Western Horse Watchers Association
Exposing the Hypocrisy, Lies and Incompetence of the Wild Horse Advocates
On the range
Small band on the Virginia Range arrives for a drink after the permanent water and electrical lines have been installed. A minute or two later, all heads go up and they leave, as though someone called them.
RELATED: Wild Horses Visit Stock Tanks During Construction.
The White Mountain Independent of Show Low, AZ posted an article this morning about the Heber WHT that actually mentions livestock on lands used by the horses!
“One of the primary complaints expressed by the ranchers is that the Heber horses are in competition with their cattle for food, water and resources.”
One of the ranchers interviewed for the story said the horses should be managed with permits just like cattle.
“Go through the process and set up payments for your range fees with Forest Service for your allotment. Then put all of those horses on there and have at it.”
Interesting idea. Permits could be put up for auction. The going rate for livestock grazing is $1.41 per AUM. If a wild horse advocacy group offered $5 per AUM to graze wild horses, would the BLM be obligated to accept it? Would ranchers be willing to pay $25 per AUM or $50 per AUM or more?
BLM said earlier this week (on Day 2 of the WHB Advisory Board meeting) that the cost of caring for a horse in off-range pastures is $2 per day. That’s roughly $60 per AUM.
Another rancher used an analogy to explain why the current management approach for the WHT isn’t working and hasn’t for years:
“Consider that you and I were neighbors and we had a piece of property and it was fenced off. And then I had 50 dogs running on my property and there’s a hole in my fence and all of my dogs go over onto your property. Does that mean that you should take care of those dogs now?”
What he seems to forget is that the property doesn’t belong to him and a law was passed in 1971 to protect those dogs.
RELATED: Advocates Hauling Water to Heber WHT.
Bait traps have not been successful in capturing horses from remote locations, according to a report posted today by The Daily Sentinel. Forty seven horses have been gathered so far, with twenty seven permanently removed.
Stupid horses, why won’t they surrender their freedom for a life of government benefits?
The stated reason for the gather is overgrazing, but could it be that the horses have roamed beyond the WHR boundaries onto lands covered by grazing permits, robbing forage from the public-lands ranchers?
RELATED: Gather at Little Bookcliffs in Progress, with Aid of ‘Advocates’.
BLM has reopened the nomination period for vacant positions on three Resource Advisory Councils in Nevada. Refer to this news release for more information.
The Sierra Front-Northwestern Great Basin RAC, which serves Washoe, Humboldt, Pershing, Churchill, Storey, Douglas, Lyon, Mineral and Carson City counties, has an open position in the area of wild horses and burros.
Citizens on RACs provide input to the BLM in managing public lands for multiple uses.
RELATED: BLM Seeks Nominations for RACs.
Bait trapping ended 10/02/18, with 902 wild horses removed from the two HMAs, according to a news release issued today. Fifteen deaths were reported, leaving 887 animals to be shipped to the Indian Lakes Off-Range WHB Corrals in Fallon, NV, where they will be offered for adoption or transferred to segregated long-term holding.
Two horses were put down due to blindness.
Ten were put down due to emaciation and weakness.
Three horses died after hitting panels (walls of the traps) and breaking their necks, sometimes referred to affectionately as ‘capture shock’ by those in the field.
All euthanized animals had been given a hopeless prognosis for recovery.
The announcement did not indicate if livestock were present on the HMAs and if they were also affected by inadequate food and water.
RELATED: BLM Wants Another Bite of the Apple at Goshute and Antelope Valley HMAs.
Youngsters being youngsters, somewhere near the Salt River. H/T Lil Dumplin.
Small band on the Virginia Range arrives for a drink after a trench for the permanent water supply has been dug. Tank on the left has automatic refill. Second photo shows other visitors stopping by at night.
RELATED: Stock Tank Update.
Suppose an area can support ten or more wild horses per thousand acres. The stated carrying capacity is one horse per thousand acres. The current population density is three horses per thousand acres.
Given that the area is now underpopulated, what do you suppose will fill the gap?
These guys stopped by for a drink on 10/05/18 then headed southeast. They dropped the level in the tank around eight inches, easily 25 gallons! Video posted here.
On McCullough Peaks HMA. H/T Karen King.
At the intersection of Winters Parkway and Route 50, near Dayton, NV. One way to avoid this is to provide water up in the hills, a practice known as ‘diversionary watering.’
Language warning. H/T Miss Yvonne.
Virginia Range stallion grazing shortly after sundown on 10/05/18. Unfortunately, the video stops abruptly due to memory card capacity. He came in close after the camera quit, gentle as could be. Could have kissed him on the nose but did not. You guys are awesome! (His band, nearby, appears in this video.)
Virginia Range mustang grazing among juniper trees on 10/05/18. Although you may not see them at first, you can tell they’re in the area by the sound of their hooves knocking against the rocks as they move. Elevation 6500 feet.
A bit timid at first, as they check out new things, but they come in, drink and leave, all in the space of three or four minutes.
An article posted yesterday by The Sacramento Bee about the upcoming removal of 1000 wild horses from the from the Devil’s Garden Plateau WHT does not mention that the entire territory falls within permitted grazing allotments.
This story was linked on Drudge so how many readers came away with the wrong impression?
The Forest Service argues the roundup is necessary to “allow range and riparian ecological conditions to recover, while also supporting wild horse herd health by reducing competition for limited food, water and habitat.”
Competition with whom? The oil and gas industry? Mining companies? Can’t possibly be livestock and public-lands ranchers. They are blameless, as always.
Residents of Sandoval County, NM have been asked to participate in an online survey about free-roaming horses near the town of Placitas. Responses from individuals in that area will carry the most weight.
County staff have been working with the Bureau of Land Management and New Mexico Livestock Board to develop a management plan. The goal is to “…truly and sustainably resolve the situation with the free roaming horses in Placitas.” That the horses might be competing with cattle and sheep for food and water was not mentioned in the narrative.
What might the plan include and what would be the results?
The first three options don’t provide a lasting solution and are therefore eschewed by public-lands ranchers, their overlords, cheerleaders and political allies.
Hopefully, someone will come forward with a proposal that works to the benefit of the horses, not their enemies.
RELATED: Case Against Man Who Rescued Foal Dismissed, Mostly Pintos.
Horses being horses on Sand Wash Basin HMA. H/T Mike Mack.
The survey has been complicated by similarity of the horses and movement from one band to another. Refer to this FB post by NPS for details.
RELATED: Update on Shackleford Horses.
BLM announced today that it has re-opened a call for nominations to open positions on five of its citizen-based advisory councils in the two states. Category Two openings, for representatives of WHB organizations, appear in the John Day-Snake and Northwest Oregon RACs.
There are no Category Two openings in the Southeast Oregon RAC, which may cover many of the HMAs in the state. Only a Category One position is available there, which is reserved for persons associated with public-lands ranching, mineral extraction and commercial recreation.
Refer to this news release for details.
RELATED: BLM Seeks Nominations for RACs.
Unfortunately, tanks were not on float control when these photos were taken.
