Wild Horses: The Cremello Colts Come Home

Unfortunately when I am talking about "home" I don't mean back to the range that they grew up in - the McCullough Peaks Herd Area in Wyoming. They were removed forever from that home in October of last year in a BLM helicopter roundup. They will never see that home or their families again. But they are now in their new home with me in Colorado. It has been a long journey for the two three year old First they were transported to the Rock Springs holding facility, then sent to Steve Mantle's Ranch in Wheatland. They were not adopted at the April adoption in Powell, WY so they were sent back to Steve's ranch. I adopted them in April, and Rich Scott picked them up in May and brought them to his place for a few months of gentling and training.



I watched Rich work with them slowly, patiently, gaining their trust, and observed how things I don't normally think of as scary for a horse could startle them - like moving a hand abruptly toward them. He did a wonderful job working with them, and has made having them her at home possible for me.





Rich got them to a point where they could be caught, haltered, led and trimmed and trailered, which was what I needed, and then a month ago he brought them to my home near Lyons, CO.





They were so calm when they unloaded from the trailer - and investigated their new corral. They immediately figured out the automatic waterer and went into their shed. It has taken a little longer to get used to me.







I was so excited the first day when we turned them loose into my big pasture - I expected them to run off thundering up the hill - but they stuck fairly close to the corral.





Rich has continued to come out and work with me to improve my skills in approaching and handling them.








It has also been interesting seeing the differences in personality of the two colts. Claro, the one with one blue eye and one dark eye, is the boss. he herds Cremosso around. He is the one who investigates things first, and has been a bit easier to work with. Cremosso, who has two green eyes lets Claro boss him around, and has been more guarded.




I was thrilled the first time Claro approached me and let me stroke and pet him without a halter when they were in the field. Cremosso hasn't let me do that yet, but he is thinking about it - I can tell. They both spend alot of their time near the house, and always watch me when I am outside. I love seeing them out there, together, calm and content in their new home with a huge pasture to roam in. It reminds me of why I have been working to help keep the last of our wild horses free. They are worth it.

Wild Horses: Delivering Public Comments to the BLM on Adobe Town

On Monday, I had the honor of delivering to the BLM in Rock Springs 3516 comments from people all over the country on the Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek roundup.
This is the herd, Adobe Town, that I have followed for 7 years and wrote about in my book, Wild Hoofbeats: America's Vanishing Wild Horses.

How did this come about? This is a good question. For the first time, the BLM refused to accept comments from the public on a proposed roundup EXCEPT by mail or hand delivery. No emailed or faxed comments were allowed - the thinking on the part of the BLM was to prevent being "bombarded" by "frivolous" comments. Comments by the way, that are from the public that pays their salaries. The letters were from supporters of the Wild Horse Preservation Campaign and its coalition partner, In Defense of Animals. Both organizations decided that they wanted to do something and allow the public to have their say about the upcoming roundup of 2000 wild horses and the removal of almost 1600 from their 1.5 million acres home in the Red Desert.
When they contacted me, I told them I would be glad to help, and deliver the letters to the Rock Springs BLM office on the last date comments were to be accepted, August 16.



On my way, I spent a couple of days with the wild horses of Adobe Town, perhaps my last opportunity to see most of them again in the wild before the roundup.



As I headed out to the horse range on Saturday afternoon, I saw a rainbow over the horses range. I took this as a sign that our efforts might meet with a favorable outcome for these wonderful horses.



The first group I saw was the grey stallion, mare, grey two year old and this year's palomino colt - and that new colt had grown! He had darkened up too, and the band was more skittish than on my last visit, but I was very happy to see them again.




Many horses in the area I visited 3 weeks before had moved out of the area, and I also enjoyed meeting some new horses. My favorite encounter was with a grey stallion with bitten off ears who actually drove his mare right toward me so he could get a good look at me!




