It must have just happened. His herd was still only a short distance away. At least I believe it was his herd. At least I believe it was a “he”. I did not get out of my car to check.

I can only assume it was his herd. They too had the same white marking on their forehead.

I took this shot and kept driving. It’s a long, straight stretch of road that goes on for miles so I was able to comfortably stop my car in the road knowing there were no cars behind me but I could not bring myself to walk over to this creature. When I first arrived there were three coyotes circling and a line of vultures on a nearby fence. God, I hope he was dead. I hope it was quick…too quick for him to feel the pain or numbness of death entering his body.

This photo tells a story of man and beast attempting to survive with each other and yet sometimes these things still happen. The first sign is an attempt to warn drivers but the second sign shows the real story. We really “want” to be considerate of the wild life but we really, really “want” to get to our destination in a timely manner and a wild horse’s life is not worth slowing down for nine miles on a highway that spans for many miles beyond a 100 miles.
Even between the towns…nine miles is merely a 1/3 of the distance between the two towns. Why is it that the CDT is willing to put up a warning sign but unwilling to have travelers slow down for nine measly miles? Possibly to appease the locals who have complained about the number of horses killed each year? The second sign tells more of the story. The story of “we don’t give a fuck” or “they are a nuisance”.

The first sign warns the driver. The second sign confirms that where the Human stands in their self-determined hierarchy of life on this planet. “We are willing to watch out for you but we are not willing to slow down our lives to save yours.”

Think about it. To travel those nine miles at 65 miles per hour, it takes the normal driver that is actually driving the speed limit exactly 8.3 minutes. Let’s say the speed limit is dropped down to 45 for the next nine miles…that would only add on 3.7 minutes to the drive. 3.7 minutes. That is less time than your typical Country Western song.

There were no skid marks. The vehicle did not have time to stop. Perhaps they were reading the sign instead of the road. Perhaps it was dark or foggy. Perhaps they were texting. Or maybe the driver was paying attention but the horse came out of nowhere.

I know life happens. I know these things are inevitable. But dammit, I sure wish they weren’t. I really do wish that humans put a little more thought and consideration into this particular stretch of road. Just 3.7 minutes to possibly save a life or two.