Privately owned livestock on a 475,000 acre parcel set aside for wild horses receive eight times as much forage as the horses.  The AML represents 11% of the capacity of the land.

(a) Should the next roundup be carried out with helicopters or bait traps?

(b) How many of the mares should be darted with contraceptives?

(c) What percentage of the herd should be shipped off to private sanctuaries?

If you tried to answer those questions, you’re part of the problem.  If you said “This is nuts!” you’re part of the solution.

RELATED: What Do the AUM Numbers Tell You About an HMA?

This film will be screened next week at the Nevada Museum of Art, according to a story posted yesterday by Carson Now.  A panel discussion involving land managers, wildlife scientists and wild horse advocates will follow.

Wild horses and burros have lost around 40% of the land that was set aside for them by the WHB Act of 1971.  The Act has been amended several times by ranching interests and no longer affords the protections sought by Velma.  The roundups and off-range holding facilities seen in the video reflect that reality.

The White Mountain Independent of Show Low, AZ is reporting that a nineteen year old man has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting of two ranch horses near the Heber WHT.

Additional arrests are possible, according to the report.

A relationship to the Heber wild horse shootings has not been established and the investigation of that case is still in progress.

RELATED: Ranch Horses Found Dead Near Heber WHT.

UPDATE: Added video.

Be careful going around curves near sunset, the shadows may conceal wild horses.

Return to Freedom said in a news release yesterday that additional funds have been pledged for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the shooting deaths of the Clark Mountain burros, bringing the reward to $100,500.

The latest pledge was made by the Roy Dunlap Spay & Neuter Foundation for $32,000.

The remains of 42 wild burros had been found on the Herd Area when the story broke in August, but since then four more dead animals have been discovered (not new, missed in the original count).

RELATED: Did the Clark Mountain Reward Yield Any Useful Information?

BLM said today that two new members were appointed to the national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, in the areas of wildlife management and humane advocacy, and a third person was reappointed to a position representing livestock management.

Refer to the news release for biographical details.

The group will meet in Washington, DC later this month.

RELATED: Nominations Sought for WHBAB.

The compartments under the tables may keep food away from the horses but there’s not much room for your feet.  Refer to this story by WBOC News of Salisbury, MD.

UPDATE: See also this news release from NPS.

Consider these data from Warm Springs HMA in southeast Oregon:

What can you infer from these figures, omitting the portion for wildlife?

• The AML is 202 (2,424 ÷ 12)
• Privately owned livestock receive 89% of the forage (19,392 ÷  (2,424 + 19,392))
• Wild horses receive 11% of the forage (2,424 ÷  (2,424 + 19,392))
• Livestock receive eight times more forage than horses (19,392 ÷ 2,424)
• The forage allocation for livestock would support 3,232 cow/calf pairs over a six month grazing season (19,392 ÷ 6)
• The forage allocation for livestock would support 1,616 wild horses (19,392 ÷ 12)
• The HMA can support 1,818 wild horses (202 + 1,616)
• The AML represents 11% of the carrying capacity of the HMA (202 ÷ 1,818)

You don’t have a horse problem at Warm Springs HMA, you have a ranching problem.

RELATED: Warm Springs Horses Get Short End of Stick.

The gather ended on 09-19-19, according to the daily reports, with 241 excess horses removed from their home range.  Two deaths were reported (0.8%) and no animals were returned to the HMA.

Most of the body condition scores were fours and fives, not exactly what you’d expect for a herd that’s overpopulated.  A more plausible explanation is that they were robbing too much forage from the public-lands ranchers—on territory set aside for them.

RELATED: Onaqui Mountain Gather Starts on 9/11.

No, not the rock stars in your neighbor’s garage, your friendly neighborhood mustangs.

The Animal Welfare Institute said today in a news release that 77% of Americans oppose sterilization experiments on wild horses by the BLM.

However, the disclaimer at the end of the announcement said the poll was not based on a probability sample, taken to mean that the persons responding were not selected at random from the population to which the inference was drawn.

What the study did establish is that 77% of 2,027 U.S. adults who responded to the survey oppose the BLM’s sterilization research.

The event, titled “Honest Horses: A Portrait of the Mustang in the Great Basin,” features photographs by Paula Morin.  Refer to this report by Carson Now for dates, times and the location.  Given that it’s in Virginia City, you might see a few of the locals as well!

Refer to this opinion piece in Horse Nation by Joanna Grossman of the Animal Welfare Institute.  The Corolla wild horses are considered by some to be critically endangered, yet they are subject to ‘humane management practices.’  Go figure.

RELATED: Cedar Island Herd to be Rebuilt.

Refer to this news release on Digital Journal, posted today.

RELATED: Senate Funding of ‘Path Forward’ in the News.

On Sand Wash Basin HMA with Karen King.

A guy saw a horse go up a steep rocky hillside.  Off-roading followed a few years later.

Would you believe drinking in the moonlight?