I’m pleased to see that Colorado governor Polis has designated the entire month of March as Wild Horse Protection Month. This of course makes my historical romantic adventure novel, Thundering Hooves: Spirit of the West all the more relevant. Up until very recently, our government’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been getting away with the wholesale destruction of our wild horse herds almost without public notice.
Unfortunately, they are still getting away with it over the objections of our governor, state wildlife professionals, and a majority of our citizens. I was in the planning stages of my first book of my romantic wildlife historical fiction series, Spirit of the Wolf: Forever Wild, Forever Free when the BLM was in the planning stages the destruction of the Colorado Sand Wash Basin wild horse herd, for the benefit of sheep herders who run their livestock on public federal property.
In a ruse to avoid public scrutiny, the BLM declared a drought emergency and crafted a plan to remove the Sand Wash Herd from the Sand Wash Basin Horse Management Area. However the public got wind of their scheme, and and a massive outcry led by governor Polis interrupted their plans. Unfortunately, in the end the BLM went forward with their massive horse gather and removed 85% of the herd over the Colorado’s objections. Once the publicity died down, the BLM then quietly allowed thousands of sheep to come onto the horse management area, exposing the nefarious intent of their scheme all along.
It seemed the BLM had gotten away with their evil plan, and there would be nothing to prevent them from doing the same all over the country. So I decided to write the sequel to my first novel involving the same main characters that I created for Spirit of the Wolf. While we are now celebrating Wild Horse Month, I devoted almost an entire year to the story of the wild mustangs.
I started research for the book in the spring of 2023, and was finally able to visit the Sand Wash Basin for myself in autumn 2025. In addition to the historical fiction storyline, the book contains pictures of actual Sand Wash Basin mustangs from that visit, a history of the Sand Wash Basin and wild horse management in general, and a historical record of the events of the shameful 2020 roundup through the present time.
Though this novel and it’s touching love story and adventure romance involving the main characters, you will learn about the history of wild horses in America, and the long war between animal advocates and ranching interests. You will also discover the brutal and heartless tactics used by our own government agency tasked with the humane care of this iconic symbol of the Old West.
Stay tuned to this channel, as I will be writing more throughout Wild Horse Month, about my year with the mustangs, including more pictures and the story of my visit to the Sand Wash, and a book special to be announced at the end of the month.
You can also see my other books, including Spirit of the Wolf, and several photography publicatons on my website.
Steven W. Krull is a renowned photographer and author who has been photographing and writing of the beauty and wildlife of the Colorado Rocky Mountains for over two decades. Please visit his website at S.W. Krull Imaging to view his work, including thousands of prints for sale, stock images for commercial use, and his library of published books.
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Colorado Photographer / Author / Wildlife Advocate | Steven W. Krull 