Rounding Up Wild Horses Will Break Your Heart if You See Them First When They Are Free
October 3, 2017Losing the Beautiful Wild Horses of Salt Wells Creek
October 8, 2017The Checkerboard Wild Horse Roundup in Wyoming Doesn’t Look Any Better at a Distance
The horses look like ants
The Checkerboard Wild Horse Roundup Doesn’t Look Any Better from a Distance
by Carol J. Walker
Today we were placed 3 miles from the trap site above the Eversole Ranch in Salt Wells Creek. I could barely make out the little ant sized horses in the viewfinder despite my very long lens. I could only tell if the horses were dark or light colored, and make guesses about how many there were.
With the helicopter
Going into the trap
After a frustrating 3 hours trying to keep track of horses very far away, we were told that we had the option to go to temporary holding so we could see the horses that had been rounded up so far today before they were loaded up and trucked off to one of two long term holding facilities that would not allow visits from the public. Since we had not gotten any sort of useful view of the horses I jumped at the chance.
We had a far better view of the pronghorn antelope family
While we were waiting for the Cattoors to process the horses so we could be let in to see them, we watched an antelope family move to a puddle to drink.
The stallions
Once we were allowed in to see the horses, we walked around looking first at the mares. All but one of the foals had been weaned and were separated from their mothers for the first time. One mare with a collar from the Adobe Town Radio collar study had been captured. I asked about the mares who had been captured last week with collars and was told they had been released back into Adobe Town.
The foals
More foals
We saw the stallions crowded together, and then the foals who now just had each other. We asked about the young stallion who we had seen several days ago who had been walking around eating hay and visiting the horses in the pens – apparently he had walked into a corral that had hay and was now a captive as well.
Protective black stallion
His mare and foal
After seeing these horses in these pens, the only cure for those feelings was to go visit some wild horses that were still free. I picked up a friend in Rock Springs and headed into Salt Wells Creek. I saw completely different groups of horses in this area than I had seen the day before.
In front of Kinney Rim
Stunning mares and foals
We were charmed by a black stallion with a white nose who protectively stood in front of his family. Then we saw a big family group who ran down the hill and peeked over the sagebrush to watch us – we had to laugh.
Peeking at us over the sagebrush
A stunning varnish roan bachelor stallion
We saw several families, and then some rough looking bachelors. An then we saw a big group at a distance and spent some time figuring out how to get to them. We finally found a two track going in the right direction and traveled down it. Suddenly we saw the big group. We got out of my car slowly and started to walk toward them. My friend said “they might run.” Well they did – to our delight, directly toward us! There was a rowdy group of young bachelor stallions which included a colorful palomino and a blanket appaloosa and then a family.
Running toward us
Running
They seemed completely unafraid, and happily entertained by our presence. It was hard to leave, but we finally walked reluctantly back to the car and made the long drive back to town.
It was hard to leave when they were having fun
It is a gift spending time with these horses, and I never take for granted that they are letting me spend time with them, in their world. My world is a better place for having spent time with them.
Related Posts:
Wild Horses and Barbed Wire Fences Do Not Mix – Checkerboard Roundup Day 8
Rounding Up Wild Horses Will Break Your Heart if You See Them First When They Are Free
5 Comments
[…] Source: wildhoofbeats.com […]
So hard to see those faces behind the fences – with no understanding of whats happened to their lives. So wrong.
But lovely to see the ones who are still free & VERY well-fed – I might add. Makes the BLM’s & Zinke’s fable of starvation looking at these pictures, isn’t it?
Maggie I see you are a good woman I just wonder if we have some of the family.
Jimmy
1 812 449 5797 text or cell#
Thank you so much for recording all of this. My wonderful horse Pedley’s Pedley Wink was a roan! He lived to be 34 years old. May 9, 1963-July 31, 1997. It is hard to watch this cruelty and know your tax dollars are paying for their suffering. BLM needs to be drained, but I don’t know what you will do with the narrow minded folks that live off the BLM and roundup, the cultural attitude of wild horses and burros are “pests”. I am praying my rosaries. I contacted everyone on the Senate Appropriation Committee, emails, phone calls, my representative and senators. Senator Todd Young needs to update his talking points. I sent him a fact sheet. Do your homework, Todd. He could be a spokesperson for the BLM. His mother must have been frightened by a horse! Very disappointed about his response. I told him so. Where is John Wayne, when you need him?
The vast distance in every direction you look is totally empty of any signs of people yet the BLM must round up these horses to please the ranchers. Will the ranchers ever be able to use all of this acreage for their cows/sheep the answer is a resounding no! They are doing this for one reason an that is because they can with the crooked BLM behind them supporting them all the way. Every roundup I have seen from the photos taken it is totally empty of anything just the horses is all you see at a distance.
I received a email from one of my senators in the email I sent to her I referred to the horses as wildlife I told her that these horses are just as much wildlife as the wild deer, elk or anything out there She started referring to them as wildlife too saying that she wants to protect all wildlife on our public lands. So there may be hope of having bills passed to protect the horses by changing what they are referred to as “wildlife”.