Western Horse Watchers Association
Exposing the Hypocrisy, Lies and Incompetence of the Wild Horse Advocates
On the range
A federal judge has denied a restraining order sought by Wild Horse Education, arguing that the plaintiffs did not meet the standards for an extraordinary remedy.
The ruling is not a final adjudication of the lawsuit, according to a story by Capital Press, and the judge will consider the request later this month.
RELATED: Challis Roundup Announced.
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The incident will begin today according to the news release.
The capture goal is 281 and the removal goal is 146.
The target is horses.
The pre-gather population is thought to be around 330.
A helicopter will push them into the traps.
The contractor is Cattoor and the contract amount is $171,690 according to a report at USA Spending.
The unit cost is $611 per animal captured.
The HMA will be closed to public access with the exception of observers escorted by BLM staff.
Animals identified for removal will be taken to the off-range corrals in Challis.
Up to 54 mares will be treated with fertility control and returned to the range, implying that 81 stallions will be returned also, skewing the sex ratio in favor of males.
These actions will prolong the genetic bottleneck created by the roundup.
Recovery will be also slowed, if not prevented, by the advocates at Wild Love Preserve, who have been poisoning the mares with PZP.
The ranchers couldn’t have asked for a better partner.
PREVIOUS: BLM Closing Public Lands for Challis Roundup.
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The incident began on September 4 with no updates until today.
Results as of September 7 include 170 horses captured, 97 shipped, none released and one dead.
RELATED: Barren Valley Emergency Roundup Announced.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The roundup will be carried out by CD Warner at a cost of $436,500 according to a report at USA Spending.
That works out to $1,044 per animal captured, the highest price paid for a roundup since the end of foaling season.
PREVIOUS: Riddle Mountain DNA Fills Some Gaps in Roundup Announcement.
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The HMA boundary excludes some deeded acreage on the west side that falls within the Burnt Flat allotment.
Otherwise, the borders match.
Your faithful public servants allow 56 wild horses on 28,331 public acres according to the 2026 population estimates, or two wild horses per thousand public acres.
In Burnt Flat, they allow livestock equivalent to 310 wild horses on 28,749 public acres according to the allotment master report, or 10.8 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The HMA is managed primarily for livestock.
The True AML is 366.
The arrangement costs taxpayers $679,000 per year for the 310 horses in off-range holding, minus $5,900 from ranchers grazing livestock in their stead.
Who would do a stupid deal like that?
PREVIOUS: Riddle Mountain DNA Fills Some Gaps in Roundup Announcement.
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At or near the Jackson Mountains HMA with Monica Ross.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
A U.S. district judge has temporarily blocked the BLM’s order, allowing AP’s bison to remain on three allotments in Phillips County according to its news release.
At the center of the case is whether the Taylor Grazing Act limits federal grazing permits to production-oriented livestock, an ad hoc excuse—and complete fabrication concocted by ranching interests—to thwart allotment conversions for conservation purposes, such as wild animal preserves.
The ruling casts a long shadow over the agency’s attempt to insert the clause into the Part 4100 grazing regulations, “to head off suggestions that grazing permits may be appropriate for other purposes, including preservation or conservation.”
PREVIOUS: BLM to American Prairie: Get the Bison Off the Public Lands.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
He’s now at Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue according to a report by WJZ News.
PREVIOUS: Wild Horse Running at Large in Carroll County.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The incident concluded on September 1 with 309 horses captured, 305 shipped, one released and three dead.
There were no unaccounted-for animals.
The death rate was 1.0%. Two of the deaths were intentional.
The capture total included 128 stallions, 136 mares and 45 foals.
There were no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the HMA.
The contractor was Sampson and the contract amount was $235,563.
The operation liberated 3,696 AUMs per year for other mandated uses of public lands.
RELATED: Confusion Roundup Announced.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
A new project has been created in ePlanning and one document has been uploaded.
The capture goal is 100% of the herd, around 418 wild horses.
Some of the animals will be maintained in off-range holding for two vegetation growing seasons, to be returned to the HMA after recovery from wildfire and drought.
Cattle will also be removed to help the land recover.
No word on a public lands closure while the roundup is in progress.
The Kiger/Riddle horses have always done well at auctions. The last one was in 2015.
PREVIOUS: Riddle Mountain Emergency Roundup Announced.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The incident concluded on September 2 with 894 horses captured, 880 shipped, none released, nine dead and five not accounted for.
894 – 880 – 0 – 9 = 5
The death rate was 1.0%.
The number of mares treated with fertility control was not given.
The capture total included 355 stallions, 368 mares and 171 foals.
The contractor was Warner and the contract amount was $679,249.
The capture goal was not reached. Productivity was high at the beginning of the roundup but declined steadily.
In response to the incident, the governor sent a letter to DOI Secretary Burgum asking for an immediate freeze on upcoming roundups in Colorado.
State officials requested evidence that helicopter roundups are a more effective means of controlling the wild horse population but were silent about the long-term effects of fertility control, the alternative they prefer.
The operation liberated 10,728 AUMs per year for other mandated uses of public lands.
