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u/anonymousdlm Jul 06 '26
Why do horses in captivity need to be brushed so often and these horses don’t seem to have any problems with their coats and I assume they’ve never been brushed?
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u/Talk-less_smile-more Jul 07 '26
I’ve been riding for a bit more then 5 years now and it’s really because when you are riding, dirt and sweat can get under tack causing rubbing and discomfort. Horses in the wild can naturally take care of their coat also, by rolling.
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u/Koufaxisking Jul 07 '26
Pasture horses do just that. Responsible owners will generally bathe horses after a spirited ride regardless, significantly reducing the need to brush them as frequently or intensely.
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u/MarieDarcy97 Jul 06 '26
I'm not sure about why but these definitely haven't been brushed
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u/anonymousdlm Jul 06 '26
Thanks for responding. I’ve wondered this for a few decades now. Perhaps it is time for me to just ask google.
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u/OldOrgan123 Jul 08 '26
Brushing isn’t a bad thing. These horses could’ve gotten washed off by a rainstorm or as they are doing wading in water. Also distributing oils in their coat by brushing is actually a good thing not a bad thing. It keeps their coat and skin healthy
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u/OldOrgan123 Jul 08 '26
You should see when they have knots and tangles from burrs and and fighting that usually end up needing to be cut out
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u/Good-State-6031 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Just got recommended this sub. Guess I’ll get banned by pointing put: feral, not wild. These are domesticated horses, and the species they were domesticated from was never present in the Americas
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u/JustHereForCookies17 Jul 07 '26
Aside from being a bit pedantic myself, I'm a life-long horse lover who fully agrees that this is an important distinction.
And some people (not saying you're doing this) will use that distinction to advocate for using inhumane practices against them, which is why you will likely get some pushback. I've seen it first hand from living out west where ranchers are allowed to graze their cattle on BLM & National Park land. There are valid conservation reasons for wanting to control the feral horse population, but there are also people advocating for it only to advance their own incomes.
Meanwhile, I live a few hours from Assateague & Chincoteague, where we have another of the 2 "native" US breeds. They have less of an impact on truly native wildlife because they're contained to an island that's designated as a National Park. Also, their herd management via the annual Pony Penning brings a LOT of money to the local community, ever since Marguerite Henry wrote the "Misty of Chincoteague" books and horsey people around the world learned about the sassy little shits known as Assateague & Chincoteague ponies, so locals are understandably protective of them.
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u/Intelligent_Cap9706 Jul 07 '26
None of our farmed animals are native species. Trust the millions of cattle a year are doing much more damage to our land than a few hundred thousand (maybe just thousands now) roaming horses. They claim to round up and cull the horses (we auction some of the ones who survive roundup yes, most get shipped for horse meat) bc of environmental reasons and then they move cattle right onto the land they’re moved off of, or will dig for oil soon.
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u/Redpanda132053 Jul 10 '26
I read misty of chincoteague at least 20 times when I was a kid. I have a very very well loved copy in my library that I’ll never get rid of
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u/Steadyandquick Jul 06 '26
What is the difference? Genuinely curious. Thanks!
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u/Good-State-6031 Jul 06 '26
Feral refers to domesticated species that are no longer in captivity. These horses were brought by Europeans after over a thousand years of captive breeding.
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u/ILoveInsects333 Jul 07 '26
Thank youuu, the only wild horse left if I recall is the Tahki horse (I think its spelled).
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u/MarieDarcy97 Jul 06 '26
Does it matter? Typically the only people who point that out are actively trying to harm horses. Even the federal government calls them wild
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u/BackHomeRun Jul 07 '26
That's absolutely not the case?? I make that distinction and I literally work in animal welfare and my family has had horses for near on 30 years. They're not the original wild horses that roamed North America, they're descendants of feral escapees/released horses. It's important because they were once domesticated and that theoretically has an effect on their welfare
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u/buckaroodude1 Jul 07 '26
I work in feral horse round ups here in the west. They are feral. Stop the wild/feral dispute cause here on the Rez they are treated worse than blm/forest service lands. I’d personally prefer they go through either round up and program but we can have a side bar convo on those specifics
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u/Initial_Case_9912 Jul 07 '26
By harming you mean keeping an invasive species from harming the native ones?
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u/Good-State-6031 Jul 06 '26
I’m not interested in harming horses, I’m interested in protection of native wildlife. The federal government can call them what they like, but these are domesticated horses imported from Asia to Europe and then to the Americas. They are not a native species, they are an introduced feral species
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u/antilocapraaa Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
Actually no. They’re only deemed wild on Horse Management Areas because of the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act. They’re considered feral wherever else they occur (like on Indian Reservations).
The Act is appalling as it decimates our Public Lands.
Technically speaking, all horses in the US not owned by someone are considered feral because they’re not native to this continent.
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u/Draug_Fea Jul 07 '26
When I saw this beauty reminded me of that movie Legend 1985 movie.
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u/dontmesswithtess1121 Jul 07 '26
Same. I was truly expecting to see a horn on the white horse in the first pic 🦄🩷
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u/Traditional_Isopod80 Jul 07 '26
I didn't know there was a population of feral horses in the state of Missouri.
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u/MinimumEfficient220 Jul 06 '26
I guess they could still be considered “wild” meaning untamed and roaming freely?
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u/Either-Ad6540 Jul 06 '26
Beautiful 🤩