Every year, as the old year fades into history and a new year stands open to possibility, I do a piece of digital art. This years piece was inspired by an amazing stallion whose herd is threatened by a BLM that ignores his reality and your voice. There are times it felt like the year 2018 would never end! We carry this fight forward into 2019; together we will be heard for his herd and all of our wild ones. I wish you a happy holiday and a new year of discovery, depth and joy. ~ LLeigh
It’s that time of year when we reflect, review and plan the next steps in this battle to protect our wild horses and the land they stand upon.
In three short weeks 2018 will fall behind and a new year begins.
Each year we do several “year in review” articles, videos and pictures. The last article focuses on the immediate future we will face in the first few months of 2019. (note: all contributors from November and December are placed on the mailing list for our year in review E-mag, more here.)
Look back with us, reflect and get ready for the fight to come in 2019!
These are your “WHE top ten!” A mix of photos, video and articles that have received the most views and inquiries in 2018.
The number one photo of 2018 is of this beautiful cremello mare free in her home at Triple B before the roundup. Her stud evaded capture, her filly went off into holding and this mare may have been one the wild horses killed for “blindness.” A large number of horses with one or two blue eyes were killed. It is a myth that blue eyed horses are blind. Much of the BLM wild horse and burro program of today is based on myth; blue eyed and blind being one of the most obvious and outrageous of all.
Your Top Ten Countdown of 2018
10. Three Strikes; adoption and sale. This article was written in 2014 and remains one of the most popular pieces on our website year after year. Many people do not understand the difference between adopting or selling a wild horse. Sales horses are the most vulnerable of all to slaughter. In 2018 BLM sliding back in time and doing all it can to sell off wild horses to make room to remove more. We are happy to see so many people looking to find out what “adoption and sale” actually mean.
9. Cow, it happens: Published just three weeks ago this article has already made the “top ten” list of your traffic visits to our site. This article was inspired by the Silver King roundup. We were seeing many people making the “but the cows” observation and we wanted to give you more information on how that happens. Currently Wild Horse Education has joined WildLands Defense in a legal protest against the multiple projects that will increase fence lines, and cows, in the area.
Orphan foal from Owyhee accompanied a piece we did post roundup. This little one has found a forever home. Some of the foals we featured did not make it.
8. Owyhee Orphan Pen; the faces that haunt. This article was published after the Owyhee roundup that captured 1,178 wild horses and 25 died (the totals published on the BLM “gather update” were often wrong and corrected). The article was published with the hope that some attention would be brought to the wild horses and some would find homes.
7. WHE Push For Investigation Into Triple B. This article was written post the Triple B roundup where WHE ran a three member team for over 30 days. Issues during capture raised serious concern about the operation and the justification process. The underlying issues at Triple B have not been forgotten and you will hear more about that in 2019.
6. A photo.
This gorgeous stud from Stone Cabin was viewed and shared so many times it was your number six pick on your top ten. The image was also used as a cover shot for Natural Horse Magazine.
5. Zero Accountability Factor; Department of Interior #Zinke. This article published in September focuses on the DOI under Ryan Zinke. Multiple investigations, a potentially illegal framework and more bubble up as avenues to hold the DOI accountable were cut. There will be much more coming in 2019 involving “accountability in the DOI.”
4. BLM Fails Wild Horses in NEPA Threatening Entire Herd. Since the writing of this article Wild Horse Education has filed litigation against the BLM for excluding, entirely, all wild horse interests from the NEPA process and failing to analyze impacts to the wild horse population with facts. More on this soon.
“The Fate of the Wild,” a short documentary by Andrew Ellis was featured in the New Yorker and later screened at Mountainfilm. This post was your number 3 pick for 2018.
3. The Wild Place; a story in the New Yorker. This short video was featured in New Yorker Magazine and later screened at Mountainfilm. A short profile piece on our founder, Laura Leigh, and her work for our wild horses. (this video, in all forms presented including on social media, has been viewed by nearly 10 million people.)
2. BLM Reports to Congress; so does WHE. In April of 2018 the BLM handed Congress a 21 page report on the wild horse program. The report is data poor and reads like a “wish list” to satisfy politics. This report is just as manipulated by Ryan Zinke’s BLM as the report on National Monuments was. Many of our readers took direct action with their legislators. There will be more coming on this in 2019.
The post that received the most attention in 2018 was the video of the mare run as she aborted at the Eagle roundup in September. The infractions at Eagle have not been forgotten. WHE has begun the process to hold those responsible, accountable.
In 2018 we fought back against the relentless politics that continue to place wild horses and their habitat in danger.
So many of our readers made calls and appointments with their legislators. Taking back your own voices you fought back against threats of sales to slaughter, spaying and the corruption that threatens fair management on a daily basis. So many of you attended our webinars, wrote letters and OpEds for your local papers, and reached out when you needed help.
An educated advocacy can be a powerful force. We are so proud of all of you and it has been an honor to work for you in 2018. In 2019 we can, and will, be a force to be reckoned with.
In the coming weeks we will do some reflection on the lessons learned in the year 2018 as it falls into history and tell you what is coming fast in 2019.
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This is “big picture” time. All contributions between now and the end of the year will place you on the mailing list for our digital magazine “WHE, year in review 2018) as our gift.
Below are some of the most searched, hit and shared images of 2018.
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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