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What is mustanging?
Mustanging is the practice of removing wild horses off of the land and selling them for profit.
Before the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed in 1971 the practice involved running wild horses down with motorized vehicles (trucks, airplanes) and then tying them with ropes to be picked up by the kill buyer (the person that sells the horse to slaughter).
The first law to protect America's mustangs was passed in 1959 and banned the practice of chasing mustangings with motorized vehicles and prohibited poisoning of water holes to kill the horses. The law was passed through efforts spearheaded by Nevadan Velma Johnston. The Act was dubbed "The Wild Horse Annie Act" in recognition of her nickname, "Wild Horse Annie."
Unfortunately enforcement of the law was extremely rare and the practice continued.
In 1961 the movie "The Misfits," written by Arthur Miller for his wife Marilyn Monroe, brought the plight of our wild horses into the national spotlight.
In 1971 the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act created full federal jurisdiction over management of wild horses including law enforcement.
Jurisdiction over management of any public resource, grazing by cattle or wild horses, has been resented for decades. A new push to take that jurisdiction away has begun. That push includes a return to mustanging; removing wild horses from the range for profit through slaughter.
Photos credit University of Nevada Reno, Special Collections