Horse Sense

Science

After reading Black Cowboy, Wild Horses, students will research wild horses in the American West and learn how they can help preserve them.

What You Need

• Access to the Internet and/or reference books containing information about wild horses (see below for suggestions)

What To Do

1. Divide the class into groups. Assign each group to research one aspect of wild horses and their environment: What wild horses are and where they came from; what sort of environment they need to survive; why and how they are endangered; what people are trying to do to save them, and why. Help direct students to online sources such as the Bureau of Land Management (http://www.blm.gov/whb); Institute of Range and the American Mustang (http://www.wildmustangs.com) and Wild Horses of the Pryor Mountains in Montana (http://www.kbrhorse.net/whb/blmdak.html). Useful books include Mustang: Wild Spirit of the West, by Marguerite Henry; Man and Mustang, by George Ancona; and The Mustang (Endangered in America), by Alvin Silverstein with Laura Silverstein Nunn and Virginia Silverstein.
2. Ask each group to prepare a short report on their assigned topic and share their findings with the class.
3. Ask the class how they feel about the importance of saving wild horses. As a group, write to one of the following organizations to learn more about how you can aid the cause:

   Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
   P.O. Box 998
   Hot Springs, SD 57747
   1-800-252-6652 or (605) 745-5955

   Wild Horse and Burro National Program Office
   NV-960
   BLM
   P.O. Box 12000
   Reno, Nevada 89520-0006

   The Wild Horse and Burro Holding Facility at Elm Creek
   BLM-Elm Creek Center
   P.O. Box 160
   Elm Creek, Nebraska 68836