At the foot of the Rocky Mountains lives one of Canada's largest wild horse herds. About 1,500 animals roaming freely across the foothills. Their ancestors arrived with the Spanish long ago, and more horses were released a century back when struggling farmers could no longer afford to keep them.
Today, these horses have become a flashpoint. Ranchers see them as competitors, claiming the horses eat the grass meant for cattle. Farmer Scott Erickson says many in his community would prefer to see the herd drastically reduced, or even eliminated. But Indigenous communities like the Stoney Nation and conservationists like Darrel Glover fiercely disagree. To them, the wild horses are part of the land's natural rhythm, woven into the ecosystem and essential for biodiversity. They argue that the animals have earned their place on the range, and deserve protection, not removal.