Riding the trails where wild mustangs roam

Trail guide Jill Tobia kicked her pinto into action and intercepted the stallion’s challenge with a loud “Haa!” He tossed his head and trotted away, tail high, toward his band of mares and foals whinnying in the trees.

The brief encounter was exciting, albeit a bit unnerving, and exactly what we’d come to see on this rugged preserve east of Redding dedicated to one of the West’s most enduring and controversial symbols.

For two days, we’d ride the mustang trails several miles into the backcountry and observe wild horses in their natural surroundings.

Roundup and treatment of wild horses during the 1950s and ’60s sparked public outcry and led to the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which protects them as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”

According to the Bureau of Land Management, about 67,000 wild horses and burros roam public land, exceeding the appropriate management level, the number of horses and burros the agency says the land can sustain.

Some are adopted, but most live out their lives in holding facilities, off-range pastures or, if they’re lucky, nonprofit preserves, such as the Wild Horse Sanctuary.

The nonprofit’s mission is preservation and education, but it also strives to be a model of ecologically balanced wild horse management, sharing the land with coyotes, mountain lions and other wildlife.

The preserve is supported by donors, volunteers and fundraisers, including overnight pack trips.

Tobia and Stowe point out two bands of horses grazing near the treeline and spend a little time talking about herd dynamics, which sound like the equine version of a soap opera:

Over the scraping, knocking and clomping of horseshoes against stone, Tobia explains that the rocky terrain helps keep unshod hooves short and healthy.

The mustangs’ trail narrows and steepens, and we wend through pine, manzanita and deer brush, dodging branches and shrubs where the horses find cover.

Cowboy stops occasionally, heaves a sigh and gazes off into the trees, oblivious to the pileup of trail horses behind him.

The accommodations are rustic but comfortable, with platform beds, curtained windows and inviting porches.

Heading into the ranch, we pass two big bands spread out on either side of the trail — pintos, roans, bays, buckskins grazing, rolling in the dirt, cooling off under oaks.

The Wild Horse Sanctuary’s annual benefit from noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 20 includes a mustang parade, wild horse viewing, rides for children, live music, demonstrations and more.