Ecosystems are meant to be balanced, not to support unrestricted population growth. Prey species whose populations aren't controlled by predation are an environmental disaster. The cascade effects of eliminating and then reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone are just one example of what happens when predators are taken out of the equation. Yes, it's true that colonial land use patterns are no good for feral horses, but our insistence on releasing them into the wild while we systematically wiped out the animals that prey on them has also done them no favours. No, a horse being turned into a carnivore's lunch is not something I enjoy thinking about or want to see. I have, though, been forced to watch a horse die of starvation, which is also a brutal way to go and lasts a whole lot longer. When it happens in an environment that the horses have degraded through overpopulation, other species (which are genuinely wild!) are also suffering and being put at risk by the consequences of the horses' unchecked population growth. At the end of the day, feral horses are a human-created issue. Management strategies have to take on-the-ground reality into account. Contraception programs are expensive and complicated to carry out; leaving them alone to proliferate isn't an option. To me, being reintegrated into human society seems better than the other available choices.

They need to round up wild horses so they don't overpopulate and run out of food.... And I'm pretty sure all the horses that are "sold into slavery" really appreciate not having to worry about their next meal and having a safe place to sleep.

I do agree completely with both replies, but partially with the OP too, because millions of horses are abused and neglected in the US, literally in slavery. A great many of them are formerly "wild" Mustangs. It's a complicated issue.

@@cattymajiv Then you have an issue with animal abuse, not with mustang management per se (the way Joanne does). Also, it's in very poor taste to qualify abused horses as 'enslaved' when American law still explicitly allows the enslavement of actual human beings.

Hi Joanne, how are you doing? Hope you’re good?

Thank's for watching !

You're right, especially the way they do it. It's cruel and barbaric. The way they go about it is extremely cruel too. Mainly, the way they scare them so much by subduing them like that is probably the most terrifying part for the horses, and it will leave mental scars that will be hard to overcome, or even impossible, although the branding iron is VERY cruel too. Ear tags hurt less, like ear piercing, but these dumb people would still subdue the horses same way for that. I was angry at how they suddenly force saddles on the horses backs too. The unnecessary cruelty is sickening. Whenever this was filmed, that atrocious treatment is shameful, when the rest of the world knows better and has known for a long time, and most horses are trained with kindness. There is no excuse for cruelty and wild horses can be trained without it, exactly as tame ones are, as many videos here on YT show us very clearly. There is very little branding of Mustangs in the US and Canada. It's just not necessary.

So what?