By John W. Cox M.A. C/M
“Many of us have always found interesting, the fact obvious-forms of the scientific facts of Natural Selection Process, through time, so blatantly obvious, and the ability to see it in Wild Horses roaming our Public Lands, so easily accomplished – when proper knowledge about them achieved. Yes, there is a difference between those who have the proper knowledge, and those who do not. . . So ignorantly ignored, so often.
Often, I review articles of questionable information, and obvious a lack of research ability, bias, with interpretation abilities low, to none at all; especially, when research papers or information obtained from the Internet, for example. It’s not enough, to have the ability of information interpretation, but to have the ability, or experience and education, to acknowledge when the information is not just truthful, but “complete” within all phases of communicating the idea or subject matter. In contrast, to know when the information in error, or blatantly, just plain ol’ propaganda, or advertising within a context of a documentary.
We see much of the advertising for Fertility Controls (misguided and explained experimentation actually, used upon Wild Horses), nothing more than advertainments using the documentary format – especially from non-profits who contract with government, or fishing for donations, using it quite a lot. Toward this experimentation circumstance alone, the fact of the Natural Selection Process, to them, simply does not exist – and a misinterpretation of Genetics also quite prevalent, in their documentary formats – some consider the material they give to the general public, outright lies. . .
Information Knowledge and Bias
Yet, this knowledgeable-base of information decisively ignored by government and other supposed knowledgeable resources, e.g. corrupted non-profits and corrupted horse rescues, and their total “lack of knowledge” of Wild Horses quite irresponsible – which, often leads to abuse of Horses in common, as well as death. . . Yes, ignorance and bias is no longer an innocent circumstance that can be overlooked, or ignored, any longer. The consequences of doing so is quite expansive, and dangerous.
When we can understand this unintentional developed circumstance, having been acceptable practice over many years, we can then become selective on who it is we listen to, and who it is we can ignore. Only then, we can see that management of our Wild Horses be accomplished appropriately.
Yes, 30 to 50 years of bad-management, from outright exploiters of Wild Horses, and all the situations of demeaning the Wild Horses involved in it over the years, just as obvious, remains troubling, yet neglected. Often, we see non-profits and rescues become bad-managers of Wild Hores, in accord with their piss-poor to incompetent realm of bad management, especially by the Bureau of Lands Management and the Department if the Interior. Over time, many people accept it as a required pretense toward management of them. The fact of a lack of knowledge toward any other way of managing them, cannot develop within this type of informational-environment.
We see clearly today, the battle between knowledgeable-information, and information obtained from bad resources; or, from those who lack credentials, credibility, and knowledge. We can look at statistical-data, and find information being a dubious situation, primarily from the lack of the ability, from the general public, to understand credible information, i.e. . . . 33% of the public do not understand 68% of what they read, and 54% of what they hear (2022, Smith, Cox, Howl, and Bernard), misinterpretation follows, and bias develops from the misinterpretation . . . We then break this situation down to specialty fields, that integrate into the public domain, and we find even less understanding, of not just simplistic data, but the more technical data presented, the understanding of such exponentially degraded – perhaps a mere 2% may understand the material presented (ibid, Wild Horse technical aspects), and then ignored, as if the information not presented to the general public at all.
The Characteristics of the Horse – Domestic or Wild
A good example: A small portion of advanced knowledge about Horses, their physical Natural Balance abilities and Carriage, and from a Natural Process of Evolution within their physical attributes. We see Nature having developed these attributes through the ages, their physical well-being so to speak, that develops into usefulness by human’s, within diversity, of even more refined and manipulated characteristics through breeding a complex of foundational characteristics, expanding on characteristics given to them via Natural Selection.
For example (without getting into technical explanation) a Horse’s “Top Line” (merely one of many other attributes we observe through experience and knowledge over time) virtues, all different, and all just as desirable as the other, dependent upon necessity, or, “desirable characteristics”, compared to unacceptable characteristics, for Collection, or other qualities toward specific-use details, forms-of-functions – a long-backed horse (good on trails, not so good as a show-horse or changing-leads, et al) compared to a short-backed horse (which may be more athletic, a good “Cutter” for example, on the ranch. Or, a Horse’s back, with a uphill or downhill slant observed when standing, or, where the neck ties-in with the chest, and where., or the uphill or downhill segment – the withers to the croup . . .
There exists so many of these characteristics within our Horse Culture socially, that ”Makes” or “Breaks” a Horse for life – te difference between, crudely, going to an Auction for slaughter, or going to an Auction for numerous Specialty Fields of riding, whether it be competition, show class, rodeo, cutting, or whatever.
