Honest Horses: Wild Horses in the Great Basin [Hardcover]

Paula Morin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 2006

OUT OF PRINT OCT. 2006

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Photographer and oral historian Morin became fascinated with the wild horses of the Great Basin. In an effort to understand the mustangs' place in the West's ecosystem, as well as the nature of their lives, she has wisely turned to those who have made horses their life's work, collecting 62 narratives from people like the Nevada state director for the Bureau of Land Management, cowboys, and horse adopters. What do they tell us? That wild horses are in dire situations and that solutions are difficult to implement. Animal behaviorist Temple Grandin provides a long overdue discussion of the need for humane slaughter, while others weigh in on the struggle to satisfy politicians and activists who have neither the interest nor the commitment to see the problem clearly, free of the fog of Western mythology. The firsthand knowledge of the lives of wild horses and the pressures on their environment that Morin has gathered creates an excellent and essential primer on the need for truly aiding wild horses, not just making humans feel better. Colleen Mondor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

OUT OF PRINT OCT. 2006 --10/2006

OUT OF PRINT OCT. 2006 --10/2006

OUT OF PRINT OCT. 2006 --10/2006

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Nevada Pr (February 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087417631X
• ISBN-13: 978-0874176315
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,441,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One-sided propaganda, November 29, 2006

By 

R. H. Poe - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Honest Horses: Wild Horses in the Great Basin (Hardcover)

With a title like this you would expect a fair, even-handed assessment of wild horses in their natural habitat. Instead, what we are served reads more like a government-sponsored justification for the already planned eradication of our wild horses. Not surprising, since a little research shows that government funding went to the author to "research" this work. One-sided and misleading, a disappointment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely the best perspective on wild horses, July 10, 2008

By 

Stephen Bond Garvan "Stephen Bond Garvan" (Sandpoint, Idaho, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honest Horses: Wild Horses In The Great Basin (Paperback)

Honest Horses by Paula Morin(oral historian & photographer) is compelling, highly-engaging and a dramatic read.Her creative photos enrich the comprehensive text. What makes this different is Paula's interviews with 62 westerners across a BROAD range-from BLMers, ranchers,environmentalists, Native Americans, historians, wildlife experts, etc The heart-pulling subject of wild horses has never been given such a thorough examination. We have to commend Paula for bringing the subject and all its complexity to us. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The challenges surrounding the beauty of the West, October 14, 2007

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Honest Horses: Wild Horses In The Great Basin (Paperback)

More than a century has passed since the official closing of the American frontier, and yet our culture continues to harbor romanticized notions of the West. Included in that image is the idea that wild horses, like the deer and the antelope, still have free run of the range. But do they? And should they?

Oral historian and photographer Paula Morin has assembled 62 narratives from the individuals who are most familiar with the Great Basin area, home to the greatest number of our country's wild horses. This geographical region covers parts of Utah, Idaho, Oregon and California, with its largest portion sitting within Nevada's borders. In each of those states, the wild horse issue is a complex one, complete with firm stands being taken by environmentalists, animal lovers, scientists, ranchers, wranglers, politicians and government workers. We hear many of their voices and their viewpoints in this compendium.

Because the bond between humans and horses is a close and historic one, and because equines are such sizable animals, it's difficult to think of the wild horse as a non-native species to the western region. But as alien invaders often do, wild horses reproduce in such numbers that they wreak havoc on any ecosystem. Aside from the occasional mountain lion or coyote band attack, the horse has no natural predator. The Great Basin simultaneously offers an especially harsh and fragile habitat, with periodic dry seasons and soil that needs time to recover from any kind of disturbance. Anyone can predict the kinds of problems that will arise when too many large mammals are confined to such a delicate area.

Horse history, captivating stories and personal experiences abound as the interviewees speak. A variety of opinions are aired here. But the majority of the individuals agree on at least three points: (a) letting nature take its course isn't a practical or humane solution when hundreds of animals die slow and gruesome deaths; (b) folks outside the Great Basin region don't understand all the complexities of the issue and shouldn't be the primary decision-makers involved; and (c) yes, it's still nice to have the wild horses out on the land, running free.

One Amazon reviewer stated: "To me, wild country, while possibly requiring management and certainly requiring protection, need serve no human purpose. It is sufficient to itself." While I agree that we should preserve as many large portions of land as we can, that's not exactly the point of this book. The region in question has already been impacted by man, both directly and indirectly, by the accidental or deliberate introduction of wild horses. Once the habitat has been tampered with to such a drastic state, all options should be considered to restore its health. Limiting the number of wild horses on the land -- however that can be accomplished -- appears to be a logical remedy.

"Honest Horses" is valuable reading for all of us here in the United States, especially since other books about wild horses, especially those for children, never mention the questions and problems they present. For those of us who live "away," it's easy for us to pass judgment or to think of a possible solution. After reading this book it should be obvious that all the stakeholders must sit down and work out the problem to the best of their abilities. Unfortunately, every environmental challenge turns into a political one.