Posts Tagged ‘Wild Mustang’

Horse deaths at BLM’s Palomino Valley facility more than twice as high as reported, rendering receipts reveal

Posted: May 2, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Wild Horses/Mustangs, Horse News, Wild Burros
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Source: Written by Mark Robison as published on RGJ.com

The discrepancy seems to come about mostly from the counting of baby deaths.

The number of horse deaths at the BLM’s Palomino Valley wild horse facility is vastly underreported, according to rendering receipts uncovered by a Freedom of Information Act request made by the farm animal advocacy group Animals’ Angels.

Animals’ Angels sought the Palomino Valley facility’s rendering receipts for the services of Reno Rendering, whose legal name is Nevada By-Products. Rendering is when animal carcasses are hauled away and processed into other usable materials. (Possible uses: Cartilage, tendons and hooves are turned into gelatin used in such products as Jell-O and Altoids; stearic acid is used in car tires; blood and bone meal can be used for fertilizer; and some tissue is used as “byproducts” in animal feed.)

Animals’ Angels found:

According to the contract paperwork, Nevada By-Products  was chosen over landfill disposal due to cost effectiveness and the fact that “Due to the sensitive nature of the public to the wild horse and burro program, it is necessary to dispose of these large animals as quickly and discretely (sic) as possible and Reno Rendering fulfills these requirements.”

In addition to the contract itself, our FOIA request obtained all records of deceased horses and burros sent from the BLM holding facility to the rendering plant from January 1, 2010 through May 31, 2012.

During that timeframe the BLM itself reported in the official Palomino Valley Mortality Detail Report that only 241 horses and burros died at the Palomino Valley facility and 50 at the Fallon facility. However, the records from the rendering plant tell quite a different story. According to the Nevada By-Product invoices for that same time period, a startling 577 dead horses were received from the Palomino Valley Facility. This is a shocking difference of 286 animals (336 horses if Nevada By-Products does not render the horses from Fallon), a number simply too large to ignore.

The BLM’s Heather Jasinski was asked for comment. She responded:

As for Animals’ Angels and their posting about the discrepancy of numbers of deaths: as stated in my earlier response, the National WH&B Program is currently reviewing its reporting procedures for all aspects of the program and will modify them to correct any identified discrepancies. Until any modifications are identified as being needed, we will continue to respond to any requests based on the current recording procedure.

The discrepancy seems to come about mostly from the counting of baby deaths. They aren’t tracked because they haven’t reached the age where they would be branded and enter “the system.” A controversy is over whether their deaths should be counted in general but also whether they should be counted as negative fallout from roundups, with the thinking being that they may have survived if born in the wild and their mothers hadn’t endured the stress of roundup, confinement and unfamiliar food…(CONTINUED)

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Ranch Owner Relieved Over Failure of Montana Wild Horses Bill; Plan Dies in State Senate Committee

Posted: April 4, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Source: By Francis Davis of The Montana Standard

“They’re all ages, all sizes, all colors (ALL GELDED). We’re excited to have them here.”

The ranch owner who manages the only long-term holding facility for wild horses in Montana breathed a sigh a relief when a Senate bill that would have required the state to develop a management plan for the horses died in committee on Tuesday.

“We’re very relieved,” Karen Rice, the owner, along with her husband, Greg Rice, of the Spanish Q Ranch, told The Montana Standard on Wednesday. “It would have added another bureaucratic process that isn’t necessary. There’s already a management plan in place. There was no reason to reinvent the wheel.”

Along with a management plan, Senate Bill 402 would have required the Montana Department of Livestock to charge a fee of $100 on each imported horse or burro.

There are 700 horses on the Spanish Q, but the original contract between the BLM and the Rices was for a total of 1,150 horses.

A retroactive clause was stripped from the bill, but the additional 450 horses would have cost the Rices an extra $45,000.

A BLM spokesman said it will be at least a year before any more horses are shipped to the 15,456-acre Spanish Q.

“We won’t be sending anymore until at least next fall (of 2014) ,” said Lili Thomas, a BLM wild horse and burro specialist. “We want to take a conservative approach and see how this works out.”

Another reason the BLM has limited the shipment of horses to 700 is that Paulette Mitchell, who leases the Rices about 3,000 acres of land, has filed a lawsuit to keep the horses off of that part of the Spanish Q.

