The beauty of America’s wild horses and the threats to their future are themes in a new documentary called “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses.”
The film’s East Coast premiere is taking place at U.S. Horse Welfare & Rescue in Avon Saturday night. Director Steven Latham will be at the screening. He says he hopes the film not only brings the magnificent creatures to life, but also highlights the dangers that wild horses face.
“The mustang is the most American animal. Strong, fast. He was the king of the plains!” It’s a line in the trailer for the documentary.
“A lot of people aren't going to ever see a horse in the wild, but our cameras take you there,” Latham said.
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Latham and his crew traveled to 12 different states to film the documentary, securing footage to bring viewers the scenes they were also seeing for the very first time.
“We come around the corner on this old dusty road, and for the first time as filmmakers, we see a herd of horses and we were filming,” Latham said. “So literally, in the film when the audience sees wild horses was the first time we saw wild horses.”
Latham, who grew up in Western Massachusetts returned to his New England roots for the screening. Now a Los Angeles resident, he dipped into Hollywood to get star power for the project.
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The documentary is narrated by Robert Redford.
“When I got through to Robert Redford, he and his wife watched an early version, a rough cut,” Latham said. “He watched it in 24 hours and said, ‘I would love to be part of this film.’
The 90-minute documentary also features original music from Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Diane Warren.
Beyond capturing the iconic beauty of mustangs, the documentary shines the spotlight on the perils of their future.
“It's an American tragedy,” Latham said. “What we're doing to our wild horses in America is a tragedy. They deserve better.”
Latham highlights the political and environmental challenges wild horses face, in particular: a lack of range and a population crisis.
“We now have an icon of freedom that's become a ward of the state,” a subject featured in the movie trailer said.
According to the documentary, there are 80,000 wild horses on the western plains. However, due to overpopulation on public lands, another 50,000 horses are in captivity, often rounded up by helicopters into holding pens.
“A month ago, there was a roundup in Nevada, and over 30 horses were killed in that roundup by the helicopters,” Latham said. “Not only is this stressful and terrifying for the animals, who know nothing but freedom. Once they're rounded up, they're split up.”
It is an issue that Susan Mitchell is also passionate about. She is the founder of U.S. Horse Welfare & Rescue, where the documentary will premiere.
“They stand in hot sun, blazing sun, no protection from the elements. They're thrown their hay, they're given their water, and they stand there in these corrals and they don’t turn them back out,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell hopes the documentary will turn awareness into action.
“It really is a message that America needs to hear,” she said. “We need to speak out because in the process of this, we're losing our horses.”
She and Latham both encourage the public to reach out to lawmakers to change the future for these American icons.
“We want these animals to be free and we want to be able to enjoy them, but there's a lot of work to be done,” Latham said. “We really have to have our elected officials step up to the plate and really say, I want to preserve the symbols of freedom for the American people.”
Tickets are still available for the East Coast premiere of “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses.” Anyone interested can purchase them online on the U.S. Horse Welfare & Rescue website.
VIP ticket holders can enjoy the event from 5 to 10 p.m., and will get hors d’ouvres and cocktails. They can meet horses at the Rescue, listen to live music, and have the opportunity chat with Latham.
Admission for general public tickets starts at 7 p.m. The film will be shown at 8 p.m.
