BY TERI R. WILLIAMS | PHOTOS BY DAPHNE WALKER
the lady and
her horses
AT RACKETTOWN MUSTANGS, SANDRA WILLIAMSON TAKES ON
THE PECULIARITIES OF WILD HORSES WITH LOVE AND RESPECT.
Great writers, including Washington Irving and Herman Melville, caused the “White
Steed of the Prairies” to occupy the imagination of many early Americans. Although
a powerful image for writers of lore, the wild mustang actually descended from a
domesticated breed brought to the
Americas by Spanish explorers
as far back as the 16th century.
Because of its stamina and speed,
the Mustang became vital to the
survival of both Native Americans
and pioneers of the Wild West. As
images of “Home on the Range”
shifted from horse-drawn carriages
and plows to Model T Fords and
John Deere tractors, the Mustang
escaped the railroads, highways,
and fences and fled to what was
left of the wild American frontier.
“Do you want a wild
mustang?”
“How do you know it’s a wild mustang?” Sandra
Williamson asked her friend.
“He’s got a freezemark.” A freezemark was the
branding used on wild mustangs by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM). Since her friend lived nearby,
Sandra decided to at least have a look at the white
mustang that kept bucking off riders.
“As soon as I entered the pen with,” she said, “he
pinched back his ears and turned around and walked
away from me. He was telling me right away, ‘I don't
want anything to do with you.’ I said to my friend, ‘I’ll
take him.’”
Hometown Living At Its Best 89