The Intersection of Art and Advocacy: Photographer Scott Wilson's Passion for Wild Horses

"Hazard" shows a mare and foal being chased over a barbed wire fence by a federal helicopter

EquuStyle: How did your encounter with the iconic stallion Picasso inspire you to become a PhotoAdvocate?

PICASSO THE LEGEND

Scott Wilson: Witnessing Picasso in full battle mode in Sand Wash Basin certainly piqued my artistic interest in wild horses, but my efforts on the PhotoAdvocacy front began a number of years prior, using my platform as a landscape and wildlife photographer to build awareness of colon cancer, the benefits of early detection, and the need to reduce the age of funded screening eligibility from 50 to 45. 

Encountering Picasso cemented my desire to train my wildlife lens on wild horses. It was a few years later, with the impending helicopter roundup in September 2021, that I really found a voice as an advocate and cause-related photographer for wild horses.

EquuStyle:  In what ways do you believe photography and photojournalism support animal welfare causes?

Scott Wilson: There is a virtuous circle created by photographic art and photojournalism where the art plays a key role in helping to make us more aware and appreciative of the wild lives with whom we share the planet, while photojournalism brings home the conflicts, threats and human menace impacting their livelihoods and habitat.

EquuStyle:  Please give some examples of ways your images not only informed, but drove action or specific changes to benefit wild horses.

Scott Wilson: Real change, at the legislation level, often requires a tipping point when legislative efforts meet public momentum. It’s rarely one moment or a single act that will create the change, but a plethora of actions and noise. That’s where advocacy, and within that PhotoAdvocacy, have key roles to play in building the head of steam that will eventually blow the lid off the pressure cooker.  

The helicopter roundup at Sand Wash Basin in September 2021 stopped two days early, due to the weight of advocate pressure and outspoken political leadership from Governor Polis while images of incidents such as a wild mare and her foals being driven into barbed wire at Piceance Basin, in 2022, while being chased by a federal helicopter achieved front-page coverage adding to the weight of public opinion in favor of a different approach.

"West Douglas" is an image of the ongoing helicopter roundups of America's wild horses and burros. Learn more today at https://www.photoadvocacy.org/about

Real change, at the legislation level, often requires a tipping point when legislative efforts meet public momentum. It’s rarely one moment or a single act that will create the change, but a plethora of actions and noise.

In 2023, Colorado passed the first state-funded Wild Horse Working Group into law which has seen $1.5m state dollars invested into a more collaborative approach to wild horse management. My hope is this becomes a model for federal-state collaboration which other states will follow. 

The world’s largest photojournalism agency, We Animals, has built a collection of wild horse roundup images, supported by extensive editorial captions, which is made available to media outlets covering wild horse issues. I also provide roundup images to American Wild Horse Conservation and these are used to highlight extensive flaws in an inhumane federal management program which is stockpiling wild horses in costly off-range holding ($105m in 2024) while more affordable in-the-wild conservation measures remain dramatically underfunded.

There are myths perpetuated by livestock special interests and the roundup industry that wild horses neither have a sense of family, nor feel suffering when they are separated through roundups. PhotoAdvocacy helps to challenge some of those myths. 

Perhaps one of my most evocative roundup images, Wild Unfree, captured moments after a family band of mares and foals were confined in holding, while their band stallion ran free, evokes all of same fear and emotion in their newly-captive faces that a human separated from his or her family would feel and affirms wild horses as sentient being deserving of our respect and their place on the landscape. 

EquuStyle:  You contribute images to support We Animals, the world’s leading Animal Photojournalism Agency. How does We Animals help organizations tell their stories?

Scott Wilson: We Animals’ global investigations and stories expose our complex relationships with animals. They work with NGOs, media and advocates to initiate ethical and cultural shifts in society, and empower human capacity for compassion and change.  The We Animals stock platform is a free global resource for anyone helping animals. They empower campaigners, writers, researchers, students, and activists with the visual tools they need to increase and engage their audiences.

“Wild Unfree” is a disturbing image of two panicked and exhausted Colorado mustang horses moments after being rounded up a helicopter. Authorities shepherded them into holding pens to await shipment. PhotoAdvocacy / We Animals

Alongside images, We Animals includes interviews, research, data, and stories to educate us about animal sentience and behaviors, so all the information needed to spark conversation, awe, and change accompanies the image.

