Horse News

Update: A Wild Horse Visit to Oklahoma

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Open Letter from Ginger Kathrens ~ Volunteer Director of The Cloud Foundation
The Summit of the Live Horse & Pauls Valley

Dear Friends of Wild Horses and Burros;

R.T. giving his speech at the Press Conference for the Live Horse

Last week Lauryn and I attended Summit of the Live Horse in Oklahoma City, organized by our friend and a true friend of all horses, Simone Netherlands of Respect4Horses. Our summit was scheduled to coincide with the Summit of the Horse, an event many of us affectionately refer to as the “Slaughterhouse Summit” or “The Summit of the Dead Horse.” Then, just a couple weeks out, the organizers of the pro-slaughter affair called off their event. We hope it was for lack of support!

Nevertheless, our Summit of the Live Horse went off without a hitch. In addition to Simone and myself, we were joined by R.T. Fitch of Habitat for Horses & the Wild Horse Freedom Federation as well as Scott Beckstead, the Senior State Director of the Humane Society of the United States in Oregon.

Left to right, R.T. Fitch, Simone Netherlands, Ginger Kathrens and Scott Beckstead

Advocates interested in the welfare of both wild and domestic horses came from Oklahoma, Connecticut, and Texas, and the local media showed up in force. The event was streamed live online, but if you missed it you can still watch it here. Each of us gave a short talk about the different aspects of horse slaughter including alternatives, humaneness, health and safety issues, and wild horses. You can watch the local media’s story on the Summit here.

Unfortunately, captive wild horses and slaughter can go hand in hand. BLM has consistently denied selling wild horses to known killer buyers, but the fact of the matter is some mustangs do end up going to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Once a wild horse owner receives title (which happens after a year after adopting), BLM has no authority over that animal anymore and the owner can sell the horse anywhere or to anyone they choose. Long-term holding horses can be purchased from BLM for $10 each.

BLM cannot deny that they have considered lethal solutions to the problem of thousands of once wild mustangs in holding. In 2008, BLM conducted secret meetings (the minutes and planning documents) the contents of which were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request in 2009 by the Dr. Pat Haight, of the Arizona-based, Conquistador Program. The shocking document consisted of high-ranking BLM employees discussing ways to euthanize horses in holding while avoiding public and congressional scrutiny.

SpayVac study mares

On day two of our visit to Oklahoma we drove to Pauls Valley, a BLM wild horse and burro short-term holding facility about an hour south of the city. Our Oklahoma friend, Stephanie Graham, who visits the facility, was our expert tour guide. It is a lovely looking facility with lush green pastures—very pretty, but completely inappropriate for wild horses. Most of the horses were in need of hoof trimming—some were worse than others. In the wild, on dry and, more often than not, rocky ranges, hooves wear down naturally and look as if the farrier just rasped them yesterday. Not so at Pauls Valley.

The first pasture we visited contained all mares. We noticed the four digit hip brands similar to long term holding brands. When we inquired about the brands the BLM facility manager, Pat Hofmann, explained that the mares are part of a SpayVac study. SpayVac is a longer acting infertility drug that has as its active ingredient, PZP, but is packaged differently than PZP, cannot be darted, and had some negative side effects in the past in a study in Nevada.

4 digit hip brands

In addition to the facility manager, Paul McGuire, of BLM Public Affairs in Oklahoma City, very kindly came down from his office to say hello. We met Paul back in December at the Calico roundup in Northern Nevada.

As we were talking, I noticed several very small foals about 50 yards away in a muddy pen without their mothers. BLM told us that horses in long-term holding are only rounded up once a year. At that time the foals are weaned and shipped to Pauls Valley for adoption. However, some of these foals are as young as 2 months old!  Our immediate question was “Why?” The answer? The private contractor would have to feed those few small foals for another year if they weren’t removed.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Money? This was about the long term holding contractors saving a few bucks? That’s why these little foals were lying in the mud when they should be nursing their mothers? I also asked Pat what they fed a two month-old foal. He answered, “Grain and hay—grass hay and alfalfa!” We tried to stay calm at this point, but I know our distress was noticed. We hope that this cruel situation will be rectified.

Since the facility is on private land, we could not go into any of the pastures, but we could drive around the perimeter. When we drove around to one pasture full of geldings, they came up to the fence line.Stephanie knelt on the ground and they cautiously and sweetly sniffed her hair. Such a curious bunch! One yearling let Lauryn and I rub him from shoulder to butt. At that point we were ready to load him up and take him home. We sure hope all these young horses find great, loving, forever homes.

All too soon we had to head to the airport, but I’m thankful we were able to participate in the Summit and visit Pauls Valley. We met some truly wonderful people. Education is key in the fight to save America’s horses, and I hope you’ll take the time to tell a couple friends that wild horses are still out there on their wide western ranges. They need your voice to help them live free with their families.

Happy Trails!
Ginger

PS- You can view more photos from the trip here!

