Unbroken Spirit

Explores the history of the wild horse in the West. From the extinction and reintroduction of the horse to the Americas and the horse's profound influence on Native America, to the challenge of managing non-native wildlife, this book provides a view of the wild horse within the context of natural history and western American culture.

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The wild horses of the America West occupy a special place in the collective American consciousness. They symbolize much that has been lost to progress - wide open spaces, self-sufficiency, and a sense of unabridged freedom. "Unbroken Spirit" explores the history of the wild horse in the West. From the extinction and reintroduction of the horse to the Americas and the horse's profound influence on Native America, to today's challenge of managing non-native wildlife, the book provides a compelling view of the wild horse within the context of natural history and western American culture. "Unbroken Spirit" features spectacular photography by some of the nation's top wildlife photographers, including Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott, artwork from the unparalleled collections of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, and thought-provoking essays by zoologist/wildlife ecologist Charles Preston, environmental historian Daniel L. Flores, western historian B. Byron Price, freelance writer Lynne Bama, and wild horse and resource management specialist Linda Coates-Markle.
Though scientists generally use the term feral to refer to free-roaming descendants of domestic animals, the public has embraced these animals as wild. Indeed, the free-roaming horse has come to symbolize the spirit of wildness itself to many Americans - so much so that the federal government has granted explicit protection to the wild horse as a living icon of the frontier West.