Wild Horses of the Placitas New Mexico Captured

God some heartbreeaking and bad news today from a fellow horse photography friend.  I went with her on a photography workshop some years ago.  She took us to some great areas of NM where horses still run free...only now some of them don't.
The Bureau of Land Management has removed all the horses from the Placitas.  Some of them went to a rescue while some of them were sold to a killer.  All but two of those were recovered and taken to the rescue as well.  Seriously these particular horses were not hurting anyone.
There are many articles on the BLM and other government entities rounding up wild horses and putting them in holding pens.  It's a travesty.  There is a film that's been made by some folks trying to save the horses that I would love to see.  I hope it comes close.  it's called "American Mustang".
Here are photos of those horses that I took 3 years ago.  Seeing them makes me even more sad.  Oh my!

This is Juan, one of the last stallions with his band to be taken.  Small however, majestic!

 A large photo of this handsome stallion is in my living room!

 All these horses have names however, I did not document them.  A mare and her foal.

 A band of bachelors struggling to get along.

Two stallions sparing over mares.
Now all of these are in holding pens with hundreds of other horses.

You can see them in these holding pens behind my friend, Myka.  These pens are actually in Wyoming.  but they are the same, small pens, lots of horses, no freedom, sad, and wrong.
Here's the thing.  Horses were here before we were.  They say there are too many of them.  There are other answers besides capturing them, separating families/bands, penning them in small pens confining them to a terrible life of captivity or death.
I've always felt strongly about this tragedy, but today, knowing some of these fabulous creatures that I met and captured with my own camera are now trapped and hopeless, just makes me sick.

Job 39:19-24New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse its strength
    or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰ Do you make it leap like a locust,
    striking terror with its proud snorting?
²¹ It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
    and charges into the fray.
²² It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
    it does not shy away from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against its side,
    along with the flashing spear and lance.
²⁴ In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
    it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.

Encourage One Another, continuing the journey on fresh paths.
Blessings and love to you, xoxo.