“Wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West. … It is the policy of Congress that [they] shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment ...

Congress intended for wild horses to remain wild. In almost poetic language, federal lawmakers in 1971 wrote into law that “wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic ...

“Those behaviors help establish dominance.” We walk on, wading through marshy water and lifting our cameras to snap photos of the wild horses. A slight wind blows, and the air smells and tastes salty.