A day at the Wild Horse Mesa in Colorado

About five miles south of the Colorado border, resides a mesa that few visit, about 15 people live here year-round. The mesa has about 5 herds of wild horses. We may think of these animals as native to America, but in all actuality, At one point 17,000 years ago they were native but died out here. They were reintroduced by the Spanish conquistadors. The horses that escaped or were left became feral and rejoined the native species. The horses at the mesa are relatively friendly unless spooked and love eating hay, they are willing to be touched but are not always receptive. The group I stumbled upon came running down from where they were to te point I almost thought I was going to be trampled, after feeding the group they became more receptive to touch but it was easy to tell just how wild the horses are and how ready the alpha was to defend his herd. (second picture.) occasionally huffing when getting to close to his mare. All in all, it was a lovely trip and it was amazing to see such majestic animals up close and personal.

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