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.

1: The Mustang/The Myth

For $125 you can get a wild horse from the Bureau of Land Management and try and train it. That’s what I did this spring. Bua’a (“friend” in Paiute) is a three-year-old mustang from the Beatys Butte wild herd of southeastern Oregon. Boo, as I call him, has a kind, curious eye but he doesn’t trust humans – so far, we’ve brought him mostly pain. No matter how you feel about them, mustangs are a powerful symbol of what it means to be American – and Western. To be “of” the open spaces and big sky country. To be survivors and roamers. Over the next 8 episodes, Boo and I will explore the complex human, cultural, economic and environmental issues that surround mustangs today – as we embark on our own journey of training and trust.<a href="https://bit.ly/3IMs9Va">Make a donation</a> to support the Mustang podcast today.

Science

Nature

For $125 you can get a wild horse from the Bureau of Land Management and try and train it. That’s what I did this spring. Bua’a (“friend” in Paiute) is a three-year-old mustang from the Beatys Butte wild herd of southeastern Oregon. Boo, as I call him, has a kind, curious eye but he doesn’t trust humans – so far, we’ve brought him mostly pain. No matter how you feel about them, mustangs are a powerful symbol of what it means to be American – and Western. To be “of” the open spaces and big sky country. To be survivors and roamers. Over the next 8 episodes, Boo and I will explore the complex human, cultural, economic and environmental issues that surround mustangs today – as we embark on our own journey of training and trust. Make a donation to support the Mustang podcast today.

For $125 you can get a wild horse from the Bureau of Land Management and try and train it. That’s what I did this spring. Bua’a (“friend” in Paiute) is a three-year-old mustang from the Beatys Butte wild herd of southeastern Oregon. Boo, as I call him, has a kind, curious eye but he doesn’t trust humans – so far, we’ve brought him mostly pain. No matter how you feel about them, mustangs are a powerful symbol of what it means to be American – and Western. To be “of” the open spaces and big sky country. To be survivors and roamers. Over the next 8 episodes, Boo and I will explore the complex human, cultural, economic and environmental issues that surround mustangs today – as we embark on our own journey of training and trust.<a href="https://bit.ly/3IMs9Va" rel="noopener noreferrer">Make a donation</a> to support the Mustang podcast today.

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