On the Eve of the Red Desert Complex Wild Horse Roundup
October 10, 2020The Red Desert Complex Wild Horse Roundup Continues Despite the Winds
October 14, 2020The Red Desert Complex Wild Horse Roundup – Freedom’s End
On Day 2 of the roundup, the wind was so severe that the helicopters could not fly. So I headed out to see the horses one last time. It was bittersweet. It was wonderful as always to see the families i knew so well. First I saw Leopard Appaloosa stallion Looking Glass and his family. I continued to a water tank, and saw blue roan stallion Blue Zeus and his family who were on the move, so it was a quick look.
Then I encountered a very colorful family I had never sen before with lots of pintos including a handsome palomino pinto stallion. It was a hello and a goodbye. Then the last family I saw was a beautiful wild mare, stallion and foal. They had no idea what was coming for them.
This morning when I arrived at the trap site for the second day of the round up I had thought maybe the high winds would ground the helicopters today but so far it is a go. We are in Stewart Creek this morning, about a mile from the trap.
I watched over 30 I think wild horses (I am not the best at counting) be driven by two helicopters working in coordination into the trap. The winds are pretty fierce so I was surprised that the helicopters are able to fly. They came in in several large groups. But one very colorful family with pintos and buckskins evaded the helicopters, running straight into Lost Creek and they are still running, I am not sure if they are going to go after them today, they may have won a temporary reprieve.
One large group of about 40 horses ran right through the jute and away from the trap at full speed. Then another group of about 20 horses was driven into the trap. For the last hour they had been pushing the group that got away and were bringing half of them around to the trap and the horses ran away again. Once the helicopter moved off they slowed to a trot then a walk clearly exhausted, but then made their way past us into Lost Creek. Mostly bays and some grays. One stallion is lagging way behind. He stops.
They bring another group of the horses that had gone out of the jute and these horses are exhausted not moving fast, and have been running for over an hour. They brought the Judas horse way outside the trap to try to get them in. They release the Judas horse who runs toward the trap. The helicopter finally gets them on the path to go to the trap but the horses stop and the helicopter looks like it is almost sitting on them. They finally go into the trap. Meanwhile the lone stallion has disappeared we hope he did not go down. And the wind is howling making it hard to stand and hold my camera. I am hoping this is it for the day. If it is hopefully we will get to see the horses that were captured in the temporary corrals because it was impossible to identify the horses as we were shooting directly into the sun.
We got a tour of temporary holding and found out that 84 horses were captured today, 19 stallions, 27 foals and 38 mares. No injuries and no deaths. 79 wild horses including mares, foals and stallions who were captured on Saturday were sent to the BLM facility in Canon City, Colorado. There were mars and foals, mares, and stallions all separated from their families. A pinto foal was so tired that she lay down and went to sleep as we were watching.
Once they finish capturing Stewart Creek horses they will separate 150 that they will release back into the HMA, give PZP birth control to the mares, and then they will move on to the other Herd Management Areas. This is the end of freedom for most of these wild horses.
Related posts:
https://www.wildhoofbeats.com/blog/on-the-eve-of-the-red-desert-complex-wild-horse-roundup
31 Comments
This is plain and simply wrong. Leave the horses alone please. This earth was not created for just you and me, it is for all the animals , birds, fish , etc etc. God is getting more and more angry everyday that this goes on. Quit taking their freedom away.
This is just a needless and barbaric thing to do. Volunteers will gladly dart mares with birth control. It works. It doesn’t decimate blood lines and protects our wild horses. Please stop these removals and let our wild horses run on our public lands.
For YEARS, the BLM has taken a non problem and made it a HUGE PROBLEM !!
These WILD horses have every right to LIVE FREE AND WILD on public lands. The elephant in the room is the decision by Trump’s Dept of Interior BLM to brutally remove wild horses from their range and allow PRIVATELY owned livestock to use and abuse the land. And the WHB ARE IN JAIL IN INADEQUATE CORRALS . Family bands broken up. We humans must learn to SHARE our limited resources with all wild animals. We stole their land and left them in jail.
Hungry. Thirsty. Sad. No shelter.
This is a travesty of the highest degree. To treat these horses that are part of our nations heritage is beyond deplorable. The BLM is lobbied by the cattle ranchers and as such are killing wolves as well. We need a new BLM once Biden takes office.
Your so right. Good on you for standing up. I have started a facebook group called Fight for Life, Life is love, love is life. Save our creatures of the world. Please join it and spread the word. Lets have a worldly voice on the brumbies and other animal mass killings.
