In another quote from McMurtry, we get at the problem of the romance and myths even more. "I thought Lonesome Dove was antimythic. Malory may have felt the same way about the Morte D'Arthur. Readers suck so hard at the old myths, that they turn stones into sour grapes." It is this degradation of the myth, of cowboys and horse, that McCarthy is trying to deal with and elevate in All the Pretty Horses. He is portraying the dreams and legends as we still imagine, but he is also casting a realistic eye on all of it.
Horses do carry with them the images of romance, of time long past. The romance endures, which is partly why horses have become so popular again. But the social protest of authors like McCarthy warns us that we are not able to relive the past. We, and the horses, must exist in a landscape that is dwindling in size and changing in use.
So the images that the pretty horses call up are not all positive and romantic. Aside from commercialization in rodeos, other dark sides to pretty horses do exist. One vaquero tells John Grady that to see the soul of a horse is a terrible thing. It is not just power and beauty that horses call up, but fear and fear of death even. Another old vaquero tells John Grady that horses love war. The idea that horses have a cruel side is not developed by McCarthy, but here the old man seems to be saying that horses like to strive, compete, and battle. Even if horses are essentially creatures of flight, who run from danger, they will fight for territory and also when trapped. This death theme of horses adds to the John Grady myth.
