Growing up in Hadley, Steven Latham had a wild Chincoteague pony on his family farm, but it wasn’t until he learned about a veterans’ program pairing veterans with mustangs to train that he was inspired to create his documentary.

“A couple friends told me about a program outside of Los Angeles where a veterans’ organization was working with wild horses, and pairing them up with veterans with PTSD,” Latham explained. “And I found that fascinating … Because I knew there was equine therapy … but the idea that they were using these mustangs with veterans, I thought [that] was intriguing.”

This fascination culminated in a feature-length documentary exploring the lives of wild horses and those who care for them on public lands in the western United States.

Latham directed and produced “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses,” which will premiere on NEPM on Aug. 18 at 2 p.m.

The film focuses on the nearly 80,000 mustangs living on public land in 10 western states managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Latham explained that in 1971, a bill was passed to protect wild horses after mustang populations dwindled dramatically from over two million in 1900 to fewer than 20,000 50 years later due to the rampant hunting and capture of the animals for military purposes and for meat to be used in dog food.

The bill enabled the population to rise, but with no natural predators, the population level is now a challenge to control.

According to Latham, the BLM says there should only be 26,000 mustangs on public lands and plans to round up 20,000 horses each year. Latham says there are currently 80,000 mustangs on public lands, and an additional 60,000 in government corrals.

“The way we’ve been managing — and we make the point in the film, mismanaging — this situation is that these horses that were once proud and free on the range have been rounded up and are now in captivity in government corrals,” Latham said. “And it’s a real tragedy because these horses are revered.”

Filmed in Wyoming, Texas, California, Colorado, and Nevada, Latham’s documentary covers various individuals and organizations attempting to manage the care of mustangs. These include an injection that can sterilize horses with minimal disruption to the animal, a competition to train mustangs in 100 days to then auction them off, and another organization  based in Illinois that pairs mustangs with veterans suffering from PTSD for therapeutic benefit.

“Most people don’t even realize wild horses still exist; they think it’s … history,” Latham said. “I … looked at this film as my love letter to America.”

Latham graduated from Hopkins Academy in 1987 and went on to attend Syracuse University. He is currently based in Los Angeles, where he runs his production company, Steven Latham Productions.

Latham began his career in public relations. After working for various other production companies, including Paramount and Universal Studios, Latham was inspired to start a production company of his own.

“I immediately started doing documentaries, and I’ve been doing that ever since,” he said.

Previously, Latham directed “Shelter Me,” an Emmy-award winning documentary series about the ways shelter animals shape the lives of those who care for them.

Episodes have focused on programs such as an Alzheimer’s facility that fosters orphaned kittens and a program that trains shelter dogs to do search-and-rescues.

Latham shared that he is passionate about the relationship between humans and animals and that he hopes his films inspire viewers to learn more about issues they are concerned about, so that they can take action.

“I hope people watch this film and they realize, if there’s something that you really care about … whatever it is, you can’t just wish. You can’t just cross your fingers and hope that the situation gets better.”