WildHorseEcology

It so happens that, as this page is being posted, in late June - early July, 2005, there have been a series of wildfires in several western states, including Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California, caused by lightning strikes on dried out grassy areas. Also, it so happens that, unlike some other species of wildlife, wild horses actually perform a wildfire prevention function by including such grasses in their natural diet, keeping a natural check on the height and accumulation of such dried out, extremely flammable forage.

And, it so happens that, during this same time period, both Smokey Bear's very own U.S. Forest Service (USFS), along with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), continued to proceed at an accelerated pace to remove still more of these natural wildfire protectors from the public lands, in their typically shortsighted, and ecologically destructive mismanagement and violation of stated intent of existing federal law for preservation of free roaming wild horses and burros.

- Supporting Natural Habitats

(in addition to helping prevent wildfires) -

"... it makes sense that since North America is the evolutionary cradle of the horse family, which includes the burros, many such mutually beneficial (mutualistic) symbiotic relationships have evolved between the horse family in general, on the one hand, and the food plants that sustain them, on the other. This is a beautiful fact of life when we consider it from an evolutionary perspective. And it logically follows that if many native plant species are so benefitted by horses and burros in North America, then all the animals that depend in some degree upon these plant species likewise benefit from fellow herbivores that consume the plants to predatory animals that consume the plant eaters, and on up the food chain." . . .

" Both horses and burros possess a caecal, or post-gastric, digestive system that does not as thoroughly decompose the vegetation these herbivorous mammals eat. Such a system allows the seeds of many plant species to pass through the gullet intact and ready to germinate in the soil that is then fertilized by the droppings of these herbivores. In this way, many plant species have been and continue to be successfully dispersed over large areas by wild equids. Since wild horses and burros roam over large home ranges, which themselves shift over the generations, each plant species thus dispersed is able to occupy its ecological niche over a more extensive geological area than it would were it not for the wild equids. And it makes sense that since North America is the evolutionary cradle of the horse family, which includes the burros, many such mutually beneficial (mutualistic) symbiotic relationships have evolved between the horse family in general, on the one hand, and the food plants that sustain them, on the other. This is a beautiful fact of life when we consider it from an evolutionary perspective. And it logically follows that if many native plant species are so benefitted by horses and burros in North America, then all the animals that depend in some degree upon these plant species are likewise benefitted, from fellow herbivores that consume the plants to predatory animals that consume the plant eaters, and on up the food chain."

"As concerns mutualistic relations, it should also be noted that horse feces contain less thoroughly decomposed vegetable matter than would a ruminant's and, for this reason, more greatly aid in building the nutrient-rich humus component of healthy soils. This leads to better water retention and nutrient level for root absorption, and the overall well-being of the horse/burro-inhabited ecosystem."

Above quoted excerpts: from Natural Horse Magazine, Vol 7 - Issue 3, 2005 article, by Craig C. Downer, © Natural Horse Magazine, reprinted by permission of Natural Horse Magazine, www.naturalhorse.com

- Mutually Supporting Other Wildlife

(in addition to helping prevent wildfires and improving grazing conditions) -

A seeminly obvious role that is played by wild horses, in supporting other forms of wildlife in their shared habitats, is that the horses sometimes are food for predator animals, such as mountain lions, bears and wolves. While some people may have a problem accepting this "survival of the fittest" aspect of natural life in the wilderness, it actually is much more kind and beneficial for all parties concerned, than the resulting cruelties that take place when human beings interfere with this mechanism of the balance of nature.

"It must also be noted that behaviorally wild horses and burros greatly aid their fellow animals in accessing both water and food both during freezing winter and parching summer seasons. This they do by dint of their strong bodies and hard soliped hooves. These allow horses and burros to break through frozen water sources or icy snow drifts and similar wintery situations. Many animals are not able to access food and water without the horses and burros with whom they have coevolved for, not just thousands but in many cases for millions of years! . . .

Similarly during the hot summers when water tables recede, the horses and burros can detect water far off through their keen olfaction, or sense of smell. After the humidity has led them to water, when necessary, they are able to dig down to adequate underground sources, or to similarly enlarge tiny seeps so that they can survive through the critical dry period of the year. This greatly benefits many other species of animals . . . from tiny mice to medium sized rabbits and hares, to full sized bobcats, puma, and bears) whose individual members would otherwise be unable to access water and would perish."

Above excerpts. from Natural Horse Magazine, Vol 7 - Issue 3, 2005 article, by Craig C. Downer, © Natural Horse Magazine, reprinted by permission of Natural Horse Magazine, www.naturalhorse.com

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