Source: By Neil Clarkson of HorseTalk.co.nz
Today, the place of the wild horses that roam the western rangelands is a contentious political issue
The recent discovery of the skull and lower jawbone of an extinct species of large horse in Nevada has added another small piece to an extraordinarily complicated jigsaw that forms the picture of equine habitation in North America.
The new fossils belong to the extinct species Equus scotti, a large horse common in much of western North America during the Pleistocene Epoch – the “Ice Ages”.
The species has never before been reported in Nevada and the remains, dated at nearly 12,000 years in age, make them the youngest record of Equus scotti anywhere in North America.
Was this horse among the last of his kind to inhabit North America or did pockets persist even longer? Either way, the absence of horses from North America is but a blink in the eye in terms of the many millions of years they have inhabited the continent.
It is perhaps ironic that horses, reintroduced by the Spanish to the Americas in the 1500s, grew to become one of the icons of the United States. They were essential to the settlement and growing economic strength of the country.
Today, the place of the wild horses that roam the western rangelands is a contentious political issue. They are celebrated by many Americans as an symbol of their nation, but considered a nuisance by many ranchers, who feel they compete for grazing resources.
Last week, a two-year independent review delivered harsh criticism of the wild horse and burro program run by the Bureau of Land Management.
The report by the National Academy of Sciences review team stated what just about everyone involved in the wild horse debate could agree upon: that the current program of capturing and stockpiling mustangs in long-term holding facilities is costly and unsustainable, soaking up an increasingly large percentage of the bureau’s budget.
The report further acknowledged that the strategy did not sit well with the American public, and that the bureau had not been transparent in dealing with the wild horse issue.
That US authorities have persevered with his strategy for so long is damning in itself.
Indeed, the review suggested that the bureau had not used sound science in forming its wild horse strategy, and that the removals were actually encouraging a much higher population rate on the range, as depleted herds built up their numbers again.
Essentially, the review listed criticisms that had been leveled at the bureau for years by wild horse advocates. On the whole, the bureau has appeared to pay them little attention, seemingly dismissing them as well-meaning but misguided horse lovers…(CONTINUED)
Click (HERE) to read the rest of the story and to comment at HorseTalk
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Thank you for this article, Mr. Carlson, which is for the most part plain talk.
I should like to add, however, that it is highly significant that the intent of the 1971 law was clearly the intent of the American people which has been undermined by the opposing intent of the cattle and sheep ranchers as well as the actions of Congress and the BLM since, even though the intent of the American people remains unchanged.
To use contraceptives to reduce an already minimal horse population which is outnumbered by large multipliers of cattle and sheep is not what was or is the intent of the American people. These lands were designated for the Wild Horse and Burro not for sheep or cattle which are only permitted but are not designated. The determination as to the number of permitted cattle and sheep allowed to graze on the WH&B’s land has been vastly overused in behalf of the ranchers by the BLM to the point of being a commonly known “racket”.
If we are going to bring this situation to a satisfactory solution, it must not be done by contraception or by the vicious round ups of the recent past until such time as the horse population truly is too large which may never occur.
It is the cattle and sheep that must be removed if an area is overgrazed. Further there is little mention of the lack of BLM maintenance of water. Water holes and pumps are not kept up, are fenced off, or strategically used against the horse. When there are water shortages or drought conditions, instead of spending to “gather” that money should be spent to upgrade maintenance of existing wells or to haul in water, to drill new wells, and to deliver hay drops. And that is for the WH&Bs not for the invading cattle.
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Excellent well said…
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Two large international studies have confirmed that the ancient DNA of Equus caballus belongs to the horses that lived here as recently as 7,600 years ago. These studies were not, however, limited just to DNA. They included global studies of places where humans and horses overlapped including North America. Scientists were surprised that the horse and other species that were part of this study all ended up disappearing, in part, by human management.
From subsequent research and co-existing research it appears that many of these different horse species may be reclassified under Equus caballus. Just as there are over 200 breeds of horses today including everything from the Shetland pony to the Budweiser Clysdesdales, there were great variations in size and shape of the horse then as now. However, the essential physiologication adaptations present throughout the range of the species appears to be the same although the genetic changes may have occurred somewhat before the traits appeared in some cases.
This is more than just a headache. This is an international problem as many other nations have committed to the theoretical model that Equus caballus is non-native to the U. S.
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Well said, diogenes11, and ditto. I’d like to add how futile it seems to pass laws that will only be changed later, at the whim of any government agency.
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I think the problem is that more than 2/3 of Congress do not know how this has happened. When FWS says they define wild horses due to 50 CFR 11a, either they or their staffers aren’t langugae savvy enough to understand that the feral and domestic is different from feral, non-native—-these are two different thought systems.