RELATED: Piceance Roundup Announced.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
A genetic bottleneck occurs when the size of a population is reduced, leaving only a small subset of individuals to reproduce.
The condition can be associated with motorized and nonmotorized removal.
The distinction is that the herds usually recover from helicopter roundups but not from long-term fertility control.
Extinction is the result in those cases, and it’s the method preferred by the advocates.
PREVIOUS: Foal-Free Friday, Evil Beyond Imagination Edition.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The incident, billed as a rescue in the news release, will start on September 9 but most details have been omitted.
The driver is inadequate food and water.
The pre-gather population was not disclosed.
The capture and removal goals were not stated.
The method of capture is probably helicopter.
Operations will be open to public observation on a limited basis.
The name of the off-range holding facility was not given.
The contractor was not identified.
A public lands closure was not discussed.
Conditions in the Burnt Flat Allotment, which contains the HMA, are not known.
The roundup could be an extension of the incident at Sheepshead (Barren Valley), which borders Riddle Mountain on the east side.
RELATED: Barren Valley Emergency Roundup Announced.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The bill was signed yesterday according to a White House news release.
It doesn’t give the BLM a budget for FY27 but avoids a government shutdown until December 11.
PREVIOUS: FY26 Roundup Tour Ends at Jackson Mountains.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
A map in the Decision Record, which was copied to the project folder in ePlanning, indicates the order applies to the entire HMA and five trap locations to the east.
Only gather operation personnel and any public observers escorted by BLM staff will be allowed in the closure area.
The ArcGIS Viewer puts the five traps in the North Gooseberry Allotment.
The allotment master report has it in the Improve category with 27% of the permitted use in the suspended column, suggesting that your stewards of the public lands are not taking their responsibilities seriously.
The 8,519 active AUMs support livestock equivalent to 710 wild horses on 114,317 public acres, or 6.2 wild horses per thousand public acres.
The stocking rate allowed by plan in Fifteenmile is 2.8 wild horses per thousand public acres, another example of the double standard for resource management on America’s public lands.
PREVIOUS: Fifteenmile Roundup Getting Closer.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
A map in the project folder indicates that the entire HMA will be off limits for the duration of the incident.
Only essential gather operation personnel will be allowed in the closure area unless accompanied by BLM staff according to the Decision Record.
A gather page has been created for Riddle Mountain, adjacent to Sheepshead, but no details are known at this time.
PREVIOUS: Barren Valley Emergency Roundup Announced.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The incident, billed as a rescue in the news release, starts tomorrow.
The target is horses in the Sheepshead/Heath Creek HMA.
The capture goal is 499.
A helicopter will push them into the trap.
The destination of captured animals is unknown.
The announcement did not indicate if operations would be open to public observation.
Removal of wild horses ensures that the area can provide habitat for wildlife and support multiple land uses, such as permitted grazing.
PREVIOUS: Barren Valley Emergency Roundup Pending?
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The incident started on August 24. Results through September 1:
The Day 9 report said 84 horses shipped which is not possible if the previous shipping figures are correct. The limit would be 38.
Two stallions were euthanized for preexisting conditions on Day 9.
The death rate is 1.0%.
The capture total includes 128 stallions, 136 mares and 45 foals.
Youngsters represented 14.6% of the animals gathered, enough to support a herd growth rate of 9% per year.
Of the adults, 48.5% were male and 51.5% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.
Body condition scores were not given.
The location of the trap site was not disclosed.
The contractor is Sampson and the contract amount is $235,536 according to a report at USA Spending.
There are no plans to treat any of the mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.
The HMA is subject to permitted grazing. Resources liberated to date:
The project area may be larger than the HMA.
PREVIOUS: Confusion Roundup, Day 7.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The incident started on August 2. Results through September 1:
The figures above are based on the daily reports.
Trapping concluded on Day 30.
A mare died of a heart condition on Day 30.
The death rate is 1.0%.
Excess animals have been hard to find. Productivity was high at the beginning of the roundup but has declined steadily.
The capture total included 355 stallions, 368 mares and 171 foals.
Youngsters represented 19.1% of the animals gathered, enough to support a herd growth rate of 14% per year.
Of the adults, 49.1% were male and 50.9% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.
Body condition scores on Day 30 were 4+.
The location of the trap site was not disclosed.
The contractor is CD Warner and the contract amount is $679,249 according to a report at USA Spending.
The area is subject to permitted grazing. Resources liberated to date:
The West Douglas HA is unfit for wild horses, supposedly, and has no AML.
No word on mares treated with fertility control and returned to the HMA.
PREVIOUS: Piceance Roundup, Day 29.
► Get the truth about wild horses and the wild horse advocates at westernhorsewatchers.com.
The incident has not been announced but it’s on the schedule with a start date of September 20.
The contractor is Warner and the capture goal is 500 according to a report at USA Spending.
The contract amount is $303,630, for an average cost of $607 per animal taken.
The new fiscal year begins on October 1.
The wild horse and burro program does not have a budget for FY27, although one has been proposed, but Congress is working on a continuing resolution that may keep things running until December 11.
PREVIOUS: BLM Releases Jackson Mountains Final Planning Documents.
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