Best Friends Animal Society Equine Page

Over 60 Neglected, Starved Horses Discovered in Lewisville, TX

cmoon — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:14:34 GMT

By Roni Raczkowski

Equine rescue responds to Lewisville, TX Animal Control plea for help

Hope for Horses, an equine rescue group, was contacted by Lewisville, TX Animal Control on Friday, October 23 to come out and investigate approximately 30 horses that the owner was willing to surrender. Upon arrival, they found 60+ horses, mostly Ponies of America (POA), in various stages of starvation and neglect. Also uncovered were the carcasses of one horse and one foal that had just died and been dragged to the rear of the property within the last day or two. There was a third partially decayed body in another location that the owner did not even know about, and skeletal remains of at least five other horses.

One unfortunate foal has a broken leg and will need to be put down immediately. The onsite veterinarian concurred that the injury happened about a month ago and that euthanization is the only option. This is a herd with many mares, foals, yearlings, two year olds, and unfortunately many stallions. It appeared the owner did not separate the stallions, and the herd multiplied quickly as the land began to disappear and food became scarce.

Animal Control, City Police and a local vet have been assisting with the situation. There are now round bales in the pastures and Animal Control has told the owner he must buy square bales this weekend to feed horses in the stalls/pens. Hope for Horses is coordinating this huge rescue, and is desperately scouting locations to transport these horses to where they will have space, shelter, and proper care.

Hope for Horses

Hope for Horses is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit horse rescue group located in Blue Ridge, TX and run by Anastasia Keyser. Just this past March, Hope for Horses took in 15 additional starvation cases as a result of a seizure by Denton County Animal Control, and they are currently caring for over 30 rescued horses.

“The irony of this particular situation is that the owner did not ask for help earlier, and now he is requesting all of the horses to be off his property by Monday, October 23^rd,” states Keyser. “We are reaching out to every emergency response team and rescue group we can think of.”

How You Can Help

Keyser is seeking separate holding locations and would welcome any suggestions. She also needs lots of volunteers! Horse lovers in the area are encouraged to volunteer their time to help with providing care and love for the neglected horses. Hope for Horses needs immediate assistance with hauling, as well as financial and food donations. Ultimately these rescued horses will need foster or “forever” homes.

If you can help, contact Anastasia Keyser at ana_keyser@yahoo.com or (940) 368-2072. To make a donation, go to Hope for Horses website and use PayPal, or send check to:

Hope for Horses Equine Rescue, Inc.

9381 Country Road 470,

Blue Ridge, TX 75424

Photos courtesy of Anastasia Keyser

Progressive Nutrition

Lindsay0408 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:52:20 GMT

For anyone having issues with thin or hard keepers, I offer this advice. Have someone from Progressive Nutrition come out and evaluate your horse(s). Then take their suggestion and go with it. I did and it made a difference in my horse in a week. Not totally fixed, but a significant change in aonly a week. When I get through my 30day trial in a week or so I will try to post before and afters for you all to see. So far it has been amazing!

Anyone else use their products? What did you think?

"Salute to the Mustangs"

RoniR — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:50:56 GMT

Join Madeleine Pickens for special event at Navy vs. SMU Football Game on October 17th

Who says football and horses don’t mix?? Businesswoman and philanthropist Madeleine Pickens announces “Salute to the Mustangs,” an event to be held October 17 during pre-game and half time of the Navy Midshipmen vs. SMU Mustangs football game at Gerald Ford Stadium in Dallas, TX. Details and information are available online at www.MadeleinesMustangs.org.

Among the highlights of “Salute to the Mustangs” will be a performance by Western Music Hall of Fame inductee Michael Martin Murphey, who will be performing his wild horse-themed Platinum recording, “Wildfire”. It also will include a tribute to our Armed Forces, Wounded Warriors, United States War Dogs Association and Vet Dogs – organizations that provide loving animals who help support our Armed Forces and disabled veterans.

At the game, Madeleine Pickens will present Dr. Turner, Coach Jones and Southern Methodist University with a stunning trained Mustang as a gift to the school. The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive an SMU towel that they can swirl around to show their support during the half time show.

“I’m sure there are people wondering why we are doing all of this,” said Madeleine Pickens. “One of my life’s passions is to protect and save America’s Wild Horses -- a living symbol of our American heritage and freedom. What better place to get the word out about protecting and saving wild horses than Dallas, Texas, and a football game at the home of the SMU Mustangs. We thought the perfect game would be against Navy, as we can not only salute the American Mustang, but we also can salute the men and women of our Armed Forces.”

Madeleine Pickens has proposed a plan by which her National Wild Horse Foundation, a private non-profit foundation, will establish a Sanctuary as a permanent home to protect and care for wild horses presently in captivity. The Sanctuary also would provide a location for the public to visit and appreciate these living symbols of our American heritage and freedom.

