Megadrought Ending?

It wasn’t climate change, just a temporary change in the weather.

Price of Hay Still Climbing

On July 3, a bale of alfalfa-grass sold for $19. Yesterday, the price was $23, a 21% increase. That’s with the quantity discount. The single-bale price is now $24.

If this pattern is true in other areas, what will be the effect on horse owners and adopters who were struggling to get by in the summer?

A horse would need at least five of these bales each month, given their smaller size and weight. That works out to $115 per AUM or more.

The government pays around $60 per AUM for horses in long-term holding.

Ranchers pay $1.35 per AUM to graze their livestock on your public lands, including those set aside for wild horses.

RELATED: Cost of Hay Rising.

Who Will Look After the Nokotas When Frank Is Gone?

Brother Leo died unexpectedly three years ago and now some are wondering what will happen to the herd when Frank passes on, according to a story appearing in today’s edition of the Grand Forks Herald.

There are currently abut 300 head in his care, thought to be descendants of Sitting Bull’s horses.

Their predecessors were removed from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the 1980s and 1990s. The horses you see in the park today are not related.

Insiders are looking for a benefactor to secure the horses’ future when the time comes.

BLM Seeks Off-Range Corrals in Eastern U.S.

The facility should be located in states east of the Mississippi River and at least 100 miles inland from the coast. Sites within 60 miles of an airport and access to major highways are preferred, according to the news release.

Cost of Hay Rising

The price has gone from $19 per bale three weeks ago to $22 per bale today, a 16% increase. The weight has decreased as well.

A horse would need five such bales per month, equivalent to $110 per AUM.

Public-lands ranchers currently pay $1.35 per AUM.

RELATED: Price of Hay Going Up?

Distracted Driver Didn’t Kill Rider

Hospital staff did, according to this report by the Turlock Journal, presumably with the consent of the parents, only three days after admission.

Rider Dies After Horse Struck by Distracted Driver

No charges have been filed according to a report by the CBS affiliate in Sacramento, CA.

Incident at Barn Reinforces Need for Backup Power Supply

Refer to this story dated August 13 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Twenty horses, private water system, no power. Fire department to the rescue.

A growing concern out west is the local utility shutting off your power in the name of public safety.

RELATED: Rural Water Systems – Power.

‘Think Like a Horse’ Goes to the Olympics

It’s open season on the equestrians.

Senate Infrastructure Bill Omits Anti-Slaughter Provision

The version passed by the House banned the export of horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption, but that language was dropped in the version passed today by the Senate, according to a news release by Animal Wellness Action.

Firestorm at ‘Think Like a Horse’ Involving EMM Trainer

1. Here is the original video.

2. Here is a review of the video.

3. Here is the blowback.

Price of Hay Going Up?

Report by KTVZ News of Bend, OR.

New AIP Safeguards in the News

The story has been picked up by major news outlets but has not appeared on Drudge.

RELATED: New Safeguards for AIP?

New Safeguards for AIP?

The Adoption Incentive Program remains in effect, despite legal actions, but additional measures were announced today to provide greater oversight and protection of animals placed into private care.

The news release did not indicate if the new steps would apply to sale-eligible animals and those sold outright, sometimes for as little as $1 each.

More AIP Fallout?

A rescue in West Fulton, NY has increased capacity to take in former wild horses that ended up in kill pens. The woman running the operation pays 75 cents per pound to get them out and $1,000 or more to ship them home, according to a story posted yesterday by The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, NY.

She said that one of the mustangs brought in last year was supposed to be in long-term holding with the government paying a rancher for her care but she was handed off to kill buyers instead.

World’s Tallest Horse Dead at 20 in Wisconsin

A story by WMTV News of Madison says he was a Belgian that weighed 2,500 pounds and was a quarter inch shy of 20.3 hh.

Wild horses typically range from 14 to 15 hh.

He was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010.

Training Feral Horses

Wild horse enthusiasts will get a chuckle out of this propaganda piece dated June 25 by the rancher-friendly Capital Press of Salem, OR.

As for the trainer featured in the story, you probably don’t want a horse handled by her.

Like adoption events, EMM and TIP are rarely discussed on Western Horse Watchers because they are too far downstream in the management process and deflect attention away from the ranchers and the underlying causes of wild horse removals.