Feds Defend Press Limits to Wild Horse Roundup

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Story by DAVE TARTRE of the Courthouse News Service

BLM Argues for Covert Wild Horse Operations

Recent BLM attack upon the wild horses of the Calico Complex ~ photo by Laura Leigh

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – A photographer appeared before the 9th Circuit on Monday to defend press freedoms against the federal agency that barred her from attending a roundup of wild horses in Nevada.
Laura Leigh sued in September 2010 for a temporary restraining order that would stop the Bureau of Land Management from conducting a wild horse roundup in the Silver King Herd Management Area, which is about 150 miles north of Las Vegas in Lincoln County.
Leigh wanted to get close enough to take pictures of what is also called a horse gather, which the bureau organized under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, which put the federal government in charge of the herds of wild horses that have roamed the west since they were brought centuries ago by Spanish conquistadors.
As the bureau refused to let Leigh access the roundup, citing public safety concerns, she claimed that the bar would prevent her from closely monitoring the bureau’s methods. She also sought to prevent the use of helicopters to chase down stray horses.
After the roundup occurred, U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks ruled that Leigh failed to show that she had been treated worse than other members of the media or “that the BLM has placed any specific barriers to her access to or observation of these specific gather activities.”
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit seemed reluctant Monday to consider Leigh’s First Amendment arguments.
“Why is this case not moot in light of the fact that the Silver King horse gathering is already complete?” Judge Milan Smith Jr. asked Leigh’s attorney, Gordon Cowan of Reno, Nev.
Cowan replied that restrictions on access to government activities, such as the roundup on public land, are capable of repetition.
“This same conduct, denying the press or public access, happened before Silver King, during Silver King, and it happened after Silver King,” Cowan said.
Leigh’s appellate brief states that the bureau had prevented Leigh from observing public resources in a public place in retaliation for stories and pictures Leigh had published on the Internet that showed the agency in a bad light.
“Because the published material is controversial and portrays the government in an unfavorable light, the government’s effective preclusion amounts to content-based censorship,” Cowan wrote.
Justice Department attorney Nicholas DiMascio defended the trial court’s finding, emphasizing that Leigh had the same access to the roundup as any member of the public. Such access was justly restricted because horses that are unaccustomed to people pose a significant dangers to onlookers, he added.
His brief also states that it might have hampered the government’s goals to grant press access to the temporary corrals, since they might spook the horses and make them bolt before the roundup.
The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act protects wild horses on public land, but the horses reproduce at a rate that outpaces the land’s ability to support them. Each year, the bureau uses cowboys, helicopters and portable corrals to capture some of the estimated 30,000 or more feral horses believed to range in Nevada and other western states. Then they are placed on trucks headed to ranches in Oklahoma and other points east where they are warehoused for life.
In a separate lawsuit Leigh filed in 2009, she noted that she has spent “countless time” researching the wild horses for a children’s book.

Federal Court of Appeals To Decide Issue of Press Access To Controversial Seizures of Wild Horses

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Information made available by the Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Wild Horses and Burros Get a Day in Court

WHFF Legal Team, Attorney Bruce Wagman, Plaintiff Laura Leigh, Attorney Gordon Cowan

SAN FRANCISCO (Jan. 10, 2012) – Lawyers for plaintiff Laura Leigh, supported by the Wild Horse Freedom Federation, argued before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, in a case that strikes at the heart of the press’ access to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conduct which Leigh has alleged is both illegal and inhumane, and in violation of the federal law intended to protect wild horses on public lands.  A federal judge in a different case had earlier ruled that the BLM’s exclusion of Leigh was a violation of her First Amendment newsgathering rights, but the issue continues to arise each time Leigh tries to document the BLM’s activity.  The appellate court yesterday seemed interested in considering a new standard to gauge press access to such situations.  If the court adopts a new rule, it may enable the press — and the public, which relies on it — to properly observe the tragic elimination of the wild horse from the range, as well as the horses’ ultimate disposition: adoption, sale or death.
The BLM has seized over 130,000 wild horses in its campaign to clear the public lands of these symbols of the American spirit and instead sell grazing and oil and gas rights to commercial interests to use the land which is the wild horses’ historic homeland.  The BLM claims its right under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and Leigh seeks to document its actions so that all Americans can see what is happening to these living icons of freedom.  Because of the BLM’s restrictions on her ability to document and observe roundups, the conditions of horses in long-term holding, and the records of bulk sales that might land horses in the slaughter pipeline, Leigh brought this suit.
“It’s plain and simple,” said Leigh.  “The BLM is operating in a manner that the public finds unacceptable, and it is not okay to hide it.  This is an area of extreme public interest and the public has a right to the information so that it can reach its own opinion.”
Leigh’s suit has attracted national attention from press and First Amendment groups who have actively supported her position and filed briefs with the court urging that she be given full access to document the removal of the wild horses.
“The bottom line is the BLM obviously has something to hide, because as soon as Ms. Leigh’s first photographs were broadcast to the nation, she was severely restricted in her further ability to document the roundups,” said R.T. Fitch, President of the Wild Horse Freedom Federation, of which Ms. Leigh is Vice President.  “This is a government program, affecting our greatest symbol of American history, and the BLM wants to be able to eliminate and terrorize them under the cover of darkness.  BLM’s conduct flouts the right of the press under the First Amendment, and the right of these horses to be protected.”
The BLM now holds over 45,000+ captured wild horses in long-term holding corrals, and sells others who may end up in rendering plants or slaughtered for human consumption abroad.  Leigh’s suit seeks to establish her ability as a member of the press corps to expose the inherent cruelty and instances of illegality in this federal program.
The suit is Laura Leigh v. Ken Salazar, No. 11-16088

Wild Horses Are (Again) Losing Their Home On The Range

Straight from the Horse's Heart

article by Andrew Cohen from the pages of the Atlantic

America’s wild horses are in trouble, and the federal government isn’t helping

“An excellent must read for all!” ~ R.T.

Why did this animal that had prospered so in the Colorado desert leave his amiable homeland for Siberia? There is no answer. We know that when the horse negotiated the land bridge… he found on the other end an opportunity for varied development that is one of the bright aspects of animal history. He wandered into France and became the mighty Percheron, and into Arabia, where he developed into a lovely poem of a horse, and into Africa where he became the brilliant zebra, and into Scotland, where he bred selectively to form the massive Clydesdale. He would also journey into Spain, where his very name would become the designation for gentleman, a caballero, a man of the horse. There he would flourish mightily and serve the armies that would conquer much of the known world.