The trial date for the lawsuit has been set for May 14, 2014.

Currently, the horses are being held only on land owned by the Rices, but the rancher said she hopes to get approval from the state to allow the wild horses onto the approximate 1,200 acres of land the Spanish Q leases from the state.

“We’ve leased land from the state for 44 years,” she said. “And we’ve had cattle on it before.”

Rice said she has been disappointed by the reaction of some of her neighbors, four of whom have filed appeals to keep the horses off the Spanish Q, but Rice has also received support from other neighbors who border her ranch.

That support includes Claudette and Creyton Hughes, who own 7L Bar Ranch and have been neighbors with the Rices since 1969, according to a notarized letter sent to the Interior Board of Land Appeals in support of the Rices.

“We have a lot of support that isn’t talked about,” she said. “(The bill) was an attempt to control what we do and it would have taken away from the life of the Montana rancher.”

Rice also said her family intends to take good care of the horses and the land, and that she sees the wild horses as a way for her to keep the ranch in the family. The Rices are receiving $1.36 per day per head. They’ve owned the ranch for over 40 years, she said.

“We take good care of our land and always have,” Rice said. “The horses do graze a little bit different than cattle, but we’ve been told that the horses have a better effect on the riparian life because they will drink and move on, unlike cattle.”

Currently, the horses are in a holding pasture as they acclimate to one another.

“They’re so exciting to watch,” Rice said. “They’re all ages, all sizes, all colors. We’re excited to have them here.”

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Ecologist tells Steamboat Audience Wild Horses Play a Vital Role in the West

Posted: April 1, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Source: By Tom Ross of the STEAMBOAT TODAY

“The horse family is one of the most native of any group in North America,”
Craig Downer and R.T. Fitch at Twin Peaks Roundup ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Ecologist Craig Downer and author R.T. Fitch at Twin Peaks Roundup ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Steamboat Springs — Ecologist Craig Downer came to Bud Werner Memorial Library in Steamboat Springs on Thursday to make the scientific and archaeological case for one of the most romantic figures in the American West: the wild horse.

Wild horses and burros, Downer told his audience, mistakenly have been cast as an invasive species to North America when in fact they roamed here for tens of millions of years, evolving along with other flora and fauna until they formed mutually beneficial relationships and became an integral part of the ecosystem.

Today, in Downer’s opinion, an unwise effort by the Bureau of Land Management to round up thousands of wild mustangs and reduce them on their ranges until their populations are genetically untenable is opening the door to damaging the grasslands of the intermountain West and even promoting the spread of forest fires.

Downer is the author of the 2012 book “The Wildhorse Conspiracy,” available locally at Off the Beaten Path Bookstore.

One of the places where wild horse herds still can be observed is Moffat County’s nearby Sand Wash Basin, Downer pointed out.

Ultimately, the horses and burros, or equids as he refers to them, migrated out of North America, not the opposite, as commonly is thought.

Ultimately, the horses and burros, or equids as he refers to them, migrated out of North America, not the opposite, as commonly is thought.

“The horse family is one of the most native of any group in North America,” Downer said. “They were here continuously since the end of the dinosaurs.”

Horses and burros complement ruminant species like cows, deer, sheep and pronghorns, which have multiple chambers in their stomachs and chew their cuds, Downer said. Instead of directly competing with those animals for forage, they graze on coarser material. Their wallows serve to collect water in arid regions where many smaller species benefit. And their waste contains viable grass seeds that can germinate in what amount to small packets of compost the horses leave behind.

In winter, their heavier hooves can break through icy snow crust on the landscape, benefiting the survival of deer.

“Horses and burros represent a giant missing piece in the ecological puzzle,” Downer said.

Most of all, Downer said, he objects to the BLM’s wild horse roundups, which he describes as being in direct conflict with the Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, which calls for the wild horses and burros to be “protected from capture, branding, harassment or death.”…(CONTINUED)

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Bureau of Land (Mis)Management Excels at Manipulation Training

Posted: February 4, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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By Debbie Coffey ~ Director of Wild Horse Affairs at Wild Horse Freedom Federation
as published in the PPJ Gazette ~ Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

“The BLM also showed a video, but since a copy wasn’t included in the materials that were sent to me, for all we know, it could’ve been old episodes of ‘Mr. Ed’.”

