It’s Friday evening, time to meet up with friends for food and drink.
Author: Western Horse Watchers
Cycle of Life Repeats
New arrivals at the ranch! Two baby foxes discovered last night near the barn, about a month earlier than last year. Photo taken this morning. Same spot as last year.
Not sure if they’re related to the fox videoed four weeks ago just outside the barn.
Two Foals Exit Virginia Range
A report posted yesterday by Horse & Man said one of them received no milk and the other was abandoned. But wait—great news—they’re going to a sanctuary! Awww….
What are they supposed to eat? Who’s going to teach them how to be horses?
Wild horses coming off the range is never good news. The cases were reported by “volunteers with the American Wild Horse Campaign,” according to the story.
The Virginia Range is a large area, about 450 square miles. What were those volunteers doing out there? Darting mares with contraceptives? Were the foals casualties of their ill-conceived program? None of this was mentioned in the report.
We know from Assateague Island that PZP produces unnatural sex ratios, high mortality rates in stallions and slow return to fertility when treatments are stopped.
We also know from the Virginia Range that it can result in barren mares stealing foals, pregnant mares aborting foals and abscesses at the injection area.
But don’t worry, it’s safe, because the PZP zealots said so.
Who’s Vandalizing the Salt River Fences?
A dozen wild horses strayed onto the Bush Highway last Sunday, according to a report by the Payson Roundup. Personnel from a local advocacy group were able to return them to their home territory and repair the fence, which they believe was intentionally cut to the endanger the horses.
Laramie County Commissioners Adopt New Rules for CAFOs
Yesterday commissioners changed the minimum setback distance from three miles to one mile, clearing the way for a high-density horse feeding operation near Burns, WY and silencing the voices of those opposed to the facility.
The new setback will be subject to odor propagation modeling. If the tool says adverse effects will spread beyond the one-mile radius, affected landowners will be added to the stakeholder group.
The amendment was approved unanimously, according to a report posted this morning by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
The hearing begins at 08:32 in this video.
The proposed facility, with a capacity of 5,000 wild horses on 80 acres, will be operated on behalf of the BLM.
Consequences of Rock Springs RMP Amendments?
The closure of three HMAs in the Wyoming checkerboard, and downsizing of a fourth, represent theft of economic resources, according to an opinion piece posted today by WyoFile, a member-supported public-interest news service.
These changes, prompted by a court order, will benefit public-lands ranchers, as stated in the column.
But they’re really just a formality. Under the current management plans, the HMAs are already managed primarily for livestock.
In the revised management plans, crumbs allocated to the horses will likely be assigned to the ranchers—on land set aside for the horses.
But look at the bright side. Losses from declining tourism may be offset, at least partially, by a high-density horse feeding operation on the other side of the state.
Instead of spending the afternoon and half a tank of gas driving the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop, you can go straight to Burns and see as many as 5,000 wild horses crammed onto 80 acres.
RELATED: New Twist in Rock Springs RMP Amendments?
Laramie County Commissioners Meet Tomorrow
The rule change that would bring a high-density horse feeding operation to Burns, WY will be considered in an online public hearing. Item 22 on the agenda. The first page has instructions for viewing and participating in the meeting.
UPDATE: Refer to this report by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. The county planning commission sided with residents, opposing the rule change 3 – 0.
New Twist in Rock Springs RMP Amendments?
Ranchers in the Wyoming Checkerboard don’t want any wild horses on their land but want to graze as many of their animals as possible on the horses’ land. Sound familiar?
Now, the largest private landowner in the area may be interested in selling its property to the state of Wyoming, according to a guest column appearing today in Horse Nation.
RELATED: The Other Rock Springs RMP Amendments.
Mustang Monday
On the Pryor Mountains WHR with Kris Collett.
Didn’t Get the Memo?
No reason to panic. You have until July 15 to file your taxes.
Thoughts on New Colt
A month has passed since he was born but I still can’t look at the photos and videos from that first hour. The day turned out well, of course, but the anxiety lingers.