– James Michener

Photo by Terry Fitch

It’s been a hot, stormy summer on the Red Desert range in southern Wyoming, around Rock Springs and the state’s southern boundary with Colorado, where Interstate 80 takes long-haul truckers and tourists through one of America’s least hospitable landscapes. The desolate land even includes Sweetwater County, one of those romantic cowboyesque names that mockingly crop up from place to place in the Rocky Mountain West, more an aspiration than a reality when you consider that there isn’t much water there and what there is isn’t so sweet.
In this forlorn place are two “herd management areas” called “White Mountain” and “Little Colorado,” places were some of America’s wild horses roam free pursuant to federal rule and regulation. According to Bureau of Land Management statistics, the federal government owns or controls 849,033 acres of land in the area, Wyoming owns another 15,877 acres, and private entities own 149,647 more. BLM officials estimate that, after the 2011 foaling season, there are approximately 970 wild horses on White Mountain and Little Colorado lands.
If you do the math, based only upon the federal land figure, it comes to 875.29 acres per horse. Do a little more math and you learn that 875 acres equals approximately 1.37 square miles. Ask any horse owner you know if she could get by on that horse-to-land ratio and the answer is an immediate and emphatic “Yes!” At first glance, it seems like a perfectly harmonic arrangement; our nation’s wild horses peaceably tending to our nation’s less desirable lands out of the way of most human traffic. The symbol of our nation’s history and growth simply left alone to graze land most of us would never see if we were to live a hundred lifetimes.
But alas it’s a lot more complicated than that. Intertwined private ownership of lands within the management areas, differing land-use priorities, a lack of bureaucratic courage and creativity, and a 30-year-old deal between ranchers and a long-gone horse group, all have eliminated the possibility of simply working the acreage numbers for the benefit of the horses. The herd areas themselves are part of a “checkerboard” pattern of public and private land (the ratio is close to 50-50, say ranchers) and the horses themselves haven’t helped their own cause. During the winter, they often migrate from public land onto private land, where they are considered a nuisance to some property owners.
This natural pattern has persisted for generations and it’s been closely monitored by the feds for at least the past 30 years. With this history, geography, and horse biology in mind, the BLM announced last month that there were, again, too many wild horses on the two Wyoming ranges. Wildlife officials now plan in mid-August to begin to cull roughly 70 percent of the herds out of Little Colorado and White Mountain in a particularly controversial way. And, in response, wild horse advocacy groups and others filed a federal lawsuit Monday in Washington, D.C. seeking a restraining order that would halt the roundup.
All the time and all over the West, horse advocacy groups battle the federal government over the fate of wild horses. The story is almost always the same. The “horse lobby” cannot compete politically (i.e. financially) with the cattle or ranching industries. Invariably, it’s the wild horses which lose out to the cattle or to the sheep or to other business interests. And invariably, its the federal government, acting through regulators who are captive to the industries they are supposed to regulate, which helps ensure that this occurs. In this case, for example, we see the federal agency responsible for protecting wild horses struggling to justify a decision that undoubtedly will harm a great many of those horses and, indeed, the future of those herds.

Sell the cow, buy the sheep, but never be without the horse. — Irish Proverb  

On June 14th, the BLM announced a plan to remove all of the wild horses on Little Colorado and White Mountain and to then return a small number of castrated or spayed horses to the range. Here is how the Bureau describes how the roundup occurs:

Multiple capture sites (traps) would be used to capture wild horses within the White Mountain and Little Colorado HMAs… Capture techniques would include the helicopter-drive trapping method and/or helicopter-roping from horseback. Bait trapping may also be utilized on a limited basis, as needed.

(These roundups can be so disturbing that they warrant their own treatment in a future article. I will try to get to it later this summer). Just one week later, however, under heavy fire from mortified advocacy groups, the Bureau partially changed its tune. It increased the number of horses that would be returned to the lands and decided not to spay the mares. Still, nearly 700 of 970 or so horses now on the Little Colorado and White Mountain range will soon be gone if the BLM gets its way. Here’s how Interior Department officials described their new plan:

This modified decision returns about 177 geldings to the two HMAs to reach appropriate management level (AML). AML is the point at which the herd’s population is consistent with the land’s capacity to support wild horses in balance with other public rangeland uses and resources. The projected wild horse population remaining on the range following the gather would be about 205 in the White Mountain HMA and about 69 in the Little Colorado HMA.

There is no evidence that the horses are harming each other. And no factual detail about how their population has created an “imbalance” upon the vast range lands. Instead, Lance Porter, Field Manager at the Rock Springs office of the BLM, justified the “modified” decision” by writing that he had “concluded that gathering the excess horses is necessary to preserve and maintain a thriving ecological balance and multiple-use relationship” on the land. By bringing back only castrated stallions to the two Wyoming herds, Porter’s plan was meant to “prevent the necessity to gather more frequently due to lower population increases over time.”
Going forward, the two herds will be genetically limited in ways the government has not yet fully evaluated. This is perhaps the most significant part of the new BLM plan. It doesn’t just purport to addres the current “overcrowding” it sees on these ranges. It seeks to impact the ability of these herds in the future to breed the way wild horses have bred for thousands of years. It’s a sort of genetic engineering which horse advocate groups say needs a lot more scientific review before it can be implemented in the wild.
Among the many options that were considered and rejected by the BLM was the concept of revising the existing “management level” so that more than 205-300 horses would be considered an “appropriate” number to graze on the hundreds of thousands of empty acres. Those figures (205-300) arose in 1981 as part of a settlement in a federal lawsuit over the fate of the horses. The party that sought (and obtained) the drastic limitation on the number of wild horses on the lands is an organization known as the Rock Springs Grazing Association. In 2007, according to the Wyoming Business Report, the Association celebrated “100 years of unity.”
Here’s what else the business paper had to say about the group:

Click (HERE) to read this article in it’s Entirety

Wild Horse Deaths Mount at Contested BLM Helicopter Stampede July 28, 2011

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Eyewitness report by Laura Leigh, VP of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Day Four of Bloody BLM Triple B Stampede

 This is the last video that will be posted for a bit. Editing video takes an incredible amount of time. I will go back to archiving the video in case the documentation is required and posting still images. But I think this series of three days gives you an idea how frustrating this is. It will not give you a clear picture of the wear and tear on your vehicle, the damage done to your equipment or the toll it takes on your face.