In 2024, We Animals carried out 22 assignments in 11 countries, shedding light on critical animal welfare issues. Over 38,000 visuals were downloaded from the We Animals stock site, contributing to advocacy campaigns worldwide and more than 350 media publications featured work by their Animal Photo Journalists, including The Guardian, Vox, and The Dodo. 

EquuStyle:  How did you capture the photo Anger Management that won the Top Natural World and Wildlife prize in the 2022 World Photography Awards?

Scott Wilson: At the natural history level, Anger Management depicts the drama and tension of a wild Colorado stallion pounding the dirt in his home in Sand Wash Basin, in the northwest corner of the state.  It’s the middle of summer and he has just emerged from a mud pool which is beginning to cake on his body as he kicks up the dust demanding his place at the water hole.

"Anger Management" received the Natural World & Wildlife Award at the 2022 Sony World Photography Awards, organized by the World Photography Organization.

At a higher level, Anger Managements is intended as a statement piece about the challenges wild horses face in the American West, where they basically are under permanent threat of roundup while their land is cleared for the livestock industry. 

Thankfully, the judging panel agreed and the awards coverage helped raise awareness of wild horse issues in 140 countries worldwide. 

EquuStyle:   At the 2022 Sony World Photography Awards, you won Open Photographer of the Year. How did this award influence your photography going forward?

Scott Wilson: I was asked a similar question a couple of years ago, while giving a talk to photography students at a High School in Colorado and it really helped me process the role the award played in helping me to break out of a purely artistic pursuit, to focus more heavily on the advocacy merits of my work and heightened my interest in the photojournalistic side of the wild horse question.

EquuStyle:  Through the Window is a dramatic visual journey. What is the story behind this project?

Scott Wilson: When I was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in 2016, part of my treatment regime involved an immunotherapy drug called panitumumab. The side-effect of the drug is an extreme photosensitivity meaning I had to avoid sunlight entirely, which threatened to put a stop to the landscape photography pursuits which I knew would be essential therapy through my treatment. It was then that I recognised the abundance of wonderful wildlife in state parks on our doorstep which I could view and photograph from the protective shade of my car. I began shooting ‘through the window’ between chemotherapy treatments and compiled a book of  wildlife images, accompanied by tales of my cancer journey.  I published the book as a fundraiser for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance in the Fall of 2017, just after I was confirmed to be NED (No Evidence of Disease).

EquuStyle:  As a resident artist at Gallery 6 in Denver, you create Art & Advocacy Events. What was the response to the recent event to support ZUMA'S Rescue Ranch's equine-assisted therapy program for people affected by cancer?

Scott Wilson: It has been a dream to combine my advocacy passions – horse protection and cancer prevention – to support the development of a mental health program that tackles the many challenges that come with a cancer diagnosis for patients, survivors and families.

My own children, Andrew and Alba, were 14 and 10 when I was diagnosed with a ten per cent chance of living another five years. I wanted to see more resources that might have helped them process that life-changing news at such a young age.

My familiarity with sanctuaries has taught me the extraordinary connection between horse and human, and the proven therapeutic benefit that veterans suffering PTSD – which has well-documented parallels with the trauma of cancer - have found in equine-assisted mental health programs, such as the Zeal series at Zuma’s. 

Licensed mental health therapist, Misty Sherbondy LCSW, used her experience with veterans at Zuma’s to develop a dedicated cancer-focused program covering topics such as shared experience, coping skills, working with feelings of loss, reducing anxiety and continued healing for patients, survivors and families.

My own children, Andrew and Alba, were 14 and 10 when I was diagnosed with a ten per cent chance of living another five years. I wanted to see more resources that might have helped them process that life-changing news at such a young age.

We held an Art & Advocacy event in Denver in March, 2025, designed to raise awareness and funds to launch a pilot for the Healing Herd Program. The support from attendees was fantastic and we exceeded our target for the pilot which launched at the end of April. 

I am so grateful to Jodi Messenich and the team at Zuma’s for their commitment to bringing the program together. 

EquuStyle:  In what way has surviving cancer motivated you to share your story with others?