I did not think he was going to make it.
Normally, I’m hands off on these things. Not that I have a whole lot of experience in this area—I don’t—but after watching him struggle for nearly an hour, shivering and exhausted, I couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer.
The problem was the amniotic sac. Maybe mom could have worked it loose with a bit more time but I wasn’t going to take that chance.
I grabbed the rake and used the handle to slide it off his back legs, like pulling his pants down.
Mom was not thrilled with my involvement. But then I went back to cleaning the corral.
That’s the difference you see between the images at 2:40 and 2:45 in the following video.
I still think he’s small for his age. Perhaps he was born a week or two early. That would explain much of what I saw that day.
Yes, I’ve touched his nose but that’s it. No stalls, no blankets, no halters, no imprinting.
The PZP Zealots Are Wrong
These figures show you why: Eighty five percent of the forage on 17 areas (representing about two dozen HMAs) goes to privately owned livestock. Not only do they want the pattern to continue, they want to tip the scales further in the direction of the ranchers, by reversing the growth rate of the horses.
Refer to the signatories of this unified statement from 2018.
Contraceptives are not the answer. The problem is public-lands ranching.
RELATED: Hypothesis Revisited.
Comments Invited on Spring Creek EA
BLM announced today the start of a 30-day comment period on a draft environmental assessment for changes to wild horse management on the Spring Creek Basin HMA in southwestern Colorado.
Resources in the area can support up to 80 wild horses, according to Section 3.1.2 of the EA. The current AML is 65. The proposed action would increase the AML but limit herd growth rates to no more than ten percent per year.
Other management objectives involve age distribution, body condition, dispersion and genetic diversity, similar to the goals of the Pryor Mountains revamp.
Livestock grazing has been greatly reduced inside the HMA, a factor contributing to the AML increase. Forage utilization outside the HMA was not discussed, probably because it’s outside the scope of the management plan.
The HMA is only slightly larger than the tiny Heber WHT and the new AML is only half the size recommended in Section 4.4.6.3 of the WHB Management Handbook.
The population target could be achieved by doubling the size of the HMA, which means taking back the land now designated as a Herd Area (see map in linked post below).
Comments can be submitted at this page. Substantive only, please.
Mask Coming Off
Baby fur receding from eyes and nose, revealing true coat color. Day 29 for this guy.
How HMAs Should Be
Wild horses on the Virginia Range compete mostly with wildlife for food and water, not privately owned livestock. It’s an example of what Congress intended for federal lands in the original WHB Act.
The Other Rock Springs RMP Amendments
The closure of three HMAs in the Wyoming checkerboard, and downsizing of a fourth, will be accompanied by other changes, as BLM updates the resource management plan for the area. The revamped plan will be released for public comments this spring, according to a report posted yesterday by the Casper Star Tribune.
This week marks the end of the comment period on an Environmental Impact Statement for changes to wild horse management in the Rock Springs area.
The existing management plan was only slightly biased against the horses.
RELATED: Elk Will Be Next After Rock Springs Horses Are Gone?
Their Goal is Sterilization
Another story about the Virginia Range darting program, sponsored by the No American Wild Horse Campaign, with concurrence of the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
There’s no justification for it. These people are as wicked as the day is long.
RELATED: Virginia Range Darting Program in the News.
Life in the Mountains
A disadvantage of living in the mountains is you get the full blast as weather systems move through. Valleys are more protected but you don’t get the views.
These trailcam photos show some Virginia Range mustangs on a windy day. Note the movement of the tank on the left.
System was off and hoses were disconnected. Tank was found about 50 feet away.
Mustang Monday
On the Onaqui Mountain HMA with The RVing Artist.
Corolla Herd Adds Third Foal
It’s a filly according to a report posted today by WVEC News of Norfolk, VA. Baby takes after mom in the color department (both are bays).
RELATED: Corolla Herd Adds Another Foal.
Western Horse Watchers Association 