Mustang

The Bureau of Land Management estimates that western ecosystems can support about 30,000 wild horses. The problem? There’s almost triple that. And that number rises by 10-20% every year. Too many wild horses – just like too many cows – is bad for the fragile, arid rangelands of the West. The horses can overgraze the native grasses and destroy creeks and riparian areas that provide critical habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse and other creatures. To find out what this looks like on the ground, Ashley heads to Nevada, the state with the most wild horses in the U.S., and gets out in the sagebrush with biologists there. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ashley spends some time getting to know her skinny, scared mustang and wonders what the hell she’s gotten herself into.

For $125 the federal government will sell you a wild horse. So, that’s what Ashley Ahearn did – she bought a mustang from Oregon. What could go wrong? Wild horses have long roamed the open stretches of the American West and the American imagination. They are a powerful symbol that have made their mark on everything from Hollywood to the automotive industry. But now they are caught in the crosshairs of environmental and cultural controversy as their numbers increase and people fight over how to manage them. Do we round them up? Leave them out there to keep reproducing at unsustainable levels? What does the mustang mean to us, today, and what does it tell us about our history? Join Ashley as she meets her mustang for the first time, and starts to explore the complex world of wild horses in the West today.

For $125 the federal government will sell you a wild horse. When I met my mustang he was skinny and he was scared. The government says western ecosystems can support about 30,000 wild horses. Problem is: there's almost triple that out there – and that number rises every year. I’m Ashley Ahearn and I hope you’ll check out Mustang – a new podcast that explores the complicated world of wild horses.

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