He gives us his all.
Speed.
Endurance.
Power.
Yet his wild spirit burns bright.
Spark of ancient myth...
pride of king and conqueror...
...he was the backbone of civilization.
History was forged to the beat of his hooves.
Even now, he still lays claim to the heart
- with all the bold beauty
that is the horse.
Summer
sets off fireworks in the mountains of southern Montana.
Spurred by heat and hunger,
wild horses converge on the cool green heights,
and sparks begin to fly.
Stallions spar
and court young mares
in a drama as old as the hills.
The mustang has become a symbol of the American West.
But some say he"s a newcomer to these parts,
even a trespasser.
The truth
is tangled in the long and winding history of his kind.
It began some 60 million years ago,
in the forests of North America.
Living on leaves,
a creature the size of a fox
walks the underbrush on padded toes.
In time,
forests give way to grassy plains.
Legs grow long,
and toes become nimble hooves in a body
built for speed.
About a million years ago,
the first true horses
spread across land bridges to Asia and Europe.
Their numbers swell,
then slowly decline
perhaps due to climate change,
or the impact of a two-legged predator.
To Ice Age hunters,
the herds must have seemed inexhaustible.
But by 8,000 years ago,
horses were extinct in the Americas
and dwindling elsewhere into memory and myth.
Then somewhere on the steppes of Eurasia,
at least 4,000 years ago,
the horse inspired someone as more than just a meal.
It may have begun as a shaman"s ritual,
or a reckless teenage prank.
But some brave soul took a quantum leap
and changed the world forever.
The horse utterly changed our sense of distance and speed.
He carried us forward in space and time,
and made our world smaller.
Great equestrian cultures arose and thundered across antiquity
Today, most have vanished.
But here on the steppes of Mongolia,
little has changed
since the time when the horse became a way of life.
Nomads still measure their wealth in livestock
and move vast herds with the seasons.
Small but hardy,
Mongolian horses endure a harsh climate,
and grow a thick winter coat.
When pasture is meager,
they can survive on very little.
Mongolian nomads also herd sheep,
goats and cows,
but horses are their greatest pride.
Revered,
they are largely reserved for riding
and one other important role.
Mongolia"s national drink, called airag,
is fermented mare"s milk.
Life in the saddle begins early in keeping with a local proverb:
"A Mongolian without a horse is like a bird without wings."
In July,
thousands of nomads
set up camp on the edge of the capital city,
Ulan Bator.
They come to celebrate Naadam,
an ancient religious festival.
National competitions of traditional sports are held,
including two days of horse racing.
One of the country"s top horse breeders,
Khen Medekh
traveled over a week
to take part in what will be his 30th Naadam.
From a herd of 400 head,
he has brought his 12 fastest horses.
Also in tow are his grandchildren
for good reason.
Riders must be under 12 to compete at Naadam.
Training, however,
is no child"s play.
It"s what Khen Medekh lives for
Horse training is a passion.
My father was a great trainer and he passed that on to me.
It"s the same for most Mongolian people.
We compete at Naadam
to see who has the best horse,
and because we"re so proud of our horses.
A fine racehorse
is a symbol of good luck and happiness.
On the day of the first race,
preparations begin at dawn.
Hats and bright silks will help families
spot their little jockeys at a distance.
The distinguishing mark of a racehorse
is a leather tail wrap
always wound clockwise.
Forelocks are also bound.
Khen Medekh enhances the look with a charm
bearing Mongolia"s national emblem.
He has high hopes for this young stallion.
With an offering of mare"s milk
Khen Medekh"s wife
invokes the sacred powers of nature
to bless horses and riders.
A circle of incense purifies.
A drop of airag protects from harm.
An ancient Buddhist chant rings out for luck.
Some 500 riders will compete in the first race.
Parents on horseback swell their ranks.
By tradition,
they circle clockwise
at a staging area near the finish line.
But the running of the race is not yet at hand.
The starting point lies more than 15 miles away
in the open steppe.
To reach that point at a walk
will take the racers some three hours
which leaves time to kill for everyone else.
Nomads like Khen Medekh
take the moment to catch up with old friends
and trading partners.
For people who live much of the year
in relative isolation,
there"s also the irresistible allure
of new faces.
For now,
small talk belies the drama that"s erupting miles away,
as 500 horses reach the starting point
and the race begins.
Long before they can see the racers,
spectators crowd the finish line.
According to myth,
the dust kicked up by winning horses
showers happiness and prosperity
on all those it touches.