BLM’s Manipulation Training

Cloud after BLM capture, Sept. 2009 ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Cloud after BLM capture, Sept. 2009 ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Did you ever wonder what made Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse & Burro Specialists so “special?” Was it because they had extensive training in equine sciences? Was it because they were range management specialists or biologists who took a BLM Wild Horse & Burro Program “training” class? Was it because they had a big shiny rodeo belt buckle?

After filing a Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA) for documents relating to the training the BLM gives to Wild Horse & Burro Specialists, I wasn’t too surprised to see that the classes that the BLM offered, in which you, the taxpayer, paid for BLM and USDA employees to attend, (probably their travel, hotel accommodations and food), taught them to regurgitate boilerplate wild horse & burro “gather” plans(to round up the wild horses), and reviewed 82 pages out of the BLM manual (couldn’t they just read that at their desk, back at the office?).

It also included litigation, the history of the program, fertility control, the training and adoption agreement with the Mustang Heritage Foundation, and hundreds of other pages that stressed BLM’s range management and policies. Many of the instructors had backgrounds primarily in range management.

But how many pages, out of about 1,000 pages, actually dealt with wild horse behavior or health?

Based on the materials that were sent to me in response to my FOIA request, in 2010, at a 5 day BLM training class, there was 1 page regarding wild horse social structure, and 1 page about the Henneke Body Conditioning Scoring System out of about 400 pages of materials.

In 2005, at a 4 day training class, only 3 ½ hours in a 4 day training class, and about 47 pages out of 600 pages, were on wild horse health and handling.

In that 2005 training class, Terry Hensley, a USDA/APHIS vet was allotted 2 hours to speak on Equine Health Care, and although many pages seem to be devoted to administrative procedures, there were 31 pages on anatomy and 4 pages on the Henneke Body Conditioning Scoring System.

Ron Hall spoke about hoof care for 20 minutes (6 pages on hoof care). Fran Ackley and Sharon Kipping spoke about Animal Handling for an hour (6 pages on animal handling). The BLM also showed a video, but since a copy wasn’t included in the materials that were sent to me, for all we know, it could’ve been old episodes of “Mr. Ed.”

After being rendered almost speechless that the BLM would teach so little about wild horse behavior and health in their Wild Horse & Burro Specialist training classes, and just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, the real corker popped up: “Wild Horse & Burro Public Relations,” presented by Heather Emmons and Don Smurthwaite.

This included over 40 pages teaching BLM & USDA employees how to manipulate the public, in case the pesky public thinks they have a right to ask questions and get answers. What did these 40 pages include (in bold italics below)?

“The Spin Dr. is in”…tells these government agency employees that their PR person
“Deals with angry, hostile people” (would this be the public?) who need to vent…And actually listens to them…”
“schmoozes with the media and public” so you don’t have to
“Represents BLM on Camera” so you don’t have to and
Makes you “look good” (Good luck with that.)

“Working with the Media & Public”
“Heather’s Rule #1- People accept ideas from people they like and reject ideas from people they dislike…so…be First Brain friendly!” (What is “First brain friendly?”)

They teach The ABC Method in this presentation:
A is for Answer or Acknowledge
Answer if you can, but don’t repeat a negative
If you can’t answer, give a reason why
B is for Bridge
Make a transition to one of your key messages
C is for Control
Take the next question or bridge to another key message

They then teach how to “build bridges,” by saying things like:
“…and that’s a key point, but there’s another important one
…but let’s not talk about yesterday, let’s talk about today,
…at the same time, let’s not forget about this…
…which brings me to a point I’m sure your readers/viewers want to know,
…but we’ve found most people want to know about…
…let me tell you about something we just learned today…
…but it’s too bad that so few people know that…
…we do know the actual numbers and they show…
…on the contrary…
…our position is…
…that’s one point of view, but let me give you another…
…the other point of that issue is…
…our view is…

The PR gurus advise the Wild Horse & Burro Specialists to Use the ABC method
Be prepared: know your audience
Stick to your messages
KISS, not technical (KISS means “Keep it simple, Stupid”)
Emphasize the positive
Use headlines, sound bites
Don’t focus on detractors
Keep your cool
Never go off the record
Be aware of body language

And…
Know your audience – WII-FM (What’s in it for me?)
Be the expert
Don’t lie
Be clear about who you represent and don’t
Look the reporter in the eye
Don’t look at the camera
Expect dumb questions (Who do these people think they are?)
Don’t accuse anybody
Use gestures
Smile
Remember “live” microphones
Don’t apologize for bloopers, just go on.

