During the 1950's Velma B. Johnston, later known as Wild Horse Annie, learned of reckless roundups and slaughter of these beautiful creatures and launched a protection campaign spanning two decades. Her efforts were, ultimately, rewarded with the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act in 1971, which protects wild horses and burros on public lands. Killing them is punishable by up to $2000 fine or a year in jail or both.
Steven Spielberg's 'Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron', a spectacular animation presented from the horse's perspective, attempts to personify the magnificent spirit of the wild mustang, In this moving tale, a young stallion who has known only vast green meadows, blue skies, and flowing streams, is captured by the cavalry and must fight with all his heart to regain his freedom. Along the way he finds a friend in an Indian brave, falls in love with a pinto filly, and overcomes extreme adversities to maintain the freedom of his herd. The movie begins and ends with the emotional song by Bryan Adams, I Will Always Return, and carries themes of inner strength, freedom, home, and family.
In order to capture the majesty and nobility of the wild horses that swept the plains of the American West, producers consulted horse authorities, learning equine 'personality' inside and out. They spent a great deal of time studying anatomy, movement, behavior, and emotion of real horses as well as the history and geography of their homeland.
The film company also searched for a true symbol of the untamed American West and found a beautiful horse named Spirit to be the inspiration for their main character. When they first saw the magnificent stallion, they knew they had found the ideal creature to help them tell a compelling story about a wild mustang stallion and his fight for freedom. Spirit's wonderful personality made him a natural to cooperate with the animators. It is said that Dreamworks paid $50,000 for the horse.
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