Front-runners have been galloping for nearly 30 minutes
By Western standards,
this might qualify as an extreme sport
but these are the descendants of Genghis Khan,
who forged the largest land empire ever known
on horseback.
The blue sash of victory
goes to the first five horses
A flash of green tells Khen Medekh
his granddaughter has placed.
But a riderless horse
sends him off in search of his youngest grandson.
After an initial flurry,
racers trickle in for another hour.
Herd instinct alone will keep a horse going
even one that lacks the fitness and conditioning required
for a long-distance run.
For some,
the strain is too much.
When a horse dies on the racetrack,
the trainer is dishonored.
But the child who has lost a beloved pet
reaps only heartbreak.
A fall near the starting point
dashed the hopes of Khen Medekh"s grandson.
His horse is safe,
his bruises minor.
But his six-year-old pride will sting
until the races are over.
Naadam concludes in the National Stadium,
with a parade of champions.
Khen Medekh is twice a winner.
His grandchildren take two of his horses
through their victory laps.
A herald sings the praises of the winning horses;
medals and mare"s milk do them honor.
But for each little rider,
the highlight is a kiss from the President of Mongolia.
No other nation makes more of the horse.
Fiery steed,
faithful servant,
he is all good things to the Mongolian people.
In return,
they may succeed in saving the last truly wild horse
on earth
Before the rise of civilization,
his kind ranged throughout Asia and Europe.
Alert and aggressive,
they were elusive prey
with their camouflage of tawny coat,
their upright, two-toned mane.
These horses were already rare in 1878,
when Russian explorer
Nikolai Przewalski returned from Mongolia.
He carried a skull and hide
that would prompt the announcement of a new species.
In a race for specimens,
stallions were slaughtered to subdue mares.
Mares were killed to secure foals.
Dozens died en route to zoos
and animal collectors in the West.
Przewalski"s horses were last sighted in the wild
in the 1960s.
A decade later,
fewer than 300 survived
in captivity only.
This endangered species was declared extinct in the wild.
In 1992,
16 Przewalski"s horses from European reserves
touched down in Ulan Bator.
Their journey was the crowning achievement
of Dutch conservationists and Mongolian authorities.
Transports were blessed with mare"s milk
as the horses arrived at a nature reserve
established in their honor.
The homecoming delighted local people.
Their name for the horses is takhi.
The word also means spirit.
Today,
some 80 free spirits roam 120,000 acres
under watchful eyes.
Park rangers closely track the animals" health
and behavior.
Breeding success is high:
Two generations have been born in the reserve.
To increase the gene pool,
horses are still brought in from the west.
But prospects for self-sustaining population
are promising.
Mongolia"s preservation of the takhi
seems a fitting tribute
to an animal who has given us so much.
Domesticated, the horse revolutionized our world
but in the process,
he was also transformed.
The legendary Arab is just one of more than 150 breeds
some honed for work,
some for sport,
others for sheer show.
The Spanish horse
boasts one of the oldest pedigrees.
His speed and stamina were praised by the Romans.
The famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna
was founded in his name.
A dancer"s grace made him a favorite of monarchs,
and earned him the title:
"Royal Horse of Europe."
Today, he inspires a new generation
at the Royal Andulusian School of Equestrian Art
in the town of Jerez,
in southern Spain.
Few gain admission here:
Only first-rate horses, trainers and students.
A strict curriculum has produced several Olympic competitors.
The school also keeps tradition alive.
Once a week,
the public is invited in,
to enjoy the splendors of another age.
In 18th century costume,
riders recreate the height of classical horsemanship,
as it was practiced throughout the courts of Europe.
Most spectacular
are the "airs above the ground."
Horses naturally leap and kick when fighting.
Centuries ago,
cavalry mounts were trained to perform these moves in battle.
Eventually
each gesture became an end in itself
as formal as ballet.
A supreme effort,
virtually in place
Few can perform this exacting dance
with the power and precision of the Spanish horse.
The purity of the breed is proudly protected in Spain,
yet his bloodlines extend far and wide
for this
was the horse who once conquered a new world.
Some 500 years ago,
Spanish explorers rode upon the shores of the Americas.
Some native people mistook man and mount
for a single fearsome creature
But soon,
they would make the horse their own.
Through stealth and trade,
Native Americans embraced the horse.
It was said
"they came to each other like long lost brothers."
Some called him "Sky Dog."
He opened vast horizons in this life,
and haunted their visions of the afterlife.
