It is time for Americans to stand up for the relatively few remaining Wild Horses.
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While some environmentalist are busily trying to get insects onto the endangered species list, they seem to be missing the atrocities that are being committed right under their noses in Colorado, Utah and elsewhere, where man’s other ‘best friend’ is being tortured, mutilated and slaughtered for the sake of money, possibly to the point where the genetic lines of this very special species will be weakened and less diverse. I am speaking of the Wild Horses of the American range lands.
Way back when I was into ranching, we were Cowboys, we had cattle and we didn’t use quads, trucks or helicopters to herd cattle … we used our horses. For all intents and purposes, our horses were our ‘partners & best friends’ when it came to ranching; they were even more valuable than a good dog. My horse was an awesome partner (his name was Prince). I could shoot my rifle off his back when I hunted; he would stretch barb-wire with a tag-line off the saddle-horn when I was building or fixing fences, and Prince was my transportation over to see my friends at their ranches or into town for supplies. Our horses were literally part of the team on the ranch.
I have to say that I am really disappointed in some of the ranchers I encounter today … who are little more than greedy businessmen wearing cowboy hats with a flare for maximizing the use of anabolic steroids and feed to produce cheap hamburgers for the masses who may not realize the totality of what’s being sacrificed in the process. It seems that some ranchers have forgotten many of the old ways and values, and much of what made ‘being a rancher’ in the past ‘special’ has been lost and replaced by mere echos of a once noble profession.
When I read about the battles for grazing rights on Federal Lands, I am amazed at the level of greed that his found its way into the hearts of some ranchers. In fact, they really aren’t ranchers in my book; too many ranchers today are merely meat producers, just the same as chicken and pig farmers … no difference.
Even though I love and respect horses … I am very pragmatic. If you take away the trucks and quads from some ranchers today, they would be in a real pickle because they have lost most of their horse-skills, and those were the skills that made cowboys and ranchers unique in my opinion. When people forget their past heritage, they are a doomed people. Too many people today don’t have a clue about how things use to be done … and those skills may someday in the future be the skills needed to survive.
Recently I watched a video about BLM’s Wild Horse roundups in Utah and I was shocked at what I saw. A former BLM official in that area inferred (on camera) that the whole thing is about money, and that the wild horses are being short-changed where the round-ups have nothing to do with ‘too many horses being on the range’.
The BLM manages over 150-million areas of public range land. They claim on their webpage that there about 50 thousand Wild Horses (rounding numbers) that roam on about 50 million acres of the total area that they manage (one horse on every 1,000 acres). How is one horse per 1,000 acres a population that’s too much?
The BLM also has about 58,000 wild horses being held in captivity (costing tax payers $75-million/yr). It has been reported and shown on documentaries that these very social animals have strong family bonds,
and these families are being broken-up during the round-ups, resulting in the young foals screaming for their mothers. In one filmed instance, a foal that was being chased by a helicopter was chased so hard and long that it ran it’s tiny hooves off and was left in bloody agony. Many of the horses are sold like disposable products from China, with many beautiful horses allegedly going to slaughter for cheap meat.
What is also interesting is that the large-scale commercial ranchers have organized behind various cattle and beef organizations, which have powerful government lobbyists, who make it a point to see that the ranchers get what they want; more grazing rights.
Quite frankly, the deer, elk and antelope populations, which as an aggregate number in the millions, consume thousands of times more of the forage on the open range than the relatively tiny population of Wild Horses. The big difference, and the reason the management pressure is on the Wild Horses is that, unlike the game animals I have cited, Wild Horses have no commercially funded lobbyists. Hunting licenses are a major source of income for States, as are the taxes on hunting related products. And of course we have the gun and ammo manufacturers who also support the hunting industry. Without this huge financial support and lobby, I fear that some of these commercialized ranches might even look to reducing the numbers of any herbivores that compete with their cattle for the grass on public lands. Bottom line, the Wild Horses are an easy target.
OK, by now some readers might be thinking that I am an anti-rancher partisan when it comes to this issue, but that would be very far from the truth! In fact, I wrote an article several months ago where I stood firmly behind rancher Cliven Bundy’s position to uphold his Constitutional rights and his historical grazing rights. Nonetheless, this is whole different situation.