What we observe in Wild Horses, much of the time, is the over-flow of the types of Horses that are popular, at different times and within different classes and distinctions of Horses, domestically. Many people attempt to compare the Wild Horse with the Domestic Horse, and assume that to be enough of an explanation, within the problems we face with Wild Horses. For example, we can go back to Pre-Historic Horses that roamed the America’s – then to the Horses we still see today (i.e. although evolved quite well within a Natural Process of Evolution to fit the Ecological Balance of their locations (i.e. Domestic Horses (2012, Cox, Neular, Ricketts) fit-in the necessity of their human owner, and most often not Nature nor Natural, at all), but kept their primary utility physical uniqueness, e.g. favoring their front-legs and hind legs for example, within a Natural “Collection” et al., as well as their social patterns, their grazing attributes, and their “roaming abilities” – all for their survivability qualities).
Misinformation Lies and Inuendo
For discussion here we can say we know of the Spanish Barb Horses mixed with a Siberian Horses mix with other Horses already on the West Coast (DNA and X-Factor influence, et al.), as well as Cavalry-Horses, that over-flowed onto Public Lands way back when, then see the Natural Selection Process Develop Heavy and very large Work Horses around the same time – these are the Horses that helped build America. These are the Horses we know, and most of America acknowledge – and in the background, all that time, the Wild Horses remained disconnected, and kept away from “most” of these civilized-breeds of horses for domestic use. Then years ago (est. avg) the beginning of Domestic “Horses of Color” replaced the common Work Horse types of physical attributes, and the over-flo onto our nation’s Public Lands.
We assumed these to be Wild Horses, due to misinformation from government and those managing the Wild Horses — these domestics that were let-loose on Public Lands. The Kigers’, for example, that were non-existent before the early 1900’s, and Domestics from a rancher (Spanish Barbs used for ranching near that Valley) at Kiger valley, at the time, inter-bred (i.e. from a Sheep Herder’s Horse – Stallion) in Kiger Valley & Riddle Mountain area, in Southeastern Oregon State.
They were sold as Wild Horses for a lot of money, by the BLM, at the time in the 1960’s & 1970’s – until the Justice Dept. stepped-in and told BLM they could not partake in selling them to the Public, commercially – a good example of misinformed communication from the BLM, at that time – But, the situation was not “cleared-up” so to speak, and the Kigers’ to this day, considered “Wild” — yet erroneously so. Then used, by those we refer to as Predatory-Profiteers and Ranchers, as how “all” wild Horses are merely “inbreds” from surrounding ranchers —
Today and Conclusively
We see currently, the over-flow of very beautiful and colored Horses quite dominant, alongside Buckskins, et al., and several classes of “Range Horses” from ranching, rodeos, private ownership, and all mixed with Wild Horse genetics. Volumes of journals and research can be accomplished on all of this, and should be, and done so in a “complete” and “scientific” format, via Evidence (not conjecture of Wild Horses Disappearing 10,000 to 13,000 years ago with no evidence to show it to be factual, just opinions and bias is all this situation has even been).
The benefits of this alone would enhance the Horse World significantly – the crude ignorance we see today will not allow this, due to the infiltration of Bias, and often bigoted mind-sets toward what Horses are or are not, according to belief, rather than, based upon good science. Science tells us the Wild Horses are Indigenous to North America, and natural Selection of the Wild Hore’s Physical Traits and survivability circumstances, show this quite well. Good Science also shows us, there are many domestic Horses on our Public Lands, as well – and roam in their separate bands, for survivability purposes. We need to have clarified, by Hones Science and Research, from Non-Bias Resources, and “separate” the Wild Horse Bands from the Domestic Horse Bands. The inexperienced and non-credentialed or unknowledgeable need not apply.
Conclusively, until we as a society start paying attention to the quality of communication, ongoing today, through different media outlets, as well as creative outlets, and general information to the public, whether it be science or noteworthy art forms, from novels or documentary materials, we will be open to manipulative propaganda. Ignorance prevails within this outlandish form of social control, and the benefactors and/or the benefits, for all intent and purpose, of this circumstance remains very few – and yet, uphold the controlling information outlets. This is how “ignorance” develops into a refined form of communication – as history shows quite well.
We see this in Wild Horse Advocacy. True enough, a small example, of information / disinformation control, appearing quite harmless, when observed individually. Ignorance can appear innocent at times. Only when we see the same things developed upon a national level, do we see the negative attributes directly involving good and useful information, subordinated – which appeals toward erroneous information being quite acceptable – “
Photojournalist - Journalist 