It's a little known fact that wild horses still exist in the United States today. As of September, 2000 and estimated 43,000 horses still roamed wild. Some of these horses are descendents of the Spanish mustangs that were brought by invading Spaniards in the 1600s. Until recently it was believed that no pure strains of these mustangs existed anymore, that all the bloodlines had been diluted by other breeds. In the 1970s, however, a small herd of wild mustangs was discovered in the rugged isolation of Southeast Oregon on the Steens Mountain. The herd consisted of 27 animals, and it was determined that these were pure descendents of the original Spanish horse. The horse was named the Kiger Mustang after the Kiger Gorge where it was discovered.

The Kiger Mustang has a distinctive dun coloring, varying from buckskin to a reddish color. They have "primitive" markings which include dorsal strips, "zebra" stripes on their legs and shoulders and rib and arm bands. It was this original coloring pattern that tipped the Bureau of Land Management workers who found the feral horses that this could be a unique breed.

Since the discovery of this herd, there has been a large public interest in the breed. The few Kiger mustangs that are available through the Wild Horse Adoption Program are quickly snapped up. Luckily, however, there are now quite a few places that breed Kiger Mustangs for selling, and one can be had for a price. By all accounts, the Kiger is an intelligent, curious, eager to learn animal and in great demand.

"Wild, wild, wild horses,"

Wild horses can also be found out on the East Coast. Actually, right on the east coast. Along with a lot of other wildlife, they can be seen at Georgia's Cumberland Island National Seashore.

While undoubtedly not as old as the Kiger Mustangs, these horses have been roughing it for quite a while. I cannot advise you, the everythingarians, on how well adjusted the horses are to humans, so don't run up and try to pet them as soon as they appear. Regardless, they are still arguably cooler than the other animals you'll encounter out there.

The Cumberland Island is picturesque enough on its own--so much so that John F. Kennedy, Jr. had his wedding there. However, if you want the ultimate postcard snap shot, wait for the horses to coming trotting through the surf and start rolling some film, or megapixels, whichever comes first.

"Couldn't drag me away."

"Wild Horses" is also a song by the The Rolling Stones. An excellent cover can be found by Bush. It's a great (probably solo) performance by front man Gavin Rossdale. One of the few covers that I think out does the original--Gavin just has a better voice for a slow and low delivery while Mick is just . . . Mick.

256 remarks that there there is some debate over "Wild Horses" and whether or not the Stones wrote the song or Gram Parsons. To the best of my research, Parsons was the inspiration for the song when Keith Richards and Mick Jagger wrote it. Parsons was allowed to record the song before the Stones did, so this may cause some confusion or frustration for fans of the different artists.

bol informs me that the best cover was in fact by The Sundays and used in an episode of Buffy. I cannot confirm nor deny the existence of such a cover.
256 informs me that almost all the 10 million covers are good, except the one by Iron and Wine; I trust anyone who lives their life in an 8-bit world, so he's the last voice I listen to on this one. No more suggestions.