Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West

This is a gorgeously shot documentary carried by an impassioned narrative. Really eye-opening and moving. The brutal roundups of dwindling herds of wild horses at huge taxpayer expense, in order to serve the beef industry and its cohorts - it's outrageous! And how many of us would have ever known, were it not for these intrepid filmmakers? This movie is about so much more than horses (though there is much for horse lovers to swoon over). It's about the scourge of duplicitous human greed on our country's wild, most iconic habitat - placing profits above life, family, and ecological balance. What a fine work of investigative filmmaking!

You will never see wild horses the same after watching this. As a horse lover it was difficult to watch at times. This film shows the true beauty of wild horses and also uncovers the hard truth about what is happening to them. They capture the wild horses true beauty, family bonds, and personalities perfectly. You can't help but fall in love with them, which in turn leaves you feeling sad knowing what their future holds. Movies like this leave us wanting to get up off of our couch and head straight to the Capital to demand change. It is a must watch for anyone who cares about horses, animals, our environment, and doing what's right.

This original film juxtaposes a breathtaking cinematic journey with the horrific cruelty of our government, framing the expose through the lens of passionate filmmakers and the subject of the battle: horses. However, this film is not just an ode the majesty of the horse (although it certainly encapsulates their remarkable wisdom and family bonds). It is a plea, similar to Anna Sewell's novel which inspired the journey, to preserve the wildness in our country and world before the effects of millionaires' greed become permanent. The film implores the public to protect our lands by reclaiming our rightful voice in government. After watching dream-like utopian visuals contrasted with equally surreal dystopian ones, the viewer feels compelled to heed their call to action.

Written, directed, produced and narrated by Ashley Avis, "WILD BEAUTY: Mustang Spirit of the West" is an immersive journey through the history of wild horses in North America.

The documentary depicts a detailed investigative report on wild horses' life conditions in public lands and the cruel issues they are facing. Illegal roundups, captures and sales, including animal traffic and slaughter, American wild horses are the victims of humane activities mainly led by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). Their existence are put at risk as they are massively disappearing.

In collaboration with The Wild Beauty Foundation, the film explore the beauty of wildness through wild horses and their breathtakingly unique herds. All over the world, horse advocates, equestrians and animal welfare protectors gathered to stand with wild horses and asking the government to sign laws to put an end to the inhumane treatment mustangs are going through, for many years.

As a member of The Wild Beauty Foundation, I want to thank endlessly Ashley Avis, her husband and producer Edward Winters as well as the whole Wild Beauty team including our incredible horse advocates and ambassadors. Being a part of the film truly is an immense honor, pride and recognition.

"WILD BEAUTY: Mustang Spirit of the West" is a love letter to wild life, a testament to animal welfare and plight to raise awareness for wild horses. Beautifully shot and narrated, the documentary is making you diving deep into the beauty of wild mustangs and their magical world; but also the cruelty and harshness perpetuated by the brutal roundups and illegal methods.

After nearly five years in the making, Ashley Avis delivers a remarkable amount of dedication, passion and humane spirit through a breathtaking journey to save wild horses along with preserving their natural habitat.

Please share the trailer and the film to everyone around you and tell them to call their law makers. Together and united, we can make a huge difference.

My name is Célina Seillier and I stand with wild horses, forever.

As a person who owns/loves dearly her own Mustang and has watched/competed in Mustang shows, I was disappointed by the obvious bias displayed by Ms Avis. Her only mention of the sale of Mustangs was to bring up the slaughter pipeline which would lead the uninformed to believe that's what happens to most adopted Mustangs. She failed to mention the Mustangs that have been adopted from the BLM, successfully gentled and trained, and now serving as anything from family trail horses to police horses. Nor did she show any of the programs using Mustangs to help rehabilitate prisoners or as therapy animals for people struggling emotionally. Some footage of the amazing accomplishments of kids with their Mustangs at the Mustang Youth Shows would have been nice. I get that she wants her viewers shocked and appalled at the fate of the horses and showing horses who were rounded up but ended up in great situations might defeat that. But she's going down the very path that Velma Johnston (Wild Horse Annie) tried to avoid. That is, focusing totally on emotion and leaving out facts. The value of the Mustang, their strength, hardiness, and intelligence, should not be overlooked if she hopes to convince the US government to take a different path in Mustang management. Simply painting the BLM as villains (multiple times in the film the camera is focused on guns worn by uniformed BLM employees. Some BLM employees are law enforcement, so they carry guns, just as police officers do, but obviously the camera focus is meant to make them appear.cold and threatening to her film crew) does not help her agenda. Do I agree with how the US government is currently managing the public lands? No. But more facts to go along with the beauty of the photography would go further in convincing those in power to explore other options in managing the situation. Going on endlessly about how the horses are "crying for their families" might not have the result she hopes for when the film is shown to Congress. Those holding the purse strings need to see the value in preserving the Mustang, beyond just an emotional plea to save the pretty horses. When the bias is that obvious it makes it more difficult for the viewer to believe everything the filmmaker is saying.