Author: Western Horse Watchers

Roberts Mountain Roundup Starts Next Week

The incident will begin on or about October 22.  Three HMAs are affected.

The capture goal is 1,106 and the removal goal is 1,068.

Helicopters will push the horses into the traps and operations will be open to public observation.

Up to 19 mares will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide, before being returned to the range with up to 19 stallions.

The current population is thought to be 1,161.

The AML, the number of horses allowed by plan, is 110 – 184.

The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and the beneficiaries thereof, not named in the news release.  Click on image to open in new tab.

The roundup supports three tenets of rangeland management:

  • Pest control
  • Resource enforcement
  • Rancher protection

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Axtell, UT.

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.

RELATED: Decision Published for Roberts Mountain Complex.

Roberts Mountain Complex with Allotments 10-16-23

Richfield Base Property Available for $25 Million

The ranch includes 7,942 deeded acres east of Richfield, UT, with grazing preference on approximately 80,000 state and federal acres, according to the agent’s listing.

The operator runs approximately 350 cow/calf pairs year around.

In addition to forage on public lands, the owners feed hay produced from valley operations as well as purchased hay.

The agent’s map links the deeded acreage, shown in red, to six BLM allotments, shown in yellow, and one FS allotment, shown in green.

The National Data Viewer shows the BLM allotments.  The FS allotment is south of North Cove Mountain and west of Bear Valley in the Fishlake NF.

The allotments do not intersect any wild horse or burro areas.

Richfield Base Property with Allotments 10-16-23

The Operator Information Report at RAS ties Annabella Land & Cattle to Authorization #4305032.  The Allotment Information Report ties the authorization to Bear Valley, Gypsum, North Cove Mountain and Salls Meadow.

A keyword search of the Allotment Master Report yielded four instances of “Annabella,” consistent with the Allotment Information Report.

The permittees on the two remaining allotments may be DBAs or lessees but this was not explained in the listing.

Information about the Forest Service allotment can be found in the 2023 AOI.

An outlay of $25 million obtains access to a miniscule 558 AUMs per year on BLM land and roughly 483 AUMs per year on FS land.  Not a great deal in your host’s opinion.

The price tag would break the budget of the new adoption partnerships program, but nobody said public-lands ranching was for the little guy.

Calico Roundup, Day 15

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 15:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

No horses were caught on Days 14 and 15.

The trap and temporary holding pens were moved to another undisclosed location on Day 15.

The contractor dispatched a mare on Day 14 due to low body condition score and loss of teeth.

The death rate is 3.3%.

The capture total includes 168 stallions, 235 mares and 45 foals.

Youngsters represented 10.0% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of five percent per year.

Of the adults, 41.7% were male and 58.3% were female, suggesting the herd has an abnormal sex ratio.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 15 ended with no unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.  As of today, all returned animals have been stallions.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,636 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 3,030 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
  • True AML: Undetermined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
  • Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 13.

Calico Roundup, Day 13

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 13:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The location of the trap site on Days 12 and 13 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on both days.

The contractor euthanized a stallion on Day 13 due to low BCS and lameness.

The death rate is 3.1%.

The capture total includes 168 stallions, 235 mares and 45 foals.

Youngsters represented 10.0% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of five percent per year.

Of the adults, 41.7% were male and 58.3% were female, suggesting the herd has an abnormal sex ratio.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 13 ended with 65 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.  As of today, all returned animals have been stallions.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 4,056 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 3,380 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
  • True AML: Undetermined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
  • Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 11.

BLM Offers $7.5 Million for WHB Adoption Partnerships

The opportunity is open to local and state governments, tribes, other federal agencies and nonprofit organizations through January 15, according to today’s news release.

Proposals will support off-range activities related to placement of wild horses and burros into private care, such as training, outreach and compliance inspections.

An additional funding opportunity related to research may be announced in November and another in December for on-range projects such as application of fertility control.

The agency did not indicate if the solicitation was related to the falling out with MHF.

