There, the foal was swallowed up in a $76 million bureaucracy that captures, feeds and stockpiles more horses than any other in the nation. Wild horses in captivity now outnumber those in the wild.

“Wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West. … It is the policy of Congress that [they] shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment ...

In the chaos of political maneuvering, amid the firings and funding freezes, the wild horses of the American West once again find themselves in peril — not by accident, but by design.