Gallery 6: The Price for Living Free
With few exceptions, wild horses are left on the range to live, breed and die naturally. That has a price. Once injured, the horse's remaining days can be spent in pure misery. Stallions are subject to bites and kicks from rivals, while both stallions and mares can potentially be hurt by vehicles, holes, lightning, and prairie rattlers.

The starving black mare in a few of these photos has a broken hip and injured ankle. If that weren't bad enough, she is still nursing a foal.

Stallions may have only a short period of time as the leader and protector of his band. Within only a few short months, a once strong and proud stallion can be crippled, blind in an eye, and have lost a few teeth.

A photographer might be in an area for only a few days, but the epic pagentry goes on year round.