In the first 4 days of the largest roundup of the 2024 schedule, BLM has captured 453 wild horses from the area they consider “out of boundaries.” In fact, the area is the historic winter seasonal grazing location for wild horses from multiple areas and not all are part of “East Pershing” (more here) for decades.

In an almost absurd move, BLM was driving horses to the trap and sent out riders from the trap (the opposite direction). This essentially created pressure coming from both sides and the result was additional chaos.

This roundup is a rough one. BLM has already openly admitted to using hotshots to speed loading at trap as horses did not respond to a “paddle” 3 times. Current “policy that is not actually a policy” states that hotshots (electric shock) should only be used when safety is an issue and not to speed up loading. This crew, and BLM in charge, is notorious for routine use of electric shock.

BLM is not allowing horses to settle at all. Instead, they are rushing from drive to load and giving the horses no time to even figure out where they are and absolutely not enough to time to recover from the exertion of the run. Routinely, BLM places speed over safety.

Below: No dust control is being done. As the run moved toward the trap you can almost see this single horse try to follow the group and get cut off by wranglers, try again and then flee from the trap.

The fleeing horse became 1 of the 4 adults roped that day. BLM says they have to rope the adults because they are “outside HMA.” All BLM has to do is leave them alone and in a month or two, they would most likely move back inside their home range as grass begins to grow. Roping solitary single wild horses is considered an extreme action traditionally only occurring in “zero out” operations or when a very young foal is captured and the mom has escaped.

On New Year’s Eve a new trap was set in old mining tailings.

Large groups of wild horses continued to be pulled from South Stillwater HMA and the “off HMA” area.

The pilot continued to bring in “too many bands” for the size of the trap. Multiple family groups are pushed together into a trap.

Instead of leaving horses in the first pen, BLM basically allows them to be “shoehorned” into the pen before the alley to the trailer. Look at how hard it is for them to squeeze those horses into that pen and pull hard to tie the gate in the video below.

Instead of letting the horses “settle a bit,” BLM allows the tarp BLM claims “makes horses feel safe” to be used to panic and push horses down the alley. You can see the person closest to the trailer grab the hotshot.

BLM continues to obstruct the ability to clearly assess any handling at the temporary holding corrals to the extent that we cannot even tell you if they are in compliance with stocking restrictions.

This time, there is an absurd claim that observers have to be 1000 ft from the helicopter they park next to the corrals because “debris might get kicked up when it lands and damage to vehicles could happen.” (This is a new one from BLM.) Ok… so why is it parked at temporary holding when debris could injure personnel or horses?

BLM is trying to claim this 1000 ft distance always applied. No, it did not. In fact, after the Ninth Circuit ruling on Feb. 14, 2012, and the subsequent agreement after the next visit to the Ninth Circuit, the distance was 30 ft. Our founder said she has been doing this for 15 years, probably before the current “man in charge” graduated High School.

We have a traditional right of access to assess handling of wild horses by the government. Onsite the “made up on the spot” rules can get pretty absurd.

Many of you have come to rely on us for frontline reporting from the field. For the last 15 years we have done our very best to give you “more than a photo.”

You can find the ongoing daily update from our team covering East Pershing HERE

Our team member is back onsite.

You can learn more about the fight to gain a welfare policy HERE.

You can help us by taking action HERE

Thank you for keep us on the frontline in the fight to protect and preserve our wild ones.