But this cult of the horse would not last.
By the 19th century,
Native Americans had been robbed of land
and livelihood.
Their beloved Sky Dogs were shot,
or simply set loose.
Scores of Indian ponies joined strays and runaways
already thriving in the wilderness.
By 1900,
over a million horses roamed the American West.
But not for long.
To make way for cattle and sheep,
public lands were cleared of animals
considered worthless pests.
They were slaughtered by the thousands
for pet food, fertilizer,
and mere sport.
In the 1950s,
public outcry denounced the abuses.
Still,
numbers had dropped below 20,000 by 1971,
when a federal law was finally passed to protect the wild horse
as a "living symbol of the pioneer spirit of the West."
Today,
the Bureau of Land Management oversees some 45,000 horses
on public lands in 10 states.
On the Montana-Wyoming border,
the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range
is home to a herd of about 160
Most live in small family groups of several mares,
their foals and a single dominant stallion
His role is to guard his "harem"
and protect his growing offspring.
This stallion, known as Raven,
is one of the most dominant on the range.
A heap of fresh droppings called a "stud pile"
alerts him that potential rivals may be in the vicinity.
A band of young bachelor stallions
prompts Raven to move his family to a safe distance.
Then he advances on the intruders
and confrontation becomes inevitable.
Raven may be outnumbered,
but at ten years old,
his maturity and experience give him the advantage.
As he enters the fray,
his band stays put on the sidelines.
Most clashes between stallions
are more about asserting rank than inflicting harm,
and serious injuries are rare.
In the end,
the bachelors move on unscathed but chastened,
and Raven returns to his mares
Occasionally,
even mature stallions form malliances.
A stud named Starman
acts as a subordinate
or "lieutenant stallion" to Flash,
who has a mare and foal of his own.
Flash tolerates Starman"s presence,
but allows him no access to his lone mare.
In summer,
a waterhole fed by melting snow banks
attracts this small band.
The mare enjoys a soothing mud bath,
while her three-month old foal plays with the idea.
But for now,
the water holds no appeal for Flash"s lieutenant stallion.
Starman
picks up the scent of another mare,
and sets off in hot pursuit.
The mare"s yearling son tries to intercept Starman,
but fails to impress such a mature stallion.
This mare"s own stallion must be just out of sight
a boon for Starman.
Still,
she rejects his advances.
In the end, she gets away,
and Starman can only observe
the tactics of more successful suitor.
At times,
the Pryor Mountains seem heaven-on-earth for horses.
Though much of the terrain is arid
and winters are harsh,
summer pastures can be glorious
The horses have few predators to fear:
Most were eliminated by ranching and land development.
With high fertility rates,
the horses" numbers can increase by 10,
even 20 percent a year.
And that means trouble in paradise.
In the last three decades,
the Bureau of Land Management
has removed more than 100,000 wild horses from the range.
The round ups are intended to protect public lands
from overgrazing
and ensure the health of the herds.
Excess animals are placed in adoption programs,
but supply far exceeds public demand.
Horses deemed "unadoptable"
live out their days in holding pens.
Even now,
the fate of America"s wild horses
remains an open-ended question
Some 4,000 years of domestication
have failed to deprive the horse of his wild instincts.
His natural impulse
is to flee the company of humans.
Bryan Neubert makes a living,
not "breaking"
but-in his words- "starting" wild or green horses
This two-year-old quarter horse stud,
born on the open range,
has never been handled.
On his ranch in northern California,
Bryan is about to make first contact.
Bryan
will chase the horse until he turns to face his pursuer.
The goal is capture the animal"s attention
and keep it.
L"ll ask again now. Good.
Now let"s see if he leaves with the hindquarters
or if he leaves with the whole horse.
See, here"s the...
the first little part
is gonna happen here in just a second, I think.
Subtle shifts of body language
keep the horse focussed on Bryan.
If his attention wanders,
I might see if I can get another step closer.
As long as he"s doing that, l"ll just let that soak in.
L"ll take another step.
And l"ll take another one here
He"s having trouble with it, but he"s trying.
He"s gonna have to leave here pretty soon.
And l"ll try to direct him back
There, he adjusted in the rear quarters,
that"s what l"m gonna need here.
Within about 15 minutes,
the young stallion has mastered the maneuver.
Now Bryan presents a new challenge.
I might do just a little swinging here
and see if he can stand that.
And l"ll see about,
see if I can put that on there without hitting him in the face
And l"ll just, as I come forward,
just let that go.