Day 4 began at holding and the lame excuses about the medical treatment of these foals (that were now euthanized) set the tone. Sometimes my hands will shake from the stupidity. It is like being a teacher in Kindergarten… but the Kindergartners make the rules.
Yes, the tone of this report is terse. But being with this contractor every day but two during Antelope, and now watching this at Triple B, is like chewing on tin foil.
I am usually very patient and quiet. I do my observations and reports.This time I am trying very hard not to allow the frustration to drive me.
On another front there may be some good news soon, but that will have to wait for another day. So pray that sanity can begin to take root somewhere.
Day 4 brought with it frustration after frustration.
It began with the excuses about water and food, with no indication that anything would change. It continued with the absurd assertions about the injured foals.
At the trap the radio was again left so I could not hear anything until one time Heather Emmons left it loud enough that I could pick up a call. It was the pilot asking Alan Shepherd to glass a horse that could not keep up. I was given no further information as to the age or reason the horse could not keep up… and of course I was held to a position that did not allow me any observation.
The horses the pilot drove into the trap came in two groups.
Then 4 runners went out and the pilot. The pilot asked Shepherd the location and was told it should be “right under you.” It was apparently a bush.
I asked if I could go to the rise and look. I said that all eyes should be utilized. I was not granted permission, nor was it denied. I stayed behind the tape. It is my belief that this agency attempts to push the limits of control until we are tempted to break them… only to utilize the unreasonable restraints against us.
After almost an hour of no information, BLM personnel reading newspapers, I asked to go give my dog water and check on him. That permission was granted. I hung out in the vehicle with the dog, as it is much cooler there. I saw two runners beating it back to the trap so I went back to the observation area only to find out that the runners were coming back… not because they had found anything… but because the pilot was driving horses to the trap.
Shepherd had given the authorization for resources to abandon the search and begin operations. The other two runners also returned to the trap. I expressed my outrage in no uncertain terms. I informed personnel that I had called people from my vehicle and the public knew they had stopped looking. I informed them I was not leaving until the horse was located.
After the drive Heather was called down to speak with Alan.
Miraculously the horse that had now been missing for over an hour and a half had been found. It had “run back home” and hooked up with a stud. A trailer went down the road and in less than ten minutes came back… with a load that looked much like it did when it left.
As I am not permitted to travel the same road as the trailer it would take me about an hour longer to reach holding. I would not see this animal unload.
The animal was allegedly a 4 month old that was so deformed it couldn’t run correctly and was euthanized. The same animal that ran almost to the trap and back again… I can not confirm that there was an animal even picked up off that range.
Have you pulled out all your hair yet? Have you gritted your teeth so badly that you have broken molars? Have you bitten your lip so hard it bleeds? Have you vowed to god you will not allow this “spoiled child agency” to continue without challenge… no matter what it takes?
If you can help me with expenses please donate to http://wildhorseeducation.org

Related articles

• Wild Horse Babies Killed by BLM at Triple B Roundup (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Fitch Outs BLM Employee Who Advocates Hunting Season on Wild Horses (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• BLM Employee/Contractor Publicly Promotes Hunting Season on Wild Horses and Burros (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• BLM Mismanagement Reason for Wild Horse Death, Abuse and Neglect (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• HSUS Misses the Mark on BLM Wild Horse Stampedes (rtfitch.wordpress.com)

 

Wild Horse Babies Killed by BLM at Triple B Roundup

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Report from Laura Leigh ~ VP of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

The Injured Babies in this Report were later Killed by the BLM

At the roundup we had runners go off with no explanation. We had a baby come in that I could see was injured.
So I added an extra two hours of driving to my day and headed to holding.
There I saw three youngsters treated for injury. I do not know how many were treated prior to my arrival. (note: it is interesting that I asked about the injuries and am only given information on the treatment I actually saw, with no other information offered. It always seems like “If they don’t see it, it didn’t happen”).
A big bay stud and his band have really hit me hard. He was in the last group (or at least the last group I knew of). One of his foals (the only one that came in with his band) was injured. They put his mare and injured foal in the pen next to him. He kept all the other horses from the fence line. He called to them non-stop while I was there. He was there at the fence line when I arrived in the morning. I was pretty upset by some comments Alan Shepherd made so I got a few quick takes and did not get one of his calls as they began to load that am.
I quickly headed to the roundup site instead as the day before they had already captured 40 horses before my arrival. Leaving holding early didn’t change anything, they still had about 40 prior to my arrival on Day 4. Keep in mind we leave our “meeting” spot at 4:30 am, that’s how much driving is involved.
The comments from Shepherd that were so distressing go like this:  ”The palomino foal had weak tendons. The little chestnut has a bad mom. The other foal that was treated has a laceration to a leg, but it’s pre-existing. The animals drain the water and it needs to be refilled a couple times.”
Did that hit you like it hit me from the State Lead for Nevada’s Wild Horse and Burro program, Alan Shepherd? Did that hit you like it hit me from the man that constantly blames the animal for it’s situation? (Old Mare at Antelope) Did that hit you like it hit me from the man that took part in several “Final solution” conversations for our wild horses? (2009 Article animal Law Coalition) Did that hit you like it hit me from the man that answered in Federal Court that there were “no fences, no cows, no water” in the Owyhee HMA? (Gorey’s explanation to Horseback)
At the Antelope Complex Roundup this past winter there was the exact same situation with this contractor, Sun-J (it is a pattern). When I pointed out the deficiency Ben Noyes, the WH&B specialist in Ely, simply grabbed more tubs for water and placed them in the pens. He directed the contractor to appropriately distribute feed. He made no excuse.
Perhaps a man like Ben Noyes, that is able to admit a deficit and comprehends that the equation for the amount of horses translates into water consumption, should be the state lead and Mr. Shepherd should go muck at the Burns Corral until he comprehends what horses are?
I was told the runners went out to get the two injured foals. We already know that is also not the truth.
This IS foaling season. ALL foals have weak legs, that is why you don’t run a foal. It IS over 90 degrees during the day and horses need water. The fact that this conversation has to occur at all with an agency tasked for the last 40 YEARS with the humane treatment and management of our wild herds is OBSCENE.
note: and the more I review my tapes the more I believe that the roan is NOT that little chestnuts mom. The chestnut mare at the trap is most likely his mom. They even look alike. A bay dad and a roan mom will most likely not produce a chestnut baby. That baby was leaning against ANY family member he could because he could NOT stand. I’ll bet that’s why she was so agitated. I wonder where her baby is? I wonder so much about the ability to actually OBSERVE and not just process inventory in this agency. I need to see that chestnut foal.

