Photo from a previous tour at Broken Arrow (aka Indian Lakes). It is often windy in the very sandy area of the facility.

BLM has announced a public tour of the Broken arrow (aka Indian Lakes) facility in Fallon, NV. (scroll down to read BLM press release)

We has been trying to arrange a tour of the facility since the Pancake roundup (and multiple others) ended and funneled wild horses into these off-limits to the public facilities.

It will have been 90 days since the last wild horse had been captured at Pancake and sent to Broken Arrow. The agency knows where they will ship horses at least a month before a roundup begins. 90 days post-capture is not a “timely tour” for intake. These tours should be arranged as the roundup itself is planned (and not only created after repetitive requests and inclusion in active litigation).

After 90 days any infectious disease (respiratory illness is common after winter roundups), injuries, deaths associated with capture injury and stress, will have been resolved without any public oversight. We have also heard animals have already been sorted and included in general population (making ID for adoption more difficult), shipped out to adoption “events” and other holding facilities. (Our FOIA requests have not yet been answered.)

BLM has been using the excuse of “Covid” to deny any access to the facility for over 2 years. As private businesses in western states (paid for with taxpayer funding) the restrictions to private businesses have actually been more lax than any federal restriction. These tours are outside (not indoors) in states where things like mask mandates have been some of the most lax in the nation. In fact, many BLM employees are proud to openly state they did not get vaccinated to observers at roundups. BLM roundup contractors had no vaccination requirement (one even leaving a town where the local motel required masks indoors; the contractor offended at the restrictions). BLM has run multiple adoption events over the last 2 years including prison training auctions (private facilities run under state mandates).

The only facilities the BLM has completely disallowed observation of any kind have been these privately contracted facilities where they funnel captive wild horses through at unprecedented numbers.

In the press release for the tour the agency claims a brief visit by their newly created Comprehensive Animal Welfare (CAWP) team is something of note; implying a few hours by a team made up of handpicked BLM employees equates with oversight. However, if you look at the team review for this facility, it is one of the lowest scores the team has given at a facility or roundup. The CAWP team uses a scale rating. If you look at the limited number of reviews done by the team you can see that “90” appears to be one of the lowest ratings and a “90” always involves multiple CAWP infractions.

Infractions at Indian Lakes include the vaccination policy “Administration of vaccinations was not in compliance with BLM vaccination policy. Several of the records randomly checked were overdue for months or more than a year.”

Of note: Many people insist that BLM is removing horses in poor body condition and “giving them care” to improve. In past years (when there was weekly observation at this facility) we watched many go downhill, not uphill.  BLM is not feeding horses to improve health or based on special needs of age: “Animals with a Henneke body condition score of less than three with a poor prognosis for improvement were observed. It should be noted that the energy density and protein of the ration being offered in theses pens, while it may be adequate for maintenance, was unlikely to improve the body condition of these wild horses.” Instead, the CAWP team recommends euthanizing them.

Several of these individuals are likely older horses taken from Pancake that we have been asking to see (to place into homes and sanctuary) since the roundup ended (including “Old Man”). By the time we get in there, these horses will likely no longer be alive.

You can see the BLM CAWP team report from Indian Lakes below. Remember, the team is made up of BLM employees and the review is based on a few hours at the facility, where the facility knew they were coming. It should be noted that the BLM CAWP team did not arrive to do a review for 6 weeks after the last horse was captured at Pancake. A full 6 weeks had transpired and the team could not assess the effects ofd capture and transport. BLM’s system is woefully inadequate and public access must begin on a weekly basis in these facilities. The public must be able to do an independent assessment. 

We will run a comprehensive webinar soon on CAWP. 

Off-limits to the public facilities (paid for by the taxpayer and housing a public resource) are an abomination. The litigation at Pancake includes noting off-limits facilities. We are also litigating the newly proposed off-limits facility in Winnemucca that is set to house up to 4000 wild horses. 

Note from LLeigh: Yes, there was litigation that successfully opened up the off-limits facility (settled back in 2015). Absurdly, the agency insists that litigation pertains only to a fiscal year. In other words, a federal agency is trying to claim the First Amendment expires each fiscal year and litigation would need to be filed annually? C’mon, that is beyond even the normal BLM word soup. 

From a previous tour at Broken Arrow (aka Indian Lakes)

BLM Press release:

BLM offers public tour of wild horse corral in Fallon 

RENO, Nev. —The Bureau of Land Management will host a free public tour of the Indian Lakes Off-Range Wild Horse and Burro Corral in Fallon, Nevada, on Friday, May 13. Attendees will have the opportunity to view wild horses recently gathered from overpopulated herds in Nevada and Oregon.

“The BLM’s Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program Team recently visited the Indian Lakes off-range corral,” stated John Neill, Supervisory Facility Operations Manager. “BLM takes pride in the welfare of wild horses and burros in regard to humane care and treatment within our off-range holding facilities and I encourage all who are interested to sign up for this public tour to see the facility, animals and the care that is provided for them.”

The privately owned and operated corral is located Fallon, about a 90-minute drive east of Reno. The public tour will begin at 10 a.m. and will last about two hours and accommodate up to 20 people. To register for the tour and get driving directions to the facility, please contact the BLM at (775) 475-2222. (Update: April 20. A second time has been added as the first tour filled up. The only open slots are for the second tour at 1 p.m.)

Tour attendees will be taken as a group by wagon around the facility to learn about it, the animals and BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro program. Attendees should wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Hats and sunscreen are recommended, and photography is welcome. An on-site portable toilet will be available.

The Indian Lakes Corral can provide care for up to 7,600 wild horses or burros. The facility encompasses 320 acres containing 75 large holding pens, each measuring 70,000 square feet that will safely hold about 100 horses. The animals receive an abundance of feed tailored to their needs each day, along with a constant supply of fresh water through automatic watering troughs. Free choice mineral block supplements are also provided to the animals in each pen. A veterinarian routinely inspects the animals and provides necessary care as needed.

BLM strives to place wild horses and burros removed from public lands into good, private homes. Animals at the Indian Lakes Corral are made available to the public for adoption or purchase throughout the year at off-site adoption and sale events and through BLM’s Online Corral website.

For more information on upcoming events and opportunities, visit blm.gov/whb/events.

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