Madeleine Pickens’ National Wild Horse Foundation announced the formation of a 25-member Advisory Committee consisting of prominent entertainment and sports figures. The Committee presently consists of:

June Jones – CHAIRMAN, SMU “Mustangs” Head Football Coach

Troy Aikman -- NFL Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys QB & Super Bowl MVP

Michael Blake -- Academy Award Winning Screenwriter, “Dances With Wolves”

Jenny Craig -- Founder, Jenny Craig, Inc.

Mark Cuban -- Owner, NBA Dallas Mavericks

David Foster -- Grammy Award-Winning musician, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer

Jerry Jones -- Owner, NFL Dallas Cowboys

Adrienne Maloof-Nassif -- Executive Vice President, Maloof Companies (NBA Sacramento Kings & Palms Casino and Resort)

T. Boone Pickens -- Legendary Businessman

Mike Post -- Grammy and Emmy Award-Winning Composer

Rudy Ruettiger -- Notre Dame Football Legend and real life inspiration for the movie "Rudy"

Junior Seau – NFL All-Pro Linebacker for San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins & NE Patriots

Emmitt Smith – NFL All-Pro Running Back for the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals

Roger Staubach -- NFL Hall of Fame former Dallas Cowboys QB & Super Bowl MVP

Barry Switzer – Former Dallas Cowboys Head Football Coach

Doug Williams -- Super Bowl MVP, former Washington Redskins QB

“It has been extremely gratifying to see so many great Americans unite behind this cause to create a permanent home to save these magnificent national treasures,” said Madeleine Pickens. “Their support means the world to Boone and me.”

“I am proud to join Madeleine Pickens to help save America’s Wild Horses,” said Coach June Jones. “I believe in Madeleine and I believe in this cause. And what better connection than to have the Head Football Coach of the Mustangs, the only Division I school with that mascot name to be part of this mission. Her leadership on this critical issue is a personal inspiration to me, and I know that together we will be able to make a difference.”

To help raise awareness and build support for the campaign, Coach Jones and Madeleine Pickens have sent out a letter to all High Schools that have horse-related mascots, including the Mustangs, the Broncos, the Cowboys, the Colts, the Stallions, the Caballeros and the Mavericks, asking them to join in this effort. Members of the general public also can demonstrate their support, by visiting www.MadeleinesMustangs.org.

Mission Statement of Madeleine Pickens’ National Wild Horse Foundation

Wild horses are a living symbol of our American heritage and freedom. These Mustangs must be protected. Businesswoman and philanthropist Madeleine Pickens is committed to this promise. Through her National Wild Horse Foundation, citizens from all walks of life are uniting to create a permanent home, a sanctuary, to save these magnificent national treasures.

Story from MadeleinesMustangs.com

Photos courtesy of Madeleine Pickens

Free Horse First Aid Class

jhayes — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:43:52 GMT

Best Friends Horse Haven will be hosting a free "First Aid for Horses" class at the new cover-all building in the sanctuary lower canyon, on Saturday, November 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

Topics will include colic, wound care, bandaging and more. In addition, attendees will receive a free horse first aid kit.

For more information about the class, call 435-644-2001 Ext. 4869.
For additional information on horse care and behavior, click here.
Become a fan of the Best Friends Animal Society Equine Page on the Network.

Photo by Jennifer Hayes

Take Action Today on Wild Horse bill

RoniR — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:07:11 GMT

The Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act (S. 1579), recently introduced by Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), will restore protections for our country's wild horses and burros that were stripped away in recent years.

Not only will the ROAM Act ensure that our mustangs and burros are once again protected from slaughter, but it seeks to reclaim land - some 19 million acres - taken away from these magnificent animals. Please take a moment to contact your U.S. Senators today and ask them to cosponsor this vital legislation.

To take action, visit the Animal Welfare Institute Compassion Index and just click here to contact your US Senator today! Forward this eAlert to everyone you know asking them to help protect America's wild horses and burros.

Photo courtesy of Roni Raczkowski

"Mustangs On The Hill"

RoniR — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:35:19 GMT

Be a voice for Cloud’s Herd and thousands of other free spirited American Mustangs by attending events at Capitol Hill next week

Once wild and free, living in spectacular sub-alpine meadows designated by Congress as their home, 57 wild Mustangs now wait in dusty pens and sweltering 90 degree heat. These BLM pens sit at the base of the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range of Wyoming and Montana. The once proud band now resembles a group of dejected prisoners, branded, with ropes and numbers around their necks. 19 year-old Conquistador is no longer a majestic band stallion. He is number 5336. 21 year-old Grumpy Grulla is no longer a nurturing lead mare. She is number 5321.

The Pryor Mountain wild horses have been made world famous by the popular PBS Nature series that has followed the pale Palomino stallion “Cloud,” throughout his lifetime. The third program will air this Fall in October, but many of the horses the world will meet next month are among those being put up for sale and adoption at the Britton Springs corrals in Lovell, WY on Sept. 26^th. “They are losing what they value most – their freedom and their families,” says Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation.