Related articles

• Scientists Demand Obama’s BLM Cease Stampeding Wild Horse Foals and Mares (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Triple B: Day 2 Video (artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com)
• BLM Employee/Contractor Publicly Promotes Hunting Season on Wild Horses and Burros (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• BLM Boss Bob Abbey Plays Congress (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• BLM Roundup of Alleged “Estrays” in Oregon (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• HSUS Misses the Mark on BLM Wild Horse Stampedes (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Wild Horses: “D” is for Destroy, Devastate and Decimate – the BLM’s plan for Wyoming’s Wild Horses (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Another Win in Saving Colorado Wild Horse Herd from BLM Eradication (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• BLM Wild Horse Stampede Schedule for 2011 (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• BLM Mismanagement Reason for Wild Horse Death, Abuse and Neglect (rtfitch.wordpress.com)

Week 1: Triple B Complex Roundup

American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

The Massive Removal Begins

Photo by Laura Leigh

After legal efforts to block the roundup did not meet with success (information on the lawsuit available here), the Bureau of Land Management is began the Triple B roundup on July 20, 2011. The action will permanently remove 1,700 wild horses from their families and homes on public lands in Northeastern Nevada. Due to the timing of the roundup, very young foals will be stampeded in the helicopter drive. Horses will be run for miles in the middle of the hot desert summer. In addition, the horses have adapted to and are operating on low water resources, meaning they are prone to dehydration after being subjected to miles long helicopter chases.
Reports from the front lines of this mass capture operation follow.  READ MORE.

Triple B Wild Horse Roundup: Day 2 

Follow WildHorseEducation  on Youtube. 

How YOU Can Help the Wild Horses and Burros

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Sunday Post by R.T. Fitch ~ President/Co-Founder of Wild Horse Freedom Federation

Every Single Advocate Plays a Vital Role

" Family Ties: The American Mustang" by Lee Mitchelson ~ Click on Image to vote and help the Wild Horses

Today is Sunday and as all of you regular readers know, we try to pull away from the bad and highlight the good.  Likewise, my lovely bride rarely asks me to highlight a topic but from halfway around the world she is politely asking me to speak up on how everyone is so very precious and important to our ultimate mission to gain equitable justice for our national icons, the “federally protected” wild horses and burros.
Terry mans the phone and responds to dozens of email inquiries as I travel about and one of the most pervasive questions that staunch animal welfare advocates, from around the world, ask is;
“How can I help?”
Folks, just being here is step one.  By reading and learning you garner a tremendous wealth of qualified and quantified opinions of, God help us, not only me but thousands of equine enthusiasts and animal welfare advocates from around the world.  On an average we log between 1,500 – 2,000 unique hits a day with a peak of over 5,000.  Not a big deal in the real world but considering the small niche that we occupy this sort of participation tremendous.  I am only the paperboy and you good people are the customer so when you comment you afford a worldwide audience a glance at how we think in our small corner of the globe.
Secondly, you don’t have to live in the western states to be pro-active in what we do, we live in Texas and there are no HMAs in our neck of the woods.  But a simple phone call, email or fax speaks volumes when we ask for your help in waking up our publicly funded legislative representatives in what we REALLY want and need in the way of change regarding the management or our wild horses and burros.  (Stay tuned as we are about to ask your help in replying to the EA that was released by the BLM on their proposed “zeroing out” of North Piceance herd which we have been legally fighting over for the past year.)
Thirdly, if you can travel to a protest, stampede, conference, please do so.  We know that money is tight but for myself I feel that if I do not do anything else with my life but help and aide in saving our wild horses and burros for future generations then I have done what I was placed on this world to do.  I am elated to report that the West Douglas herd is still running free because of the efforts of dozens of people over the years and then the recent intervention of our Wild Horse Freedom Federation and esteemed plaintiffs.  Sadly, if this is ALL I accomplish in my life then I can lay my head down on my death bed knowing that 120+ horses are running free due to our efforts, my mission would be complete.  But being a Type A personality that is not enough, we need to set the record straight across the board.  So I am asking you, and me, to witness for the horses in any physical way possible.  If you can do it, your companionship would be greatly appreciated at all publicized events.
And finally, there are a multiple of FREE ways that you can help the wild horses and please allow me to give you an example or two.
We are blessed with many artsy-craftsy sort of folks in the wild horse advocacy.  For crying out loud WHFF has two authors, two award winning photojournalists and two artists on our Board of Directors.  Likewise our Advisory board is peppered with professionals like Emmy award winning cinematographer Ginger Kathrens, producer/director James Klienart, award winning equine photographers Pam Nickoles and Carol Walker.  But besides these good folks donating their time we, also, have other artists donating their work to help the wild ones.
Right now, world renowned wild horse artist Lee Mitchelson has a stunning wild horse painting entered in an online competition.  By simply clicking (HERE) and voting for Lee’s beautiful painting you have moved one step closer to helping the wild ones, for free.  Currently she is donating funds to help the Fallon horses formerly what was once the Calico herd.  She had been in contact with Terry and has expressed an interest in supporting WHFF so let’s pile on and help her help the wild ones. The original painting is still for sale so, if you are interested in owning an original Lee Mitchelson painting, please contact her directly at: Lee Mitchelson.
Likewise, besides sending your hard earned cash to our Wild Horse Legal Fund to pay our legal staff you can, again, for FREE, help us by using GoodSearch as your main search engine, Click (HERE).  The search engine is driven by Yahoo but for every search that you conduct, if you are like me it is several dozen a day, one penny will be donated to the Wild Horse Freedom Federation’s legal fund.  That may not sound like much but pennies DO add up and if you take into consideration that we have almost 5,000 friends and fans on FaceBook, alone, it quickly becomes a true source of income.  Likewise, click (HERE) to learn about how a portion of your online shopping, at no expense to you, can be donated to the WHFF’s legal fund.  How flipping simple is that?  I just LOVE technology.
So in review; you ALL are a very important and integral cog in the wheel of saving the wild horses of the United States of America.  We all do what we can do, when we can do it and extend ourselves as far as we can physically and fiscally allow ourselves to go.  I consider each and every single advocate to be a very special and bright light glowing in a sea political of darkness…and if you simply mention our cause to  your family and friends then you are a Superstar in my book and I love you from the bottom of my heart.
May the “Force of the Horse©” be with each and every one of my very special friends and associates…I am so proud to know you.

Breaking News: Federal Judge Rules Against Wild Horses and American Public

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Unedited Press Release from BLM Propaganda Central

Judge McKibben Rules in Favor of BLM Triple B Wild Horse Stampede

The Horses Lose AGAIN!!!