And during my research for this article, I found information that suggests that corruption and greed has found its way into the industry and even within the BLM. But of course, when the little guy (in this case, the Wild Horses) is getting the shaft, it’s usually by moneyed people with political power that is used to support unreasonable positions in order to further enrich the greedy.
Here’s an excerpt from one article on grazing rights by Thomas L. Fleischner, Ph.D.
Were the Forest Service to announce that every single acre of forest was suitable for logging, the public would probably shriek. But the BLM has made an analogous decision for range-lands–grazing is still authorized on the vast majority of the BLM’s 177 million acres in the lower forty-eight states–and the public has responded with indifference. How has the ranching industry kept such a muscular grip on public policy and resisted new views of land use so successfully? The answers to this question include social, historical, literary, and–above all–political perspectives. Formidable cultural forces have worked to maintain the status quo of livestock grazing on public lands.”
The BLM smartly, and for good reason doesn’t want to tell the public exactly how many cattle are grazing on the public lands they manage, so they came up with a ‘permit system’ and a ‘metric’ called ‘AUMs’ that provides ‘cover’ and conceals the total number of cattle on the open public range, which is in the ‘millions’.
So here we come to learn that some of these commercial ranchers are whining about one horse grazing per 1,000 acres, when they are grazing millions of cattle on a much larger public range of more than 150-million acres. And we also learn from the BLM website that giving grazing permits to commercial ranchers is a really big ($$$) business for the BLM! So it makes sense they would look to serve the commercial ranchers over the Wild Horses, which are BTW supposed to be protected under the ‘Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act’; here is the preamble to that Act:
“Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.”
The bottom line is that some of the large scale ‘meat producers’ want all the open range available exclusively for their millions of cattle, and couldn’t care less if the Wild Horses are pushed into extinction (or into a meat-grinder). That is a most unreasonable position, and one that is driven by sheer unabated greed.
America was built off the backs of horses and they deserve our respect and admiration, and they are so worthy of at least that much. To my eyes there are few things in life as beautiful as a stallion running free over the range.
Making money is great; I am all for it! But there are limits that are dictated by morals, at least for those who have them. Adding to which, the animals that are being rounded-up are being treated in a manner that is grossly inhumane, and is nothing short of atrocity! No real cowboy would ever treat a horse (or any other animal) the way these people (on the documentaries) are treating the Wild Horses, and it’s undeniable… it’s on film!… it’s barbaric!.
The people seen abusing these beautiful publicly owned horses should be criminally prosecuted to the extent of the law! Why is that not being done? They have the evidence on film! Are the legislators who are aware if this situation so cold themselves that they don’t have a care?
Here’s the video (below) if you have the curiosity and the spine to actually watch. And if you are interested in justice and fair-play, there are 4-segments; and the one about the burros at the end showcases just how evil and cruel some people are, and why we all need to jump into this fight for these beautiful animals and their families.
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So when some people expect me and others to appreciate ‘their grazing rights’ on public taxpayer-owned lands … I have to say that these people need to understand that when they act like this, they should not expect any support for their position, they should however expect to be indicted and prosecuted … And legitimate ranchers need to differentiate themselves from the people in the video ASAP by standing up for the relatively few remaining Wild Horses. Just the humble opinion from a former Cowboy.
Cheers! Bill
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Note: Anyone who is interested in high-resolution photographs of the wild horses, please contact us at [email protected]. We are using proceeds to improve the habitat on our land for the horses.
You can read more about the Wildhorse Ranch and the conservation work Capt. Bill and his wife Laura are doing here.
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All photos courtesy of Laura Simpson – copyright 2014
Animated video of the BLM’s wild horses management program: https://youtu.be/uwERVyZOeKY
thanks so much, Captain,
The speed at which our Wild horses are being swept from the Range is truly alarming. The cronyism and power of the Government from the County-level, on-up in the Western States to wrest control of Federal governance of Public Land is driving the destruction of the Mustang, the historic symbol of freedom, from the West. The horse has been chosen as the scapegoat of greedy Corporations and Ranchers. It is truly disgusting.
Thanks for catching that link mistake, Tami. I meant the Friends of Animals which has info on wild horses . It and others are trying to get the wild horse declared an endangered species .
Another is http://www.ISPMB.org Karen Sussman has done research on the complex society of wild horses and is tying to stop their extinction .
