Just imagine:  One person’s entire life has been directed by a love for animals; specifically, those of the genus equus. Horses fill his waking (and sleeping) hours, and even though he dislikes Westerns, he watches them just to admire horses galloping across the prairie or drinking from the town’s horse trough. His childhood bedspread had a design of a corral of stallions. He had three different scale models of Trigger in his room. He even has an autographed photo of Mr. Ed! He memorized every extant breed of horse and can distinguish them by sight. His first car was a Ford Mustang. His dream vacation was a Dude Ranch. His dream job was owning the Dude Ranch. In his mind, America’s wild horses rushing through valleys and canyons is a symbol of what makes our country great!

However, that person is not Mark Trail. Mark has little experience with horses, wild or tame (unless Jules Rivera creates such a background for him). There is no evidence Mark watches The Kentucky Derby or even reruns of BoJack Horseman. So, what’s going on here? Why does Bill Ellis make a big deal about the foreign heritage of these feral horses? Is this some kind of riff on illegal aliens? And why does Rivera create this phony over-the-top, melodramatic sequence for Mark?