Canadian equestrians breathe a sigh of relief when long-awaited spring weather finally arrives and the outdoor riding season begins in earnest. Time to fit up our horses and ourselves for trails, competitions, and the pleasure of spending time outdoors, finally free of the layers of winter gear and horse hair that come with the chillier seasons…

Heavy rains had turned the gravel roads west of Sundre, Alberta into a bone-jarring ride over an excessive smattering of potholes. One after the other, potholes filled with rainwater splattered a thick coat of dark mud onto my truck. The continuous bump, bump, bump almost knocked out my fillings as my grandson Hunter, and I, drove deeper into the backcountry, searching for Alberta’s free roaming horses, known as Wildies.

2023 marked the worst fire season in Canadian history. Alberta had earlier-than-normal fires, flames threatened Nova Scotian communities, wildfires in eastern Canada produced smoke that stalled North America’s eastern seaboard, 65 percent of the population of the Northwest Territories was forced to evacuate, plus massive British Columbia wildfires burnt homes and displaced people. Smoke was ubiquitous, affecting horse and human health.

"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - When Dorothy Brooke, the wife of a British army major general, arrived in Egypt in 1930, she became aware of the fate of thousands of former war horses that had faithfully served the British army during World War I. Born in the United Kingdom, these horses were shipped overseas to serve in the war and had not returned home. Those that survived were now living a life of crippling hardship as working horses on the streets of Cairo and elsewhere in Egypt. She decided to do whatever was necessary to ease their suffering.