Bill Cooper
Local legend says that the wild horse herds along the Current and Jacks Forks Rivers in Shannon County have been roaming free since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors.
“Not likely,” says Jack Peters, a retired National Park Service Ranger and now owner of Running River Canoe Rental near Timber, Missouri. “The horses are most likely remnants of farm stock abandoned by the last of the people who hung on in the area after the timber companies left in the 1930’s.”
Regardless of how long the horses have been around, they provide a gasp of inspiration to all who see them along the riverways.
According to Peters, who has been watching the horses since he first came to the area as a Park Ranger in 1967, the herd is usually made up of three separate family groups, totaling about 35 horses. They roam freely over much of the territory between Round Spring and Two Rivers. Canoers sometimes see the horses along this stretch.
Finding enough grass to graze can become difficult in the winter months. “The horses have adapted to eating watercress,” said Peters. “They hang out at the springs, especially Round Spring, over the winter months, where they can be seen knee deep in the spring branch feeding on watercress. I have actually seen horses with their heads under water like a moose feeding.”
I personally saw a herd of wild horses while floating and camping on the Jacks Fork almost 35 years ago. Late one evening, a tremendous noise approached from a ridge top above our camp. A dozen running horses scurried down the slope, trampled across a wide gravel bar and plunged into the river. We were left spellbound by the raw beauty of what we had just witnessed.
Early the next morning, I heard them coming back. The river lay enshrouded by fog. The eerie sound of splashing water and hooves clashing on rocks and gravel caused a chill to tingle my spine. We caught glimpses of their shapes and colors as the horses broke in and out of the fog. The experience rivaled a vivid dream, which I have never forgotten.
I vowed to see the horses again and photograph them. Numerous trips down the rivers by canoe netted nary a glimpse at the wild horses.
Once I heard about the horses hanging around Round Spring over winter, I began making day trips in hopes of spotting them. After several years of failing to connect, I planned a week- long trip to camp and fish in the area. I made a point of checking Round Spring a couple of times a day. On the third day of the trip , my efforts paid off.
I spotted several horses feeding on the peninsula between Current River and the spring branch at Round Spring. I quickly drove to the upper parking lot and parked my truck. What I experienced over the course of the next hour rivals any outdoor adventure of my lifetime.
I crept slowly through the woods, following a well-worn trail with obvious signs of horse usage. I planned my approach carefully, making sure I stayed down wind of the herd. Less than 50 yards down the trail, movement caught my eye. I readied my camera as a beautiful white horse ambled towards me. It paused to stare directly at me offering a great photo opportunity. The white horse disappeared like a ghost after a few seconds stare down with me.
I eased further up the trail and soon spotted several horses of different colors and sizes moving through the underbrush. The scene stunned my senses. The wild beauty of these magnificent creates inspired a deep awe and respect from within me.
I have never been much of a horse fan, having been kicked, bitten, thrown off and generally mistreated by horses. But, these creatures were astoundingly different. Beautiful. Powerful. Free. And they carried themselves with a sense of confidence, if that is possible for wild animals.
I moved at a snail’s pace trough the timber, edging ever closer to more horses. Their tolerance of my presence came as a shock. However, my heart raced when two stallions raced towards me. I stood my ground. Both white horses brilliant white coats bore crimson red blood stains from their battles to gain dominance.
My heart rate slowed when the two stallions began nipping at one another again. They lost interest in me and wandered off kicking and biting one another.
I managed to photograph for over an hour, moving slowly and approaching small groups of horses until they tired of my presence and moved on. I became intrigued with the color phases, black, grey and white.
Peters later explained to me that the horses go through the color phases as they age “The colts are born mostly black,” he said. “As they age, the horses turn grey and then white as they mature. When I first started seeing the herds 40 years ago there were a lot of bays in the groups. A white stallion showed up in the early 70’s. I have watched the dominant color of the herds change several times over four decades.”
The wild horses of Shannon County, Missouri have survived both bureaucracy and mistreatment. Iin 1994, the national Park Service rejected a proposal from the Missouri Wild Horse League to take over management of the wild horse herds. The NPS further stated that no other proposals would be accepted in the future to allow the horses to remain free inside NPS boundaries.
The NPS greatly underestimated the tenacity of local citizens and members of the Missouri Wild Horse League.
“Local citizens look upon the horses as a symbol of the hardiness and wonderfully independent spirit of the Ozarks and the people who live and work here,” Peters noted. “Too, the wild horses are very much a part of this region’s culture and history.”
MWHL contracted the services of a lawyer. In October, 1994, the late Rep. Bill Emerson presented a bill to Congress to make the wild horses a permanent part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law two years later.
The MWHL now keeps a close eye on the herd. They keep the herd to 50 horses. Excess studs are cut out of the herd, castrated, vaccinated, given a Coggins test and then adopted out.
MWHL members also brush hog designated fields along the rivers to keep pasture lands open for grazing. Too, they scatter mineral blocks and salt for the horses.
The story of the wild horses of Shannon County is one with a happy ending. I am a better person for having had the experience of getting close to them. I can’t wait to see them again – running free.
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