from the blog of Terri Farley ~ author of the Phantom Stallion series
Spread the Word
Author Terri Farley Fighting for Wild Horse's Freedom
It’s Veteran’s Day & I’m thankful my veteran is home,frying up breakfast potatoes in my kitchen.
But: deadly round-ups go on; a BLM staffer calling himself “Animal Abuser” is sending threatening emails; mustang bloggers’accounts are being hacked and BLM’s wild horse and burro program leader has been announced as a guest at a “summit” to bring back horse slaughter houses in the U.S.
It’s discouraging. Some of you will lose heart and turn away.
“I can’t look at those videos,” people tell me, “I end up in tears.”
I hope so.
Wild horses don’t need tears of pity, but tears of anger? betrayal? outrage? Oh yeah.
THOSE motivate phone calls and letters and conversation.
When someone idly asks “How are you?” do not say fine.
“Mad,” you can say, “Wild horses may well be extinct in my lifetime.”
HUH?
“Half of California’s wild horses disappeared this summer,” you tell your aunt, doctor, hair stylist, friend. If you see a frown of concern, add, “Hundreds of wild horses were killed in helicopter round-ups this year, including foals who had their hooves literally run off and WE are paying for it.”
HOW MUCH? Many millions of dollars, enough to give whole states health care.
WHY? Mention the INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE RANGE.
more about that soon, I promise.
Don’t lose heart, please.
Even if you’re far away, YOU can stand between the horses and their killers.
Terri
Related Articles
- Commercial Interests, Not Overpopulation, Behind Largest Wild Horse Roundup of 2010 (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- Bloody BLM Wild Horse Roundup Exposed (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
- BraveHearts Last Stand (artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com)
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, The Force of the Horse, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Terri: I wish I have been granted a wealthy family as I would be saving these wild horses by acquiring land and giving them their land back. I would supplement their food during the winter with drops of hay and make sure there was enough water. I have loved horses since being a little girl in Iowa, and was going to have my very own Arabian when my mother became ill and we moved. Never to see that Arabian until a year and half ago, when I saw a beautiful ARabian on Petfinders that was 125 miles from my home. At that moment, it was love at first sight and for that one and half years I drove every weekend to groom and walk him. He couldn’t be ridden due to a hock injury. I wanted to adopt him when I retired. In May, he died of a heart attack. Two weeks ago, I was informed of an Arabian that was headed for auction and I took him to another sanctuary closer to home where I now have the Arabian I wanted years and years ago. I only wish I had the Arabian that died in May as well. This is the closest I can come to saving all those wild horses, but at least I saved one from going to auction and maybe a slaughtering plant. I firmly believe that we will win the fight with the BLM and they will eventually get what is coming to them. All who has been instrumental in killing our wild horses either by rounding them up or seeing them disappear will end up getting their just rewards. I believe God gave us these beautiful animals and he will see that we save them from these two legged predators.
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Terri: I wish I had been granted a wealthy family as I would be saving these wild horses by acquiring land and giving them their land back. I would supplement their food during the winter with drops of hay and make sure there was enough water. I have loved horses since being a little girl in Iowa, and was going to have my very own Arabian when my mother became ill and we moved. Never to see that Arabian until a year and half ago, when I saw a beautiful ARabian on Petfinders that was 125 miles from my home. At that moment, it was love at first sight and for that one and half years I drove every weekend to groom and walk him. He couldn’t be ridden due to a hock injury. I wanted to adopt him when I retired. In May, he died of a heart attack. Two weeks ago, I was informed of an Arabian that was headed for auction and I took him to another sanctuary closer to home where I now have the Arabian I wanted years and years ago. I only wish I had the Arabian that died in May as well. This is the closest I can come to saving all those wild horses, but at least I saved one from going to auction and maybe a slaughtering plant. I firmly believe that we will win the fight with the BLM and they will eventually get what is coming to them. All who has been instrumental in killing our wild horses either by rounding them up or seeing them disappear will end up getting their just rewards. I believe God gave us these beautiful animals and he will see that we save them from these two legged predators.
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I will never quit crying for the horses. I’d love to not look at those pictures, not see those videos. But the way I see it is this…….if these horses gave their lives up by living through it the least I can do is to acknowledge, honor and see it and then truly honor them by bearing witness. Each one of us must look upon ourselves as the only chance the horses have. To place less value and emphasis on our endeavors than that is to belittle our effectiveness and to betray the horses. The phone call, email, letter, banner that might finally get someone in power to listen and act just might be yours so never underestimate your importance. Strive on.
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Thank you Terri.