One possibility would be to seek funding to acquire a base property, update the livestock type and season of use for the allotments attached thereto, and place adopted horses or burros on public lands, as American Prairie did for bison in Montana and as Madeliene Pickens tried to do for horses in Nevada.

Foal-Free Friday, Useful Idiots Edition

Nevada State Senator Hansen said the BLM was not in bed with the livestock industry at the September 7 “Dust Up in the Desert” but have you ever heard the advocates deny it?

The agency refers to them as partner organizations.

They claim to be voices for the horses while aiding and abetting their removal.

Deniz Bolbol TCF Darter 03-11-23

Who benefits from that?

The advocates need donors to sustain their work.

If you’re a hunter, rancher or supporter thereof, little if any convincing is needed.

Donate 08-17-23

You might even be tempted to support the legacy contractors but they’re for-profit companies.

What if you actually care about the horses?

If you understand their true intentions and loyalties, you won’t give them a penny.

If you’re new to the wild horse world, you can be propagandized with flowery terms such as cherished/beloved/innocent wild horses, safe/proven/reversible fertility control and humane management.

You become a useful idiot, a person advocating for a cause, usually with devious or ruthless origins, without understanding its means and ends, allowing yourself to be cynically used by its leaders.

Think about that next time you’re counting the Views and Likes on socialist media.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Safer in Town than on the Range Edition.

Students Learn About Darting 10-26-22

Calico Roundup, Day 11

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 11:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

There was no gather activity on Day 10.

The location of the trap site on Day 11 was not given.

The average body condition score on Day 11 was 3.

The contractor euthanized a mare on Day 10 due to an infection.

The death rate is 3.4%.

The capture total includes 149 stallions, 193 mares and 35 foals.

Youngsters represented 9.3% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of four percent per year.

Of the adults, 43.6% were male and 56.4% were female.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 11 ended with 55 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.  As of today, all returned animals have been stallions.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,204 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 2,670 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
  • True AML: Undetermined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
  • Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 9.

Colorado’s HMAs Transitioning to Curated Horse Exhibits

Progress in wild horse management is never determined from the horses’ viewpoint, only the special interests who benefit therefrom.

To understand the column about Colorado’s HMAs published today by The Colorado Sun, key terms should be explained.  Meanings can be validated not by what the writer says but by what his organization does.

Herd Management Areas – A continually shrinking subset of the original Herd Areas, managed primarily for livestock with few exceptions, two cited in the article.

Herd Areas – The lawful homes of wild horses and burros, identified in 1971 when the WHB Act was signed into law.

Sustain Wild Horses – Control the pests.

Fertility Control Darting – Beating wild horse populations down with ovary-killing pesticides, usually Zonastat-H or GonaCon Equine, so livestock can access most of their food and water.

Appropriate Management Level – The number of horses allowed by plan, not the number of horses the land can support, usually small relative to the available resources.

Carrying Capacity – The number of wild horses the land can support if it was managed principally for them, referred to on these pages as the True AML.

Healthy Horses on Healthy Rangelands – Appropriate management levels achieved, ranchers enjoying more of what their allotments have to offer.

Partner Organizations – Groups that claim to be voices for the horses while aiding and abetting their removal, referred to on these pages as charlatans.

The author noted that the Sand Wash roundup was called off because of winterkill.

He stated that livestock grazing in Sand Wash Basin and Piceance East Douglas accounts for 14% and 20% of forage use, respectively, while your host has determined that livestock in Sand Wash Basin receive 3.9 times more forage than the horses and those in Piceance East Douglas receive 2.4 times more forage than the horses.

RELATED: What Is a Curated Horse Exhibit?

Working Together for a Horse-Free Future 12-21-22

Moriah Roundup Announced

The incident will begin on or about October 16 according to today’s news release.

The capture and removal goals are identical, 400 each.

The current population is thought to be 550.

A helicopter will push the horses into the trap and operations will be open to public observation.