“Despite a National outcry and letters from Congress demanding that the BLM halt these roundups until an acceptable long-term plan is made, we have yet to see them make a single concession to an outraged public. Somewhere along the line BLM forgot that these are the public’s horses on the public’s land.” Kathrens continues.

Great hopes for change lie in the Restore Our American Mustang Act (ROAM- §1579), now in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Advocates are encouraged to attend "Mustangs On The Hill" in Washington DC on September 29th. This event follows the BLM Advisory Board Meeting (http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/september/blm_sets_meeting_of.html) on the 28th of September in Arlington, VA.

“Mustangs On The Hill” will be gathering on the West Front Lawn of Capitol Hill on the morning of the 29th for a press conference, and then will fan out to meet with key Senators, focusing on those who serve on the Committee of Energy and Natural Resources, to ask them to support the ROAM Act. There will be celebrity speakers in addition to leaders in horse and animal advocacy groups. If you intend to attend either or both days, please RSVP mustangsonthehill@gmail.com. To view the flyer and print copies, click here [View:http://www.thecloudfoundation.org/images/pdf/Mustangsonthehill-WebsiteFlyer.pdf:550:0]

Those who can not attend are encouraged to make appointments with their US Senators or call 202-224-3121. The focus should be on members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to get the ROAM Act out of committee. Please call, fax, or e-mail all and politely request that they support the ROAM Act!

“The ROAM Act comes too late for thousands of horses, but we are hopeful that Congress can ride to the rescue for our wild horses,” states Arizona advocate, Julianne French. The Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971 saved wild horses in the American West from complete destruction. Since then, the BLM, charged with their protection, has failed to follow the Act. Nearly 20 million acres have been taken away from the dedicated land set aside for America’s wild horses. Over 30,000 wild horses are held by the BLM at a cost of over $100,000 per day according to Ed Roberson, Department of Interior official. Advocates are demanding that the wild horses be returned to the rangelands that were stolen from them. Congressman Grijalva (D-AZ) called for a stop to all roundups and Senator Landrieu (D-LA) recently called for the management of wild horses to be taken away from the BLM altogether.

The American public is enamored with the mustang, one of the last symbols of freedom and the disappearing spirit of the American West. "Isn’t it time that the public finds out the truth, that this gross misconduct is not a result of managing for ‘healthy horses on healthy rangelands’, but is an all out eradication of America’s wild horses?” questions advocate Monika Courtney. “Will hoof beats be replaced completely by oil and gas rigs and uranium mines as the old-guard BLM regime carries forth? BLM is betraying not only our horses, but our nation.” As one advocate stated, “The West will one day be about as wild as Wal-Mart.”

The small Spanish mustangs in the Pryor herd, descendents of the Lewis and Clark expedition horses and the original Crow war ponies, may not be aware that their highly contested roundup and subsequent removal has created a tidal wave of protest. From Thoroughbred racing forums to front porches in the suburbs to dude ranches in the Midwest, “a whole new group of advocates concerned about our wild horses have come out against this roundup,” states Willis Lamm, a horse trainer noted for his work with BLM mustangs. “Moving forward with this roundup was a huge mistake on the part of the BLM.”

Perhaps this will be a catalyst for real change. Please lend your support to help preserve and protect America’s wild horses! As one supporter said: "this is a betrayal, not only of our wild horses, but of our nation."

Story and photos courtesy of Cloud Foundation

Cloud Capture Draws Capitol Attention

bullwhips — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:20:29 GMT

U.S. Senator Eyes Removing Agency's Mustang Oversight

By Steven Long

HOUSTON, (Horseback) - The hasty labor day "gather" of the iconic equine star of the PBS "Nature" series, Cloud, has sparked interest and consternation from coast to coast as wild horse lovers rally to put a halt to Bureau of Land Management "gathers" on the nation's public lands.

Several horses, including Cloud, were released lame after being chased down a 5,000 foot mountain by a low flying helicopter. The famed Mustang's popular image has been celebrated in two best selling reproductions by Breyer. A third set of the collectables will be released in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Only 120 members of the herd will be allowed by the BLM to remain in this area of Pryor Mountain wilderness encompassing nearly 40,000 acres. The BLM currently claims to hold 33,000 horses captured in gathers in holding pens. No outside agency has been allowed to do a census.

Protests are planned for a meeting of the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board in Washington September 28-29.

Louisiana Sen. Mary Landieu, a horsewoman, said that if the BLM doesn't change its ways and stop the gathers and helicopter stampedes she is considering supporting legislation to remove management of wild horses from the agency.

"She's really fed up with the BLM right now and she's thought about maybe possibly moving the (wild horse) program from them to another agency," the Landrieu aide told Horseback Magazine. "That goes to show her frustration with how this program is mismanaged."

"The GAO put out a report last year citing the utter mismanagement of this program," she said. "They spend three fourths of the BLM budget on this program, and as you know, they run a whole slew of other programs."

