In this fascinating and beautifully shot documentary, director Kathy Kasic explores moral ambiguities surrounding the fate of horses at an auction barn in Montana. The title of the film refers to horses that are "loose"—that owners no longer have use for or can no longer afford to keep. We learn of the many reasons for unloading the animals, although many of the owners' explanations come off as rationalizations. Told largely through the point of view of a crusty ranch hand who works at the auction barn, "Loose Horses" explores the tenuous and conflicted bonds that bind many people in the West to their horses—and probes some of the hypocrisy in U.S. policies focused on animal transport and restrictions on the sale of horses for meat. Unlike the romantic sensibilities that infuse "American Mustang" (2013), another recent documentary on the use and misuse of horses, Kasic's sobering story poses troubling moral questions but avoids easy answers.
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