LINTON, ND (KXNET) — "My dad is the horses, and the horses are my dad," Christa Ruppert, Frank Kuntz's daughter shared. "It's hard to divide them as two different entities. You know, he saved their lives, but the horse has saved his life." Specifically, the Nokota horse. Frank Kuntz's life has revolved around the rare breed for more than 40 years. But even as a child, horses were always a significant part of his life. "I grew up with family of 12 kids," Frank Kuntz, founder of the Nokota Horse Conservancy said. "We always had horses. My dad loved horses, my mom loved horses, but we always had horses." He says there was only a short period of time when horses weren't an integral part of his life.Frank and his late brother Leo, fought in the Vietnam War, and their return to the States, like most soldiers returning from Vietnam, was anything but welcoming.From cancer to PTSD, Frank and Leo faced many challenges, but life took a turn for the better when they discovered the Nokota horse. "These horses helped both Leo and me through that because we saw such a wrong thing over there," Frank said. "I remember many, many years ago, because we're angry and hurt and you know, let's get these horses saved out there in that park. " Frank and Leo were searching for a horse with stronger bones and hooves. Leo spent many hours observing the Nokota horse at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the last surviving population of wild horses in North Dakota. The Kuntz brothers bought 52 head and soon realized the magnificence of the Nokota horse went well beyond their strength. "It was the bone and the hoof," Frank explained. "And then after we started working with them, it's like, 'wow, we see them.' It's terrible to get themselves in a terrible situation, or end up in a terrible situation. They stop. They think. When I see them around people, they're very compassionate and smart. We've been around horses, all kinds of horses. We were youngsters and we rode horses for everybody, but it's their brain and their compassion. And I'm sure a lot of that compassion and the brain comes from when they live with their people." In the 1950s, Frank says they nearly went extinct when the park tried to remove all of the horses. "After the park was fenced in, policy became total elimination of the horses, and this resulted in numerous different attempts to eliminate the horses out there," Frank recalled. With fewer than 1,000 Nokota horses in the world, and Leo now gone, Frank has taken over their life's mission to save the endangered breed. Learn more about the history of the Nokota horse, as told by Frank Kuntz "I made a commitment to these horses over 40 years ago, my brother and I, that we'd be their spokesperson. We'd be their voice because they verbally couldn't speak. So that's where I'm at. Still I'm making a commitment," Frank explained. A commitment to getting the Nokota horse back to where he says they belong. "My goal is to get them back to the native people. I'd give them away in the right situation, I'd give these horses away," Frank explained. "In the right situation, because they never been mine. I've just been here." That commitment, however, has been anything but easy. "A lot of people that call me crazy," Frank chuckled. "It's like, what are you doing dealing with something that's not making you money?" But it came down to Frank doing for the horses, what they did for him — saving a breed in exchange for them saving his life. Frank's daughter Christa has been by his side, not only learning about the Nokota horse but also learning about the importance of fighting for what you believe. "My dad is probably the most passionate person that you'll ever meet, loyal, dedicated," Christa reflected. "I've never seen someone fail so much but succeed at the exact same time." And no matter how many times he's failed, Frank does all he can to get the Nokota horse home, with the tribes. "They could use these horses, because I've seen so many of these horses used with people that deal with trauma one way or the other, and they work so well at that," Frank explained. "And there's so much of that happening on the reservations, and I feel strongly that we could start getting a place set up where we could help people and help the horse, but help people more than the horse by starting to save the breed and is helping the horse." And his biggest challenge? "Finding someone that'll realize that they need to be saved," Frank said. "Someone that realize that they're important, somebody that realize that it's not about the money." While Frank has no plans to stop, he realizes there will come a time when he'll have to turn the reigns over to someone else, but that also concerns him. "I worry that my family will try to save the legacy, but not going to be very easy," Frank pointed out. "If it wouldn't be for my children, grandchildren, friends to my wife, these wouldn't be happening, because it's easy to quit. That's the easy thing to do." But easy is not the route his daughter plans to take. "If his goals of working together and getting these horses back to their people isn't done before he leaves this earth, then I feel like that's my job to continue it," Christa said. "They're some of the healthiest, smartest, sure-footed, kindest," Frank said. "I mean, they deserve a future. They deserve a long future. There's not many of them left, not many at all." Frank Kuntz, keeper of the Nokota horses, is Someone You Should Know. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW