On Sand Wash Basin HMA.

Refer to BLM Instruction Memorandum 2015-070 for care of animals managed by the WHB Program, including deworming, vaccination, evaluation of condition and determination of an appropriate end-of-life action.

Refer also to the daily reports from the Triple B gather earlier this year.  Note that some of the horses, although they survived the chase, were put down due to blindness.  Keep in mind they were strong enough to travel across the range, perhaps for several days, to the trap site.

In the first three cases, none of the horses were emaciated, according to their body condition scores (BCS).  The body condition of the fourth horse was not given.  The fifth horse had a score of 2, which put her in the emaciated category, subject to euthanization according to section A of Attachment 2, Animal Evaluation and Response.  But the reason for ending her life was blindness.

When did the nineteen year old stud go blind?  Yesterday?  Or was he like that since birth?  The case of the cremello mare suggests that blindness can occur early in life.  If it is a hopeless prognosis, how did the twenty year old stud stay alive for so long in such harsh conditions?

The term ‘blindness’ does not appear anywhere in Attachment 2.  That it provides justification for euthanasia must be the interpretation of the specialist on the case.

Maybe the prognosis is hopeless because nobody wants to adopt blind horses and most rescues are not interested in them?  If so, then why not let them stay on the range with their seeing-eye helpers?  How can you refer to these life-ending actions as ‘humane?’

The Triple B Complex includes the Triple B HMA, Maverick Medicine HMA, Antelope Valley HMA west of Hwy 93, and Cherry Spring WHT.

A new Nevada license plate, promoting the Virginia Range mustangs, is now in design review, according to this post at the Fund Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund FB page.  Hopefully, the plate will go into production later this year.

Trailcam photo of a Virginia Range buckskin, taken 05/20/18.  The black points (mane, tail, lower part of legs) tell you his base color is _________.

Trailcam photo of no Virginia Range mustangs on 05/21/18.  Same for 05/27/18, none in sight, after driving through an area of hundreds of acres.

Keep in mind that the population density of the VR is ten times higher than your average HMA, 9.4 horses per thousand acres vs. 0.8 on BLM rangelands in Nevada.

On Sand Wash Basin HMA.

Thirteen wild burros were executed near Beatty, NV, according to a report in the Pahrump Valley Times dated 05/16/18.  The animals were probably associated with the Bullfrog HMA, which has a target population of 91 (upper value of AML) and covers 157,180 acres.

See also this report dated 05/14/18 from the Fox affiliate in Las Vegas.  Includes video.

Anyone with information about the event can call the BLM at 1-800-521-6501.  To date, no arrests have been made in the case.

Related: Where to find burros in Nevada.

UPDATE: The following video was posted by the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas on 05/14/18.

Trailcam photos of youngsters on the Virginia Range, 05/05/18 and 05/06/18.

Trailcam image of a paint horse on the Virginia Range, 05/05/18.  This color pattern is known as ‘tobiano,’ meaning white across the spine, extending downward.  Base color is black.

Refer to this press release from the Forest Service.  More information can be found at this page.

Results of gather:

• 148 horses removed  (72 studs, 67 mares, 9 foals)
• 19 horses euthanized (12.8% death rate)

The remaining population was estimated to be around 140 horses.  The affected area consists of the Spring Mountain WHT (102,221 acres) and Wheeler Pass HMA (275,575 acres).  The AML is 66, for a target stocking rate of 0.2 horses per thousand acres.  The actual stocking rate, based on animals remaining, is 0.4 horses per thousand acres.

The action was prompted by drought conditions in the southwestern U.S.

UPDATE: One of the euthanized horses was not emaciated, not injured in the gather, but was blind.  Almost certainly he had one or more seeing-eye buddies on the range and would have been fine if allowed to stay there.  If nobody wants to adopt blind horses, returning them to the range would be more humane than putting them down?

Trailcam photo of a Virginia Range mustang, taken 05/05/18, showing condition of the hoof.  The natural rounding of the edge is known as the ‘mustang roll.’

Hard to tell with overcast skies, but she appears to be a dark bay.  Elevation 6500 feet.

Two Virginia Range mustangs visiting with the neighbors on 05/18/18.

On Wheeler Pass HMA.

1. Watch the following video about the Yakama Indians and their horses.

2. Go to Chillypepper.org and observe the endless string of rescued foals coming from Washington state.

3. Download the 05/09/18 episode of Mustang Matters and listen to the remarks from 14:50 to 23:10.

Are you connecting the dots?  They’re sending pregnant mares to slaughter.

In trucks marked ‘666?’

Disgusted?  Want it to stop?  Call a press conference and tell the truth.

Darkness hates the light.

Some of the horses may be traceable to the Horse Heaven Hills.

Even on western rangelands.  Let’s defend them against ugliness.

H/T American Digest.

The WHB Act protected horses and burros on lands where they were found when the law was signed by President Nixon in December 1971.  Some of those lands are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), some are managed by the U. S. Forest Service (USFS).  Lands managed by the USFS are called ‘Territories.’  BLM uses the term ‘Areas.’

There are currently 34 active WHB territories in seven states, some managed jointly with the BLM.  They can be found on this map.  If you can’t find a territory on the USFS list, try the BLM HMA page.

The USFS FAQ page provides a history of equines in North America, stating that horses and burros are indigenous species, evolving on the continent with its grasslands.

This contradicts one of the elements in the wild horse narrative, namely, that horses are non-native animals.

Ten to twelve thousand years ago, most of the large mammals became extinct in North America, including horses, mammoths and saber-tooth tigers.  Horses returned to the continent with the arrival of Spanish explorers.

Ian Tyson’s La Primera, the soundtrack in this video, takes it from there.  The story is told from the horse’s viewpoint.  H/T Sandy Palen at Wild in the Pryors.

An editorial that appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune on 05/01/18 points out the conflicting interests of the BLM in the area of rangeland management.  The photo at the top of the page was probably taken near the National Wild Horse and Burro Summit held in Salt Lake City last August.

The conference organizers and conference participants are not wild horse advocates.  How many elements of the wild horse narrative can you find in their plenary session?

The commentary is a response to the recent BLM Report to Congress about management of wild horses and burros on Western rangelands.

The writer argues that commercialization is the cause of rangeland degradation, not wild horses and burros.

It’s easy to see what livestock can do to the land, harder to imagine how widespread damage can be attributed to oil and gas exploration.  Go to 5:04 in this video for the scene at Stewart Creek HMA in Wyoming.

If the goal is to change the way Americans think about western rangelands, and to supplant traditional notions of freedom, ruggedness and self-reliance with new-age ideals of weakness, vulnerability and dependence on government, then the landscape should be dotted with cattle and sheep, not free-roaming horses and burros.

On Wheeler Pass HMA.

Refer to this statement at the Nevada Department of Agriculture grant page.

Refer to this report dated 05/07/18 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  See also this press release dated 05/07/18 from the U.S. Forest Service.

A similar action was carried out in 2015, against the wishes of local residents.  At the time of the gather, the horse population was at 7X AML and no cattle were grazing in the area.  The case is briefly discussed beginning at 21:48 in this video.

The town of Cold Creek falls within the Wheeler Pass HMA or Spring Mountain HA.