Hi! My name is Brooke! I am the photographer for Kanata wild horses. My Husband Adrian is the videographer. I would like to take a minute of your time to explain what our goals and missions are here with our photos and videos and why we do what we do.

I am certified in equine psychology and continuing to grow my knowledge everyday. I have decided to use this knowledge to study wild horses in their natural habitat and study how their natural behaviors differ from domestic horses. My husband and children are treaty 6 signed first nations which coincides with the land that the Alberta wild horses call home. Less than 1500 of these wild horses remain and without protection under the wildlife act there may not be any wild mountain horses left for future generations to respect, love, and learn from. The fight for grass is real, and nobody can agree to share it with the horses who have called this land home for over 400 years. If you ask any indigenous tribe native to this land; you will find oral histories of wild horses having always been here, cohabitating with the people of the land without fences and enclosures. Long before the Spanish and European settlers arrived. These wild Alberta mountain horses are truly unlike any other horse breed, right down to their DNA.

All horses have something called “innate behavior” to say the least it is a genetically determined behavior that is transferred between the dam and sire(mare and stallion) to the foal; this is instinctive inherited behaviors. Over the last 400 years (if not more..) these horses have passed their knowledge, fears, and survival techniques down through DNA as well as imprinted behaviors which the foal learns from the mare, and then passes down that information as innate behaviors to their future foals. The Alberta mountain horse can heal better than domestic horses, and survive without the need for human intervention. Did you know that wild horses have a hard time adjusting to hay feed? This is because they have never known anything other than grass, and their DNA has passed down the ability to digest grasses. however because they have never been fed hay they have never had to adapt to eating hay and do not have the ability to handle it the same way as domestic horses leading to a higher chance of colic and other intestinal and digestive issues and these horses do not do well in pastures, corrals or small enclosures. They simply have not known anything but being free to roam and constantly move, creating their unique innate and imprinted behavioral differences that set them apart from the domestic horse. Their ability to care for themselves is also remarkably different from domestic horses. If you take the time to ask any good horseman what care their horses need, you will find domestic horses needs quite similar to that of a small child, their grooming is done for them, their nails are trimmed for them, stall time with vented stalls, fresh bedding, fresh drinking water, cookies and treats on demand, and a daily diet of forage, concentrates and supplements, along with vet checks, teeth floating, massage therapy, acupuncture, you name it, they do it, the list goes on and on. However the Alberta Mountain Horse is the opposite to this, they do not need farriers, hoof repairs, vaccines, vets or teeth floating. God has given them a natural, innate ability to care for themselves, heal themselves, provide themselves with the nutrients they need and the majority of these wild horses are in better shape than the domestic horses we see in excellent care. The Alberta mountain horse can break a leg and still be running like nothing by the next year… what domestic horse do you know that has survived a severe leg break without medical intervention? I will assume slim to none. Now as for land we are talking 5.5 million acres here…With less than 1500 wild horses left on this land. This same land supported over 10,000 wild and free horses without a problem, until the war for grass begun. now over 33,000 head of cattle graze this land, and they blame the 1500 wild horses remaining for the damage the cattle have caused. Humans have led so many animals into extinction. Without laws to protect them, the Alberta mountain horse will be next on the extinction list. So with that said we will be out there documenting and reporting our findings and taking videos and pictures to go with it. I hope we can all bring awareness to these beautiful horses, before its too late. as Albertans, Canadians and all wildlife lovers we must do our part to protect them, not sit back and watch them disappear. They do not need adoption, they do not need new homes, however what they do need is to be protected as wildlife. WE need to protect them as wildlife. We can not allow the greed over profit over the land, trees and grass, lead another animal into extinction. God our creator has provided for them and protected them for over 400 years and sustained His land in the process.. We do not have a right to decide which animals get to live here. Allow the Alberta Mountain Horse the same rights we allow the other wildlife in our province. No capture, no cull, no contraception, no adoption. I hope we never see a day without wild horses roaming here in Alberta. It is part of our land, our life, our history, our culture and our ecosystems, and sadly we wont know how important they are until they’re gone. if we cull them, adopt them, geld them or contracept them, we will have no wild horses left and we as Albertans will be responsible for the extinction of yet another species. That we will never get back. This is all in hopes that if we can all band together out of the love for these unique and one of a kind wild horses then we can end the ongoing plan leading these Alberta Mountain Horses into extinction. Truly due to no fault of their own, but solely due to the fault of humans who prioritize money, land and grass over the life of living breathing creation. Please help take a stand.