Landrieu serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with provides oversight for America's public lands.

Key senators besides Landrieu who will influence the nation's wild horse policy are New Mexico's Jeff Bingeman, California's Diane Feinstein, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, the aide said.

Reid, an enabler of the hated Burns Amendment which removed protection from wild horses has expressed concerned regarding the Restoring our American Mustangs Act, or ROAM. In the past the senator, who polls indicate is highly unpopular in his home state, has been no friend of wild horses. He is in a tight race for re-election.

In minutes of meetings of BLM managers secreted out of the agency earlier in the year, discussions of the euthanasia of thousands of horses captured in gathers were held. The talks were prompted by an agency running out of funds to operate its wild horse program. In the discussions, the prospect of psychiatric counseling of veterinarians who would perform the killing of innocent horses was discussed. The disposal of thousands of horse carcasses was also studied by the agency.

When news of the planned equicide leaked it provoked a tidal wave of anger at the agency among horse lovers and the general public prompting the agency to put the killing on hold.

Critics say wild horses have lived off the land just like moose, elk, antelope, big horn sheep, and deer without serious depletion of the herds for hundreds of years because of natural selection. Yet despite their wild status in fact and American lore, the agency doesn't classify the equines as wildlife which would enjoy protection.

The aide, who declined to be identified, said the likely agency the senator would target for new management responsibilities for wild horses should Landrieu move in that direction would be the National Park Service because of an excellent record handling a limited number of wild horses that agency already oversees.

The BLM, along with the U.S. Forest Service, is currently required by law to manage wild horses on public land.

Posted with permission from author Steven Long, Horseback Magazine www.horsebackmagazine.com

Cloud’s Herd to be Rounded Up by Federally-Indicted Contractor

bullwhips — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:16:06 GMT

September 3, 2009

CHICAGO, (EWA) - A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) request by The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue was denied September 2, 2009 in Federal District Court. The TRO was filed to stop the round up of the Pryor Mountain horses, an action unprecedented in size and scope. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has contracted with the federally-indicted Dave Cattoor to round up America's most famous wild horse herd beginning September 3, 2009. Wild horse advocate and investigator, Julianne French, explains the situation further in a youtube.com video posted today on The Cloud Foundation website.

In 1992, Cattoor was indicted by a federal grand jury for hunting wild horses, aiding and abetting. Cattoor rounded up federally protected American mustangs, corralled them into pens and loaded them into trucks bound for a Texas slaughterhouse. He pled guilty to those charges. "Since that time we suspect that he has received at least $20,000,000," says wild horse advocate, Julianne French. "And we know for sure, from the Federal Register website, that Cattoor has earned over $12,000,000 in the past nine years alone."

While Cattoor is currently under investigation by the Department of Interior Inspector General for procurement fraud, BLM chooses to continue their relationship with the Cattoor Livestock Roundup Company.

"Generally, an indictment would eliminate a contractor from consideration," added French. "However, Mr. Cattoor has been rewarded and made a millionaire many times over by the taxpayer-funded BLM-despite the public outrage."

"If I ever had a felony charge, even if I had been exonerated, I'm not supposed to get a federal contract" stated Howard Boggess, Crow Elder and Historian. "Why are they above the law?"

A photographic report, The Use of Helicopters to Remove Wild Horses and Burros from Public Lands, displays newborn foals run to exhaustion, found hog-tied on the range, horses and burros bleeding from their nostrils, broken legs and injuries sustained during long gallops to capture pens.

Fully knowing the public's concern about wild horse roundups BLM is still debating whether independent humane observers will be granted access to round up operations in the Pryors. "Where is the transparency and full-disclosure of this new administration?" asks Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation.

In the Pryor Wild Horse herd, young foals, only days old, will be rounded up and potentially removed. BLM plans call for nearly all the 188 horses remaining in the Pryors to be rounded up in order to apply infertility drugs. Seventy horses will be permanently removed and put up for adoption and sale on September 26, 2009.

According to noted geneticist Gus Cothran Ph.D. of Texas A&M University, 150 - 200 animals are required to maintain genetic viability. This removal would leave only 120 horses in the spectacular Pryor Mountains. The Cloud Foundation is urging Americans to speak up now, or lose this unique herd forever.

www.thecloudfoundation.org

www.equinewelfarealliance.org

Photo credited to "The Cloud Foundation"

The Humane Side of the Law

RoniR — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:08:27 GMT

The property sounded ideal. A sprawling 3119 square foot ranch style home with gorgeous views on 42.6 acres boasting rolling hills, trees, and ponds plus a separate managers house, 18 stall show barn with vets quarters, covered arena with spectator seating, utility barn, 4 stall mare motel, covered round pen. Asking price only $1,500,000. The anxious buyer was fascinated by this property description, but was horrified when she made arrangements to tour the property.

