Wild horses/BLM land

[isu22andy]

A wild horse is just a like a wild coyote . This will get to be an ugly problem that keeps exponentially growing until something is done ..

 

[Irrelevant]

Wild horse advocates cry foul on cusp of enormous roundup, removal - WyoFile

Wild horse advocates have fought with other rangeland stakeholders for decades over Bureau of Land Management roundup policies, both claiming legal high ground. Wild horse advocates have fought with other rangeland stakeholders for decades over Bureau of Land Management roundup policies, both...

wyofile.com

 

[diamond hitch]

I am not adjacent to any wild horse herds so I don't have a dog in the fight but... when I was young a long time ago- long time ago. I was hunting ducks with a friend out of Belfry, Mt. The rancher that owned the land shared his history and knowledge of the issue. He said prior to WWII most of the farming/ranching depended on horses for power but horses eat a lot. So in the spring everyone would get together and round up the local herds from which they would select their summer stock. Over the winter they had kept a limited number of trained horses to meet their needs. The annual roundup was a social event, replacement event for horses lost, and selection of new work horses as well picking out former friends.

By teaming them up with older horses, the newer ones learned to mow hay, cut grain and a variety of other tasks that required minimal training.

At the end of harvest, they picked out the keepers for the year and turned the rest of the motor pool out on the range to make do.

Occasionaly, when the quality diminished a quality stallion would be added to increase the quality of the 'motor pool' for their needs. The range of the mare pool varied between indian pony and what got loose. The studs - from medium work horse, morgans(calvary surplus), and just handy.

After the war, some fool introduced affordable tractors. Pretty soon the annual roundup was just a memory and the range mustang became an annoyance to be dealt with.

Since they aren't native, we likely should take a more active role in managing the problem we created.

I've heard a lot of stories of where this mess came from, this was the one that made the most sense to me.

 

[SilverDollars]

This. For whatever reason, the horse lovers are very effective at getting their way and for whatever reason the majority of people judge an animal's suitability for the dinner table based on perceived intelligence, which is high for horses.

All emotions aside though, the first step that would need to happen for effective management is for there to be a decision among the scientific community as to whether they really are "feral" or if they are a native species that was extirpated and then re-introduced by Europeans. There are potentially legitimate arguments that the horses have a right to be out there, in which case they should be managed like any other native species with a hunting season if appropriate. But if deemed a feral species, then should also be treated as such with open seasons and eradication efforts.

Science will not prevail on this one, in my opinion, the emotional ones will continue to control the management.

Horses are not native to the US. They are just like the feral hogs, a non-native species!

 

[kwyeewyk]

Horses are not native to the US. They are just like the feral hogs, a non-native species!

Problem solved!

 

[reallyoldman]

In Northwest Colorado the BLM has rounded up around 6-700 on both public and private ground. The tree huggers and our very strange governor finally got the effort shut down on public.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

The horse crowd was wildly successful at closing down the horse slaughterhouses in the US and they've been vocal in their attempts to ban the exportation of horses for slaughter as well.

I've gone rounds with a close friend of my mother on this. She and her cohort believe in their hearts that there is no acceptable reason for any horse to be killed (short of euthanasia due to injury). On one hand they argue that feral horses are the reintroduced descendants of American wild horses (which to my biology training seems absurd), and on the other hand they argue that as long as cattle are on the landscape impacting ecosystems then horses deserve a spot. I've never been able to come to any middle ground with that crowd.

Until we have some brave legislators willing to stick their necks out to address the wild horse and burro act we'll be forced to follow Bob Barkers advice and stay and neuter those feral pets.

Wild horses/ burros are wild, leave em' be!!
I'm wild too, leave me be lesten' I chuck a dirtclod your direction!

 

[cowboy]

Wild horses/ burros are wild, leave em' be!!
I'm wild too, leave me be lesten' I chuck a dirtclod your direction!

One of the most stupid comments I’ve ever read on this forum - if you weren’t joking, you don’t have a clue.

 

[ccc23454]

Change laws , make dog food a option, profits can go towards public land improvements they been destroying!

 

[BrentD]

Horses are not native to the US. They are just like the feral hogs, a non-native species!

Pheasants and brown trout are not native either. What say you? Kill'em all?

 

[diamond hitch]

Never seen habitat destroyed by pheasants, quail or brown trout. Manage livestock and habitat for all.

 

[thusby]

I’m all for the horse roundups, just curious why they were using a helicopter to round them up on the first Saturday of general elk season.