Reno, Nev. — Today U.S. District Court Judge Howard McKibben issued a decision in favor of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which allows the BLM to proceed with the Triple B gather to remove excess wild horses on Saturday, July 16.
“The BLM is pleased with the decision of the court that allows us to move forward with the Triple B gather, where the wild horse population is five times over the minimum appropriate management level,” said Amy Lueders, BLM Nevada Acting State Director.
The BLM will gather and remove approximately 1,726 excess wild horses from in and around the Triple B, Maverick-Medicine and Antelope Valley herd management areas (HMA) and the Cherry Springs Wild Horse Territory located approximately 30 miles northwest of Ely and 70 miles southeast of Elko, Nev.  Removal of the excess wild horses is necessary to prevent degradation of rangeland resources and to ensure sufficient forage and water is available for the wild horse population.
The estimated population for the entire gather area is 2,198.  The appropriate management level (AML) for the entire area is 472-889 animals. Any horses gathered above targeted removal numbers will be released back to the range so that the remaining population is within AML.
Any gathered mares released back to the range will be vaccinated with the PZP-22 (Porcine Zona Pellucida) fertility control vaccine.  Additionally, sex ratios of gathered animals to be returned to the HMAs may be adjusted to achieve an approximately 60 percent male/40 percent female ratio.
The gathered animals will be transported to the National Wild Horse and Burro Center at Palomino Valley (PVC), in Reno, Nev., Gunnison Correctional Facility in Gunnison, Utah, and the Delta Wild Horse Corrals in Delta City, Utah.  The animals will be prepared for the BLM adoption program or for long-term holding.
The Cloud Foundation, Craig Downer and Lorna Moffat filed a lawsuit on Wednesday, June 29, 2011, and moved to enjoin the Triple B gather. Judge McKibben held a hearing Thursday morning and denied the motion to enjoin the gather.

Related articles

• HSUS Misses the Mark on BLM Wild Horse Stampedes (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Another Win in Saving Colorado Wild Horse Herd from BLM Eradication (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Federal judge to rule on Nevada wild horse roundup (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Sheldon Wild Horses and Burros: We Will Not Forget You, Again (rtfitch.wordpress.com)

BLM Roundup of Alleged “Estrays” in Oregon

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Information supplied by Wild Horse Education.org

Obama’s “Transparent” BLM Up to Covert Operations, AGAIN

Wild Horse Education has discovered that an unscheduled, unannounced, secret roundup was being carried out east of Baker City,(Baker County) Oregon today, July 14, 2011.  This removal of 30 to 70 horses is in the Vale BLM District.  There is a question if these “estray” horses could actually be wild horses.
“Looking at the BLM schedule, the contractor was not scheduled to fly again until August 2,” said Laura Leigh founder of Wild Horse Education “This lead us to investigate other areas where operations could be occurring.”
Marilyn Wargo was told this roundup was taking place by Vale District BLM employee Kelly Skerjanec, who said District manager Pat Ryan and BLM WH&B Specialist, Shaney Rockefeller were at this roundup.  BLM Baker City Office employee Mark Pierce confirmed that this action was set up on the ground yesterday and was carried out today.
Wargo was told the private rancher, whose property adjoins BLM land, was not claiming these horses (there was a court case in 2004 in this matter). BLM considers them feral estray.  Pierce stated this was not a BLM Oregon helicopter and that a contractor was involved and it could be the one used at Kiger/Riddle just South of Vale District. This would be the Cattoor Livestock Company.  At this time no operations official will confirm or deny the contractor.
Pierce elaborated saying: BLM intended to remove horses found only on the BLM lands and not the private property. The horses are considered “trespassers” on public land. The ranchers name was not available at this time.
Piece also said the mares with foals would be sent to Vale District and all others to Prineville.
These offices do not have holding facilities and the destination of these horses is being investigated.
Natural Resources Specialist John Raddemacher from the BLM Baker Office is in charge of this action.
Mark Wilkening of the BLM has confirmed that this operation may be going on tomorrow as well. He has informed us that the horses have no brands. Wilkening has said that this area has never had horses before.
This is in addition to discovering the pending roundup at Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, in Oregon and Nevada.

Ms. Leigh is the Founder of Wild Horse Education.org, Vice President of the Wild Horse Freedom Federation and writes a blog about her wild horse and burro advocacy.

Feds Launch Roundup of Famed Kiger Mustang Herd in Southeast Oregon

American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

July 11, 2011 by admin

Preservation Group Warns Against Plan to Remove 120 Wild Horses, Calling Action Dangerous and Wasteful of Tax Dollars
Burns, Oregon (July 8, 2011). . . The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) yesterday launched a controversial roundup of the prized Kiger Mustang Herd in southeastern Oregon. In response, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC), a national coalition, warned that the BLM’s plan to permanently remove 120 of the estimated 210 Kiger horses that remain in the wild will further erode the genetic viability of this historically significant herd and waste tax dollars.

Kiger Stallion Free No More. Photo by Laura Leigh

“We’re disappointed by the BLM’s plan to permanently remove 120 mustangs from this historically significant herd,” said Suzanne Roy, AWHPC Campaign Director. “The allowable population levels that the BLM has set for the Kigers are already so low that they compromise the health and genetic viability of the herd.”
UPDATE: The Kiger roundup is complete. For eyewitness account, visit Wild Horse Education blog.
The Kiger mustangs are prized for their genetic lineage that links them to the horses brought by Spanish conquistadors to North America in the 1600’s. The BLM website <http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/whb/kiger_gather.php> states that “There is no other horse in America is quite like the Kiger Mustang. . . Since the Kiger Mustangs may well be one of the best remaining examples of the Spanish Mustang, their preservation is extremely important.”

Yet the BLM allows a maximum of only 138 Kiger mustangs to live in the Kiger and Riddle’s Mountain Herd Management Areas (HMAs), which span nearly 55,000-acres. Meanwhile, the agency allocates five times more forage to privately-owned livestock than to federally-protected wild horses in these HMAs, authorizing the equivalent of 688 cattle to graze the area.
“It’s disheartening that the BLM is unwilling to manage 200 horses on the range. These roundups and removals waste tax dollars, traumatize and destroy the natural diversity and development of the wild herds,” observed Neda DeMayo, founder and CEO of Return to Freedom, who spearheaded the creation of the AWHPC Coalition.
DeMayo, whose sanctuary houses the famous Kiger stallion “Spirit,” the inspiration for the computer animations in the Dreamworks film of the same name and the offspring of Kiger Mustangs, added that the BLM has over-managed the Kiger herd to produce desirable horses for adoption/purchase, selecting for color and conformation instead of allowing natural selection to take its course.

Just-captured Kiger mares and foals in BLM holding pen. Photo by Laura Leigh

“We appreciate that there are reputable Kiger breeders and enthusiasts who actively participate in the adoption program and have created private Kiger breeding programs, however, we feel strongly that the free roaming herds on public lands should be allowed to live in viable herds allowing natural selection and diversity to develop. This is such a small herd already,  minimally intrusive management could easily replace costly and traumatic roundups.”
The AWHPC is calling on the BLM to increase the allowable population for the Kiger Mustangs to genetically sustainable levels, reduce livestock grazing in these federally-designated wild horse habitat areas, and utilize fertility control, if necessary to manage the horses on the range to minimize or avoid costly removals entirely.

The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 40 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks:

* A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse program undergoes objective and scientific review;
* Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses on those rangelands designated for them;
* Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses on the range and save taxpayers millions annually by avoiding the mass removal and stockpiling wild horses in government holding facilities.