Scott Wilson: It’s all about prevention. If you are diagnosed with colon cancer at stage 1, you have a 90% chance of survival. If you are diagnosed at stage 4, you have a 10% chance of living another 5 years. Being in that incredibly lucky 10% gives you a very heightened awareness of how close you were to a different outcome. A colonoscopy will make all the difference, so I simply do not understand folks who are eligible for free screening yet delay or turn it down. 

EquuStyle:  The Sand Wash Basin BLM horse management area (HMA) seems to be a favorite spot for your work. What makes this place special?

Scott Wilson: It has become my human sanctuary. The remoteness, the wildness, the rugged beauty of the landscape and the incredible survival instincts of the wild ones. I often say “their freedom is our freedom” and it is truly liberating to spend time in their company.  

WILD PALOMINO PINTO STALLION METEOR © PhotoAdvocacy

DIAPHANOUS GOLD © PhotoAdvocacy

EquuStyle:  Tell us about your role as the Director of Strategy and Awareness at American Wild Horse Conservation.

Scott Wilson: Everything we do is built around a clear purpose to keep America’s promise to wild horses and to drive towards a vision of lifelong freedom where protected wild horses are able to live and die in the wild. 

Our policy and conservation programs are built around improving the standards and scale of in-the-wild conservation, such as humane fertility control, and rewilding of wild horse habitat which has been systematically diminished from 54m acres in 1971 to less than 27m acres today. 

That starts with leveling the playing field versus special interest livestock groups which dominate public lands lobbying and giving a voice to wild horse conservation.

"Midnight Blue" a wild Blue Roan stallion

America now holds more displaced wild horses in captivity (62,000) than there are running free in the wild (53,000), at an extraordinary cost to the taxpayer who funded $105m in off-range holding costs in 2024 alone. It is thirty times cheaper to treat one mare with fertility control, and keep her eating free in the wild, than it is to remove and confine one horse for life in holding ($48,000).

Most Americans are pleasantly surprised to learn that we still have wild horses roaming ten western states and have little or no knowledge of the permanent threat of roundup by helicopter. 

Our awareness role is opening the public’s eyes to the natural beauty, management failure and fiscal waste on their doorstep and motivating a movement that demands a better outcome for the nation’s protected wild horses and burros. 

Ultimately, we see a sustainable future built on in-the-wild conservation, habitat restoration, ecotourism and legislative recognition of the integral role wild horses play in a modern American ecosystem. 

Everything American Wild Horse Conservation does is built around a clear purpose to keep America’s promise to wild horses and to drive towards a vision of lifelong freedom where protected wild horses are able to live and die in the wild. 

EquuStyle:  You had an extensive career in the corporate world, particularly with Molson Coors Brewing Company. How has this experience influenced your current role at AWHC?

Scott Wilson: You might be surprised by some of the parallels I’ve observed between the worlds of alcohol and wild horses. Both are both high profile issues characterized by opposing views on how they should be handled. In the early 2010s,  I was asked by the UK Department of Health to lead the industry representation on a national effort to tackle alcohol harm in the UK and reduce levels of irresponsible drinking. 

It was one of the most potentially divisive projects, yet the shared mission and collaborative approach to problem solving turned out to be one of the most constructive and creatively rewarding processes that I have worked on. 

The coming together of radically opposing views, recognition that we all have a valid stake in the solution and that no one party will eliminate another, is a real enabler of common ground. 

I believe that’s the mindset driving progress with the Colorado Wild Horse Working Group and really underpins my belief that a sustainable long term solution can be built with the right people around the table. 

Freedom

EquuStyle:  Protecting wild horses and burros is a challenge you have embraced. How can people support their protection and preservation in today's environment?

Scott Wilson: When I talk about PhotoAdvocacy, I am always clear that there isn’t an expectation that everyone gives up their careers and throws themselves at their chosen advocacy issue. The key is identifying the cause that you believe in, where you believe you can make a positive difference,  and intersecting that with the skills and time that you have at your disposal. For some, that might be volunteering a few hours on a Saturday at their local wild horse sanctuary. For others it might be registering as a Volunteer Ambassador for American Wild Horse Conservation and engaging local policy makers on the issue and legislative solutions.  

I happen to have found a movement that allowed me to bring my experience in photography, advocacy, corporate responsibility and communications together in a hybrid career supporting a cause I believe in full-time. 

And the work is far from done.  