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Ditto also !!!!!! The BLM has created the largest mess out of their unscientific approach to a problem that simply just does not even exist , the Mustangs were doing fine on their own, only needing protection and preservation, as was deemed by the American people and congress, they have The BLM PZPS the mares Mother nature makes them produce more offspring, her plan of survival of the Mustangs cannot be altered the BLM created Mother nature to execute her plan on saving the Mustangs , she knows their worth like no other, we are not here to cater to the Ranchers, we are here to protect a species that is essential to the survival of all life, the Mustangs are an intrical part of that of that, I was once told dont mess with Mother Nature , she has a counter plan for everything , Put our Mustangs back where they Belong !!!!!!!!On the Range !!!!!!
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This problem is not limited to the BLM. There are policies throughout our government to in force and re-inforce the notion that our horses are a non-native, invasive species. There was never any science to support the absolute eradicate of the horse living outside of man’s control in the United States. This is part of an intergovernmental-policy that was made possible when President Clinton signed the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
US scientists know that this is poppycock, but since Presdient Clinton’s appointees are still in places of influence and the people who wanted to rid our wild horses removed are invested in profitting from our public lands, it will take a behemoth effort to get this turned around.
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Another Ditto! After reading comments on articles by people who have NO idea what the wild horses are or how important they are to all of us – this article certainly shines the light on the actual truth – they have been here for thousands of years! (which WE all knew, already) Put them back!!!
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Sorry, that wasn’t too clear – I meant the actual commenters on many recent articles. Typing faster than my brain, apparently.
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Absolutely agree with all comments. Let’s not forget that energy companies like BP are moving in as BLM removes mustangs from Adobe Town. Also, so much water has to be used for fracking gas that is intended to be sold offshore. These companies just look to increase profits for shareholders while guzzling up water supply. They don’t care because they’ll just move on while aquifers will have to take a thousand years of rain to refill.
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Dad gummit.
BP has been purchased by the multinational billionaire who funds President Obama and most of the wild horse haters in the Senate. He purchased BP by offereing the precious metal and rare Earth elements mines he owns in Colorado as collateral.
I hope you guys get the picture now. Our horses are being cleared off public lands so the multinational companies who fund and control the Democratic Party and their thousands of specieal interest groups like the Sierra Club can come in and make a profit from the national resources of the United States.
Secretary Salazar set this up, but he did so at the direction of the President of the United States.
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comment today by Kirkpatrick was that PZP-22 is NOT working due to a technicality in the manufacturing process???that needs some explaining..as well he said 65% of ALL mares on a HMA would have to be vaccinated in order to see ANY reduction in populations
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Mother nature s plan is now in motion, nothing will stop her now !!!!! Not even the corrupt BLM
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That’s because when they limit the number of reproducing females to under 50, the rest of the horses think they have to reproduce like crazy to prevent extinction.
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I have always believed that wild equines maintained their presence in North America based on Native American oral tradition and fossil evidence AND NOW SKELETAL EVIDENCE.
The trolls always bring up the saber tooth tiger in an attempt to dismiss the wild equine of the US…..funny thing is, maybe the mountain lion and existing species are from the saber tooth genome.
What the equicide proponents CONTINUALLY FAIL TO RECOGNIZE is that these wild equines are PROTECTED by CONGRESSIONAL LAW, regardless of their legitimacy regarding “INDIGENOUS”.
More humorous is…..cattle/bovines, miners and water thieves are DEFINITELY NOT indigenous, yet…by god, BLM PROTECTS them.
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Ok science is theory. So theory is spaniards brought horses, otherwise there were none. Theory. Cave dwelling tribes were disputed when their pictures showed cave time horses existed. Theory is only theory. I have a theory a friendly local scientist says he cant disprove. Maybe we dont find lots of bones of horses because predators trex, etc was busy consuming them. Horses live in the open making them very fast, flighty animals, who rarely hide except for rars births. So whose to say they were not always here. I also note that the not indiginous species theory is incorrect because no one was alive to say what did exist, we just have bones.
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Very interesting and informative article. Thank you RT and Neil Clarkson for providing us with the facts on an issue that has concerned so many for so long…very refreshing, as well!
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RT, those ancient horse bones were found in the wash behind my ranch, just 1/4 mile away! I’m gonna see if I can find some more…
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This is so cool. The Great Basin is one of the largest areas of horse evolution anywhere in the world. The evolutionary line extends back for millions of years. Equus simplidicus in significant because in some horse geneologic trees E. simplidicus is considered one of the parents or possible parents of E. caballus. This is so exciting. If there is an area where there used to be a river or a lake near this area, these areas have proven to be the most productive.
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Well, I guess that is what a wash is…
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Reblogged this on WILD HORSE HUB CENTRAL and commented:
SINCE THE ICE AGE…so, does that mean there were cavemen who tamed horses? If so, they would be feral? Or does this mean, finally, that the term “wild horses” really means wild; what does this mean to their protective status? Can they be protected under the auspice of being endangered, or would that put them in the category with wolves, deer, and any other population that allows hunters to obtain license for when the government says the population is no longer endangered?
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