Voices needed to stop proposed BLM roundup

Examiner

Mare & foal at risk in the proposed roundup

Credits: 

American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

As if the first roundup at Calico wasn't enough, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to go back again and remove as many horses as they can find, but at least another 2000 at least of the wild horses residing in that area and in the immediate tri-state area.  This is the worst possible news for advocates when it comes to our wild horses.    READ MORE....

Scientists Demand Obama’s BLM Cease Stampeding Wild Horse Foals and Mares

Straight from the Horse's Heart

(The News as We See It) by R.T. Fitch ~ Author/Director of HfH Advisory Council

Cruel and Deadly Helicopter Stampedes During Foaling Season Must Stop

Baby Wild Burros Captured and Imprisoned by the BLM ~ photo by Terry Fitch

An Open Letter to the management of the Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management
Dear Sirs:
As an outraged citizen I am writing you to beg for the mercy of week and
month old babies that will be the victims of the planned Round-ups starting
in July.
The BLM handbook states that round-ups should NOT be conducted during
foaling season. In July there are still mares that are heavily pregnant and
babies that are only weeks old. Even babies that are one or two months old
cannot withstand the miles and miles of running over treacherous terrain.
July is in the middle of foaling season.
These round-ups will undoubtedly result in many foals suffering and dying
and pregnant mares aborting their babies. Babies have died from sloughing
off their hooves before. (during the Calico Roundup)
It is easy to predict, young babies simply cannot withstand the miles and
miles of exerting exercise, their small under-developed feet cannot
withstand the pounding, they cannot go without their mothers milk
especially after this exertion, and the stress and anxiety of separation
from their mothers is extremely inhumane to both mothers and babies.
One would not run one’s own pregnant mare or mare and baby for miles and
miles and expect them to be ok. As a matter of fact one would be arrested
for cruelty to animals.
I do not agree with any BLM Round-ups as there is no independent count of
Wild Horses and the contractors are inhumane and have no knowledge of
natural horsemanship.
However, Round-ups during foaling season take this one more inhumane step
further and are even more callous and willfully cruel and heartless.
Thousands of horse advocates are outraged, Horse organizations are
outraged, my pony club is outraged, my neighborhood is outraged, and the
media is outraged.
Please have mercy and direct the contractors to conduct the Round-ups only
after the foaling season is over. And only when temperatures are not
extreme. I beg of you to order the round-ups to only ever take place during
the months of Sept and October and November, after the summer heat is over,
when the babies are at least 3 months old and before the bitter winter
cold.
Most urgently I ask you please, postpone the foaling season roundups!!
Sincerely,
Ann M. Marini, Ph.D., M.D.
Robert H. Lipsky, Ph.D.
Sarah M. Lipsky, Licensed M.S.W.

Related articles

• Obama’s BLM Confirms it Will Resume Wild Horse and Burro “Gathers” (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Obama’s BLM Flips Off Wild Horse Advocates with New Board Appointees (rtfitch.wordpress.com)
• Captured BLM Wild Horse Gets New Home (rtfitch.wordpress.com)

BLM plans to reduce wild horse roundups to help control holding costs

View full sizeDoug Beghtel/The Oregonian/2001The issue of helicopters used to round up wild horses in the West is just one of the controversies surrounding how the BLM manages mustangs. The federal agency has several plans in the works to address the number of wild horses and the costs to take care of them.

BURNS -- More wild mustangs now live in government corrals and holding compounds in the Midwest than roam free in the West's backcountry.

The government's cost to manage wild horses logs in at $75.6 million this year, more than half earmarked to maintain captured mustangs in long- and short-term holding. Next year, it will climb to $79.5 million, a situation the General Accounting Office has ruled unsustainable.   Read MORE...

STOP-THE-ROUNDUPS PRESS CONFERENCE IN PHOENIX; SAVE OUR WILD BURROS AND HORSES DEMONSTRATIONS AT NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD MEETING OF OUR WILD HORSES

Humane Observer: Elyse Gardner

 With numerous supporters of our American wild horses, I traveled to Phoenix to attend the first 2011 meeting of the national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, as well as the press conference we held to Stop the Roundups.

Here are a few clips for you from the press conference officiated by Ginger Kathrens, Emmy winning filmmaker of the Nature series on Cloud, the inimitable wild Palomino stallion of the Rockies.  I will be posting more as I get the clips ready for you.
Michael Blake's statement at the March 10, 2011, Stop-the-Roundups press conference.

Read MORE...(More videos)

December 2010 Click the Horseback Cover to Open the Online Magazine December Cover Breaking New Archives * December 2010 (26) * November 2010 (120) * October 2010 (165) * September 2010 (166) * August 2010 (120) * July 2010 (113) * June 2010 (138) * May 2010 (42) EWA Charges BLM Commissionar Stacked the Deck, Has Bogus Office

Horseback Magazine

December 6, 2010

BLM Delivers another Public Relations Nightmare
Photo by Terry Fitch
CHICAGO, (EWA) – The Bureau of Land Management’s December 3^rd Observer’s Report evaluating BLM’s handling of wild horse round-ups has left advocates and independent observers stunned. It is impossible, they say, to reconcile the positive, almost congratulatory findings with the mountain of negative evidence they have collected over the past year.
The disconnect appears to begin with BLM’s appointment of Robin Lohnes to its Wild Horse Advisory Board. Lohnes in turn appointed the “independent observers”.
Lohnes is the executive director of the American Horse Protection Association (AHPA). The AHPA has no website and maintains only a small, unoccupied office on the lower level of a Georgetown hotel. If the organization has been involved in any activity (horse protection or otherwise) since the 1990’s they have managed to conceal it both from Google and from the hotel’s maid who told an EWA investigator that she had never observed anyone in the office.
The report’s observers witnessed a 3 – 4 day period from 3 round-ups conducted during the summer; the Owyhee Herd Management Area (HMA) in Nevada, the Stinking Waters HMA in Oregon, and the Twin Peaks HMA in California.
Typical of the findings were comments like, “contractor and BLM personnel appeared to be gentle and knowledgeable, horses did not exhibit undue stress or show signs of extreme sweating or duress due to the helicopter portion of the gather…”
It is difficult to reconcile this with independent observations at round-ups like that in the Calico complex. There, the helicopter, that the report claims was no louder than a riding mower, literally ran hooves off of foals. There were at least 39 simultaneous abortions in pregnant mares and a reported death toll of 160. Dozens of videos and hundreds of photographs were released that tell a totally different story than the observer’s report.
Virtually every round-up over the past year has had inexcusable incidents that would have no doubt gone unreported if independent observers were not present to capture the incidents on video and photographs. A recent round-up video documents a stallion that was literally lifted off the ground by a helicopter. In another case, BLM’s “gentle and knowledgeable veterinarian” was captured on video amusing himself by poking a stick at terrorized mustangs packed into a truck.
Suzanne Roy, Director of American Wild Horse Preservation commented “This biased report is an attempt to deflect increased scrutiny on and public opposition to the BLM’s inhumane wild horse roundups. The report’s authors do not have any wild horse handling experience and its conclusions are not credible and lack scientific validity.”
One hand-picked observer is outspoken horse slaughter proponent, Dr. Carolyn Stull from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Stull aggressively opposed Proposition 6 in California, a law that banned the slaughter of horses. She testified that there would be increases in abuse and neglect if the proposition was passed. Not only did her warnings prove false, but horse thefts decreased 39% in the year after the law was enacted (1998), and continued to decline over the years that followed.
The Equine Welfare Alliance and wild horse advocates across the country are calling for an independent commission appointed by Congress to oversee the Wild Horse and Burro Program. Enough tax payer dollars have been wasted on Public Relation firms to change the perception of a rouge government agency that has no intention of changing.
For the BLM to regain any credibility, their claims of being transparent must be backed-up with actions. Allowing truly independent observers at all stages of round-ups and at holding facilities would be a good start.
EWA President John Holland summed up the organization’s position, saying “The BLM needs to understand that this is the age of Wikileaks, cell phone cameras and YouTube. Attempting to hide a smoldering pile of misdeeds with a fanciful report, instead of trying to fix problems, only makes the agency look more dishonest and inept.

