Filmed on a three-day ride from Caliente to Pioche, an area bordered by the Silver King and Eagle HMAs and overlapped by BLM grazing allotments.
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No Answers in Heber Wild Horse Shootings?
The Forest Service said the incidents remain under investigation according to an article by the White Mountain Independent.
What if those who do the investigating were on friendly terms or sympathize with those who pull the trigger?
Would that explain the lack of arrests?
RELATED: More Wild Horses Found Dead in ASNF.
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New HMAP for Eagle Complex?
A new project has been created in ePlanning but no documents have been uploaded.
Three HMAs are affected: Eagle, Choke Cherry and Mount Elinor, along with multiple grazing allotments.
Contrary to what the advocates would have you believe, land-use plans inform HMAPs, not the other way around.
They protect ranchers not wild horses.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
Most Disturbing Aspect of Artemis II Mission
It’s not the cranky toilet.
It’s not the long journey to the moon, which took twice as long as the Apollo missions.
It’s the prevalence of women at NASA, especially in the control room.
If you want to see how screwed up things can get, look at the wild horse world, which is dominated by women.
That’s what happens when you supplant logic and reason with emotion.
Long live the patriarchy!
RELATED: Women Ruin Everything.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
Foal-Free Friday, Pesticides and Dogs Edition
The mauling of a wild burro in southern California could represent a new way of getting rid of free-roaming equines.
If it works on jacks and jennies it will work on fillies and colts.
The advocates won’t support it because it’s inhumane and, more importantly, might loosen their grip on nonmotorized removal.
Western Horse Watchers has not seen any endorsements of the project.
PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Mission Impossible Edition.
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Motorized Vehicle Hearing Set for April 29
The online meeting runs from 12 to 2 PM Mountain time according to the news release.
Those wishing to testify must register in advance.
Written comments will also be accepted.
Historically, the advocates have opposed motorized removal of wild horses and burros but they are warming up to the idea, led by the Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
Lake Pleasant Trapping in Progress
The incident started on April 6.
The capture total as of April 7 was 19, including 14 jacks, four jennies and one foal.
No animals had been shipped or released and there were no deaths.
RELATED: BLM Announces Lake Pleasant Bait Trap Roundup.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
Double Standard for Rangeland Health at Sand Wash Basin
The management plan allows 362 wild horses on 151,435 public acres, or 2.4 wild horses per thousand public acres.
Beyond that, rangeland health will suffer according to your faithful public servants.
The Sand Wash and Sheepherder Spring allotments lie mostly within the HMA.
Sand Wash offers 7,568 active AUMs on 69,457 public acres according to the allotment master report, equivalent to 9.1 wild horses per thousand public acres.
Livestock should be kept below this limit, which is almost four times higher than that for the horses, to maintain rangeland health.
The allotment is in the Improve category but none of the AUMs have been moved into the suspended column to help the land recover.
There is no need for such action when you can blame the horses for the problems.
Sheepherder Spring offers 9,042 active AUMs on 74,147 public acres, equivalent to 10.2 wild horses per thousand public acres.
It’s in the Improve category but no AUMs have been suspended.
The current population in Sand Wash Basin is thought to be 505, or 3.3 wild horses per thousand public acres, over the limit for wild horses but under the limit for livestock.
That is the double standard for rangeland health.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
Colleagues or Competitors at the Salt River?
Video from yesterday’s rally at the state capitol, organized by Friends of the Salt River Wild Horses.
Who’s sterilizing the mares? The Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group, a forward base of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.
Who’s gearing up for motorized removal? SRWHDG.
Who’s been lying about their intentions and loyalties? SRWHDG.
Does FSRWH have anything better to offer?
You have Friends of the Mustangs in Colorado and Friends of a Legacy in Wyoming and they are enemies of the horses.
RELATED: Advocates Protest Salt River Wild Horse Removal.
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Advocates Protest Salt River Wild Horse Removal
Around 30 gathered at the state capitol according to a report by The Arizona Republic.
Apparently, they’re not concerned about the mass sterilization program and inevitable disappearance of the herd.
The article said a bill is working its way through the state legislature that might afford additional protections for the herd.
RELATED: Salt River Motorized Removal to Begin This Summer?
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Shackleford Herd Declined Sharply in 2025
Your faithful public servants released the report through one of their media cronies, hoping for favorable treatment, instead of posting it to their website.
As of this morning, the 2024 update tops the list.