Dear Readers: Thank you very much for your support of the horses…. and for sharing your comments. I think there are probably at least 500K or more wild horse supporters out there, and if we can get everyone to give their legislators a piece of their mind, the atrocity would cease and the people who are seen (or caught) abusing these majestic and wonderful animals will be prosecuted… that man seen on the film punching the poor little burro that is on the ground and exhausted to a point near death with a closed fist needs to be indicted! The… Read more »
This process makes me sick. Is Cruel and against everything America stands for—–FREEDOM !
This is about Real wild horses, an American icon. Real Cowboys know the difference about land management and the Unreal Greed by cattleman rancher lobbyists! Animal Cruelty and breaking existing laws for these wild horses and burro’s IS happening and the government needs to STOP this!!! Take them to trial! These people making the rules for land management know nothing about wild horses or good rancher programs!
Bravo Bill, bravo. Very well said. I wonder every day why there aren’t investigations, arrests, and convictions surrounding the blm and their criminal contractors.
Well done, Captain. I would only add that the on-the-range populations of wild horses and burros posted annually by the BLM aren’t based on observation, but on ‘estimate’, and that, despite removals over the past decade of nearly 80,000 animals, this year’s population is at it’s theoretical highest since before the turn of this century, It makes little sense from a biological perspective that an animal, averaging 100% of it’s population removed every four years, could bounce back so completely, but there it is, with no verifying data. It truly is an uphill battle, fighting for a little equity for… Read more »
For Barbara’s link it takes you to a Fiber Optics Association page. Anyway I really liked your article and how it was written for an audience that might not be aware of what is going on with America’s Wild Mustangs. There is a true difference between feral horses that have been let loose and wild mustangs that are protected supposedly. Unfortunately horses don’t know not to go over certain boundaries. Rather than taking these horses to ranges where they are suppose to be able to live, they just round them up and are sold to auction because they weren’t found… Read more »
Many thanks, Bill, for your excellent article.Although the BLM claims there are 40,000 plus Wild Horses and Burros many advocates think there are less than 20,000 still free. Also after 3 attempts of adoption or if a horse is over 10 years old it can be sold with the understanding it isn’t to go to slaughter. However , this is not enforced and many are being sold for slaughter. I have a wild horse mare that was in the kill pen at Sugar Creek , Ohio. Also after a horse has been adopted for 1 year it can be sold… Read more »
Hi Barbara: Thank you for the comments and links! While the actual genetic lines behind the American Mustang is arguably (debate continues) native to the North American continent, the term ‘feral’ was used in a written (and oral) communication I had with an agent of the BLM to distinguish and define (their definition) domestic horses that have been recently (within a couple decades or so) released onto privately owned open range, and which are not managed by the BLM. I am sure that many domestic horses that are released because an owner could no longer afford to keep them do… Read more »
God bless you for your article. We need MORE education so the public learns the truth about what is going on with our wild herds. Supposed to be protected and revered as part of American history.
It is a good thing the author doesn’t consider himself a “cowboy” or a “rancher” any longer. It is clear the author knows nothing about carrying capacity, sustainable grazing, or the life history of the horse (a domestic species). It is clear the author is far removed from any lands with feral horses, or at least has no real connection to land that supports (suffers from) feral horses. It isn’t the ranchers who want horses managed so much as it is the scientists, the academics, and the people who live with feral horses that want them managed. Look at what… Read more »
Normally, intelligent people ‘read’ an article before commenting… now here’s someone who has mastered the art of commenting based upon reading just the title of an article {;-) … and the manifestly incorrect observations asserted by the person hiding behind the avatar ‘Western ecos’ are the empirical evidence of that! … Good luck with that paradigm!
Capt. William E. Simpson
Bill, Thank you for showing the truth about the BLM and the welfare cattlemen. it is time our government starts protecting the last of our wild horses. Again thank you. Karen
Bill, Thank you for this article and for posting on the Healing Horses Facebook page. We will share it. You’ve probably seen that there are a number of very active advocacy groups for the Wild Horses, but not well funded. The Cloud Foundation is one. Also Habitat for Horses in TX, with the owner Jerry Finch being a lifelong fighter for the horses. One leg of our mission at Healing Horses is to show the amazing spirit of the horse and their ability to connect with humans on such a meaningful level that is capable of changing lives – especially… Read more »