And it"s kinda scary.
You can see that it"s troubling to him a little.
L"ll just put
just a little pressure till,
till he finds his way toward me
See, he keeps thinking his answer is out of here,
but the answer"s right there.
The horse turns to Bryan for reassurance
a critical breakthrough.
Now he might reach for me.
Let"s see if,
he"ll come in here. L"ll see if I can get another half a step
without scaring him.
See how he"s reaching for me?
Now here"s a spot where you want to watch their ears,
"cause some of them,
they"ll take a run at you.
Now, l"ll just wait here till he reaches.
Like that.
See him smelling me?
There"s the first,
second
time he"s ever
been touched by a human or he touched a human, I guess
Now, again, let"s see if this head shaking
will disappear. L"ll just keep a little tension there,
and l"ll see if he"ll reach for me.
And pretty soon l"ll reach for him, like right there.
We sorta met one another.
Little bit of touching there.
Little bit more here.
See, he"s finding out he can touch me and reach for me now.
In a horse,
there"s a spot in there where
they can just turn loose emotionally.
You can see in their eye and their face
a change that comes over them
and they"ll begin to drop their head
and their eyes"ll soften
and you can just see that they"re
beginning to trust you and then you can
move right on and really advance then.
L"ll get my weight shifted back
He"s feeling a whole lot better about things now,
he"s finding out I can touch him and he won"t get hurt.
Less than half an hour after the first touch,
Bryan tests the saddle.
Very important to swing this on
so that it doesn"t hit him.
L"ll just grab it, gradually
just lays right over on their back like that.
I don"t mind seeing one buck with the saddle,
because being a prey animal,
that"s his responsibility to not let anything stay up there
That"s where the predator has the best advantage.
If he can get above and stay with him,
then he can have himself a meal.
Pretty dreamy now,
but we"ll see what he"s like when
he feels that saddle on there
l"d rather he test the saddle
before I get on than after I got up there.
Now l"m gonna move him off, but ever so softly,
if I can.
L"m not trying to make him buck.
Okay,
maybe l"ll give him a little consoling.
Did you get scared...?
Lt"s been less than two hours since Bryan began work
a fairly routine "first session".
He"ll leave the saddle in place for a few more hours,
then give the young stallion
a well-earned rest until morning.
Yesterday"s fear gives way to recognition and trust.
Today will be another turning point.
Social animals feel safest in a group.
As a comfort to the young stallion,
Bryan has corralled several other horses.
See, if he wiggles,
l"ll just wait here till he stands put.
Pet him over here as if it was my leg and maybe...
get myself kinda set here before he gets untracked.
Might let him go right out that way.
And l"ll just ask him to go.
If he gets upset, if he gets scared,
wants to run, l"ll just try to go with him.
People ask me about
this new way of working with horses.
Far as I know, it"s been around as
long as there"s been horses and men
interacting with one another.
I don"t know how the first man could ever get on
the horse for the first time without having
something working for him.
L"ll get a little bolder
as he gets a little more
confidence.
L"ll ask him here
to come back to me with this rein alittle,
and he did.
The young stallion"s first ride
lasts no more than 15 minutes
and prompts a simple reward.
Hey kid.
This just kinda soothes them sometimes,
give them a little hugging. This is
a place where they,
a lot of them just can"t stand to have you that close.
And if you can show them that it"s okay
to be this close, why it"s a real relaxing,
soothing kind of thing.
They really have to trust ya.
By day three,
it"s time to abandon the security of the corral.
A whole new life is beginning for the young stallion.
He"s gettin" so he trusts me a whole lot more today,
I see.
And Bryan
is left to ponder an age-old mystery
about the nature of horses.
I often wonder: How in the world would they
allow somebody to get up on their back
and guide them around?
They"ll take us
miles and miles till they"re totally,
you know, tired. Pull wagons and
pack loads and all kinds of things,
when actually they could kick us or hurt us
or buck us off any time.
And yet they"ll just work their hearts out for us,
if it"s presented to them in a way that they can understand
Pretty special animal, really.
Special, indeed.
No more than 60 years before the first moon landing,
the world was driven by horse power.
Every sector of the economy relied on him:
Transport and trade,
industry and agriculture.
No creature served us better in the building of civilization
or its occasional overthrow.
For millennia, the warhorse prevailed in battle.
If not for a horse,
would Alexander have been great?
Who can imagine Attila the Hun
or Napoleon on foot?
