Running Free - A Wild Horse Tale

Welcome to the Wild Horse Educational Website Home Page!

America's Wild Horse Dream of wide open spaces, oceans of prairie grass, and thundering hooves in the distance? Then you've come to the right place! Go back into time, and learn more about a living piece of America's History of the West. Also learn about horse ownership and responsibility. Learn what it takes to have your own horse!

Photo Courtesy of Alvis Upitis ©2003

Home Page Contents:

About Site | Site Navigation | Prereqs | Course Length | Course Style | Tech Reqs | Course Contents | Success Tips | Objectives | My Story

About the Site - Course Specifications:

This site is designed to educate adults and children about the life of wild horses in the western United States. It is also designed to educate about the care and responsibility of horse ownership (both wild and domesticated horses). I want to dispel any myths out there about wild horses and encourage people to adopt them. I want to educate on the responsibilities and costs associated with horse ownership. Lastly, I want to inspire and empower our future generation of horse owners and lovers.

Site Navigation - This site is designed to follow the order of the links on the left navigation bar; however, feel free to jump around. To navigate through the site, you can use the links on the left, or click the next and back buttons to move to and from each section/module.

Prerequisites - The only prerequisite for this course is a desire to learn more about wild horses, and horse ownership, care, and responsibility.

Course Length - This is a self paced course. You may take any amount of time you wish to complete. You may come and go as needed based on your schedule. To complete in one sitting, the course on average will take at least three hours to complete.

Course Style - The course consists mainly of tutorials where you read web pages. There are summaries at the end of the tutorials, as well as, self assessments to evaluate what you have learned. The course also offers a fun interactivity, crossword puzzle, discussion forums/communities, and online forms to complete. Again it is self paced, and you can come and go as you wish.

Technical Requirements - This course runs best on Windows systems running Windows 95 or later. It runs on Internet Explorer, Netscape versions 4.0 or later, and Mozilla version 1.0 or later. However, the Wild Horse Interactivity only runs on IE 5.0 or later, Netscape 7.0 or later, and Mozilla 1.0 or later. The course is best visible through a high speed internet connection, but can be viewed on a dial-up modem. However, it may take longer for some pages to load on slower connection speeds due to the images. It requires no plug-ins, but some documents are in Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free to download.

return to top

Summary of Course Content:

• Learn about wild horses - a tutorial on how they survive, herd structure, etc.

• Become a wild horse - interactivity on wild horses.

• Your first horse - learn what it takes to own/lease a horse.

• Estimate what it would cost to own a horse - budget form to help you determine horse ownership costs.

• Responsibility Agreement - form to accept responsibility and cost of horse ownership.

• Adopt a wild horse - link to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) wild horse and burro adoption program.

• Adopt a horse from a horse rescue - link to horse rescue site to search for local horse rescues in your area.

• Additional Resources - link to recommended resources.

• More Information - link to discussion forum where you can ask questions, get more information, and share your stories about your experiences with wild horses, and horses in general.

How to get the most out of this course:

Do all the modules in the tutorials and take the self assessments. It does not take long to read the modules or take the self assessments. It will give you a chance to reflect on what you have learned, and an opportunity to learn more.

Do at least one of the activities. They are fun and give you a chance to apply what you have learned, and have fun at the same time.

Explore the additional resources and references. If you are seeking more information, this is the place to go.

Carefully evaluate the budget and responsibility forms. Take these seriously and fill them out, even if you do not plan on getting a horse right away. It will help you to thoroughly think through the concepts and assess the impacts.

return to top

Objectives - At the end of this Course You will be Able to:

• Define the following: origin of the American Mustang; Herd Structure; Bureau of Land Management's management practice of Mustangs; and Veterinarian and Farrier.
• Identify Horse Communication Types; and Where Mustangs Live in the United States.
• List what Mustangs eat.
• Distinguish between Winter and Summer Coats.
• Describe Horse Care Requirements (water, food and shelter); Different Lifestyles Available to Your Horse; Minimum Maintenance Requirements for Your Horse; and Minimum Tack Requirements for Your Horse.
• Determine and Assess Budget Requirements, and Care Responsibilities for Horse Ownership.
• Evaluate your needs and requirements for your new horse.
• Agree to Horse Ownership and Responsibilities.
• Learn what the Bureau of Land Management does for Wild Horses, and what Horse Rescues do for horses.
• Share your own information and ask questions.
• Have fun while learning about wild horses and horse care.
• Have fun participating in the fun activities and discussion forums/online communities.

My Story - I have loved horses since I was a little girl. I grew up with the stories of the "Black Stallion", "Black Beauty", and "King of the Wind." I knew I always wanted my own horse. Growing up, having my own horse was not an option. However, when I was older, on my own and out of school, I made my dream come true. I now own a black Arabian gelding named Night. We have a lot of fun together. I am intrigued with the story of the American Mustang. In July 2006, I attended a week long clinic at Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary in Lompoc, CA where we viewed the herd behavior of natural family bands, and helped to gentle some of the mustangs that will be available for adoption. It is also my dream to adopt a mustang of my very own. My dream to see them in the wild came true in May 2008, when we visited the Sand Wash Basin herd in northern Colorado. I developed this site as my Master's project, and because of my love of horses. I want to educate people about wild horses. There is a lot of false information about wild horses out there, and I want to dispel those myths. I hope you enjoy my site and learn all about these wonderful creatures!