Renazans Arabians

The property for sale is known as Renazans Arabians barn in Pilot Point, Texas, home to “beautiful Egyptian horses”, according to their website http://renazans.com/. The potential buyer found 17 starved, emaciated horses standing in their own waste with no food or water in the barn. She immediately called the Denton County sheriff’s department and left a message.

Deputy Kirk Sissney followed up on this anonymous tip on Thursday, August 13^th and confirmed the caller’s description of the neglected horses. Sissney returned to the property Friday morning with arrest and seizure warrants for property owner Gordon Dennis Key. Sissney was accompanied by 27 other people including fellow deputies and commanders, plus volunteers from the Humane Society of North Texas and Habitat for Horses. In all, they round up and transported 77 neglected horses to two locations for food, care and medical attention.

Community outreach was overwhelming, and Sissney admits that this seamless rescue would not have been possible without the tremendous level of assistance and support from the locals, volunteers, and command staff. “There was even a gentleman that pulled up in his truck and asked if we needed hay. Next thing you know, he returns with 350 bales of coastal hay.”

Humane Society of North Texas

In 2009 alone, the Humane Society of North Texas took in more than 300 horses. On Wednesday, August 26^th, they took in 77 more. In the civil trial against Key, the judge ordered all 77 horses seized from Renazans stables be turned over to HSNT, including all documents and paperwork on the horses. The judge also ordered Key to pay $5000 for the horses’ upkeep.

Currently, all of the horses are doing remarkably well, according to Samantha Laos, Cruelty Dispatch Officer for HSNT. “Many of the horses are gaining weight, except for the stallions. Their hooves are surprisingly OK with just a couple of cases of thrush. They all need grooming and many need their teeth floated.” Most of the horses have had little or no training, and the staff and volunteers at HSNT are doing their best to gain the equines’ trust.

The community of Pilot Point has been very supportive with donations of money, supplies and feed. Donations are also coming in from Austin, Houston, and around the world. Laos said the expressions of concern and offers to help have been heartening. “The support is tremendous! Now I hope we can find them all loving homes,” she shares.

Two veterinarians are providing free medical care, and some members of the rescue group have been certified to provide health care. The horses were divided into male and female groups. The mares went to a rancher in Ponder who is providing a free place to stay and are being fed with donated hay and other grain. The stallions are being held at another location.

HSNT is planning a “Horse Adoption” event for the end of September. Details will be available soon on their website http://www.hsnt.org/

Peace Officers and Animal Control

Deputy Sissney is part of a 3 deputy team serving a unique function in Denton County. In short, they are peace officers that also serve as animal control deputies, making cases like Renazans’ easier to respond to. According to Sissney, “We do our own investigations and we don’t have to hand off our case to other departments or detectives. We handle each case from outcry to outcome. One of the greatest strengths of our department is our crime scene and forensics training-we are constantly expanding our knowledge base and education.”

Other county and state law enforcement agencies may want to take note. Sissney’s department has handled over 40 animal abuse cases in the past 3 years, and only 1 went to trial. And they won that case. “I don’t like taking people’s animals, but I believe in our laws, and I believe in protecting animals. We took an oath to serve and protect, no matter how many legs you have!”

Sissney and his colleagues are now preparing for the criminal trial against Keys. According to Tom Reedy, Public Information Officer for Denton County Sheriff’s Office, Key could face 77 charges of Cruelty to a Livestock Animal, a Class A misdemeanor. Each charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine not to exceed $4,000.

What You Can Do

The horses need sweet feed, square bales of coastal hay and alfalfa. The Humane Society of North Texas also needs cash to buy other supplies for the horses. For more information, contact Samantha Laos of the Humane Society at slaohsnt@yahoo.com or 817-808-2287. If you are interested in adopting any of the horses, fill out an application on the HSNT web site http://www.hsnt.org/

To stay current on equine stories at Best Friends, join the Network here http://network.bestfriends.org/groups/horseevents/default.aspx

Photos courtesy of HSNT and Barron Ludlum of Denton-Record Chronicle news

U.S. Wild Horses: UPDATE: Your phone calls needed

cmoon — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:28:17 GMT

The Billings Gazette, in Montana, is reporting that the scheduled round-up of the 190 horses of the Pryor Mountain Herd has been postponed until Thursday September 2. If the round-up does take place, around 70-75 of the horses will then be separated from their herd and be permanently removed.

A judge will determine whether the BLM will be allowed to go ahead with the round-up.

Advocates for the wild horses, the Cloud Foundation and the Front Range Equine Rescue, had filed an injunction in federal court in Washington DC, asking the judge to halt the planned round-up of the herd of horses.

The round-up has now been postponed for 48 hours, but it may go ahead on Thursday, depending on the decision of the judge.

A champion in Congress

Congressman Raul Grijalva from the 7th District of Arizona is the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. He has written to Bob Abbey, the BLM Director, about the proposed removal of 75 horses from the Pryor Mountain Herd.

