Symbols Of

In 1971, due to overwhelming outcry and support by the American people, the wild free-roaming horses and burros of America became the first and last of their kind; the only two species to ever have a National law established solely for their protection and preservation.

Why?

Regardless of the history or culture, we have always deeply connected to animals, weaving them or what they symbolize into the fabric of our daily lives. Often, these connections have been religious or spiritual in nature, as the essence of the animal was perceived as embodying a desirable trait, value, or ability that humans wished to emulate or draw from.

So what is it about wild horses and burros that called to the spirit of the American people to declare them a National icon? Here are some thoughts.....

-Spirit of the Horse-

Much like the men and women who explored these vast and untamed lands, some wild horses would rather die than be enslaved. Wild horses exude a fierce independence that is never wholly broken and even today, a captured wild horse may break their neck or legs trying to escape a life of domesticity, restriction, and confinement.

Despite millenniums of bondage, the wild horse’s journey back to its natural free-roaming state was a very short trip indeed. The shackles of servitude slid easily off their backs as they began to roam their native lands, returning once again to what 56 million years of North American evolution had created – total self-reliance and superior adaptation in harmony with their environment.

Breathtakingly beautiful to behold, their wild state conveys tremendous passion, strength, courage and raw power. Embodying the very essence of freedom, they reach deep inside the human heart, invoking memories of our ancient past, resonating with our inner longing for Liberty, that inalienable right and self-evident truth that we declared would be the foundation of our Nation.

Is it any wonder the wild horse has been subjected to such persecution, harassment and death? For those ruled by fear of the unknown, that value dominance, conformity, subordination, servitude, and security, the essence of the wild horse is a constant threat; a living, breathing reminder and symbol of our necessity for freedom to nourish and illuminate the soul.

-Spirit of the Burro-

Gentle and humble, the burro embodies patience, perseverance, endurance and the ability to carry overwhelming burdens for great distances. Like the majority of those who came to America with a dream, hoping for a future beyond their culturally destined fate as a “common man”, it was through their labor and toil that our Nation was built, brick by brick, stone by stone, through sheer tenacity, unyielding will and continuous sacrifice.

Incredibly intelligent and wise, the wild burro is one of the most unappreciated and discarded of all of mankind’s animal tools, much like the “common man” himself.

What else do the wild horses and burros of America represent?