Above: “Wild Mustang Tonto National Park Arizona” by Edward Fielding
Exploring Tonto National Forest just outside Phoenix, Arizona, I spotted the Salt River wild horses. The wild mustangs in Tonto National Forest were a complete surprise to me.
I was checking out the Tonto National Forest while my wife attended a conference in Phoenix. Making my way along the Salt River Canyon, I noticed a huge sign painted on the road that said ‘Watch for Horses”.
I figured the sign indicated horse trails in the area. Maybe a horse stable offering trail rides. Then our to the left I spotted some horses behind some barbed wire. I figured they were corralled in the area.
I drove down a bit, swung around and pulled over to the side of the road. There was a small group of adult horses and a young foal. They seemed agitated. A few other cars pulled over.
Within minutes a car pulled up and a lady with a bright orange vest got out and motioned for us to all move our cars away. That’s when I noticed the break in the fence. We, spectators, were too close to the horse’s road crossing.
We all moved back a distance and let the horses safety bolt across the road. First, the lead mare who crossed the road and then looked back at mother and foal stomped around twisted his neck and whinnied and neighed at the other horses until they all made it safely across.
Luckily during this time I had just enough time to move the car and switch over to my Canon 300mm f/4 lens and was able to capture a few good shots of the majestic wild horses of the old west.
The Salt River wild horses are the historic and majestic creatures roaming the lower Salt River in the Tonto National Forest in Mesa, Arizona.
How many wild horses still exist in Arizona? Today, it is estimated by the BLM, there are less than 500 wild horses left in the entire State of Arizona. This includes the Heber wild horse Territory and two BLM Herd Management Area’s (Bureau of Land Management) of the Cerbat Mountains and Yuma.