At the end of 2025 there were 102 horses on Shackleford Banks, down from 119 at the end of 2024, according to the 2025 update.
The herd consisted of 61% females and 39% males.
The expected range of variation for either sex, assuming they’re equally likely to occur, is 35.1% to 64.9% according to the following relationship, where n = 102 and p-bar = .5.
Although there is some evidence of an abnormal sex ratio, it doesn’t provide a basis for action.
Seven foals were born in 2025. One died and two were removed, leaving four to offset the 20 adults that died.
The net change is -16, which would put the year-end population at 103.
The size of the breeding population and the number of sterilized mares were not given.
The pesticide of choice is PZP although this is not stated in the report.
RELATED: Shackleford Herd Grew Slightly in 2024.
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Finance Committee Passes HB26-1306
The bill was referred to the Appropriations Committee without amendments.
Proponents said it will raise funds to help the state buy pesticides (to beat the horse populations down in favor of livestock).
The measure was considered first at today’s hearing.
RELATED: Finance Committee to Consider HB26-1306.
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No Takers for Hammond’s Old Stomping Grounds?
Oregon’s most infamous allotments, a few miles east of Frenchglen, are still up for grabs according to the Vacant Allotment Finder.
RELATED: If Wild Horses Had Principal Use of the Hammond Allotments.
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Passerby Films Mauling of Reche Canyon Burro
A black-and-tan German Shepherd mix and a black Cane Corso attacked the animal last week according to a report by ABC7 News, supporting the theory that recent injuries and deaths have been inflicted by trained dogs.
RELATED: Reward Offered in Reche Canyon Burro Attacks.
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Mustang Monday
In the ASNF with AZ Places Camping.
Forest Road 124 runs south from Highway 260 toward the Mogollon Rim in the Willow Wash allotment, southeast of Heber-Overgaard.
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Bullfrog Trapping in Progress
The incident began on April 5 with 98 burros captured, none shipped, none released and no deaths.
RELATED: BLM Announces Bullfrog Bait Trap Roundup.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
New Neighbors for Spring Creek Basin Horses?
The Vacant Allotment Finder shows three parcels near Disappointment Valley.
The ArcGIS Viewer identifies them as Old Young, Horse Park and Desert Claim.
They’re on the north side of the HMA.
The allotment master report shows no active AUMs.
The 2026 population dataset puts the Spring Creek herd at 78, slightly below the AML of 80.
You might argue that it’s too small to maintain genetic diversity, which would be a fair statement, but it’s worse than that.
The advocates have been pummeling the mares with pesticide-laced darts for years, so the breeding population may be in the single digits.
Bad news for the horses but good news for the neighbors.
RELATED: BLM Launches Vacant Allotment Finder.
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Potential Wild Horse Preserves Near Reno?
The Vacant Allotment Finder shows seven parcels to the south and southeast.
The pop-up boxes indicate field offices and allotment numbers but do not give names.
The ArcGIS Viewer gives names.
Should you start shopping for base properties? Get more information from the BLM?
No, the viewer shows the allotments overlap areas already identified for wild horses.
The next step would be to go back to the Finder and search another area.
RELATED: BLM Launches Vacant Allotment Finder.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
Scoping Begins for Red Desert HMAP and Enforcement Plan
A scoping notice has been copied to the documents folder with comments due by May 4.
The news release said the AML for the five HMAs in the complex is 480 to 724 and the projected population by the fall of 2026 is 2,300 wild horses.
Contrary to remarks in the announcement, overpopulation will not lead to starvation and thirst. The food is there but it’s been given to ranchers.
The issue is resource allocation not scarcity.
RELATED: Scoping to Begin for Red Desert HMAP?
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BLM, Forest Service Join Forces to Boost Rancher Prosperity
The news releases are almost identical:
The memorandum of understanding, signed by both agencies, will strengthen coordination, cut bureaucratic red tape and deliver immediate, tangible support for America’s farmers and ranchers who rely on public lands.
The vacant allotment finder may be one of the first achievements of the partnership.
“By working closely with American ranchers, we are enhancing communication, investing in innovation, and modernizing our approach to land management practices,” according to Secretary Burgum, “to deliver real results for the people who feed and sustain this country.”
Yep, if it wasn’t for them we’d all be vegans.
The aim of the grazing program is to ensure that high-net-worth individuals receive generous government benefits, often at the expense of America’s wild horses and burros, with no means testing and no expiration dates.
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Western Horse Watchers Association 