The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Mahatma Gandhi
Please join countless others who have worked tirelessly to protect one of our last frontiers, one of our last symbols of freedom. What our government is doing with taxpayers money in it’s assault against wild horses is cruel, shameful, abhorrent. Every small action helps.
Thundering Hoof Beats
Thundering hoof beats pound my soul
Manes flying in the wind
I feel your spirit, hear your call
For this senselessness to end.
They come with screaming helicopters
Flying through the sky.
They come with greed and gluttony,
They come to see you die.
Majestic beasts, you once roamed free
And blessed our Mother Earth,
For greed and bulging pockets
They will rob you of new birth.
Captured fathers, murdered mothers,
Whole families interred,
A single foal lies injured,
Starving cries no longer heard.
![P1010219[1]](http://paulatoddking.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/P10102191-300x225.jpg)
Roundup at East Douglas, Western Colorado. This is a pen of stallions that were rounded up with helicopters and separated from the families. The big grey stallion was subsequently shot. He was blind in one eye, over 20 years old. Photo by Linda Hanick
Your only fault is love,
Your only blemish beauty,
This land built with your sweet blood.
Cries awaken me from slumber
Massive murder, endless loss,
We once called this thing slavery,
Once named it Holocaust.
We saw your brothers vanish,
Buffalo shot down on the plain,
Now here you are, the last frontier,
A noble few remain.
May ghosts of those whose lives were lost
Pound hoof beats on the doors
Of men who say they’re peacemakers,
But are nothing more than whores.
![IMG_4215[1]](http://paulatoddking.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMG_42151-300x225.jpg)
New born baby with his yearling brother who didn't want to play. Pryor Mountain. Photo by Linda Hanick.
They trade you for a burger,
They sell you out for oil,
Silver lines their bulging pockets,
Your blood spills upon free soil.
Every one of us is guilty,
No! Don’t turn your head away!
We let this happen all the time!
We just watch in dismay!
May hoof beats pound our consciousness,
Screaming heard throughout the land,
May all who stand for freedom
Draw a line upon the sand.
Thundering hoof beats pound my soul
Manes flying in the wind
Awake a mighty nation
For this senselessness to end.
To learn more about this tragic situation, visit the websites and view the videos below. Please, do something, and please share this with all your contacts.
A very special thank you to Linda Hanick, my dear friend from Estes Park, for her beautiful pictures and for keeping me informed.
Need to Know: Removing Horses from the Wild
The Vanishing Herds: The Fate of American Mustangs.
Wild Hoof Beats, by Carol Walker
Sandy Elmore, A History of Wild Horses
Pryor Mountain Horses Losing Their Freedom.
Don’t Take My Home, by Pam Nickoles