Yesterday was the first day to view over 100 horses available for adoption at the Boise Corrals in Idaho.
Our representative, Bobbie Moller, was onsite at the roundup in September. She was onsite to view the wild ones she knew on the range that are now up for adoption.
Of the wild horses available, 14 are six to nine-month-old geldings; 25 are six to nine-month-old fillies; more than 30 are geldings, ages two to five; and approximately 40 are mares between the ages of two and seven.
Tags and written descriptions HERE in BLMs flyer.
BLM will first offer horses in a competitive bid and then open adoption on the ones no one bid on. If you live in the area, head over and check it out.
Saturday, Nov. 11, 8 a.m., gates open
10–11 a.m., competitive bidding open
1–5 p.m., first come, first served
54 of the available horses found homes. Still many left for Sunday.
- Sunday Nov. 12
8 a.m.–4 p.m., first come, first served
Corral is located at: 3948 Development Ave., Boise, ID 83705. phone: 208-384-3421
Above: A significant number of mares were not released nor put up for adoption due to having very young foals or being really pregnant. The foals will be pulled and the local 4-H will apparently be given first opportunity. At this time, the mares will probably be up for adoption in January (and then labelled for “long term holding” and be added to the “long term” holding debt if not adopted). We are working on other options.
The September roundup was run under an Environmental Assessment (EA, the paperwork that gives BLM the authority to remove) that was rushed through the draft/comment/final stage that did not even allow time for any Appeal to be heard or adjudicated.
WHE has an active Appeal on the EA. The damage done through the large percentage of wild horses removed and the release of older mares (2 that have been in captivity for some time and NOT from this area to address genetic viability) treated with a heavy double dose of hormones through a vaccine called GonaCon may be irreversible and place this herd in longterm danger. GonaCon stops ovulation, mares do not exhibit natural sexual behaviors and will be infertile for 5-10 years. This timeframe is likely longer than the lifespan of the horses released (wild horses live 18-22 years on average in the wild). The two mares released to address genetic viability are likely never to even reproduce.
Our team met with BLM last week as part of the Appeal process to see if we can come up with something to help BLM repair some of the damage and come up with a data-driven plan to preserve these herds. We need to get the “sex-skewing” undone and mares out there they are not “nonovualting.” That would be the first step toward repair.
A bit more about Idaho:
Idaho is the 14th largest state in the country with a land area of 83,570 square miles. BLM manages 12 million acres in the state.
Only six small HMAs exist on all of BLM land in Idaho. BLM says only 617 wild horses can be managed on 418,000 acres in the entire state, where domestic livestock receive over 80% of available forage.
In contrast, BLM Idaho authorizes livestock grazing for domestic horses, sheep and cattle on more than 11,500,000 acres of public land. This includes more than 2,100 grazing allotments, approximately 1,500 livestock operators and roughly 1,900 grazing permits.
We need your help to stay in the fight to protect and preserve our wild ones. All contributions up to $10,000. will be matched dollar-for-dollar from now through the end of November. Thank you.
There are many ways to support the work of WHE from direct contribution, stock donations and even while you shop. More HERE.
Categories: Wild Horse Education
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