Mares treated with the Montana Solution tend to live longer than their untreated counterparts, a phenomenon observed at Assateague Island, where the technique was in use for over twenty years.
The 2021 census revealed 27 males and 51 females on the Maryland side of the island, five years after the darting program was shut off.
The Park Service buried the results for 2022.
The advocates acknowledge the fact, and some boast about it, claiming that the mares no longer have to endure the stress of pregnancy, delivery and nurturing the young.
Stallions don’t go through any of that so why are they dying off at a higher rate?
Mares allowed to breed are usually put back on the regimen after they produce a live foal, which may follow one or more stillbirths.
With no new foals on the way, the newborn is free to nurse for several years, as more and more PZP is pumped into its mom.
Given that antibodies are transferred from mothers to foals through their milk, could other substances—that have detrimental effects on males—be transferred to colts?
Perhaps the issue is not longevity of mares but brevity of stallions.
More research is needed, which the advocates will oppose.
The last thing they want you to know about wild horses is the truth.
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Western Horse Watchers Association 