Why can’t they be left alone and be free. So cruel and inhumane.
Thanks so much, Carol. I wish I could be there with you.
I fear this horses will soon be sent to slaughter. The BLM will claim ’emergency ‘ due to the number of horses in holding facilities. This allows them to slaughter the horses without going through Congress.
It is heartbreaking and cruel to remove these horses from their homeland and then separate them from their families. Thank you for documenting these horrific roundups. I don’t believe these cruel practices are what Congress intended when they passed the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act. We must change these policies carried out by the very agencies that are tasked by law to protect and preserve the wild horses. This is not humane and cannot be tolerated.
They are RUINING the gene pools of these beautiful wild horses!! I hate these Anti American, animal hating monsters!!! They belong in jail for this destruction! This is NOT NOT NOT wild horse management!!!
So heartbroken. God bless you for enduring this atrocity with our special mustangs. This is heartless and unnecessary. I have no words except Lord please help these beautiful horses cope. ????????
Heartbroken to see this. It just breaks my heart. Thank you and God bless you for documenting this. I’m just so angry this unnecessary nonsense continues.
Just leave them in the wild. Lord be with them, this is heartbreaking.
[…] by Carol Walker as published on Wild Hoofbeats […]
This brings me to tears. How can our government condone this inhuman practice? Why can’t we get a temporary stay … do we have any lawyers willing to help??
TROs are almost impossible to get.
Extreme cruelty to these horses.
They don’t release mares with foals, do they? So all babies go to BLM. 🙁
Please everyone email the BLM Advisory Board, email on BLM website & call/email the WY Department ot Tourism! Their board consists of ranchers! They do not promote their wild horses nor do nothing to stop these roundups & they could. Then post your comments directly on the BLM Facebpok page about this roundup!! It is always ranchers posting thanking the BLM for rounding up the wild horses!
What beautiful wild ones — it breaks my heart what’s happening to them…????????????
What a disgrace!!!! To see them being Rounded-up knowing most will lose their freedom is so Barbaric to me. This so wrong and discouraging that this continues year after year with the intent to eliminate them forever!!! Dear Lord Help these horse’s you created to roam these lands ????????????????????✨☀️????
i have cussed the blm fb page several times sending them hateful messages..i have reported them to the president(who only cares about himself im sure im wasting my time with him) also reported them to my sentors & reps..id give anything if i was as rich as trump id damn well try my best to put blm out of business!!..i hate these people 4 what they r doing to our wild horses & burrors!!..they need to be stoped!!..i wish the wind would crash everyone of those damn chopters & all the blm riders get their asses stomped by some wild stallions!!!
This makes me sick, so heartbreaking.
This is heartbreaking. And for what? Pure evil greed. I am grateful to you for documenting the horrific abuse. One can only imagine your sadness as you go out each day. Their story must be documented and told over and over.
Hi Carol, I am glad you are there but I can’t imagine how sad this must be to witness. My heart is broken for these horses just reading about and seeing the images.
Leave them alone. This IS THERE land. The cattle can share. It just isn’t fair . They were here FIRST . I wish I could help, but really can’t . I hope they ALL get away. !!
This is heartbreaking- horrific- horrible to continue to round – up our beautiful souls on public lands. These wild horses are meant to be free not separated from there families and slaughtered. Shame on BLM and our government!
The Horse have done nothing to deserve this! Let nature take care of nature and leave them alone! Carol thanks so much for the updates .
After going online to the roundup site, I found it very interesting to find out just how much money Congress has allotted toward these mass roundups. The BLM’s budget has just increased by 25% and now the Administration is asking to throw even more money at a mass roundup, stockpiling and inhumane sterilization plan that has no scientific basis or public support.
I think it’s important to note that the President’s budget calls for an additional $15 million increase to the BLM’s wild horse and burro program budget, which if granted by Congress, would see funding for the agency’s program soar from $81 million in 2019 to $116 million in FY 2021.
These horses aren’t kept in holding facilities for very long, because the BLM can’t afford to keep them, and then they go on to the slaughter houses. I wonder just how much money the government receives from these types of programs.
I truly hope that with public outcry and the will of the American people we will find a better solution to protect and preserve the wild horse programs.
Thank you Kathy very well said and that is exactly right. This must stop. The money needs to be put toward managing our wild horses where they live, on our public lands, and toward improving the range, not toward stockpiling them in feedlots. It is completely unsustainable.
Horrible
In 50 years probably we will find no wild horses anywhere it’s bad how money can rule