Wild Horses: Ted Williams Takes on the Issue

Photo courtesy of Colin E. Braley, http://www.wildwest-media.com/

In Audubon magazine of January to February 2011, Ted Williams, a longtime conservationist, takes on the explosive issue of the wild horses, In his article "Saddle Sores," he describes his trip to see the BLM's October 2010 roundup of the horses, known as a "gather." There is definitely a war on words in the struggle to take care of these horses; the word "mustang" as applied to them evokes the proud conquistadors riding gorgeous, equally proud horses, to which the modern wild horses are supposedly related. In reality, says Williams, "these  are mongrels, descended from livestock owned by everyone who ever dumped or lost horses in the West from 1540 to 2010." This romanticization of the horses' background is irrelevant. There are too many of them. Many are sick and dying.  They neeed help right now. The word "gather," used by the BLM in obeisance to those who fight against its practices, is a euphemism for "roundup." It is widely said that the wild horses are frightened by the helicopters used in the roundup and may injure themselves; Williams said that when he watched the process, the horses were "nonchalant" about the whole thing. They didn't stampede, they mostly trotted, they ate and drank contentedly in their holding pen. The helicopter stayed about a mile behind the horses as it herded them. The cliche "Wild and Free" is hardly true either, since they are quite grimly, free to get sick or die in a habitat that cannot sustain them.
As you can see from the picture above, their habitat is fragile. Williams describes it vividly: "I hiked across badlands of shale and polished stones, over sparse shrubs, thin, widely spaced clumps of grasses and forbs, and dry dirt that crumbled and sailed aloft. Ancient, scraggly junipers dotted the hills. Pronghorns and mule deer browsed the valleys. Less than seven inches of precipitation a year isn't unusual here, and that precipitation may come in two rainstorms, so it doesn't do much good." He explains that since horses have solid hooves and teeth that mesh, they are very destructive of all native vegetation. The horses wander over the range eating anything they can find--"horses stomp the shrubs into the dirt to get the last blade"--but drive away other animals, people, and grouse from the area.  More nutritious grasses are dying out, due at least partially to this overgrazing. When there is drought, this ecosystem becomes even more unsustainable. And with too many animals on this impoverished land, the problem looks unsoluble.
Can anything be done? Secretary Salazar suggested that the horses be transported to other, more fruitful lands but Williams says that he had to drop this idea because of the outraged reaction to his remedy. Even if they were transported to other habitats, the costs of maintaining these herds increases all the time.There was hope for a while that people would adopt the wild horses; that has proven a vain hope. People today are getting rid of their horses due to our depressing economic problems. How about euthanizing the excess horses? Few people want to even consider this as a solution. Surgical sterilization is a possibility as is injecting mares with an anti-fertility drug; Williams points out that the latter drug, PZP, isn't alway dependable and may wear off after several years.
It seems there is a stalemate here. But I believe that if people who want to save the wild horses, people who are fair-minded and willing to listen to many schemes and even try some, could sit down and talk about it without the hyperbole, bitterness, bias, and lack of common sense so often present when coflicts are approached, something could be done.
Williams suggested that all people who are interested contact Secretary Salazar and urge him to use every tool at his disposal to control wild horses. Keep track of what is happening in Congress about this issue. Contact your representatives about it. And above all, learn the truth about the wild horses and their terrible dilemma.

Wild Horses: Ken Salazar's Plea for Action

Photo courtesy of Colin E. Braley, http://www.wildwest-media.com/

Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, announced in 2009 that wild horses were out of control. In replying to many animal advocates who claimed that rounding up the horses was unnecessary and cruel, the Secretary said the following, quoted in the Los Angeles Times of January 14, 2010. I include the whole excerpt here because it states the problem clearly and succinctly without emotion fogging the issue, and calls for action on the part of everyone who cares about the horses.
"Though an American icon is again flourishing, the job of restoring the health of wild horse herds is far from complete. Without natural predators, wild horse populations have grown beyond the carrying capacity of the sensitive and sparse lands on which they live, causing damage to ecosystems and putting them at risk of starvation. As a result, federal managers must move thousands of wild horses each year off the range to pastures and corrals, where they are fed, cared for and put up for adoption. The current situation is unsustainable.
The American people expect the health of their lands and watersheds to be protected, and it is unacceptable to allow wild horses to be malnourished on inadequate ranges. Yet no one wants to see them gathered and moved off Western ranges. Moreover, the status quo comes with a steep price tag. The federal government spends more than $60 million a year on the wild horse and burro program, of which $35 million goes to the care and feeding of the horses. A broad range of animal rights organizations, conservationists and Western communities agree that we cannot continue down the current path. We must change course. I agree.
However, if we are to succeed in restoring the health of wild horse herds, we must choose our new path wisely. To allow wild horse herds to grow beyond the limit of the range--as some wild horse advocates and celebrities are arguing--is not realistic, humane or environmentally responsible. Instead, we need a comprehensive and balanced approach built on new partnerships, new thinking and new courage to tackle an issue that, unfortunately, has no easy solution."
Now Secretary Salazar lays out specific suggestions to effect control of the herds.
"First, we must control the growth of wild horse herds by humanely applying fertility control to wild horses on the range. We can do so responsibly and at a reasonable cost. We must elevate the stature and care of wild horse herds that will sustainably live on Western ranges for generations to come. As Interior secretary, I am examining ways we can better showcase special herds in signature areas of the West to provide eco-tourism opportunites and provide them greater protection. We must identify and restore new habitat where wild horses could be returned. Some of the prairies and ranges outside the West--places where forage is rich and where wild horses once wandered--could become sanctuaries for the animals. I have proposed that through partnerships with the private sector, stakeholders and local communities, we establish new sanctuaries in the Midwest and the East, where healthy horse herds could return. Finally, we must recognize that the federal government alone cannot restore the health of wild horse herds. We need citizens to help. We want Americans to visit their public lands where horses roam, to help us care for these magnificent animals, to share their ideas with us and to help us find citizens and animal lovers across the country who will adopt wild horses and provide healthy, happy homes for them. ...Preserving the health of our land and wildlife requires collaboration, patience, and courage. Demonizing others in the ways that some advocates have recently demonized federal land managers is neither reasonable nor productive. ..Let us find common ground and humane, environmentally sound solutions on our public lands."
Next post: Ted Williams

Ted Williams and Ken Salazar on the Wild Horse Problem

                     Photo courtesy of Colin E. Braley, http://www.wildwest-media.com/
In this blog entry and several more this week, my overwhelming motivation is to plead with all well-meaning, intelligent horse people to face the facts about the dilemma of the wild horses and work on their behalf without resorting to the same partisan bickering that paralyzes all progress on serious problems. We're all exhausted by reading about  our elected politicians who cannot seem to resolve the economic morass we are in, or the locked-in-battle people who seek to control the governments of other countries and accomplish nothing. This same sterile tendency to fight unproductively is seen in the factions that have grown up the problem of what to do with our wild horses. I've read the arguments of those who believe the horses should live free, and oppose all efforts to control their numbers and their habitat. Sometimes these arguments are inappropriately emotional and poorly thought-out. I've also read the more reasoned arguments such as those of Ted Williams and Ken Salazar, the first an environmentalist, the second the Secretary of the Interior. Both men have a passionate interest in the horses, and both have written intelligently about the situation. To come: I'll write about Secretary Salazar's reasonable, rational recommendations, and Ted Williams' suggestions which rose out his visit to the Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek Herd management area that contains the horses.