My journey of discovering wild horses and the laws that protect them began on one fateful day two years ago. Little did I realize just how much these creatures would impact my life.
I spent weekend excursions, day trips and long hikes combined with hours spent on the range and capturing the routine of the wild mustang. While it may seem routine and perhaps mundane to the average observer, my endeavors had offered a sense of peace and contentment. That is, until the summer of 2021.
To understand the history of wild mustang advocates, it’s important to grasp the history of the conflict between nature and politics. Prior to 1971, when President Richard M. Nixon signed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the horses and burros were not protected.
The bands of horses, which are typically derivatives of abandoned horses or runaways, roam throughout various areas of deserts and mountain ranges. Ranchers viewed horses and burros as “desert rats.”
Nixon chose to place the responsibility of the wild horses and burros on the shoulders of the Bureau of Land Management. They place a population cap on the herds of horses. This number is determined by the sustainability of the land compared to the number of horses in the herds.
However, this was not done scientifically, which has become a problem. If the number of horses and burros exceeds this number, the BLM pursues removing the excess numbers via roundups. Roundups are done with helicopters, which can cause fear, panic and death among the herd.
The public lands the horses reside on are available to the public for recreation, as well as free-roaming livestock. According to the BLM, less than one-quarter of available forage within Herd Management Areas is allocated to wild horses. Livestock continues to occupy the rest.
In 2013, the National Academy of Sciences found that the number of horses allocated for public land is not a scientifically-determined number. In their report, NAS stated the committee had no science-based explanation for the calculations the BLM made for the population caps.
The total population of horses is low compared to the amount of actual horses per square mile of land, and it is affecting the total population of wild mustangs and burros are slowly diminishing.
Now, a place I visited for peace and happiness has become a place of sadness, advocacy and passion. Ranchers continue to apply pressure to the BLM, demanding a higher number of horses be removed.
Coupled with extreme drought conditions throughout the West, federal legislation was passed to make 2021 a record-breaking year for roundups. In an already contentious relationship between the BLM, cattle ranchers and advocates, the frustration grew.
As recently as July, roundups, sometimes referred to as gathers, have been performed. In the local Onaqui herd, there were 307 horses removed. Once they are put in holding pins, they are put up for adoption. With the 127 horses that will be released back into the desert, there will be approximately 140 horses on the range.
Horses are an intelligent species. They are easily trained and have the ability to go from wild and free to broken and tamed. But is that what we, as Americans, want? Is the public really willing to watch these beautiful creatures die out?
If ranchers have their way about it, however, the legacy will be lost and our children and their children will only hear stories about these creatures. They will never know the feeling of having a wild horse gently place their face in their hand. And, it is ultimately for the sake of monetary gain.