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How Can "The Wild Horse Effect" by Chad Hanson Transform Your Connection to Nature?

"The Wild Horse Effect: Awe, Well-Being, and the Transformative Power of Nature" is available for presale now and on sale March 11, 2025

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EquuStyle: Who inspired you to become a photographer?

Chad Hanson: My grandfather loved cameras. I grew up watching him tinker with lenses and light meters. By the time I went off to college, it felt natural to think of the world as a subject, and to see our public land as art. I discovered “visual sociology” in school, an approach to the study of culture that uses photographs. Using photos for academic purposes put me in touch with the depression-era work of Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange. To this day, as a teacher, I still use their images in my courses. With regard to mustangs, though, it was the work of Kimerlee Curyl that inspired me early on. As far as I can tell, she has the best timing in the business.

During the workshops that I teach, on writing and photography, I often urge students to “find their heroes.” I believe there’s value in identifying, cultivating, and curating your influences. Still, at some level, it’s the face of nature that serves as the source of my inspiration. Wild horses stare at you from behind nature’s most charismatic faces, and I find the places where they live compelling too.

EquuStyle: A central theme in your book is "awe." Could you explain what "awe" means to you and how people can benefit from experiencing it?

A wild stallion on the high plains of Wyoming

Chad Hanson: When I feel awe I am utterly struck by what’s in front of me. I experience a feeling of absorption in the moment. I actually become so absorbed that it’s hard to keep track of the moments as they slide from the future into the present. I enter a time-outside-of-time. I’m also set upon by the impression that I am a small part of a greater whole, and when I shift back to my normal mode of being, it’s with a heightened sense of gratitude.

My experience of awe is pretty common it turns out, and today, in places like the Greater Good Science Center, scholars like Dacher Keltner use modern techniques for measuring the chemical changes that occur when we feel blown-away. Levels of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, tend to free-fall. Serotonin levels increase, giving rise to a sense of satisfaction. Most important to me, when we feel awed, the body releases oxytocin, a hormone that increases what we call pro-social tendencies. Under the influence of oxytocin, we grow kinder, more generous, and less self-centered. A whole body of evidence points to the psychological worth of awe, but the social benefits strike me as equally valuable.

EquuStyle: As a faculty member at Casper College, how do you integrate wild horses into your teaching?

Chad Hanson: I teach a short course called The Wild Horse Experience. The class includes two afternoons on campus. Then we load the vans. We head out to search for mustangs on a Saturday field trip. During the course, I share as much I’ve been able to learn about wild horses, but just as important, students describe their experiences with the horses in their lives, past and present. The course unfolds as a discussion about our relationships with horses, and then seemingly without fail, by the end of the class, the conversation shifts. Whether in the field, or in the van on the way home, we end up wondering out loud about American culture and values. In the end, The Wild Horse Experience always seems to turn into a dialog about our relationship to the natural world.

A wild horse and two other wild horses standing on the snow-covered high plaines of Wyoming.

Wild horses communicate with each other through touch.

EquuStyle: Your words focus on honoring horses and giving them dignity. When it comes to wild horses, how do we treat them with dignity?

Anyone who shares their home with cats or dogs or horses knows that animals feel, show preferences, and possess personalities. In our barns and corrals, we bear constant witness to the intelligence, and sometimes the mischievousness of horses. We work with their idiosyncrasies. We teach them, and they learn. Day in and day out, domestic horses prove that they are both educable and capable of making independent decisions.

Ironically, for most of our history, when we studied horses in the wild, we tended to assume that their behaviors were instinctual and thus the result of biological impulse, as opposed to reason or choice-making. To this day, many biologists assume, “If you’ve seen one wild horse you’ve seen them all,” as if their behavior is simply patterned by “the force of nature.” Their actions: outside their control.   

I’m glad to say, in just the past few years, things have started to change. As a sociologist, I was thrilled to see, in 2021, a peer-reviewed article in the sciences suggesting that wild horses create multileveled societies. In the same year, a group of equine subjects in an Italian study passed the mirror-self-recognition test. Horses know who they are. More important, they know who they are in relation to others. We’re just beginning to understand the social relations that wild horses form beyond their immediate family bands. We need further research, of course, but it is becoming clear that mustangs engage in almost constant relationship-building. They likely identify as part of large-scale bonded groups. They can even create and acknowledge an extended clan. In my mind, each step we take to learn more about mustangs, their intelligence and their social lives, the more success we’ll find when it comes to convincing others to see their worth and dignity.