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We can’t give up. Remember the line from the song that says the hour is always darkest before dawn.
Regarding some of the missing horses, some may be going to horse adoptions. I found out this week that one is scheduled for my area this week-end just this week. One report said 40 would be here; another said 80. I wish I could be here, but have planned to be out of town.
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Here are some more phone #s to call to express your outrage and demand that funding for BLM round-ups be STOPPED
Appropriations Committee Members:
Rep. Rosa Del Delauro Connecticut Dem
(202) 225-3661 D.C. Office
(203) 378-9005 Home Office
Rep. Mark Steven Kirk Illinois Rep
(202) 225-4835 D.C. Office
(847) 662-0101 Home Office
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Terri, You have been in the field a lot this year and know what you speak of. I think many people are afraid. If you are one who is- try to see the horses in your mind doing what they should on their ranges. Remember they have a healing presence; Wild Horse Medicine. Some of us see there are ways to work for the wild ones and just want the understanding of others. There is no place for stooping to the level of those who we must overcome. Threats are taken seriously by the opposition and so we have done the same. It would be right if the threats to the wild ones would be heeded and stopped. But when we threaten we are jeopardizing the work of the people who must stand before BLM in the field or in the court room. Try to find our common ground again and be proud we have come so far together. We may have a long road still to travel. I am sure of it. Like Sandra said, Stand Tall. Be brave and compassionate because that is what brings us together and what separates us from the opposition. mar
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Our Goverment is doing the same to our wild horses as they have done to the American Indian. DOMINATION an taking their PRIDE,
stick the wild horses on a piece of land with boundries,an control there lives even to reproduction,the ranchers also are playing a part as we are making them rich,
Where is our goverment overseers to stop this massacare of our beautiful wild horses
some of these people need to be treated like they treat our wild horses.
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The End for the BLM starts with MEDIA ATTENTION, we must concentrate on this , we must get the MEDIA somehow to cover this………….. NEWSPAPERS IS THE BIG KEY for the Wild Mustangs…………………………
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I NEVER turn away from reality of the videos – not those of the mistreatment and deaths of mustangs, the stonewalling of advocates, or of horse butchery. Yes, my stomach goes hollow and the tears come, but I use those tears to strengthen my resolve to keep up the fight.
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Last night one of the CSI programs featured the story line of Nevada ranchers and a natural gas conglomerate, the corruption and how it had caused disease, murder and death amongst the people who lived in this particular area and all of their animals all in the name of a big corporation who didnt give a damn. Although this was fiction, it is really fact and it is proof that people are starting to listen, even if it is in a fictitious TV programme.
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Sorry also wanted to add that one of these also featured the illegal horse slaughter problem in Miami not too long ago. People are starting to take notice we need to keep up the pressure. I also find it very hard to watch these videos and often dont but that doesnt stop me from doing the little that I can. I dont think I would ever be able to be on the front lines like some of you are, you all have my undying gratitude for all that you do.
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Geez that should have been Florida not Miami, and it was also the CSI type program not the coverage that Richard Kudo had on Inside Edition recently.
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The video and still shots do make me cry, but I force myself to watch regardless of the difficulty it brings me. Terry is right, and cheering each other on does lift the spirits that sometimes feel beaten down. We must take all that we see and hear and become more determined to continue the fight! We are the only help the horses have!!
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Just a thought – following Lori’s post about the CSI TV show and Fracking – that was a good episode – and maybe this is ‘way out there’ –
With Fracking and all the other water pollution that goes with mining and drilling (and solar farms and wind farms) – that mostly takes place in remote areas like say areas where wild horses and cattle graze – could this push to zero out some areas have to do with the knowledge that would come if the horses stayed? Like starting to see horse populatoins dieing younger and younger and starting to see an escalation in birth defects and foul deaths for no reason. I wonder what necoprosies (spelling?) would show rather quickly done on bodies on the range in these areas if horses stayed there?
Maybe Salazoo and the reason they move them east and midwest in the first place is an attempted cover up? How does it make any sense to pay to store horses east and midwest when there is plenty of land west? For the benefit of 3% of an entire industry? Just does not make sense.
Another reason not to eat USA beef – it may have been grazed on pulluted Public Lands! And marketing methods have convinced foriegn markets that contaminated horse meat and polluted cattle meat is the best? Japan has their wild horse meat, babies prefered, shipped to them, starve them the whole way because they think that makes them taste better, then eats the meat raw.
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Well, the wild horses certainly would be the canary in the coal mine if the water sources go toxic from fracking and gas drilling. Halliburton refuses to tell the EPA what chemicals they use in fracking.
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