Under the Trump administration, Forest Service employees have already been fired and rehired. Now they are waiting “for the next shoe to drop: the legal job-cutting approach known as a reduction in force, which the Trump administration has promised to pursue.” But it is not just the humans who have been left in disarray—the animals that work alongside them now face an uncertain future, too. Shi En Kim explores the fate of the forest service packing horses and mules, who, to their handlers, are friends as much as colleagues.
When animals aren’t working, they might be let go, sometimes to an uncertain and not always savory future. But whether the agency’s equines find a refuge or get auctioned off to questionable handlers, the impact of their loss is bigger than the fate of any individual creature. The stock handlers represent the ancient tradition of animal and human working together to move what feels like literal heaven and earth across harsh terrain, forging lifelong bonds in the process.
“You can’t FaceTime a mule. I miss those guys in the winter, and I can’t wait to see them in the summer,” Winch said. Although she has been reinstated and is waiting for her season to start, she’s worried about more cuts on the horizon — perhaps before she can say a proper goodbye. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to see them again. It makes me cry just talking about it.”
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Cloning Came to Polo. Then Things Got Truly Uncivilized
“A polo legend and a businessman joined forces to copy the player’s greatest horse. But with a single clone worth $800,000, some technologies are a breeding ground for betrayal.”
He Thought He Knew Horses. Then He Learned to Really Listen.
“Warwick Schiller made his name as an expert trainer. An enigmatic little horse completely changed his outlook.”
Do You Need a Visit to the Confident Man Ranch?
“At the foot of the Rockies, the operators of a dude ranch retreat are blending cowboy culture and group therapy.”
