The Spotted StaLLion

A nighttime sighting turns up something very rare indeed.

- AUDREY PAVIA

Amber watched the desert go by through the car window.

"Dad," she said. "What's there to do where we're going besides camping?"

"A lot," he replied. "We can go hiking. Tonight, we can sit by the fire and look at the stars. We'll go to the visitor center, too."

Amber was missing one of her riding lessons because of this trip. It didn't sound worth it.

A Piece of History

The car pulled into the visitor center parking lot. Her dad led the way into the small building.

Exhibits lined the walls showing depictions of ancient life in the desert and pictures of the wild animals that lived here. But when Amber saw an exhibit with a picture of horses, she ran to it.

Amber studied the old black-and-white photo of a band of horses. They looked like bays and duns, with one white horse covered in dark spots.

Wild horses once numbered in the millions in the West, the placard read. Descendants of the original Spanish horses brought the New World, they roamed the desert for centuries.

She went on to read about how these horses had been killed over the years by the government and by men rounding them up for dog food. By the time they became protected by law in 1971, very few were left.

The herd in this area is known to be one of the more pure strains, going back to the original Spanish horses, the placard said. The last leopard-spotted horse was seen among these horses in the 1960s. Since that time, no leopard horses have existed among the wild ones. The gene for leopard coloring is believed to be lost forever among the Spanish Mustangs.

Amber stared at the spotted horse in the photo. He stood out against the darker horses in the band. His head was held high, and half of his striped mane fell to one side of his neck.

He's beautiful, she thought.

The Sighting