DFW Urban Wildlife

Mustangs running wild inside the Dallas city limits? Sounds unlikely doesn’t it?

Well, I have been hearing rumors of a herd of free ranging Feral Horses inside the boundaries of Dallas proper for the better part of the past year. The stories suggest that drought conditions and the poor economy combined to motivate some horse owners in south Dallas to release their animals.

The freed horses did what horses do, and they gathered together in an isolated place where there was plenty of water and the grazing was good. Reportedly, the herd established its territory just north of Five Mile Creek, somewhere close to A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School. The stories go on to say that some of the horses have bred, and their foals have grown up without any human contact.

Recently, I began spending a lot of time thinking about these horses. I knew I would need to make a trip out there to see them for myself. So, I started asking questions of people who might be in the know. At some point, I was referred to this aerial photograph from Google Maps:

There you have it. Pictures don’t lie. There is or was a small herd of Feral Horses running wild just west of Interstate 45 in south Dallas. I would definitely have to pay the place a visit.

When I finally made it there this past Saturday, the first thing I noticed is that there are no fences. Any horses living on this property would definitely have to be considered free ranging.

The next thing I noticed is what excellent habitat this spot would be for wild horses. Lots of open pasture with tall growing grass. Five Mile Creek to the south providing a reliable water source. The whole area was ringed by dense forest, creating an nurturing level of isolation.

Disappointingly, I also noticed a distinct lack of horse sign. There were no droppings. The horse trails so easily seen on Google Maps have all grown over. And, of course, there were no horses to be found.

The horses have been gone for several months as near as I can tell. I’ve gotten no word yet of what might have happened to them. Most likely they were rounded up sometime over the summer by someone who found the lure of free horses too much to resist.

But, there were horses here, there is no doubt about that. After around an hour of searching I finally came across the evidence I needed to prove it unequivocally. Below you will find photographs of a partial horse skeleton I found near the southeast corner of the property.

Wild Horses in Dallas, Texas. How about that!

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