Bibles, D. Dean, Montana State BLM Director. “Origin of Pryor Mtn. Horses.” Typewritten memo to BLM District Manager, Billings, MT. 6 May 1968.
Brownell, Joan L. “Horse Distribution In The Pryor Mountains Region Preceding The Creation Of The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range.” Billings, MT: BLM, November 1999.
Fazio, Patricia Mabee. “The Fight to Save a Memory: Creation of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range (1968) and Evolving Federal Wild Horse Protection through 1971.” Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, College Station, 1995.
Graetz, Rick, and Susie Graetz. “About the Crow: Introduction to the Crow,” in Crow Country: Montana’s Crow Tribe of Indians. Billings, MT: Northern Rockies Publishing Company, 2000. see http://lib.lbhc.cc.mt.us/about/intro.htm.
Harvey, David. A General Historical Survey of the Pryor Mountains. Billings, MT: Bureau of Land Management, 1974.
McIllvaine, Billy. Personal interview with Patricia Mabee Fazio. BLM Billings Resource Area, Billings, MT, 25 October 1994.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1949), p. 390. Quoted in Fazio, “The Fight to Save a Memory.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service. Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range Survey and Assessment. Prepared by Matthew J. Ricketts, Rangeland Management Specialist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bozeman, MT. April 2004.
See www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/billings_field_office/wildhorses/pryorherd.html.
Ryden, Hope. America’s Last Wild Horses. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2005.
Singer, F.J., and K.A. Schoenecker, compilers. (2000) Managers’ Summary — Ecological Studies of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, 1992–1997. Ft. Collins, CO: U.S. Geological Survey, Midcontinent Ecological Science Center, 2000.
Thomas, Dick. “Range Feud Swirling Over Wild Horse Herd.” The Denver Post, 3 April 1966.
U.S. Congress. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. Congressional Decree. Public Law 92-195, 1, 85 Statutes 649 (15 December 1971).
U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Land Management. Environmental Assessment (2005), Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, FY2005. EA# BLM-MT-010-FY05-16. Billings Field Office, 2005.
———. Bureau of Land Management. Herd Management Area Plan, Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. Miles City District Office, Billings Resource Area. June 1984.
Williamson, Charles O. Letter to Norma Bearcroft, Canadian Wild Horse Society, July 12, 1967. (The entire text of this letter has not been located.) Reverend Floyd Schwieger Correspondence File, in possession of the archives of the late Reverend Floyd Schwieger, Lovell, Wyoming. Cited as Footnote #65 in: Brownell, “Horse Distribution In The Pryor Mountains Region.”
Living free is the birthright of all of America’s wild horses. Your voice can help ensure that their freedom remains a reality. To learn more about preserving America’s wild horses, contact these organizations.
Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range
Bureau of Land Management
Billings Resource Area
810 East Main Street
Billings, MT 59105 406-238-1540
Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center
P.O. Box 385
Lovell, WY 82431
307-548-9453
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
P.O. Box 1048
Hillsborough, NC 27278
877-853-4696
International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros
P.O. Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636
Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, Inc.
23809 East Avenue J
Lancaster, CA 93535
661-727-0049
Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-337-2332
Photographer Lynne Pomeranz
Equine & fine art photography
This book began with two women who had a passion for free-roaming wild horses. Since we had little preparation, our first adventures in the Pryor Mountains could well have been our last. But thanks to a few key people — as intent on seeing these magnificent horses preserved as we are — we lived to tell their tale.
Mere thanks cannot express our respect and gratitude. If not for these individuals, our experiences among wild horses might never have happened and could never have been shared with you. Our heartfelt thanks to …
Hope Ryden, for paving the way and persevering on behalf of the Pryor Mountain Mustangs.
Dan Elkins and the Mount Taylor Mustangs, for giving Lynne her first glimpse of horses in the wild.
Reverend Floyd Schwieger, for his dedication to preserving the Pryor Mountain mustangs and for freely sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm. He introduced us to them on an intimate, first-name basis. One of our greatest honors was to visit him in his final days, sharing one last round of stories of the horses on the Range, one last laugh and one last hug.
Patricia Fazio, for so many things: inspiration, direction, information, and attitude befitting the best lead mare on the Range. We can’t imagine who could replace her and what she gives us.
Trish Kerby, who has generously shared her first-hand knowledge and touching life stories of individual horses. Her friendship and guidance on the mountain are invaluable.
Linda Coates-Markle, who has brought science and good conscience to the management of the herd. She brings a rare combination of caring and knowledge to a difficult, often thankless job.
Ian Tyson, whose lyrical tribute to wild horses set the tone, for his permission to reprint his words here.
All those in Lovell, Wyoming, who have befriended us, housed us, guided us and continue to keep us informed of the horses from afar: in particular, Joe and Joanne at the Horseshoe Bend Motel, Dale & Daphne Hartman, John Nickle, Jerry Tippetts, Kathy & Bill Johnsey, Nancy & Tom Dillon. And to Police Chief Mike McGee, who upon one of our first (mis)adventures said, “Lovell is that way.”
Terri and Tony Wengert, for sharing this obsession with us.
Savannah Massingham and Sarah Poe, whose love of all horses kept Rhonda inspired.
Everyone at Storey Publishing, for taking on this project, especially Deb Burns for pushing for it to become a reality, and Mary Velgos, Liseann Karandisecky, Kevin Metcalfe, and Ilona Sherratt for their creative and technical expertise and enthusiasm.
Our families and friends, for their unconditional love and support.
And thanks especially to all those who have come before us in the spirit of preserving the legacy of wild horses and to all who will follow.
Page ii: Bachelors Cibeque, Starbuck and Medicine Bow, on the Dry Head
Page v: Foal of Echo, deceased, 2004.
Page 107: Bachelors, with Tecumseh bringing up the rear
Page 124: Trigger’s band: (from left) BJ Star, Brooklyn, Evita, stallion Trigger (front) and Chai
Page 133: Lakota
INQUISITIVE YEARLINGS. We’re dun.