Above: In this run on day 24 two wild horses collide and one appears to have been run over and injured. The horse rises and gets to the trap. BLM does not report injuries on the updates, only deaths that occur before the evening briefing. So we know this horse was alive at least until 7 pm last night. We will continue to inquire and hope this little horse is ok after the ordeal.
Above: a few clips of trailer issues including a horse down and a foal slip and fall. There are two consistent issues here at this operation that appear to be causing preventable stress: BLM is not lowering the back of the trailer by bringing out the Cat to dig (or choosing another site) and there is something going on with the trailers creating slippery surfaces (not cleaning or wet?).
Above: The drives are long and it is hot and muggy today after a week of rains. The bands are fractured and some lag behind. This little one appears to have lagged and is a bit confused and agitated as it is driven in alone. When the horse realizes the danger it flees; pursued by helicopter and roper. It may have been near the last of it’s reserves and collapses. The little one rises and put up an objection. BLM said they gave him electrolytes (kinda like Gatorade for people) and are monitoring the horse. During the tour of temporary holding, BLM said he was doing well but our observer could not get a clear video of the horse. We will update if we find out more.
Above: Some of the stragglers included this mare and foal. For all of you horse owners out there how old do you think this baby was on July 1 (when BLM claims foaling season ends)? How old was he when helicopter capture began at Triple B on July 15? Was this baby even born yet? Helicopter capture in July should be stopped. Foaling season is supposed to be a data-based and site-specific determination in a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) for each Herd Management Area (HMA) or complex. This complex does not have any HMAP, nor do the HMAs in the complex.
A fast word about that Judas horse: we have watched him bite and kick wild horses that follow him into the trap again and again. We have watched him bite foals. Maybe time to retire?
Our team is back onsite continuing our extensive and in-depth coverage of this roundup, the 4th in 5 years, on this herd that is very special to our team. Our observer has been the only member of the public out at Triple B this week and is onsite again today. We strive to give as in-depth coverage as we can. We not not be able to travel everywhere for a few days coverage, but we dig in as long as possible.
As BLM moves toward the half-way mark of the 1900 targeted for capture: You can see the daily log, and find links to in-depth video reporting, for Triple B HERE.
You can see more of our work by visiting our main page and scrolling through the “blog” section by scrolling down the main page: WildHorseEducation.org
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Categories: Wild Horse Education
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