areas in Wyoming.  These areas are all located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and are controlled by the organization as well.

There are plans currently in the works by BLM to reduce the number of wild horse areas in the state from 16 to 14.  

This is where Hanson and his non-profit organization, The Wild Mustang Institute, come in.  The organization and its members are currently in a legal battle with BLM and it’s handling of the wild horse population and it’s plans for the horses living in the two areas which are targeted for removal.  The two areas are near Rock Springs.

Hanson said there has been considerable work done in recent years with the band of horses known as the McCullough Peak band.  

Hanson said by identifying the number of horses which the landscape can support and working to control populations in those areas to meet the criteria are critical to maintaining these herds. 

The population of horses near Cody has been undergoing population control using a form of horse birth control.

Porcine zona pellucida (PZP) is the zona pellucida extracted from the ovaries of pigs which is used as a source of antigens for immunocontraception. The vaccine works by creating antibodies in the mare’s body to prevent fertilization.  Dr. Jay Kirkpatrick is credited with pioneering its use in wildlife fertility control. 

Wild horses are available for adoption at auctions BLM holds all across the United States.  The closest auction to this area will be in Wheatland on May 17. 

When Hanson isn’t writing and advocating for wild horse welfare, he can be found teaching sociology at Casper College where he helps raise awareness of wild horses but also teaches an appreciation for them.

Every year he teaches a course called the ‘Wild Horse Experience” where students spend several days among a herd of wild horses, documenting the horses and their experiences.  

“I like to watch people watching horses almost as much as I like watching horses,” he joked with the audience. 

The next Wild Horse Experience class will be held June 14,16 and 18th.  The adventure takes curious students to the wilderness West of Casper near Green Mountain where a band of horses reside who don’t mind humans as much as other bands.  

This particular experience is attempting to bring together the wild horse advocates and the BLM managers as they will be holding a darting demonstration to show how the PZP is administered.  

Hanson is optimistic about the wild horses in Wyoming.

“We can manage these horses,” he said.

To order the book ‘The Wild Horse Effect’ you can visit www.chadhanson.org or visit Amazon or Barnes and Noble websites.  

If you would like more information on The Wild Horse Experience class this June, you can contact Casper College through their website www.caspercollege.edu.

For more information on Chad Hanson and his organization The Wild Mustang Institute, you can find them on Instagram or on their website at www.wyomustangs.org.

For information on adopting a wild mustang, visit the BLM website for wild horse and burro auctions at https://wildhorsesonline.blm.gov.