Monthly Archives: September 2020

A John Cox Story, Cascade Mountains

We Meet

I am sure when this story began.  Chuck and I flew over some of the Forestry Land looking for small bands of horses.  This time of year, fall, it was somewhat cold-out in the mornings, but by noon and the sun up, it got a little warm, although, still coat weather.  The fall colors amazing.

I looked out the side window, shut the telemetry equipment down, and ready to head back home.  That was when I caught first site, of the largest and most beautiful, totally black, a Thoroughbred Stallion. I had never seen such a sight before.

He stood straight, quite obvious, Nobility his birthright.  He overlooked his Kingdom, from that hilltop, while he scanned the countryside.  Proud, as his mares not far to his front and in knee-high pasture.  The grass higher than the two black yearlings, stood at each mares’ side.

“Chuck, swing over there for a minute.  Over near that Stallion.”

We swayed a little, in the Piper cub, caught the cross current, and went low.  Chuck swung the plane around so I could get a couple of photos, in particular, the Stallion.  Ironically, we connected eye-to-eye.  A moment in infamy, in my life, anyway.

While posing, he thrust his chest out, lifted his leg and curled it upward, majestically; then, stomped the ground with it.  I held the camera trigger down, and hoped to capture the entire event, the magnificence of it all.

The value of such a scene, tremendous.  My heart skipped, as I mumbled “Wow” unconsciously.  His country.  His pasture.  His woods.  His sky.  We were just visitors in his realm, his Kingdom.  The power of his presence, Chuck and I both felt, while doing the flyover.

We were trivial and we knew it, in that Stallion’s eyes, but there was something.  There was something that happened in that milli-second of time . . . as if my very life changed, within those following seconds . . .

The Auction

A couple of summers later, I went to an Auction Yard Sale.  I was in the back of the lot.  I seen one of the stable boys.

“Why are these horses back here, separate from those in front going to sale?”  I asked.

“. . . These are going to slaughter.  Nobody wants them.  Ol’ feral horses that probably can’t be trained, is all.”

“Well, I . . .”

I was caught off-guard.  I stepped quick, toward a stable.  A horse stood against the back wall.  Its head bowed down, its mane dirty, knotted, and tethered from dirt, lack of attention.

I took a breath, deep, as its stench overwhelmed me.  I breathed out while flipping the light switch-on in the stable, covering my nose with my hand.

There he was.  My God, the Nobility of that horse.  Gone.  I recognized him immediately.  He raised his head, slight, but enough to raise his eyes, and connect to mine.  Those eyes, they connected with me before.  He knew and I knew, right then.  Right there.

My heart dropped, broken.  He recognized me, just as I recognized him from a distance.  I could see the Nobility in his eyes, still, but he was broken.  A captured Wild Horse.

Those who captured him tore-down his spirit, as they were just too damned ignorant to recognize what kind of horse he was – to them he was feral – although, to those who seen him, and knew horses, immediately, he was Nobility.

His weight was down, and he looked very muddy, clumps in his mane.  He smelled bad.

I hollered at the Stable Boy, “Boy.  Go get me the owner here.  I want to buy this horse.”

“Those are feral horses, mister.  They don’t . . .”

“Just get the fuckin’ owner over here. Now!” I said, with disgust toward these people in the auction yard.

I mostly spoke to myself, then, mumbling, while helping this horse up, and assist him in gathering himself to walk.  “How could these despicable people do such a thing.  Unconscionable, at best, and the lowest of the low scumbags, to be sure.”

I bought the horse a little over what the slaughter-price would have been, $550.00.  I have no idea why I said it, but when I placed the halter on him, he took it immediately, as I mumbled, “. . . such a Noble Knight.”

I think he not only knew he was safe now, but he wanted out of there.  His eyes brightened, and despite his overall dilapidated and dirty appearance, he rose, stepped out like the Champion he indeed was, and his Nobility took hold.

I looked into his eyes, and told him, “From here out, you are Nobel Knight, and a more distinguished name I cannot think of, for you.  I am so proud of you. . .”

He high-stepped, chest out – legs high, as we walked across the auction yard.  He stepped into the trailer as if a King stepping into his carriage.  Proud once again, Distinguished and Handsome.

The Most Cherished Moment of My Life – and three very special friends

A decade and a tough winter later, and into Spring — Henry was a good friend of mine. 50 Years’ worth of friendship.  We were in Vietnam, same squad.  Actually, he saved my life, not once, not twice, but three solid times.  I got word he was near death, and to come and see him, for perhaps the last time, at least, during his life.

