Antelope_Checking In (Aftermath)

By Laura Leigh on August 23, 2023

The aftermath of these large roundups is always hard; public attention tends to leave when the chopper does.

Just the roundup in this one complex, the Antelope complex, accounts for nearly half the entire summer/fall roundup schedule… by the numbers.

The total captured was 3,078 wild horses, 39 died onsite; 10 died at south, 29 at north. The majority of catastrophic deaths (broken legs and necks, dehydration and colic) coincided with the heat index rises in July.

BLM says they “released” 6 from north trap and 2 from south trap. What a strange way to label wild horses that escaped. Most of them so panic stricken or under pressure at temporary holding that they leap out of corrals during sorting sometimes over 50 miles from where they were captured and a highway away. They now find themselves in unfamiliar territory.

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A palomino stallion had used this draw to hide his family in during each and every roundup since this assault began with the 2017 gather paperwork (Environmental Assessment, EA) was approved. We found him in that draw again. This time alone and suffering an injury. We know there were a lot of people on the range that did not go to the roundup itself… we hope he did not get scared out of his safe zone. We will continue to check on him and hope there is a mare out there that finds him and keeps him company through the long winter just around the corner.

Throughout the area (4 HMAs) the predominant sighting is of a lone horse on high alert.

We have even found a pregnant mare and no other wild horse in sight in one HMA.

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Down near the Water Canyon area we did find a small band and new life.

Tucked way back in a secluded zone ….

We lost a lot of wild ones we have known a long time… and we lost a special friend. The valleys are filled with their “spirits past” and the “spirits” of those taken from this range in years past.

1,095 went into Palomino Valley Center, an adoption facility north of Reno, from south trap.

All 1,936 of the wild ones from the north (Spruce-Pequop, Goshute, Antelope Valley West) went into the off-limits to the public facility Broken Arrow (aka Indian Lakes). One of the facilities with the highest death rates… and BLM approved an increase in the capacity to over 7000. (We will update soon on the fight to get in to check on them.)

Our team is working on a “roundup wrap up” and on the legal action we have just begun to protect this herd.

Give us a bit more time to finish our review and range check. We hope these horses have enough time to get ready for the change of seasons. The range itself is greener and with more grass than we have seen in a long time from the wet winter and summer. However, many of the livestock permits include late fall and winter use and why, with the deep snow, BLM approved feeding cows hay last year while they were turned out on public lands.

More soon.

You can show your support and help us keep our team in the field through the purchase of a “Stop Abuse” t-shirt. We have brought these shirts back for the next 2 weeks by request. Click HERE or on the image below.