“Ground Hog Day” has become a colloquialism for repetition. Every single year at the end of January we see heavily pregnant mares and new foals. Every single year BLM asserts foaling season has not begin as they fail to present any data to prove when foaling season begins on that range.

On February 2, BLM captured 71 wild horses (22 Stallions, 42 Mares, and 7 Foals) at the ongoing East Pershing Complex roundup.

To learn more about the area visit our “Know Before the Roundup” article. East Pershing is just to the north of Clan Alpine, the big roundup right before this one., and New Pass/Ravenswood to the southeast. BLM has never addressed season movement between these areas. Nor have they ever created a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) to show how they set population levels, forage, management goals, genetics, etc, and allow public input.

Below is an overview video of the day. We have extensive video we are still editing that fully illustrate ongoing issues.

Ground Hog Day

Pregnant mares are being pushed down steep terrain, run over rough and rutted terrain. Horses fall. Barbed wire grazing allotments litter public lands for private livestock in the lowlands, as usual. Horses are run through gates in unmarked barbed wire, rapidly opened causing more chaos. Solo horses are relentlessly pursued, even though this is not a “zero out.”

BLM will claim that “foaling season” does not begin until March 1. They make this assertion without any data to back up the claim. Even if foaling does not begin in earnest for 3 or 4 more weeks, mares are 3-4 weeks from starting to give birth and should not be run. No veterinarian in their right mind would tell you to run your pregnant mare and stress her to the max.

BLM did not seem to like headlines that noted the death toll. Only if a horse drops dead at trap will it be considered part of this roundup. BLM is loading directly from stock trailers onto semi trucks and shipping them into a facility BLM has not allowed anyone from the public to ever visit. Any miscarriages won’t be counted by BLM. Deaths will not be considered roundup related and included in their total anymore, they will be “facility deaths.”

There are so many things wrong with this operation from the lack of underlying planning and data (lack of justification for it to even happen) and intense concerns with animal welfare.

(Appears to be) heavily pregnant mare being driven through barbed wire maze and domestic livestock. She broke from her band. Was pursued as a solo horse, roped and sent to an off-limits to view facility.

This is foaling season. A time BLM is prohibited from flying helicopters due to safety concerns. BLM is prohibited from flying helicopters when heavily pregnant mares are observed.

Will BLM do the right thing and stop this roundup? We have only seen BLM stop due to foaling season 3 times in the last 15 years: twice under intense public pressure (calls, fax) and once by court order. BLM never seems to take initiative on their own to protect the welfare of wild horses.

We want to thank all of you making calls to BLM in charge of this operation and to your lawmakers. We know BLM NV misrouted, rerouted and claimed you had a wring number. You did not have a wrong number, you called the number they list on the website for the State Director and Associate Director.

You can continue to make the calls listed HERE.

East Pershing Complex is managed by the Winnemucca District Office of the NV BLM. 

Sam Burton is the Winnemucca District Manager: 775-623-1500

Jon Raby is the State Director: 775-861-6400 (Main number for state office, as listed on their website, 

We are getting feedback that the state office is claiming wrong numbers and misrouting calls or simply refusing to put people through. So we will give you the direct email for Jon Raby, NV State Director: JRaby@BLM.gov or, BLM State Office wants you to call the “catch all” number for the wild horse program in the national office and not bother them: 866 468-7826 (866-4MUSTANGS) 

Please call, be polite, do not take out your frustrations on the person that answers the phone at the front desk.  Please call and ask: “Please suspend the roundup at East Pershing until BLM defines a data-based foaling season. Running heavily pregnant mares, new babies and sending them into an off-limits facility that is known for flooding during winter storms to hide welfare issues… is simply not ok. Stop the roundup.” 

You can send a fast letter to your lawmakers in Congress by clicking the linked text: Roundups need to stop until BLM creates an enforceable welfare policy. Click HERE.

We are working on a long form report from 2/2 and will publish as soon as all the fooatge is loaded and link it to this article.

Our team is busy in field documenting. We are busy working with our attorneys on our active lawsuit to gain an enforceable welfare policy and additional litigation to address the lack of data, transparency and management plans.

Our wild horses and burros need to be protected and preserved wild on the range. They also deserve to be free of abuses. We need your help to stay in the field and to continue to keep the lawsuit active in the courts now to bring about an enforceable welfare policy. 

Thank you for keeping us running for the wild!