A lone wild horse surveys its habitat in the Wyoming wilderness.

EquuStyle: What do you believe is the most effective way to change the way wild horses are managed?

Chad Hanson: As a general strategy, the Bureau of Land Management treats wild horses—legally defined as American icons and living symbols of the West—as if they were livestock bound for slaughter. In truth, we do not even afford them that level of decency. The BLM hires livestock companies with helicopters to chase and capture our mustangs. But in agribusiness, they only use choppers to locate animals. Business people would never order a helicopter to descend on a herd of stock. If we scared cattle with helicopters, they would run desperately, and potentially injure themselves in the process. We see cattle as having value (economic value) so we take steps to assure their safety. On the other hand, helicopter roundups in horse herds nearly always end with mustangs injured and killed. There are BLM staff that schedule roundup after roundup, knowing they can expect chaos, death and brutality.

The good news: people are like horses. We are not all the same. There are BLM staff members that appreciate mustangs. Within the BLM, there are men and women who would much prefer to use humane and affordable strategies to manage wild horses. I consider it my job, our job, to find those people and to work with them. They could use our help and cooperation is contagious. I am a proud member of a coalition of petitioners in a lawsuit aimed at stopping the complete elimination of two Wyoming herds, so I understand, when we are backed into a corner, we have to appeal to the nation’s highest authorities. But lawsuits come with high stakes, and consequences that we can’t fully control. Long term, I am committed to creating situations where wild horse enthusiasts and BLM staff can work together on behalf of our mustangs.

Chad Hanson's image of a lone wild stallion in Wyoming.

EquuStyle: In the current environment, with traumatizing helicopter roundups and holding pens, how can citizens effectively demand an end to the violence?

Chad Hanson: I encourage citizens and horse advocates to think big—bigger than we have in years. I am a fan of a concept called the “Overton window.” In short, the idea suggests that, at any given time, there is a window, of a certain size, that limits the number of solutions to public policy problems we see as “acceptable.” Thus, successful advocates “open” the window, stretching it in the direction of their interests. In other words, it helps to ask for more than what might seem currently feasible. It’s the only way to make a proposal that feels “unthinkable” today, turn into tomorrow’s “obvious” or “sensible” approach.

I would like to see a diverse coalition of citizens and equine advocacy groups wondering, in open and public forums, “Why don’t we have a Wild Horse National Park?” What about a series of, “Wild Horse National Monuments?” How about the identification of regions that we could call, “Wild Horse Commons,” in states with adjacent herd management areas? I’m talking about large and well-studied regions, home to genetically viable herds, managed on the range through non-violent, humane and affordable means. Everyone knows that suggestions on these lines will meet with opposition, but none of these proposals will ever come about if we don’t start the conversations.

In the long run, persistent efforts in these directions might bear fruit. And in the short term, discussions about expanding protections for mustangs hold the potential to pull currently “outlandish” ideas into the realm of the possible. If we shift the conversation toward hard-to-achieve goals, then suddenly, the reasonable (but currently out-of-the-question) suggestion to halt the helicopters and treat wild horses with dignity starts to feel like “common sense.”

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Filming Wild Beauty: How Ashley Avis Captured the Plight of America's Wild Horses

Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West is a documentary on wild horses by award-winning filmmaker Ashley Avis.

EquuStyle: Were you a wild horse advocate before deciding to write, narrate, direct, edit, and produce the film “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West?

Ashley Avis: I grew up with horses, an experience that truly helped shape the course of my life and career.  However, it wasn't until my late twenties that I discovered the plight of wild horses in the Western United States when I was brought aboard to write and direct a reimagining of Black Beauty, which was released by Disney in 2020. 

In being tasked with modernizing Anna Sewell's iconic classic, which inspired my great love of horses as a child - I wanted to honor the spirit of what she had crafted.  Few people know Black Beauty was not written as a children's book - it was an animal welfare plea for the horses of Anna's time in the late 1800s.  And so, in researching modern-day issues horses are facing today, I began reading about the roundups, the cruelty, the corruption, and the startling inhumanity. 