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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs

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15 replies »

  4. ACTION ALERT…due today. BLM is after the Burros….again.
    Add a comment so that your signature will count and spread the word:
    http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6931/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10314

    Take Action: Oppose BLM Plan to Eradicate Burros in Southern California Desert
    Comments must be received by April 16, 2012.
    .
    Nearly half of California’s wild horse and burro areas have been zeroed-out since the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed in 1971. Over the past 40 years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has systematically “zeroed-out” (completely eliminated) wild horses and burros from approximately 2 million of the 4.38 million acres originally designated in California. Now, the BLM plans two actions in southern California that will continue this trend of reducing habitat for these federally-protected animals:

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  5. Blm is disgusting. 2 month old foals eating grain and hay, laying in mud???? Can nothing be done? It is animal abuse!

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  7. WHAT!!!! I guess maybe it was a good thing my flight was too early and I was unable to make it to Paul’s Valley.

    “As we were talking, I noticed several very small foals about 50 yards away in a muddy pen without their mothers. BLM told us that horses in long-term holding are only rounded up once a year. At that time the foals are weaned and shipped to Pauls Valley for adoption. However, some of these foals are as young as 2 months old! Our immediate question was “Why?” The answer? The private contractor would have to feed those few small foals for another year if they weren’t removed.

    I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Money? This was about the long term holding contractors saving a few bucks? That’s why these little foals were lying in the mud when they should be nursing their mothers? I also asked Pat what they fed a two month-old foal. He answered, “Grain and hay—grass hay and alfalfa!” We tried to stay calm at this point, but I know our distress was noticed. We hope that this cruel situation will be rectified.
    without their mothers. BLM told us that horses in long-term holding are only rounded up once a year. At that time the foals are weaned and shipped to Pauls Valley for adoption. However, some of these foals are as young as 2 months old! Our immediate question was “Why?” The answer? The private contractor would have to feed those few small foals for another year if they weren’t removed.

    I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Money? This was about the long term holding contractors saving a few bucks? That’s why these little foals were lying in the mud when they should be nursing their mothers? I also asked Pat what they fed a two month-old foal. He answered, “Grain and hay—grass hay and alfalfa!” We tried to stay calm at this point, but I know our distress was noticed. We hope that this cruel situation will be rectified.”

    Foals as young as two months old are taken from their mothers, all because the contractor doesn’t want to feed them!!! We, the American Taxpayers are footing the bill for horses in Long and Short term holding!! OMG, this makes me sick! And if we complain, I guess they will prevent people from visiting the horses at all.

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  8. God blessed you with the patience of an oyster. Had I been there and seen the muddy nursery I believe I would have had to hit somebody. Paul McGuire is our employee. I know you said he’s over public relations but for crying out loud…how can this be allowed to happen to our horses in a facility they seem to be proud to show off?

    It becomes clearer by the day that we have people handling our horses and burros who have no business doing so…especially on our dime. It sickens me to no end that these people are not in jail for animal cruelty and I mean all the way to the top men Ken Salazar and eventually the President. It’s his watch!

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    • Right on, Steve. Poor little foals. It wouldn’t have cost anything to have left them with their mares.
      Also gelding yearlings is too young. I wonder what the mortality rate is?

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  9. This article is well worth reading:

    http://prophoto7journal.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/blm-and-their-lack-of-taking-responsibility/
    BLM and Their Lack of Taking Responsibility
    BLM Special Agent interviews an Informant on the subject of stealing horses from the BLM Wild Horse Herd Roundups:
    “Agent: Is this a pretty good organization? This sounds like something that’s pretty well planned out, it’s a big organization.
    Informant: Well, its very well set up, you know. There’s nobody that participates in it that isn’t well known and don’t know what’s going on.
    Agent: Do you feel like there’s people inside the BLM that know about this practice, that are a part of this practice?
    Informant: Sure. We can’t operate unless they’re standing there. . .”
    BLM and Illegal Activity History

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  11. This is just rotten that these wonderful, unique horse souls are being deprived of their rightful freedom on their rightful lands in the West! they are being jerked around and neutered, frustrated in their age-old natural lifestyle! This is just plain wrong. The enemies of the wild horses in the wild are getting their smug way and the horses are being displaced from their legal areas where they by law should be the principal presences. It is so heart wrenching to see the young ones looking out now at Spring time full of hopeful anticipation for a beautiful life as God intends for each and every one of them. Meanwhile the ne’er do wells continue to get their way. I describe their predicament, the crisis our so called public servants have created for them, in some detail in my recently published book The Wild Horse Conspiracy, and shall be giving a talk in Colorado at the Boulder Public Library at 1001 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday the 26th of April, 2012, from 7-9 PM. Hope those of you who can make it can come. I will be showing pictures and my book will be available. I will also be at the Medicine Horse festival in Boulder on Saturday the 28th where I will be also speaking and have a booth with books. Hope to see some of you there. My book is also available on amazon.com or through me for a signed one. Happy Spring and let’s turn this dreadful and totally unacceptable situation around for America’s last wild horses in the wild! (And wild burros to — also returned natives to North America!) Sincerely, Craig.

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