In his letter he requests that the BLM program of "gathers", as the round-up and removal of wild horses is called, be suspended until the "profound problems" that plague the program be addressed, including the over 30,000 wild horses already rounded up that have been and continue to be kept for years in holding pens at taxpayer expense.

He notes a Government Accounting Office report from last year that states that the BLM is unable to determine with any accuracy how many horses the range can hold, that there are now more horses being held in confinement than there are in the wild, that there is no plan for these horses, and that it's hard to see why the horses were rounded up in the first place.

Entire herds of horses have been removed from the wild by the BLM.

19 million acres on which wild horses and burros formerly roamed have been taken from them and are no longer available to them, since the passing of the 1971 Act that was supposed to protect these beautiful wild animals.

Congressman Grijalva makes the point that continuing to conduct these round-ups is "unconscionable" on humane grounds.

The helicopter round-ups are very brutal and can result in injury and death to the horses.

He recommends that the BLM take a good look at the findings in the GAO report, and he calls on the BLM to suspend all round-ups.

Wild horses are being rounded up every year

Every year large numbers of wild horses are rounded up and separated from their herds, their families, and their way of life. The majority are condemned to spend the rest of their lives confined in enclosures.

Wild horses, like all wild animals, have an inherent right to live out their lives unmolested in the wild. They also have this as a legal right, which was the intent of the 1971 Wild Horses and Burros Act.

As well as the planned round-up of the Pryor Mountain Herd in Montana and the removal of around 75 of the 190 horses, there are other round-ups occurring in other states.

This fall the BLM plans to remove over 600 horses, 12 entire herds, from eastern Nevada. This will leave no wild horses in this area, where they have lived for hundreds of years, enjoying the peace and beauty of nature and running in freedom through the desert. These horses spend their entire lives with their parents and their brothers and sisters. To separate them from each other is inhumane.

What you can do

Please do not call the judge.

Please do contact your elected representatives and any media you feel might cover the story, as well as Bob Abbey, the Director of the BLM, and Ken Salazar, the Secretary of the Interior.

BLM Director, Bob Abbey 

Call: 202-208-3801 or 866-468-7826 

Fax: 202-208-5242

 Robert_Abbey@blm.gov

Ken Salazar

Phone: 202-208-3100 

E-Mail: feedback@ios.doi.gov

To go to the YouTube site of The Cloud Foundation

Read the latest press release by the Cloud Foundation

To read Congressman Grijalva's letter in full, please click here.

Visit the website of Front Range Equine Rescue (caution: graphic content)

Visit the website of the Cloud Foundation

To read the two recent stories on the Best Friends network about these wild horses, please go to

http://network.bestfriends.org/golocal/international/news.aspx

http://network.bestfriends.org/golocal/international/news.aspx?pID=12815

Photo: Andrea Schafthuizen /www.publicdomainpictures.net

Circumventing the Wishes of Congress and the American Public:

bullwhips — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:42:18 GMT

BLM Moves Forward with Massive Removals of Wild Horses

August 28, 2009

CHICAGO, (EWA) - The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue have filed a lawsuit and a request for an injunction in Federal Court in Washington, DC to prohibit the Bureau of Land Management from removing horses from the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, and to stop the unprecedented round up of the Pryor Wild Horses slated to begin September 1, 2009.

The appellants argue that this removal of 70 horses will leave this unique and historical herd genetically non-viable and unable to sustain itself into the future. According to noted equine geneticist, Gus Cothran, Ph.D. of Texas A&M University, "... a census population of 150-200 is required to achieve the minimum effective population size.... The [Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Herd] has been one of the most important and visible herds within the BLM Wild Horse Program and it is important that it stays viable."

The Bureau of Land Management is circumventing Congress' wishes that wild horses be protected in the American West. The House just passed the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) act and the Senate will review this bill (now S.1579) when they return from recess in September. "Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America's wild horses as fast as they can before the Senate can act?" asks Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of the Cloud Foundation.

"Right now there are twelve entire herds being eliminated from 1.4 million acres near Ely, Nevada because these lands are suddenly not appropriate for wild horses," Kathrens continues. "However, no action has been made to reduce cattle grazing in these areas." There are no grazing permits in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range and reasons for holding an unprecedented removal this year are not clear. The range and adjacent lands are in excellent condition following three years of drought-breaking precipitation.

Cloud and the wild horses of Montana's Pryor Mountains are world famous but fame and an outcry from the American public does not seem to impact the BLM's plans. There are currently only 190 wild horses (one year and older) living in the spectacular Pryor Mountains. The BLM plans to remove 70 of them, including young foals and older horses who could be sold directly to killer buyers.

The Pryor Mountain wild horses are descendants of the Lewis and Clark horses who were stolen by the Crow Indians in the early 1800's. George Reed, Secretary of Cultural Education for the Crow Tribe Executive Branch, wrote in 2006: "We advocate preserving our heritage, culture and language, and these Pryor wild horses are part of our culture."

www.equinewelfarealliance.org

The Cloud Foundation, Inc.