Over a million horses served in World War I.
Nearly a third died.
In World War II,
tens of thousands perished in a battle of bullets and bombs.
The Age of Horsepower was over
And yet there are more horses in the world today
than during the 1800s
some 62 million.
In an Age of Technology,
perhaps we yearn all the more for the touch of something wild
The horse is no longer changing our world.
But he can still change lives
one at a time.
In central Georgia,
Carol Wooley has loved horses since she was a child.
In 1995,
a friend told her about an old school horse
who had seen better days as a fox hunter and jumper.
His name was Carousel,
and he needed a home.
Carousel was in his mid to late 20s,
a little lame,
in fact,100 pounds over weight.
He was a little swayback,
just a good quiet lesson pony
Carol took good care of him.
Local children rode him.
Soon
Carousel was a favorite.
In 1996,
two weeks after the summer Olympic Games,
the Paralympics came to Atlanta
Some 3,500 athletes attended.
For the first time,
equestrian events were included
Sixteen nations sent teams.
It was up to event organizers
to provide horses for 62 athletes
with a wide range of disabilities.
Each would be judged on precision,
smoothness, and harmony of horse and rider,
while performing a set pattern in the arena.
A call went out to horse owners for calm,
well-trained mounts.
Carol Wooley volunteered two of her younger horses,
but Games Officials were desperate for more.
She thought twice
then sent for old Carousel as well.
After a check-up,
he was quickly put to the test
And later in the day they called him for Denmark,
and I met Brita Anderson
who"s a very small woman in a wheelchair,
and I thought to myself,
"There"s no way she is going to ride this pony."
She spoke English quite well,
and I asked her,"Have you ever fallen off a horse?"
And she smiled and looked at me and says,
"Many times."
Far from falling,
on the day of competition,
Brita and Carousel took Carol by surprise.
Brita and Carousel made a connection.
He knew exactly what she wanted
and she knew how to get the most out of him.
And he loved her.
L"m still not sure how she did it,
but they just were a perfect match.
The judges agreed.
The pair took first place in their division,
and received the highest score
of all the competitors.
From Denmark,
Brita Anderson
riding Midland"s Carousel,
owned by Carol Wooley.
When they won the gold medal, it was
this little pony and a horse trainer from no where
and a world-class rider,
and the thought that they actually won that gold
and they earned it,
it was probably one of the high points in my life.
By the time she returned home,
Carol had decided to start a therapeutic riding school.
Horseback riding can improve balance
and muscle tone,
as well as a sense of independence
and self-esteem in people with all sorts of disabilities.
For Carol
there"s no greater reward
than to see someone like 13-year-old Sara
take her first ride.
You"re riding, kid! You"re riding!
When you take a child out of a wheelchair
and put him on a horse, he"s immediately taller.
The walk of a horse mimics
the same movement
you get to actually walk on your own legs,
it gives them freedom of mobility,
it gives them control over something
that they may have never known
before. They can control where they"re going.
Carol runs the school on grants,
donations and volunteers.
And Carousel heads her fleet of gentle horses
past their prime.
In August of 1998,
at a regional show for riders with disabilities,
Carol decides to send Carousel into the arena
one last time.
Nine-year-old Shawn Donalson,
one of Carol"s top students,
has never competed before.
It"s a breathless moment
for his parents.
Make the old man proud.
He"s got a good horse.
Knows what to do.
Young boy and old horse are picture-perfect,
and take a blue ribbon.
In first place,
Shawn Donalson.
A first for Shawn,
a final trophy for Carousel.
The competition concludes with a ceremony.
As a symbol of retirement,
Carol removes the saddle from a little horse
of unknown breeding
who has meant so much to so many.
To him
go the full laurels of a champion.
He was quite calm and stood through everything.
He half way, I think, understood
that we were doing an honor to him.
I was a little surprised
that he didn"t mind us putting flowers on him.
He acted like, well, those were his flowers. This was fine.
I think, he enjoyed it really.
He wasn"t just an old sway backed horse with a gray face.
He was everybody"s dream of a horse.
He served everyone that"s ever owned him,
every place he"s been.
He"s done everything we"ve asked him to do
all of his life.
To me, he symbolizes all the horses
that have worked hard all their lives
and have given us so much pleasure.
He"s a fairly tale of a horse
But there"s probably
thousands of them out there just like him.
I guess he"s the poster child for all of them.
For all they have done for us,
for all that they are,
may they always have green pastures
each and every one.