Then, there was a special section on the Pryor Mountains, which Ginger Kathrens and the Cloud Foundation, Carol Walker, Deb Little and many other advocates, have championed.

Here’s what was stated (in italics) in this presentation:
“PRYOR MOUNTAIN GATHER (“gather” is BLM speak for “roundup”)

Stuff that stuck with me

The Basics
The gather started on September 2 and was completed in five days.
About 40 people from wild horse interest groups were on site the first day.
Most of them were vehemently opposed to the gather and adoption
Many of them said they were reporters, although they lacked credentials
The gather was successful. No injuries, no deaths, completed ahead of schedule

YOU Can Lead a Horse to Water but that
Doesn’t mean It will do What it Oughter

NBC was the major news organization covering the event.
A field producer was on hand four days before the gather began to prepare for the story.
In short, we set up the story well with the national media.
It didn’t turn out the way we hoped.” (Gee, I wonder what the national media saw that changed their minds after you “set up the story?”)
“Local reporters did much better.
Lesson Learned:
Sometimes, the story just doesn’t turn out” (Could this mean that the credentialed media didn’t buy their Public Relations bullshit?)
“Second Lesson Learned:  Take care of the locals”. (What do you suppose “take care of” means? Bribe them with a free lunch?)

“The Sky is not Blue.
Dirt ain’t Brown.
The Sun isn’t Yellow.
The stories we saw were amazing for their inaccuracy.” (This, from the agency that seems to think if they repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it.)
“Proud, fearless Cloud was reluctant to leave his band.” (Note the mocking attitude here)
See for yourself what happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw3q1_tCyZ4&feature=share&list=UUjxuLU5B_KLQDSuijIWA41w
 “The horses were fatigued and mistreated.”
(Apparently, the BLM PR person was unable to identify horses that were limping.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52YY0VYUeqQ&list=UUjxuLU5B_KLQDSuijIWA41w&index=25  

“If You Don’t Want to See it on Network News, Don’t Say It”
Count on cameras and microphones being on 24/7, even when you think you’re out of earshot.
Stick with your messages.” (This might be good advice for advocates to remember)

In what almost seems like paranoia, the PR people talk about “Ploys,” and assume that reporters might “interrupt, put words in their mouths, state lies for a reaction” or “ask for an off the record comment.”

The PR people train Wild Horse & Burro Specialists how to respond to any perceived “ploys.” Below, they present a perceived “Tactic” and then give your very special specialist a “Response” to give you or the media, including:

“Tactic Interrupts Response (Politely) “Please don’t interrupt. If you’ll let me finish my thoughts on this, I can answer your next question.”

Tactic Puts words in your mouth “so, what you’re really saying is…”
Response Don’t repeat the negative. “No, not at all. Let me clarify that point.”

Tactic States lies for your reaction
Response Don’t repeat the negative. “No, that’s not true. Here are the facts…”

Tactic Machine guns questions at you.
Response “You asked me four questions at once. Please, let’s take them one at a time.”
Best: Start with the question you want to answer.
Bridge: “The most important question is…”

Tactic Demands answers to questions you can’t answer.
Response Give a good reason why you can’t answer, and tell when you can answer.
“That’s proprietary information.” Or “It’s just too early to say…” Add, “I should have the information in a week or two…”

Tactic False premise, no-win “When did you stop cheating on your taxes?”
Response “That’s a loaded question. (Bridge) The real issue here is…”

Tactic Speculation “Assume for a minute that…”
Response “I’m not going to speculate on that. (Bridge) The actual situation is this…therefore…”

Tactic Negative entrapment “What’s the most serious problem you face in…?”
Response Don’t repeat the negative. “Nothing comes to mind…(Bridge) but let me tell you about some challenges we faced and overcame…”

So, while teaching very little about wild horse behavior, family band structure, or wild horse health to their “specialists,” the BLM has chosen, instead, to hone in on how to evade your questions.

