Horses have a right to live and be free. They should be afforded the rights and protection of other species of wildlife and not considered a nuisance or a pest. As with the grizzly bear, moose, deer, elk or mountain sheep they are an important part of the overall ecological make-up of this unique area of Alberta.
The horse became an important animal in helping settle and open this province. Our entire western culture and heritage focuses around horses and the chores that they performed for us. The horse broke the land, hauled produce and helped harvest our forests and crops. They helped the ranchers in the operation of their cattle ranches. They were an important part of the everyday life of the early Albertans being the only means of transportation.
As late as 1985 there were estimated to be over a thousand free roaming wild horses in the foothills of Alberta. Today less than 300 hundred remain in Alberta and those are being killed as well.