Advocates Say Currituck Herd Spends Most of Its Time Eating

That’s probably not a surprise to many in the wild horse world but a statement last week on socialist media, reported yesterday by The News & Observer of Raliegh, NC, might raise a few eyebrows:

“This time of year, the herd spends 89% of the day, or 16-plus hours, fattening up for winter.”

If 89% of the day corresponds to 16 hours, then a day spans just 18 hours, not 24.

Maybe it’s a typo—or an undocumented effect of global warming.

The story also indicated that the horses poop 1.5% of the time, with travel and rest occupying 10.5% and 12.5% of their day, respectively.

Western Horse Watchers thought they spent 98% of their time hiding from the advocates, who have been targeting the mares with their favorite pesticide.

Lone Stallion of California’s White Mountains Passes On

His remains were discovered by a hiker and confirmed by a Forest Service biologist, according to a story by The San Diego Union-Tribune, after his final summer in the meadows near Campito Mountain.

He was 31.

Wild herds are not uncommon in the area, but he kept to himself.

He was born in the Buckhorn HMA, captured in 1995 and adopted in 1996.

Details after that are not clear, including the date of separation from his forever home near Susanville.

A biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said he had been part of a High Sierra pack string but escaped during a trek into the high country.

Nobody knows where he went to survive the harsh winters.

The elevation of Campito Mountain, shown by the marker on the Western Watersheds map, is 11,570 feet.

The nearest HMAs are Montgomery Pass, Fish Lake Valley and Piper Mountain.

The Ancient Bristlecone Scenic Byway passes to the east.

Guide to End-of-Year Giving

You want to help wild horses but don’t know who to support.

Western Horse Watchers doesn’t either.

Most of the 501(c)(3) nonprofits are fraudulent.

They tell you they’re saving wild horses while they’re actually getting rid of them, with benefits accruing to the public-lands ranchers.

If they talk about cruel and costly roundups, humane management and cherished wild horses, your donation may be used to dart the mares with PZP, a restricted-use pesticide and sterilant marketed as a safe, proven and reversible vaccine.

File under: Charlatans.

Forest Service Cedes Oversight of Allotments to Permittees?

A story dated December 2 by the Western Livestock Journal said the Public Lands Council and U.S. Forest Service have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperative monitoring of grazing allotments on National Forest System lands.

The MOU will allow sharing of information about rangeland health between permittees and the Forest Service and will strengthen the partnership between them, according to the report.

A similar agreement with the Bureau of Land Management is expected by the end of the year.

An article dated December 9 by Wyoming Livestock Roundup indicates that range monitoring carried out by permittees will be accepted by the Forest Service as a legitimate source of data and the agency will treat that information as its own!

The writers did not indicate if the ranchers’ reports would be subject to audits or other administrative controls.

The Public Lands Council and its parent organization, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, have been pushing for changes to standards for rangeland health, temporary non-use and flexibility with on and off dates, according to WYLR.

The groups submitted an appropriations request of $153.1 million for the wild horse and burro program [in FY 2023?], which was about $20 million higher [than FY 2022?].

Like other government dependents, they want the federal government to confiscate more and more money from American wage earners and spend it on programs that benefit them.

This process, known as “redistribution of wealth,” is a hallmark of liberalism, socialism and communism.

Amtrak on the Range 11-21-22

Foal-Free Friday, the Advocates Don’t Mean Well Edition

They know PZP is a sterilant.

They know HMAs are managed primarily for livestock.

They know they’re disrupting the natural order.

They know they’re reducing birth rates and herd sizes.

They know they’re skewing the ratio of males to females.

They know they’re acclimating the horses to people.

So why do they persist in their ruinous darting programs?

They want the ranchers to succeed, not the horses.

Keep that in mind while you’re making end-of-year charitable contributions.

Advocates are the Predators 11-30-21

Release of Calico Mares Set for Next Week

They have been treated with GonaCon Equine and will be returned to an unspecified location on or about December 13, according to a BLM news release.

The event will be open to public observation.

Development of safe, practical, effective and long-lasting fertility control methods is a top research priority for the agency.

Long-lasting fertility control does not mean sterility.

Words matter when you’re a liberal.

RELATED: Calico Roundup Ends Early.

History of Wild Horse and Burro Program 12-01-22

Mount Diablo Lights Up for Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

The beacon illuminates once a year, on December 7, in honor of those who died in the surprise attack.

WHBAB Nomination Update

The WHBAB directory shows three vacancies occurring on October 9 but an unofficial notice at the Federal Register seeks nominations for two.

The official version publishes tomorrow.

RELATED: WHBAB Nominations Sought.

UPDATE: A BLM news release dated December 8 suggests that responses to the original announcement were sufficient to fill the opening for humane advocacy but not for livestock management and wildlife management. The selection process could end with a PZP fanatic, rancher and hunter seated on the Board, none of whom would be a voice for wild horses and burros.