Colorado Springs, CO 80905

719-633-3842

info@thecloudfoundation.org

www.thecloudfoundation.org

Posted by Tamara Fleck, Equine Welfare Alliance Member and Best Friends Equine Specialist, Community Animal Assistance Dept

U.S.: Saving America's Last Wild Horses!

bullwhips — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:32:35 GMT

August 27, 2009, 3:43PM MT

Friday, August 28, is National Call-In Day!

Cloud lives in a land of rugged canyons and great beauty in the southern mountains of Montana in the Pryor Wild Horse Range, in a small band of 191 wild horses, the only remaining herd left of wild horses in Montana.

In 1993, this is where Ginger Kathrens first met Cloud, who was then a young foal, along with some of the other members of his herd and his family. She was captivated, not just with the beauty and grace of the animals, but, she recalls, with how "their communication was so fascinating."

To listen to the Katia Louise interview on WFL Endangered Stream Live, with Ginger Kathrens, entitled "Angels for Cloud" please go to

http://www.wflendangeredstreamlive.org/angelsforcloud.html

(caution: disturbing content)

Soon after meeting Cloud and his herd, Ginger Kathrens founded the Cloud Foundation. Now as the Executive Director, she works non-stop to save this herd and those in other states--the last few of what used to be two or three million horses roaming free in the American west.

Her immediate challenge is to halt the government plan coming into effect next week on February 1, when the Bureau of Land Management is expected to conduct helicopter drives to round-up and remove 70 of the 191 horses in Cloud's herd. These will include foals and older horses, like Cloud's mother who has spent all the years of her life in freedom.

The horses will be taken out of the wild, kept permanently in captivity, and offered for "adoption." "Adoption" may sound like a positive outcome, but the reality is different. Horses are injured and lose their lives in the round-ups; of those that survive only around 10% are adopted.

All the rest are herded into pens. Some eventually go to live in pastures; most spend the rest of their lives in holdling enclosures.

There are now 33,000 American wild horses being kept in holding pens at taxpayer expense. All have lost their freedom and been separated from their families, their herds and their lives in the wild.

Ginger Kathrens is a tireless champion for these horses, She explains that there is in fact no overpopulation of wild horses, which is the myth that leads to their being rounded-up. After 70 of the 191 horses in Cloud's herd have been removed, the herd will not be genetically viable and will be unable to sustain itself.

Where do wild horses come from?

The history of the Pryor Mountain Herd is fascinating and can be traced back genetically to the early 1500's, when horses were bred in the Caribbean by the Spanish conquistadores, who then brought them to the mainland. They were used on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Then they were bred by the Crow people, who still see them as their horses.

Going back a bit further, millions of years ago, the horse originated on the North American continent. 12,000 years ago they died out on this continent--due perhaps to a combination of hunting and environmental factors. Having spread to the rest of the world, they survived elsewhere, and it is these same horses who returned with the Spanish and who are now the dwindling population in the American west. There is genetic evidence to verify this. Ginger Kathrens believes that they should rightfully be declared an endangered species.

Instead, the laws meant to protect them, such as the 1971 Wild Horse and Burrow Act, have been used to lead to their eradication. Ginger Kathrens points out that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), as a government agency, was set up in the 40's to manage the grazing of privately-owned cattle on public lands. The fee for grazing a mother cow and her calf is around $1.30 per month.

The wild horses, as well as all the other resident wildlife on BLM lands, are viewed as unwelcome competition for the grazing cattle, who are, after all, a business.

"The horses deserve to live free," comments Ginger. Their designated range covers 40,000 acres in Montana, just west of the Big Horn Canyon. They were allotted this land--though it is smaller than their original range--so that they would have a safe, protected place to live.

The wild horses' removal is an American tragedy that is happening throughout the west.

In eastern Nevada, the wild horses that remain in twelve herds are all scheduled to be rounded up and removed this fall. This process has already begun this August, and, if carried through, the end result will be that all of the more than 600 wild horses will be brought into captivity. The days of the wild horses, who have lived in these areas of the Nevada desert for hundreds of years, will be gone forever.

Every year throughout the west, these helicopter round-ups have been taking place for decades, wearing away at the horse populations that are left. There may still be 25,000 wild horses in America--maybe less.

An indomitable visionary, Ginger Kathrens, is fighting for a total renewal of how public lands are perceived and managed. She'd like to see a way of managing lands that will serve not special interests, but the expressed will of the American people who have consistently supported the wild horse as a vital, living heritage on the lands of the American west. That the horses deserve to live out their lives in freedom is an overwhelmingly popular view. However, many people are entirely unaware of the events now taking place to remove the herds of horses.

Please lend your voice to the groundswell of support for these magnificent animals by contacting the new BLM Director, Bob Abbey.

