In a Wyoming roundup witnessed by this writer, the jute fence was along a sheer cliff, with a large pathway left between fence and cliff edge. Early in the morning, the helicopter heads out into the designated area and begins moving the horses at a run in the general direction of the trap. The wranglers, often riding horses that formerly ran wild, hide in thickets at key spots. As the helicopter drives the wild band past them, the wranglers spring into action, directing the horses along the path that ends in the corrals. Trucks that have been standing by are loaded with the horses and, in Wyoming's case, are taken either to Rock Springs or the Honor Farm, a minimum security penal institution at Riverton.
Blood is drawn from all horses to check for disease.
They are dewormed and halter broken. The future of the wild bands seems secure. A number of western ranchers will continue to maintain that the roaming horses eat too much valuable grass, but there also is pride in the fact that the West still remains a haven for this symbol of the past. The power of the public was displayed back in the 1960s when the Pryor Mountain band of wild horses was threatened. That band, located near the Wyoming-Montana border, several researchers believe, might trace back to the original Spanish horses which were brought to this country.