On the Outer Banks of North Carolina (Corolla).

The chart below shows the population target for HMAs in Oregon as a function of HMA size.

The chart yields three conclusions:

• Almost two thirds of the HMAs are smaller than 100,000 acres
• Most of the AMLs are 200 animals or less
• AMLs vary with HMA size but not proportionately

Imagine a line starting at (0, 0) and extending diagonally to the right.  The average size of HMAs less than 100,00 acres is about 50,000 acres.  The average AML for that subgroup is roughly 85 animals.  Therefore, line would pass through (50, 85).

Now let x = 500.  The proportional AML should be ten times larger, y = 10 × 85 = 850, establishing another point at (500, 850).  The three HMAs close to x = 500 have AMLs far less than 850.

This leads to the topic of population density (subject of next post in the series).  If you’re expecting to find some of the smaller densities (animals per thousand acres) on the larger HMAs, you’d be right.  That is the same pattern observed in Nevada.

RELATED: Oregon HMA Stats.

Wild Horses of the Washoe by Donald Cool.

Band stallions on the Virginia Range, 06/15/18.  Always fighting off young upstart bachelors who try to steal their mares.  You won’t see them pushed off their food by ‘lead mares.’  Sorry ladies.

Eventually, they’ll be overpowered by other stallions and will transition to more-or-less solitary lives in pasture.

BLM plans to remove 125 wild horses from the Goshute HMA beginning 06/25/18, due to public safety concerns and private land issues.  Refer to this news release dated 06/22/18.

The method of capture will be bait traps.  Horses not returned to the range will be transported to the Indian Lakes Off-Range Corrals in Fallon, NV.

The HMA lies in northeastern Nevada, near I-80 and the Utah border, and covers an area of 267,277 acres (418 square miles).

The population density at the upper end of the AML is 0.46 horses per thousand acres, almost nothing.  Domestic livestock are present on the HMA, along with wildlife such as deer and antelope.

More Yakama horsemanship.

RELATED: Yakama Nation, Champions of the Horse.

More fallout from the drought in southwestern U.S.  See this story dated 06/21/18 in AZ Family dot com (CBS affiliate in Phoenix).

UPDATE #1: See also this report, posted 06/22/18 on KJZZ 91.5 FM, Tempe, AZ.

UPDATE #2: And this report from FOX 10 in Phoenix, AZ, 06/22/18.  Includes video.

UPDATE #3: Added video.

New band on the Virginia Range, 06/15/18.  Looks like mom (on the left in first photo) has another one on the way.

Many of the so-called advocates, along with the wild horse haters, say this is wrong, it has to be stopped…that the horses are overpopulated and the land can’t sustain them.

Do you see any evidence of that in the photos that have rolled out this week?

Keep in mind that the Virginia Range has a population density of roughly ten horses per thousand acres, compared to a population density of one horse per thousand acres on your average HMA.

Last set of photos from 06/15/18.  These guys spent most of the afternoon near the pond but decided to move on to other pastures around 6:00 pm.

The pond is seasonal and will dry up in another month or so, typical for the Nevada high desert.  The horses were not very interested in drinking from it, only saw one go in it.

Another area hit by drought.  More information at the Heber Wild Horses’ FB page.

The Heber WHT lies to the northeast of the Tonto National Forest, which is the home of the Salt River horses.

More photos from 06/15/18.  Elevation 6500 feet.  Wind out of the west with a temperature of 70 deg F.

The Virginia Range mustangs roam an area east of Reno, NV bounded by I-80 on the north, Hwy 395 on the west, Hwy 50 on the south and Hwy 95 on the east.

It’s not what your horse does after you give him a bath.  It’s not how he gets fresh dirt on his back.  It’s the natural rounding of the edge of the hoof that occurs in free-roaming horses and burros.

Here are two examples from the Virginia Range.  The rounding of the edge eliminates what’s known as a ‘stress concentration’ in engineering work.

A sharp edge can be susceptible to cracks.  Your farrier probably rounds the edge with a rasp when he trims your horse’s feet.

Next time he visits your ranch or barn, ask him about the mustang roll.