The HA covers 53,312 total acres east of Ely, NV, just inside the Utah state line.

The AML is zero.

Moriah intersects three grazing allotments according to the National Data Viewer, Muncy Creek, Devil’s Gate and Smith Creek.

The Allotment Master Report puts Muncy Creek in the Maintain category, the other two were unclassified.

The allotments offer a combined 20,054 AUMs per year on 293,664 public acres, for a weighted average 68.3 AUMs per year per thousand public acres, equivalent to 5.7 wild horses per thousand public acres.

Not bad for an area that’s unfit for wild horses.

The target rate across all HMAs is one wild horse per thousand acres.

Captured animals will be taken to the off-range corrals in Sutherland, UT.

Gather stats and daily reports will be posted to this page.

RELATED: What Happened to the Moriah HMA?

Calico Roundup, Day 9

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 9:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The location of the trap site on Days 8 and 9 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 4 to 5 on both days.

The contractor euthanized a mare on Day 8 because of a snake bite, followed by two stallions and a mare on Day 9 due to blindness.

The death rate is 3.6%.

The capture total includes 135 stallions, 172 mares and 30 foals.

Youngsters represented 8.9% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of four percent per year.

Of the adults, 44.0% were male and 56.0% were female.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 9 ended with 119 unaccounted-for animals.  Given that 86% of captured mares have been shipped, but only 2% of the stallions, this group is probably dominated by males and will be used to tilt the post-gather sex ratio in favor thereof.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,672 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 3,060 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
  • True AML: Undetermined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
  • Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 7.

Pesticide Pushers Complain about Loss of Twin Peaks Foals!

The BLM reported 31 deaths during the 2022 roundup, but a Freedom of Information request revealed that 69 additional animals died at government holding facilities during and after the roundup.

Fourteen of the deaths were very young foals.

Government records suggested they were foundering due to being run too far during the gather.

One report attributed a death to the stress of being run long distances in rough terrain and in high temperatures.

“It was heartbreaking.”

Who published the findings?

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.

They hate foals!  They’re trying to get rid of as many as possible on the Virginia Range.

They tell you these things because they’re trying to separate you from your money.

Don’t fall for it.  They are a voice for the bureaucrats and ranchers, not wild horses.

Calico Roundup, Day 7

The incident began on October 1.  Results through October 7:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The location of the trap site on Days 6 and 7 was not given.

Body condition scores ranged from 3 to 4 on Day 6 and 4 to 5 on Day 7.

The contractor executed a mare on Day 6 because of an ulcerated cancer of the withers, followed by a stallion on Day 7 due to a previous leg fracture.

The death rate is 2.8%.

The capture total includes 112 stallions, 152 mares and 24 foals.

Youngsters represented 8.3% of the animals gathered, consistent with a growth rate of three percent per year.

Of the adults, 42.4% were male and 57.6% were female.

The HMAs and surrounding lands are subject to permitted grazing.

*According to advocates.

Surprise-Calico HAs and HMAs with Allotments 09-17-23

Day 7 ended with 104 unaccounted-for animals.

Mares returned to the Complex will be treated with GonaCon Equine, a fertility control pesticide.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 3,084 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 2,570 gallons per day
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Undetermined
  • Horses displaced from area by permitted grazing: Undetermined
  • True AML: Undetermined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Undetermined
  • Horses removed because of drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

RELATED: Calico Roundup, Day 5.

Picacho Roundup, Day 38

The incident started on August 24.  Results have been sporadic, typical for bait trap removal.

The sidebar at the gather page shows 101 burros captured and 101 shipped through September 30.

The daily reports yield 100 captured and 119 shipped.

No deaths were reported.

The capture total includes 71 jacks, 22 jennies and 7 foals.

Youngsters represented 7% of the animals gathered.

Of the adults, 76% were male and 24% were female.

The location of the trap site was not given.

Two areas on the California side of the Colorado River are targeted.

RELATED: Picacho Roundup in Progress.

Pichaco Burro Removal 08-22-23