The Truth About HMAPs

Because they come after the land-use plans, and are inferior to them, they can only reinforce the status quo, which favors the public-lands ranchers and prolongs the misery of America’s wild horses.

Pay no attention to the advocates. They are clueless.

AML-1

Assateague Filly Up for Naming

The raffle ends on December 16 according to a story by the Maryland Coast Dispatch.

Tickets are $10 each, to be purchased at the Assateague Island Alliance contest page.

Western Horse Watchers would like to see her named Montana, in defiance of those who try to stop reproduction in wild horse herds.

Despite the birth of nine foals this year, the size of the herd has not changed since the 2021 census results were announced.

In fact, it has not changed very much since the darting program was shut off in 2016.

Advocate Misleads Readers About HMAPs

The writer of a column in today’s edition of The Nevada Independent argues the real problem is not too many horses but loss of habitat.

The lack of Herd Management Area Plans threatens all animals on the range, while allowing for a growing presence of profit-driven industries.

This is nonsense. The land is still there.

Nothing except Herd Management Area Plans will protect the habitats of wild horses and all the animals that live there, according to the author, who linked to a BLM Handbook that refutes her claim!

If privately owned livestock, not mentioned in the column, receive 80% of the authorized forage in an area set aside for wild horses, the driver of the roundups and downstream programs, including the stockpiling of captured animals, that specification, and the consequences thereof, will be reflected in the new HMAP.

Resource Allocations and HMAPs 12-06-22

HMAPs are useless without changes to the RMPs!

The writer also endorses HR 6635, the ridiculous helicopter ban, that won’t stop the flow of horses off the range because it doesn’t touch the RMPs and the beliefs, attitudes and priorities of those who write them.

RELATED: The Three R’s of HMAPs.

MHF Coordinator Set Right by Public-Lands Rancher

Ann Souders, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Mustang Heritage Foundation, initially was a vocal opponent of wild horse adoption. according to a story by Cowboy State Daily but changed her mind after speaking with Wyoming horse expert Ken McNabb and is now focused on raising awareness, providing education and increasing the placement of wild horses and burros into private care.

Not mentioned in the report is McNabb’s side hustle: Running cattle on Himes Group, a BLM allotment managed by the Cody Field Office.

The Allotment Master Report puts it in the Improve category, with McNabb receiving 73 AUMs per year.

The Authorization Use Report shows 37 head allowed on public lands from mid-April to mid-June.

It’s a small operation but that does not absolve him from conflicts of interest when handing out advice about wild horses.

The aim of MHF is to increase the number of successful adoptions and placements into private care, through programs such as EMM and TIP, not to raise awareness about the mismanagement of resources in areas set aside for wild horses.

Mismanagement of Resources in Wild Horse Areas 12-05-22

Mustang Monday

At Theodore Roosevelt National Park with kingcidtravels.

Bad Hair Day

Mom-baby pair adopted 2015.

Bad Hair Day 12-04-22

The Advocates Have No Role in Wild Horse Preservation

Defined by their unwavering support of the Montana Solution and management plans that assign most of the forage to public-lands ranchers, they are to be opposed at every opportunity.

This chart shows you what they’re trying to protect.

The Problem 12-04-22

The cart also explains why you see capture, branding, harassment and death of wild horses, all prohibited in the original statute.

“You have to manage the numbers to fit what’s available for the horses.”

This chart shows you what Congress intended.

The Solution 12-04-22

There was only one requirement for lands to be managed in this manner: Horses were found there when the legislation was signed into law.

If you’re thinking about a year-end donation to a group that talks about cruel and costly roundups, humane management, keep them wild and free, or protect our cherished horses, think again.

RELATED: The Carrying Capacity Puzzle.

Alpine Shooting Update

The number horses confirmed dead is now 41, with eleven missing, according to a report by The Epoch Times.

Actions by the Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group are also discussed but you will be prompted to log in to continue reading.

Piss on them. When the pop-up appears, press CTRL+F4.

Fixing the Wild Horse Problem

If you want to help wild horses, don’t focus on the horses. The answers are upstream in the management process.

Fixing the Wild Horse Problem 12-03-22

Pokegama Update

The incident started on September 26, when a stallion and mare were captured.

Another stallion was captured on September 28.

No horses were taken between September 29 and November 20.

Two stallions, a mare and a foal were trapped on November 21, bringing the total to seven.

One horse died on November 22.

Three horses were returned to the range but no details were given.

The capture and removal goals are 200 each.

RELATED: Pokegama Roundup in Progress.

Foal-Free Friday, What’s Past Is Prologue Edition

Long-term trends in resource management indicate greater need for helicopter roundups and population suppression.

History of Wild Horse and Burro Program 12-01-22

Instead of turning the clock back, the advocates have bet their futures on population suppression.

And they want you to pay for it.

Whenever you see references to cruel and costly roundups, humane management, keep them wild and free, or protect our cherished horses, you know you’re being swindled.