It took me very little time to decide what I had to do.  I had not much to offer, as a goodbye, other than a life-long friendship and many stories and things we had done together or with all of our friends, as well.  Sad stories, happy stories, crazy stories, and all the amazing things in between.

I pulled the trailer up, behind the hospital.  The nurse waited for me at the back door, as I approached.

“I will go get Henry now.  Are you ready?”

I nodded, then said, “Absolutely.  We’re all ready.”

Henry was being wheeled down the hall to the back door.  At the same time, I turned and went over to the horse trailer, and opened the door.

“Ump, bring Noble Knight out.”

Just as Henry was being wheeled out of the back doorway to the hospital, Ump, my Border Collie – McNab, had a lead rope in his mouth, he was bringing Noble Knight out of the trailer and over to Henry.  I had never seen Henry with such a big, and robust smile, in my life.  The nurses gasped, one covered her mouth, the other intears.  I turned, and then seen what they seen, and oh, what a sight.

The Ride

Being led, by a black lead rope, was Noble Knight.  He glowed in the sunlight, 17-2 hands, the blackest of black hide, the long mane rich and soft, soft tail, and the black saddle outlined in silver conch and brass with brass stirrups.

I signaled to the nurses to pull Henry up to the side of Noble Knight.  Henry was all smiles, and energized.  I helped him off the wheel chair, and lifted him into the saddle.  I stepped to the front of Noble Knight, looked directly into his eyes, and asked, “Please, my friend, take care of this man, as he saved me many times, my life, and eventually to save you.”

Noble Knight understood, immediately.  I handed Henry the reins, and told him, “. . . the horse will take care of you.  Trust him, he will do what is right.  Just trust him to do so.”

Noble Knight spun around, slow and assured, his cargo in the saddle safe.  I have seen horses with children, but what I seen before me was one of the gentlest, as well as purposely smooth rides given to a human being, as I have not seen before.  Noble Knight, with his majestic stature, placed Henry into the limelight of that mysterious-light and glow of Nature’s Magic, combined with the presence of royalty, and stature.

My dog Ump and I simply looked on for what must have been an hours’ worth of riding.  The horse flipping its mane into the air, as if in flight.  Henry and the broadest smile I have ever seen on a human, so smooth in the saddle, Angelic in many ways, a Crusader and His horse, ready for heaven.

The Ultimate Moment

Years later — I walked up to Nobel Knight’s corral fence.  He was laying in his corner, but something was wrong.  I slipped through the fence and trotted over to him.

He was wheezing but attentive, when I got there.  I stood near him.  He held his head upward, nickered, then laid his head back down.  With a burst of energy, he tried to rise, tried to get up.  It did not matter, as his energy was gone. He laid back down.

His eye’s never left sight of me.  He blinked.  I thought I, ironically, had seen a thank-you, an emotion, in those eye’s, and his facial expression. . . The side of his mouth seemingly curled upward, and I swear to God, it was with a smile.

I reached up, and lightly pulled his eyelids over his eyes.  I got up, and walked out of the corral.  I knew he lived a good life.  His royalty and his Noble spirit I will never forget.  He has a place, for life, in my heart, in my mind.

When I realized he was almost sent to slaughter, rounded up by a corrupt government, placed into an Auction Yard, and headed to slaughter – But then I realized, Mother Nature does not make mistakes, and Creator had a plan.

This horse was part of Creator’s plan for Ump and I to experience, as well as all others that will experience the same things.  Their story will be different, but Mother Nature and Creator are never wrong.

This story is only one of many more, that I am positive either has taken place, or will take place in the future.  Adopt a Wild Horse, and never look back . . .

By John Cox, Cascade Mountains

A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. — Aldo Leopold

Today Wildlife and Lands Management is reprehensible, and government manages’ all lands and wildlife, not as a priority, but subordinate to Special Interests, Corrupted Programs such as the governments Grazing Permit Programs for ranchers (that are destroying our lands for cancerous beef products, for example) is and remains over the years, wrong.

Many of us think these conflicts can be resolved by not just dissolution of these counter-productive programs and interests, but can be replaced with a dynamic approach, using knowledge as well as Wildlife and Lands Management a Priority toward Health, Responsible Science data Collection, as well as taking non-indigenous species “off” of all Federal and Public Lands entirely.