That is what moved me, along with my husband and producing partner Edward Winters, to embark on Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West.  That independent documentary took five passionate years to craft.

A still of a wild stallion

Tenderness of wild horses

Closeup of a wild horse head

Wild horses on the move

EquuStyle:  What motivated you to make the film?

Ashley Avis: Originally, we went out to capture footage of wild horses in their natural habitat, so that we could bring authenticity to our narrative film, Black Beauty.  Ed and I raised a little bit of money to embark on that first trip to Utah, Wyoming, and Nevada - experiencing the extraordinary beauty of wild horses on the range, along with our first roundup.

The devastating Bureau of Land Management operation was on the Triple B Complex in Nevada.  I will never forget hiking with our heavy camera gear to the top of a mountain, while the BLM officials (several with guns) informed us we couldn't put up umbrellas in the 100-degree heat because it would "scare the horses."  Mind you, those poor mustangs were miles away from us, being chased at eye level by dueling helicopters. We were horrified.

Wild horses on the move

What struck me about that day, as a former journalist, was that the agency had clearly hidden the "trap site" (the metal corrals where they stampede and capture the horses) so that the public, along with our film crew, could not see what was happening.  Trap sites are often where the injuries often happen, as horses break their legs and necks trying to escape, or get back to their families.  

After witnessing that roundup and realizing the antiquation and brutality of it - we wanted to know why.  We soon came to understand that wild horses were being eradicated by the federal government in deference to the commercial livestock industry.  A battle over land and powerful special interests.  We realized at that point we had to keep going, we had to create a second film - a Blackfish for wild horses.

EquuStyle:  What were some of the greatest challenges that you had to overcome to get the film funded and produced?

Ashley Avis: The greatest challenge besides raising the money, which is always hard - surrounded access. The BLM officials eventually got wind of what we were doing, and they did not want us documenting roundup cruelty, or the fact that BLM officials kill healthy horses for senseless reasons - those they deem blind, arthritic, or have a club foot.  The agency officials we came into contact with were deceptive, they routinely blocked the trapsites from our view, in one instance they even forced us away from shelter during a thunderstorm, making us stand out on the open range in the rain as we filmed.  They routined and flippantly denied our Constitutional rights as journalists. 

A young wild foal enjoying freedom

The other great challenge was sadness.  As a horsewoman, witnessing these atrocities befall innocent wild horses; pregnant mares, newborn foals, and the brave stallions trying to protect them - was very difficult to bear.  However, my emotions were of course nothing compared to what they went through.

EquuStyle:  What were the conditions like during the filming?

Ashley Avis: A great deal of our Wild Beauty journey was truly spectacular - and I encourage everyone to get out and see the American West. 

Our crew drove over 20,000 miles over thirteen different states, and diverse landscapes.  The rich forests of Oregon, the crimson rock moonscapes in Arizona, the sagebrush seas of Nevada.  We had a tiny crew of five - it was myself, my husband/producing partner Ed, my younger brother/producer Richard Avis, our cinematographer Kai Krause, and a camera assistant.  My parents even joined us on one trip - while my Mom cooked food for the crew out of the back seat of their rental car.  It was a family affair.

Two young wild foals

Wild horse afternoon glow

Wild stallions sparring

Ashley Avis with wild horses

There were the darker moments as well, such as visiting the holding facilities where wild horses are warehoused like livestock.  These places are often cramped, dirt pens where there is no room to roam, or gallop.  The closely bonded families are separated, and you hear them cry for each other.  Sometimes there is not even shelter from the elements - heat or rain.  I have seen these government facilities flooded with rain and muck.  The BLM doesn't post photos like those on social media.  But that is the truth behind how they 'humanely manage' our federally protected national icons after a roundup.  

And most people find this shocking - our tax-dollars are paying for it.  The BLM's budget to 'manage' wild horses, which is largely spent on costly roundups and holding - is over 150 million dollars a year.

EquuStyle:  Did you or your film crew consider giving up when armed BLM staff were aggressive with you during the filming?

Ashley Avis: Never.  The more injustice we saw, the bolder we became.

EquuStyle:  What part of the film is most disturbing to you?

