Horses have been part of this country since long before there were national borders. Bill Pullman narrates a new documentary, “American Horses,” that delves into the history, and our current relationship, with four breeds that make up America’s great horse culture: the Mustang, Morgan, Appaloosa and Quarter Horse. As Executive Producer Fred Kaufman told the media, “The story of the horse in America is the story of America itself.”

The four breeds were selected to highlight because they, “are representative of this span and celebration of American history, kind of at the signature moments through history and horses that evoke not just strong emotions from us because we know their names, like the Quarter Horse and the Morgan horse, but also ones that have really strong ties to natural history and natural history that we could showcase,” explained Eric Bendick, one of the producers.

Pullman was interested in narrating the show due to his personal relationship with the story. His family owns a ranch in southwest Montana. He explained, “We need our horses because we have BLM (Bureau of Land Management) permits up in the mountains, and we have some pretty challenging moves that we have to make in the course of the summer, moving them up there, for one thing, and moving them between pastures.”

Pullman acknowledged, “I think that the thing that I really appreciated, the way this script was considered was, you know, you are watching these different breeds all behaving slightly differently, but I think of that quote from Buck Brannaman, which is in dealing with horses it is that they’re all 100 percent honesty, making that relationship really honest with that horse, no matter what its character is. And, really, they are important to us.”

Horses are as important in our lives today as they have been through recorded history. They helped shape the ranches of the west into what they are and played a crucial role in the creation of our cities.

Today’s horses not only aid in ranching, but are friends to those who own them. Horses are not only American, but the American breeds are integral to the Intermountain West and the country itself.  “American Horses” premieres Feb. 23 on PBS.

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