It seems BLM has a shocking attitude of disdain for the public, and apparently it’s so openly accepted that it’s even taught in classes. Even here, they’re told to expect “uneducated, annoying questions.” So, while you may think you’re having a conversation or dialogue with members of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, you’re most likely being controlled and manipulated. The BLM is staying on their message, and no matter what words they say, what they’re doing is “managing” the wild horses on our public lands to extinction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To learn more:

Cloud snaking some of his mares, to try turn back and get his mares that BLM kept in the pens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw3q1_tCyZ4&list=UUjxuLU5B_KLQDSuijIWA41w

Foals limping at the Pryor Mountain roundup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52YY0VYUeqQ&list=UUjxuLU5B_KLQDSuijIWA41w&index=25

Crow Elder talking about the Pryor Mountain Roundup (Cloud Foundation)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a9yUJ5S8IE&list=UUjxuLU5B_KLQDSuijIWA41w

The Pryor Mountain Roundup by Carol Walker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW8KVMXrSpw

“Rollin’ for the Wild Horses”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfX2dTKbQHo

The Cloud Foundation at http://thecloudfoundation.org/

Straight from the Horse’s Heart at http://rtfitchauthor.com/

Wild Horse Freedom Federation at http://wildhorsefreedomfederation.org/

Animals Angels at http://www.animalsangels.org/

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Nevada Gov: No Need to Intervene in Wild Horse Auction

Posted: January 9, 2013 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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By SEAN WHALEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

Cooperative Advocates Get Capitol Kick in the Arse

mustang_meat_pattiesCARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval said Tuesday he sees no need to intervene in an upcoming auction of 41 stray horses trapped by the state Department of Agriculture on private and state-owned lands near Virginia City.

Wild horse advocates fear that if the auction is allowed to go forward, some of the animals will end up in slaughterhouses.

“The Department of Agriculture is doing what it’s been required to do,” Sandoval said. “They rounded them up for public safety purposes. This has been a long-scheduled auction, and there is no reason to reschedule it.”

The auction was set for yesterday,  in Fallon.

About 40 sign-carrying wild horse advocates marched Friday in front of the Legislative Building to induce Sandoval to block the auction. The protesters stopped at the governor’s office to deliver 2,000 signatures of people who want to end the auction.

Bonnie Matton, president of the Wild Horse Preservation League, said Friday the activists are willing to take the horses, feed them and find homes for them if Sandoval can induce the state Department of Agriculture to call off the auction and come up with a plan for the advocates to care for these horses.

‘appalled’

She expressed disappointment at Sandoval’s decision.

“I’m appalled, but I’m not surprised,” Matton said. “I’m very disappointed in our governor. There is no reason the (Nevada Department of Agriculture) should do this.”

In a late development, Jim Barbee, director of the Agriculture Department, said his agency had a “very positive meeting” Tuesday with wild horse advocates about what to do with future horses trapped for public safety reasons.

While nothing was finalized, the agency is looking at options to deliver the horses to the advocacy groups rather than to auction, he said. The auction will go forward, Barbee said.

preservation groups

Wild horse preservation groups from around the country have been collecting money to buy the horses and provide sanctuaries, and efforts will be made to buy the animals at the auction at Nevada Livestock Marketing, Matton said.

The animals can be bought for less than $100, but she said “shills” can sometimes drive the price up much higher.

Matton said she thinks another gather of as many as 60 stray horses will occur soon in northeastern Carson City, setting up the need for another auction.

“This is completely unnecessary and is costing taxpayers money,” Matton said. “They have never fully managed the herds.”

Unlike wild horses on federally managed lands, the horses are not protected by federal law. They are among the 2,500 horses found on private and state lands near Virginia City.

Dozens are killed each year in accidents with motor vehicles.

Under state law, they are referred to as “estray horses” that are owned by the state. There is no law preventing them from being sold for slaughter.

Deniz Bolbol, spokeswoman for the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, said Sandoval has received a huge response from the public in opposition to the practice of sending the stray horses to slaughter.