Ashley Avis: That's a hard question.  My gut reaction was when we went undercover in Texas, into the slaughter pipeline - covertly filming as wild horses and burros got auctioned off to kill buyers.  I desperately wished in that moment I had millions of dollars - I would have rescued them all.  

But I think the most disturbing part of filming Wild Beauty was seeing the horses we had come to know, after they had been subjected to a roundup. 

Write members of Congress to protect wild horses

The herd we became closest to were the Onaqui horses in Utah.  We featured them in Black Beauty and got to spend years visiting them.  In the controversial roundup of 2021, my heart shattered as we watched those horses chased by the helicopters.  They ended up in a dirty, half-flooded holding facility - their once resplendent coats caked with mud, water halfway up their knees.  It broke my heart.  If you look into the eyes of a free wild horse, it stirs a sense of inexplicable joy and wild in you.  To then take in the same, clouded gaze of a horse who has been stripped of its family and freedom - you will be haunted for the rest of your life.

EquuStyle:  What part of the film is most hopeful to you?

Ashley Avis: Oh, so much.  Seeing the families in the wild.  Witnessing a filly grow up to become a lead mare, or watching a stallion engaged in a battle - then soon after striding over to gently nuzzle his sleeping foal with exquisite tenderness.  Those were the moments that made being out on the range so special, while also reminding us what was at stake in their protection.  And it brings me joy to be able to share that with people around the world.

The children also inspire hope.  Before the roundup of the Onaqui, we launched a campaign called "I Stand With WIld Horses" - encouraging young people to write letters to their Members of Congress, or to the President.  Suddenly hundreds of people were posting to social media, holding up signs with those words, tagging their lawmakers.  It was incredible.  When we arrived at a rally in Salt Lake City in Utah - there it was again on the Capitol steps "I Stand With Wild Horses."

I think there is great hope to be found in the next generation speaking out on behalf of our world in Wild Beauty.

Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit to the West

EquuStyle:  How have viewers of the film responded?

Ashley Avis: It has been overwhelming to witness how audiences have responded, particularly in theater where you can really feel that emotion surge.  There are instances of joy, levity, and laughter - along with horror, anger, and a profound sense of injustice.

It moves me to tears when people walk out of the film angry - but with passion.  And they say things like, "I didn't know this was happening.  This is wrong.  What can I do to help?"

EquuStyle:  After watching the film, what action or actions do you want viewers to take?

Ashley Avis: Awareness is key.  We must urge our Members of Congress to take action and to stop the brutality and corruption against wild horses and burros, before we lose them completely.  This is a fight over land and special interests, and wild horses have been caught in the middle.

We are asking people to become educated by visiting www.wildbeautyfoundation.org - and to make calls to their Representatives, urging them to co-sponsor The Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act (H.R. 3656) which if passed, would end the use of antiquated helicopters in the roundups - helping to curtail this cruelty.

EquuStyle:  How have wild horse photographers and advocates Kimerlee Curyl, Carol Walker, and Sandy Sisti used their influence on social media to promote the film?

Ashley Avis: I often stay, particularly to children - storytelling has great responsibility.  We are all storytellers, so what are we choosing to put out into the world?

There is such rich storytelling in art and wildlife photography.  The stunning work of Kimerlee Curyl, Sandy Sisti, and Carol Walker is so affecting - each image is a glimpse into a world, into a story.  And these extraordinary women don't stop there - they are also tireless in their advocacy.  They use their artistic gifts and social media platforms to bring wild horses to new audiences to inspire change. 

Before I met Kimerlee Curyl back in 2017, I was so moved by her photography that her images became references to how I wanted to cinematically explore framing "Beauty" in our feature film Black Beauty.  She is very inspiring to me.

EquuStyle:  Have horse rescues and sanctuaries been approached to promote the film to their supporters?

Ashley Avis: We have spread the word far and wide, encouraging everyone to share the film, and to get the message out not only to the equine audience - but to a global audience.  We also provide links to the documentary free of charge for educational purposes - to schools, universities, and other groups. 

EquuStyle:  Are any other organizations helping with the marketing and promotion of the film?

Ashley Avis: The long-term ripple effect Wild Beauty has is something we will never fully know - so many people and organizations around the world have shared it.  We are appreciative to every one of them, because it is teamwork that will ultimately inspire change.

Noted collaborators during the years it took to create Wild Beauty were Western Watersheds Project and The Cloud Foundation.

