From the freezemark, the BLM was able
to give Sandra an approximate age for the
beautiful white gelding and identify his place
of origin as Wyoming. As she worked with
Maximus, the name she gave her own “White
Steed,” the two formed an unbreakable bond.
That was in 2013 and the first experience in
Sandra’s incredible journey with the American
Wild Mustang.
A native of Bavaria, Germany, Sandra came
to the United States in 2009. Horses were
always an important part of her life. “I started
riding when I was five. My parents were always
very supportive. I got my first horse when I was
thirteen. But my parents always thought, ‘When
she gets into the teenage years, she will quit
doing the horses.’ I never did.” Sandra smiled.
But Maximus was not just another
horse. He was her first wild mustang. As
90 Toombs County Magazine
she researched the history of this American
legend, she learned their history went as far
back into the 16th century when the Spanish
conquistadors first brought them to the
Americas. “After they escaped or were released
in the wild in the early twentieth century, they
bred with all kinds of other breeds. That's why
you see them now in all colors and sizes.”
Velma Vonn Johnston, also known as “Wild
Horse Annie,” was the first to bring attention
to the plight of the American Wild Mustang.
In 1959, her efforts led to the passing of “a
bill prohibiting the use of motorized vehicles
to hunt wild horses and burros on public
lands.” But it wasn’t enough. According to the
BLM website, the bill “did not include Annie’s
recommendation that Congress initiate a
program to protect, manage and control wild
horses and burros.”
By 1971, the wild horse population on
public lands had notably declined due to human
impact. This prompted the unanimous passage
of the “Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros
Act” (Public Law 92-195) to “provide for the
necessary management, protection and control
of wild horses and burros on public lands.”
(www.blm.gov)
Even with the new bill, the mustang was
still in danger. In a 2009 National Geographic
article written by Alexandra Fuller entitled
“Mustangs, Spirit of the Shrinking West,” she
writes:
In 2005 an Oklahoma man who said he
wanted wild horses for a church youth
program adopted half a dozen for $50 each
and sold them to an Illinois slaughterhouse
for a small profit. Two years later the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
upheld the decision by Illinois to ban the
slaughter of horses for human consumption,
and the last slaughterhouse in the country
closed down.
But protecting the wild mustang turned
into another issue. A herd of mustangs can
potentially double in size every four years.
According to the BLM website, “As of March 1,
2018, the wild horse and burro population on
public lands was estimated at approximately
81,950 animals, which is now more than triple
the size the land can support along with other
legally mandated uses.”
“Almost 50,000 mustangs are in BLM offrange
holding facilities waiting to be adopted
right now,” said Sandra. It seemed unbelievable,
but a BLM press release in January 2018
As a TIP trainer with
a Storefront Program
training facility, Sandra
Williamson and her
team have gentled
about 200 mustangs in
the past 2 1/2 years at
Rackettown Mustangs.
After they receive
training, the horses are
shipped to new owners
all over the world.
/(www.blm.gov)