We did a fast update on our new Facebook page simply showing the wild horses and burros at Palomino Valley Center north of Reno. Many of you expressed interest in holding facilities during the shutdown. 

The posting caused more fervor than we anticipated. We ended up having to block several people when they resorted to name calling and outright profanity against people concerned with the welfare of wild horses and burros in holding.

Welfare issues in holding are very real. Death rates post capture rise on average to 12% (or 1 in 9) and can rise as high as 24%. Not only are welfare issues a concern, but in most cases record keeping is abysmal. The concerns compound is private facilities that remain off-limits to the press and public except for a few sanitized tours each year.

In August our team began to check on wild horses captured in the (man-made and intentionally exacerbated) emergency roundup at Wood Hills/Maverick Medicine. See more about how BLM creates “emergency” and uses it as a “management strategy” by clicking HERE.

When our team member went to check on the facility during the shutdown she noticed that the youngsters and nursing moms were all gone.

After our newsletter report on Strangles being found as the #1 cause of death of foals and present in the population, the facility never notifying the public, shouldn’t everyone be concerned about where the foals went? 

We noted this fact in our online update. That statement caused the ruckus. Anti-wild horse folks said the babies were there but we did not see them or simply spewed profanities at people concerned.

If people expressed concern that the feeders (there are many of them at Palomino Valley Center lined up at each fenceline) are not being used and they are feeding on the ground (it is easier to just drive a truck through and drop hay than to fill feeders), the anti wild horse fols spewed profanity at them as well.

Isn’t it so strange that the anti folks like to say wild horse and burro advocates are emotional and aggressive when they resort to name-calling and profanities because someone is (rightly) concerned about colic from ground feeding or the whereabouts of babies? Any horse owner work a salt would have the same concerns.

Please stop the attacks on social media. On our last page, the page that was targeted in a hack to stop us from getting our message out, we banned a lot of people for attacking other commenters. Expressing your opinion is different than attacking someone (in case you need that pointed out plainly). We will ban you on the new page, too. 

Team member Colette Kaluza did reach someone at PVC to get a few answers.

• The babies are gone.
• The BLM vet said they could be shipped before the shutdown even though strangles had been present a month before.
• The babies are now in the off-limits to the public facility in Fallon. Or at least that is where they first shipped and may have shipped out to adoption events or other facilities; PVC staff does not know.
• BLM believes that feeding on the ground is not related to the colic deaths or contribute to them (colic deaths) after they ship out and they will keep doing it because the big bales do not fit in the feeders they have.

August. Yes, there were babies at PVC and now there are only pregnant mares.

We hope this update helps answer your questions and helps solidify that your concern is valid.

Onward.

Our team is working in an update as we fight in the courts for wild horses and burros across the West. 

All of our work is only possible with your support.

Thank you for keeping WHE on the frontline in the fight to protect and preserve our precious wild ones.