“This is an opportunity for the governor to reform the program and devise a humane management plan that will benefit the taxpayers of Nevada and wild horses,” she said.

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The Wild Horse and Burro Christmas Carol

Posted: December 25, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in The Force of the Horse, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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Joint effort by Vicki Tobin and R.T. Fitch

This little piece originally appeared on SFTHH on Christmas Day of 2009.  As of late it has graced the pages of the December 2010 edition of TrueCowboy Magazine and SFTHH in 2011

Twas the night before Christmas on our public land
not a Mustang was stirring, knowing what was at hand.
They huddled in fear hoping someone would care,
in hopes that the advocates soon would be there.

The foals hid in cover while Mom stood her ground
while stallions ensured Sun-J was no where around.
With Salazar lurking and Cattor so close by
the bands must stay quiet and not blink an eye.

When out on the range there arose such a clatter
the Mustangs all knew, what was the matter.
They ran to take cover, on wings they did fly
for surely they thought that they all would soon die.

The visions of millions made contractors grin
while ranchers and wranglers high-fived a big win.
More horses removed by ignoring the law
hold on to your hats and stand back in awe.

The chopper did glisten on new fallen snow
sealing the fate of the horses below.
When all of a sudden, the bands all stood still
and watched as the chopper came over the hill.

They stood in amazement, can it really be true
the advocates appeared right out of the blue.
The horses retreated; not believing their eyes
for surely this is a BLM guise.

Then leading the charge, both lively and quick
were Downer and Holland and Fitch with a stick.
More rapid than lightening, Cate was in tow
with Simone close behind, telling all where to go.

Now Ginger and Wagman and Ann times two,
Oh Debbie and Grandma and Julie it’s you.
Now Vicki and Jerry and right there is Anne
now Terry and Marjorie with their cameras in hand.

Down the hill they descended toward the horses with care
and watched as the chopper, fled into the air.
The advocates came with injunction in hand
the decree shouted out, “this is our public land”.

“Enough is enough” the judge did declare
the horses were saved by the breadth of a hair.
Our work here’s not done, the advocates did cry
the choppers still flying, more herds could be spied.

Its back to D.C. with a permanent plan
to ensure all the horses can live on their land.
So love was delivered to the horses with pride
but the warriors must leave so that no more would die.

They climbed up the hill and turned back to the band
who all now had gathered on what was their land.
“We carry you with us”, R.T. did proclaim,
“We go to the White House to show them your way.”

The horses all bowed with a sign of approval
as they all now knew that there was no removal.
They neighed and they nickered to the spirit above
Thanks for sending the people who gave us their love.

Nevada Owyhee Complex Wild Horse Stampede takes Holiday Break

Posted: December 22, 2012 by R.T. Fitch in Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
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As printed in the Elko Daily Free Press (unedited)

Local Herd Reduced to Possible Genetically Non-Viable Levels

ELKO — Wild horse gatherers are taking a break this holiday season.

The Bureau of Land Management has suspended operations for the Owyhee Complex gather, which began the end of November.

The Winnemucca District, Humboldt River Field Office completed its portion of the gather and when the operation resumes Jan. 4 it will be in the Elko District’s Owyhee herd management area, where an estimated 186 horses will be gathered. Of those, 47 will be removed from the range. The remainder will be released after many of the mares have been given a fertility control vaccine.

“Phase 1 of the gather has been completed with the last wild horses being gathered and removed from the Little Owyhee (herd management area),” Gene Seidlitz, BLM Winnemucca District Manager, said in a release. “The weather and mechanical issues on the helicopter caused several days without gather operations occurring but overall wild horses have been removed safely and humanely.”

To date, 819 horses have been gathered and 808 were removed from the Little Owyhee area.

Two studs were released.

The appropriate management level for the area is between 194 and 298 horses. It had a pre-gather population of about 1,097.

Removal of the excess horses will relieve pressure on the limited resources available, according to the BLM.

Wild horses removed to date have been transported to Palomino Valley Center near Reno and the Lichtfield Corrals near Susanville, Calif., where they will be prepared for the BLM adoption program.

Unadopted horses will be placed in long term pastures and retain their “wild” status.

No horses are sold or sent to slaughter, according to BLM.

Information on the gather can be found at http://www.blm.gov/nv.

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