Just after dawn, I found a large group with primarily greys on a hillside of sage - still enjoying their morning nap, but now awake once they spotted me, and moved off, with a mare with an amazing dreadlock in front.




One band had beautiful colors, and they kept edging closer and closer to check me out. Their stallion ran in front of one of the many thousands of oil pumping stations dotting the area.




Last, a young bachelor who had been kicked out of his band came between me and the band he did not want to give up. The separation of the young colts from their band is a natural one - how much harder and more traumatic will it be for thousands of these horses to be ripped from the only homes and families they have ever known?



I have to hope that we have made enough of a difference through our comments to stop this unnecessary and cruel roundup which is scheduled to begin October 1. Thank you to everyone who participated in commenting to stop this roundup.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_00cc2b7a-a9ad-11df-9850-001cc4c002e0.html

WildHorses: BLM Targets Wyoming next - Adobe Town and Salt Wells

Now that the BLM has been halted in its massive roundups in NV it naturally follows they would set their sites on the state with the second largest wild horse population, Wyoming. The Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek Herds are the largest herds left in Wyoming. The Bureau of Land Management began managing the two herd areas as a "complex" because there are no fences or barriers to prevent the herds from ranging over a total area of over 1.5 million acres.



With miles upon miles of sagebrush, buttes, harsh but beautiful landscapes with no man made sights other than oil wells, it is hard to believe that there is not room for the wild horses that have roamed this land for so many years.



The BLM has announced plans to remove over 1000 horses from the two herd areas this year. They say that there are currently 1950 horses roaming free in the two area. The problem is that the BLM can't seem to get its numbers straight. In an article by C. R. MacDonald "The Wild Horses of Wyoming, AdobeTown/Salt Wells - A Tale of Tallies" spans the intricacies of the BLM's convoluted estimation process: http://bit.ly/AdobeNumbers

In the last 4 years, BLM estimates for the two wild horse populations have gone from 300 to 3000 horses with no rhyme or reason.
So my questions are: 1. how many horses are REALLY out there, and
2. How many horses can 1.5 million acres support? I think these are really the only relevant questions. And the BLM does not have real answers for these questions. They will tell you they are doing this for the horses' own good, that the horses are starving, that the range is degraded, and that the Wyoming Consent Decree of 2003 requires them to remove horses in WY Herd Management Areas that are over AML.

I began observing and photographing the horses of Adobe Town in 2004. At that time, the BLM estimated 1200 horses were in the herd area. I spent time with 8 bands of wild horses over several years, and developed a relationship with them that allowed me to come close enough to observe their relationships and behavior over time. My book "Wild Hoofbeats: America's Vanishing Wild Horses" is the story of the Adobe Town Herd. There have been two roundups in those herd areas since then, and my current observation from driving the areas and looking for horses is that there are many less horses than the BLM suggests left in these herd areas. I have never seen starving horses - I have seen and photographed large, healthy horses on healthy range. You can see a YouTube video of the Adobe Town wild horses at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mSwvUMt_rI

The BLM posted its scoping notice for the two areas: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/news_room/2010/february/19rsfo-gather.html

Comments from the public are due by mail and email by April 2, 2010. The Environmental Assessment will be posted approximately July 1 and the roundup is scheduled to begin on October 1 , 2010:

"Please submit written comments by April 2, 2010. Comments may be mailed or hand delivered to: 280 Hwy 191 North, Rock Springs, Wyo. 82901. Comments may also be email to Rock_Springs_WYMail@blm.gov. Please include “Adobe Town & Salt Wells Creek HMAs Scoping Comments” in the subject line. The scoping notice, map and all other future documents corresponding with this action will be posted at: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/rfodocs/at-sw2010.html ."



In 1999 the BLM estimated that over 11,000 wild horses roamed free on these lands. Now there are probably less than 1000, depending upon whom you ask.
Please send your comments in and help stop the destruction of one of the last large herds in our country, on our public lands - these are OUR wild horses.