BLM Director Bob Abbey Endorses Vegas Summit by Accepting Invitation to Speak

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Story by Steven Long ~ editor/publisher of Horseback Magazine

“Thumbs Up” on Wild Horse Slaughter from Obama’s Bob Abbey

BLM King Pin supports slaughtering native wild horses for human consumption

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – The director of the federal Bureau of Land Management has endorsed a pro-slaughter rally by “tentatively” accepting an invitation to speak at the “Summit of the Horse.” The Las Vegas event is sponsored by the radical pro-horse-slaughter group United Horsemen, a Cheyenne, Wyoming organization headed by GOP State Rep. Sue Wallis.
Other BLM personnel advertised to attend are Dr. Boyd Spratling, a member of the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, Dave Cattoor, the BLM lead helicopter contractor, Larry Johnson, a former advisory board member, and Dean Bolstead a management specialist with the Wild Horse and Burro Program.
The BLM chief Washington spokesman, Tom Gorey told Horseback Magazine that Abbey, an Obama appointee, would speak.
“I can confirm that BLM Director Bob Abbey has tentatively accepted an invitation to speak at the horse summit,” Gorey said. “I would note that the Department of Interior and the BLM have already removed from the discussion table any consideration of the euthanasia of healthy wild horses and the unlimited sale of older horses, even though these legal authorities exist under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, as amended.”
By using the term “unlimited sale,” Gorey is acknowledging that the agency has prohibited the sale of captured wild horses to “killer buyers” who haunt the nation’s horse auction houses and buy cheap horses, and sometimes family pets, then sell them in Canada and Mexico for slaughter. But by accepting the invitation, Abbey has at the very least given the slaughter of wild horses the agency imprimatur of acceptance by an agency which only two years ago was considering euthanasia of the herds by the tens of thousands according to a report leaked to the Associated Press and reported.
“The Director’s remarks will therefore be limited to the present and future course of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, which the BLM is committed to putting on a sustainable track, as called for by the Government Accountability Office in a report issued in October 2008,” Gorey said. “The Director is also open to discussing the wild horse eco-sanctuary proposal of Madeleine Pickens and similar proposals,” he told the magazine.
Gorey didn’t explain why Abbey would discuss the eco-sanctuary proposal of the Texas billionaire and her husband with Wallis and others in attendance who primarily want to develop a market for horse meat and rid BLM lands of horses to open up new grazing leases.
Gorey could not confirm any of the other BLM personnel and former personnel would be attending, including Bolstead who he said was out of the office Wednesday afternoon when the story broke.
United Horsemen came into being shortly after the election of Sue Wallis to the Wyoming legislature. It has had scant success in putting together a viable program until recently when the Summit was announced. Earlier, the group announced several BLM officials had confirmed they would be attending. Upon contacting the agency, none of the officials had accepted an invitation. The current set of officials the group is claiming will attend were not among the original names made public. None of those names are currently listed as speakers.
The slaughter of American horses for human consumption is illegal in the United States. Studies have shown that it is unlikely that a viable market for domestic horsemeat will ever again develop, either here or abroad, because of the toxicity of American horses which are frequently given high doses dangerous chemicals in drugs such as phenylbutazone and horse wormers. The European Union has banned the import of American horsemeat containing such toxic substances that are dangerous to humans. Yesterday the Senate passed a law, already enacted by the House, giving the Food and Drug Administration vastly increased power over the nation’s food supply. It is extremely dubious that untainted horsemeat in sufficient numbrs would ever past FDA inspections. President Obama is expected to sign the the new legislation into law.
Asked if FDA authority over food, including horse meat, would have any impact on plans for a horse slaughter plant Summit official Dave Duquette would not comment.
As a public service to our readers, Horseback is reprinting the entire progam of the event which was provided to the magazine by Duquette.

Click (HERE) to Visit Horseback Magazine

BLM Roundup in Oregon Claims Lives of 9 Wild Horses in First Week

American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign

November 11, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment

Another Stallion Dies After Breaking Neck
Nine mustangs have died in the first week of the Bureau of Land Management roundup in the Warm Springs Herd Management Area (HMA), southwest of Burns, Oregon. The helicopter stampede and capture operation aims to capture 100 percent of the estimated 361 wild horses living in the HMA and permanently remove 265 horses, leaving just 96 mustangs on the 475,000-acre range.
Among the victims of this roundup: a stallion who broke his neck and died after charging the fence. The November 6 tragedy occurred one month to the day after the death of the stallion we call Braveheart in the BLM’s Silver King, NV roundup.
Animal Rescue Unit investigator Brogan Horton observed the roundup and wrote this report on the death of the stallion advocates now call Blue Moon.
“The stallion, later to be honored with the name, ‘Blue Moon,’ was with his mare and filly, running down the hill with the helicopter hot on their tails. The helicopter intensely chased the family into the corral and took off. . . .

Photo by Leslie Peeples, Presented by Animal Rescue Unit

The wranglers brought out crops and sticks with bags on the end. The stallion stood before his mare and filly, against the wranglers as they whipped the bags and crops in front of them, causing a frantic panic in the pen that lasted five minutes. The family kept going for that one corner panel where there were no wranglers, throwing their bodies at the panel, trying to go over it, under it, or through it. The mare finally got chased into the separation corral, leaving the filly and stallion, who were frantically throwing themselves at the panels, searching for freedom.

