After waiting six long months we got a report back from Dr. Gus Cothran of the University of Texas.  Essentially, in a summary email from Dr. Cothran he states that the horses are of the cold blood type. They are a type of pony and in their dna tree of resemblance they fall into the group of the shire, dales and fell ponies and are also related to the Spanish horses. The official mailed document however, will require a geneticist to decode all the scientific data.    Nonetheless, according to the Alberta Sustainable Resources Development, it doesn’t matter whether the Alberta wild horses came originally from spanish stock or were ranch escapee’s they are not considered wildlife and they see no reason to change their current status.  Currently, the horses fall into a grey area where they are not considered wild life but they are not considered domestic really either, otherwise they would fall under the protection of the SPCA, and any complaints would be investigated by them.  To date that hasn’t happened either.Â
I know when I received my letter from Ed Stelmack, he said “ALL” wild horses are the result of farmers letting their horses go…
I think a letter, with a copy of the DNA results and someone grabbing that man and taking him for a trail ride to see for himself, may shake him up a bit…
The government seems so closed minded when it comes to the wild horses, they don’t seem to even want to learn about them…
Left by Lana Bollers on January 23rd, 2008