Let’s look at the reality of an overly amount of budgetary approval to non-qualified-non-scientific cultures that exist today.  Pompas and even ignorance remain profound, quite obvious to many of us.

The unqualified, as long as they appear (only) to be an organized venture, whether non-profit or profitable (rancher’s et al unqualified to approach many situations they are funded by government for, and the DOI/BLM/Forestry funded Stewardship Programs are and remain bogus and corrupt, entirely). . . We see daily the unacceptability of “incompetence” that now manages, along side and with Private Contractors, placed upon our Public Lands to do jobs they are unqualified to do accordingly.

An insurmountable amount of evidence exists for this exact problem, yet no one in the department of Justice nor the Administrator’s in these agencies, seemingly, even look at them.  Qualification obviously ignored, set aside for Special Interest only criteria, and this breaks Laws exponentially.  Federal Fraud Laws violated daily by these government agencies, and yet?

Real-Time Natural Management Paradigm

What is outlined below are Base Goals, Methodology, as well as logical Parameters’, which distinguish the mediocre and fake from the Reality of a “true and doable” lands and wildlife management paradigm.  Adjustments required per region, but the very essential basis of a no-nonsense development, no birth controls, no chemicals used upon vegetation, no water pollution characteristics, no ethics nor morals violated, no conflicts with Nature at all – as it allows Nature to correspond with indigenous species within a development toward Health and Abundance, inclusive of our Food Chain Supplements’ from our very own Natural Resources.

This is what an overall honest, and a-priority situation looks like, when Special Interests are not involved, or corrupted pay-offs, or inadequately experienced people involved, et al . . .

Overall Capacity Short Term Goals

1. Evaluate the adequacy of existing protected areas to assure sustained productivity within a healthy lands and wildlife habitat;
2. Determine the size of population moderation, to assure diversity of production and (true) conservation of Our Natural Resources.

Long Term Goals:

1. Determine effects of Ecological Habitats upon target terrestrial and wildlife dynamics, coincide existent availability of diversity of wildlife within all of the sanctuary or reserve;
2. Determine Zones of Influence of Sanctuary or Reserve;
3. Estimate potential Ecological Diversity with no conflict within a diverse Moderation of Population Dynamic Naturally, and within the parameters of the Natural Resource environment;
4. Determine weather, water source and depth, habitat category, wildlife adaptation – survival, indigenous species availability, invasive species management and removal;
5. Develop models to predict establishment or re-establishment of indigenous species, criteria and process, as well as active criteria/data available for thorough minimum hands-on management paradigm;
6. Summarize the known biology and ecology of target species i.e. cohabitation capacity of indigenous species i.e. Keystone Predators, et al.;
7. Determine susceptibility of all species, to hunting and over-flow of hunting from different, or surrounding, lands management paradigms, to recognize hunting et al., is not nor ever has been a collaborative nor conservation aspect, within any type of reality of wildlife and lands management principles or paradigms;
8. Mitigate and investigate, through research and data gathering Natural Aspects of diversity within all target species within the sanctuary process and management;
9. Develop the susceptibility of all species dynamics of moderation of population upon potential Endangered Species, as well as Potential Endangered Species;
10. Develop methodologies for measurement of species cohabitation with lands management dynamics, of all indigenous species, their survival tactics, their family/band structures’ which provide survival skills, habitat skills, placement in the order of habitat, ecological rehabilitation of each Ecological Zone, and combination of which effects the entire Sanctuary Habitat or Environmental cohabitation or stress factors.

Anything, any situation, that does not uphold the base-ingredients, the summation of all parts above, for quality Wildlife and Lands Management — thereby, potentially inadequate to Resolve any types of co-habitation within a Natural form of management paradigm.  This is what myself and others speak of, when we speak of proper wildlife and lands management paradigms, and anything conflicting the items below, questionable — most often.  This is for educational purposes, but can interact precisely within all research and data gathering situations and reports.

Be aware, when government employees, or non-profit people talk, and what they should be stating as facts, and non-inclusive of anything above, then question, then question more, and ask them the base parameter’s above, and as to why they are not inclusive within their facts of actual action and/or operation capacities.  Variations do exist, but not to the point of being apparently not-inclusive with base principle’s of management and sound data gathering and research.  The above is from Years of Experience, not to be ignored . . .

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Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, The David Attenborough Building, Downing Street, Cambridge CB3 3QZ, U.K. BioRISC (Biosecurity Research Initiative at St Catharine’s),St Catharine’s College,

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