Photo by Leslie Peeples, Presented by Animal Rescue Unit

The beautiful blue roan stallion gave one final attempt at going through the fence, throwing himself head first into the unpadded steel bars, while the whips and bags cracked behind him.
Out of fear, the stallion broke his neck trying to escape the intense pressure that was applied to him. He fell back, nearly missing the traumatized filly, who just witnessed the entire event.

Photo by Leslie Peeples, Presented by Animal Rescue Unit

He staggered to the left, sat on the fence, and finally fell on his side, kicking out and desperately trying to lift his head as the wranglers snapped a crop at the filly, causing her to jump over her father’s shuddering body.

Photo by Leslie Peeples, Presented by Animal Rescue Unit

At this point, the wranglers decided it was more important to cover the corral with jute to block our view, than attend to the dying mustang. Our cameras were able to capture the entire tragedy in great detail. Their next move was to pull the trailer in front of the struggling stallion, further inhibiting our view. The contractors attempted to bring more horses into the trap, though the dying Blue Moon was still in the capture pen.
We were then approached by a wrangler on horseback telling us they were done, followed by the BLM employee telling us to pack up. From the moment of impact until we all cleared out–30 minutes or more–the stallion lay there absolutely terrified, dying in agony and fear.”

The Warm Springs roundup is being conducted by “Sun J Livestock,” a new BLM contract wrangler company from Utah. As of November 9, they had captured 246 horses and the roundup is scheduled to continue until all of the estimated 361 Warm Springs horses are brought in off the range.

BLM Official Attempts to Tighten the Secrecy Lid Further, Fitch Receives Threat From BLM Email Address

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Story by Steven Long ~ Editor/Publisher of “Horseback Magazine“

BLM‘s Image Continues to Tank

Author/Equine Advocate R.T. Fitch ~ photo by Steven Long

HOUSTON, (Horseback) – Horseback Magazine’s persistent queries into the practices and lack of transparency at the federal Bureau of Land Management is getting under the skin of at least one highly placed official.
Don Glenn, the chief of the agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Program fired off a note to BLM’s top Washington spokesman Tom Gorey after the magazine asked for Glenn’s salary information. The magazine also asked twice if Glenn will be attending a Las Vegas conference presented by the obscure pro-slaughter group, United Horsemen. Gorey says no BLM official plans to attend.
But Glen may have other plans from the tone of his note.
“Why do we need to do Longs (sic) research for him. He can look up the federal salary chart as well as we can. He claimes (sic) to be an investigative
journalist. Also Why should we tell him if we are going to this conference? We do not need to talk to him except under FOIA,” Glenn wrote.
FOIA is shorthand for the 1966 federal Freedom of Information Act. It was enacted and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to require federal agencies be transparent in their dealing with the public. Horseback has filed several FOIA requests with the bureau.
The BLM has come under increased scrutiny because of the lack of transparency of Glenn’s Wild Horse and Burro program in which scores of horses have died after being stampeded by a roaring helicopter sometimes flying within feet of the animals. The program has also violated FAA rules by closing off airspace above its “gathers” and used a veterinarian unlicensed to practice in Nevada during a recent roundup. Horseback first broke all of these stories.
In an unrelated matter, author and sometime Horseback Magazine contributor R.T. Fitch revealed that his blog, “Straight From the Horse’s Heart” received a threatening email signed “Animal Abuser” from an address in the Brighton, Colorado office of the BLM.
Horseback forwarded the note to Gorey at Fitch’s request asking that an investigation be launched into the incident by the federal Department of Homeland Security or the FBI. Gorey responded that he will pass the correspondence along to appropriate authorities.

Ginger Kathrens: Keepin the West Wild

Straight from the Horse's Heart

Story by Erin Udell of the Rocky Mountain Collegian

Profile of Filmmaker’s 16 year Journey with “Cloud“

Ginger Kathrens ~ photo by R.T. Fitch

In 1994, Emmy-award winning filmmaker Ginger Kathrens embarked on a scouting trip with her sister to northern Wyoming, where she researched wild horse behavior for a documentary project.
With limited horse experience, Kathrens expected to see the wild creatures grazing in fields all day long, but was surprised to find out about their elusive nature.
“All we saw were butts and dust,” Kathrens said.
It was at the base of a red butte at dawn, while the sun peeked through the Pryor Mountains, that she first saw him — a strong black stallion she named Raven.
“He ran away, but it was certainly a mystical experience,” Kathrens said. “In that moment, something happened to me. I fell in love with that horse.”
She ended up finding Raven and his family, eventually gaining their trust and meeting a young white colt in the herd she named Cloud, a horse she has followed and documented over the past 16 years.
“They really opened their world to me in time,” Kathrens said. “I never thought that I was going to do a film about one wild horse, but that’s what started to happen.”
About 135 CSU students, Fort Collins residents and members of the agricultural community packed into a small lecture hall yesterday evening to hear Kathrens tell her and Cloud’s story through her public television series, “Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies.”
Kathrens’ filmmaking career led her to Africa, Asia, Europe, Central America and South America before she began her focus on wild horses and their behavior.
“It took a long time to merge what I did with what I really loved,” Kathrens said.
But in time, she found her true calling — researching, filming and educating people about the nature of horses.
“We have everything to learn from the wild horse and their society,” Kathrens said. “I hope that I can inform others about my journey and my discoveries. I think there will be something they can learn from that.”
A cause that is dear to Kathrens’ heart is the preservation of wild horses on public lands. The Cloud Foundation, a non-profit organization of which Kathrens is the founder and executive director of, aims to prevent the extinction of Cloud’s herd through education and public involvement.
“We used to have 2-to-3 million horses in the wild,” Kathrens said. “Now we have fewer than 20,000.”
The Mountain Riders Horse Club, which sponsored Kathrens’ presentation, found her story both compelling and important to the agricultural community.
“She’s got nice thoughts, she’s very knowledgeable and she has a story to tell,” said Chuck Peterson, the Equine Teaching and Research Center facility manager. “The wild horse is an emotionally charged interest and she does a great job of telling it.”
Katy Lippolis, a sophomore equine science major and member of the Mountain Riders Horse Club, attended the presentation to learn more about horse issues and behavior.
“I’ve heard so many great things about her,” Lippolis said. “I’m glad that I came. Being a horse lover, it’s cool to see where they came from and their history.”
As for Kathrens, after her 16 years of wild horse research, she continues to grow and learn from her experiences in the field.
“Unlike some people, I can just sit for hours watching wildlife,” Kathrens said. “I really enjoy those quiet calming moments when I’m just waiting for something to happen.”