EquuStyle:  In what ways has the film impacted the mission of Wild Beauty Foundation?

Ashley Avis: In every way imaginable.  Black Beauty led to Wild Beauty, which led to our first rescue of thirteen horses (any horsewoman will understand me when I joke... I promised my husband I would start with one...).  Those "Lucky 13" inspired the creation of the foundation, which led to using our platform as filmmakers to shed a spotlight on the issue.  Things only got bigger, and as The Wild Beauty Foundation became a voice in the space - we soon found ourselves on the way to Congress.

Our mission as a nonprofit is to raise awareness that inspires fundamental change to protect the horses of our time, through film, education, rescue, and advocacy.

EquuStyle:  Have you noticed an increase in the number of youth and adults seeking information about how to advocate for wild horses?

Ashley Avis: I am blown away by the messages I receive - not only from adults, but from children around the world who want to know what they can do to help.  I recently hand-delivered about fifty postcards from kids to individual Members of Congress when I visited Washington D.C. in April.  The impact those letters have is incredible - their sincerity cuts through the political noise and inspires lawmakers to listen.

Take action to protect America’s vanishing wild horses

EquuStyle:  Do you think your recent meeting on Capitol Hill was productive? Did you accomplish the goals you set beforehand?

Ashley Avis: Nothing moves very quickly in Washington, which is the hard truth.  However, I do feel we successfully launched a pretty large boulder down the bureaucratic mountain during our most recent trip, this time screening portions of Wild Beauty within the United States Capitol.

We were lucky this past April to have Oscar-nominated actress Diane Lane alongside us.  Diane saw the documentary and asked how she could help.  Her presence opened so many doors, and we added several new co-sponsors to a bill we are fighting for.  We have such incredible champions now - notably Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) who is the sponsor of The Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (D-PA), among others.

EquuStyle:  H.R.3656 - Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act of 2023 was introduced in the House on May 24, 2023. What can citizens do to influence the passage of this vital legislation?

Ashley Avis: Awareness.  So many people, including horse people, simply do not know this is happening. 

I would say, after four trips to Washington D.C. in the past three years - perhaps half the Members of Congress we have met with know anything about the roundups, and if they have heard of them - they rarely know about the brutality.  Your calls and emails to help educate their staff do make a difference.  So please, if you're moved by this article - make that call, send that note, visit istandwithwildhorses.org to share your thoughts using our automated form.  Please be moved to act.

EquuStyle:  Why do you think politicians are reluctant to pass legislation to stop cruel helicopter and fixed aircraft roundups of wild horses?

Ashley Avis: The deep pockets and ceaseless lobbying by the livestock industry - which is determined to eradicate wild horses from their rightful habitat in favor of commercial cattle and sheep grazing.  The helicopter roundups are also a business.  The contractors are awarded hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars to do this work - and they certainly don't want to lose that money train.  The most awarded contractor by the BLM has been paid over thirty million dollars.  

We are up against several powerful opponents.  But we are not going away.  

EquuStyle:  After learning more about the motivations behind the BLM, livestock ranchers, politicians, and other critics of wild horses, do you believe wild horses have a chance to remain on public lands?

Ashley Avis: I do.  The BLM is, unfortunately, doing a great job of deceiving the media, whether it's telling stories out on the range that are not based on fact or science, or putting out news stories that state wild horses are overpopulated, degrading the rangeland, etc.  They use this 'reasoning' as false justification to remove a few hundred federally protected wild horses, before releasing thousands of cattle and sheep to graze on precisely the same land.  According to the BLM's own data, livestock are the leading reason for rangeland degradation at figures over 70% - but they don't tell the press that. 

I cannot imagine a world in which we lose nature.  I am encouraged by the public outcry that has resulted in part from Wild Beauty being available to a global audience - and I do believe we will change this.  But to be successful, we need to band together and fight.

EquuStyle:  What are the Wild Beauty Foundation’s current and future strategies to advocate for protecting and preserving America’s wild horses?

Ashley Avis: Currently, we are working hard on the passage of significant legislation to protect wild horses, while planning our next Washington D.C. event.  For the future, we are developing a video curriculum for children in schools called "Wild Horse Week," and constructing a plan to grow our efforts at the foundation.  If you can help in any way, let us know!

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