As Ginger Kathrens says, "These are our wild horses living on our public lands! They deserve their freedom!"

What you can do

Bob Abbey has been appointed the new national Director of the BLM.

Please contact him and let him know how to start out with a great positive step: Halt all the round-ups of America's wild horses now--in Montana, in Nevada, and throughout all the states!

BLM Director Bob Abbey 

Call: 202-208-3801 

Fax: 202-208-5242

 Robert_Abbey@blm.gov

To learn more and to listen to the Katia Louise interview with Ginger Kathrens "Angels for Cloud", please go to WFL, Endangered Stream Live

http://www.wflendangeredstreamlive.org/angelsforcloud.html

Please visit the Cloud Foundation's website:

http://www.thecloudfoundation.org/

For more information on wild horses, please go to

http://www.vickitobin.com/id22.html

Photos: Re-printed with permission from the Cloud Foundation

By Sharon St Joan, Best Friends Network

KY Equine Humane Center, A Refuge

bullwhips — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:40:45 GMT

The Kentucky Equine Humane Center opened in April 2007 as a first-of-its-kind refuge, a clearinghouse for all horses throughout Kentucky. It's situated on 72 acres of lush bluegrass just outside Lexington.

Horses found abandoned, abused, or surrendered by their owners are welcome here. No horse is turned away.

According to Lori Neagle, executive director of the Center, it was over tea at one of the founders' homes that this facility was created to make resources available so there is no need to neglect a horse or let it starve to death. Their motto: "Doing the Right Thing, One Horse at a Time."

Every horse has an owner. Every owner has a responsibility.

The KyEHC founders, http://www.kyehc.org/mission.html prominent horse owners, trainers, jockeys and veterinarians, established three major goals: To provide humane treatment for all breeds within its shelter while working to find adoptive homes for Kentucky's unwanted equines; to educate the public about the responsibilities of horse ownership in order to alleviate the plight of horses in crisis; and to serve as a model and work with other groups in all 50 states to save America's equines from inhumane treatment.

2^nd Annual KyEHC All Breed Charity Horse Show Sept. 12^th

A charitable organization, KyEHC relies on tax-deductible donations, gifts, fundraisers and volunteers to help with the care of their horses. One of its major events is the Annual KyEHC All Breed Charity Horse Show. The entry deadline for this year's show is Wednesday, September 2, 2009, and the show is Saturday, September 12 at the Masterson Station Park Equestrian Facility in Lexington.

There's something for all - classes for everyone and every age. This accredited show even has two classes for adopted horses, one for halter and one for pleasure.

Click here http://www.kyehc.org/horseshow09.html for Horse Show information including the show bill and entry form. One hundred percent of the proceeds go directly to support KyEHC.

Why buy a horse when you can adopt one!

Just as dog and cat shelters are full with loving animals begging for caring homes, there are thousands of horses who long for comfort, a clean dry bed and ample food and water...rather than be abandoned, slowly tortured and starved to death.

The great news is that people are learning that it's actually possible to adopt a horse! To adopt one or more of the 44 horses currently at KyEHC, first you must apply.

Click here http://www.kyehc.org/adopt.html to download the application form on their website as well as view photos of the horses available for adoption. Then, KyEHC will find a match based on the owner's and horse's experience or criteria.

"We're very up front with people about the horse's health, expertise and temperament," Neagle states. "Likewise, we certainly don't want to put our horses into a bad situation, so we carefully check out their future environment and whether the potential owners' have the means to care for the animal. We also work with our horses, if needed, to get them to a point where they are adoptable."

Things to Consider Before Adopting a Horse

With better veterinarian care these days, horses are living into their 20s and even 30s, so potential horse owners should count on at least a 20-year commitment or have plans to sell the horse when they can no longer care for it. The American Association of Equine Practitioners estimates a single year's cost for keeping one horse can reach $5,000 including veterinary and farrier expenses.

As magnificent and powerful as equines appear, they are fragile. Neagle lists colic, abscesses and dental work as some of the unexpected health care issues an owner may encounter. Good equine dental care is imperative as horses loose weight if they can't eat properly or are hard to ride because the bit in their mouth is uncomfortable.

Surrendering a Horse

But, if an owner must let go for the sake of his horse..."we intend to get the word out that we are here to help. We take in horses from all over Kentucky and a lot from animal control agencies. We also work closely with the Kentucky Horse Council," Neagle confirms. "And, even if an owner can't afford to transport their horse to us, we have volunteers who can go get the horse and bring it here."

KyEHC eventually hopes to reach out to the entire state, especially the outlying areas, with weekly equine transportation available to those who need to surrender their horses. To download KyEHC's surrender form click here. http://www.kyehc.org/surrender.html

"Identifying Equine Neglect" Seminar Aug. 25 at KyEHC

Other programs are in place as well to aid Kentucky horse owners.

A seminar, "Identifying Equine Neglect," will be held Tuesday, August 25, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EDT. It will teach strategies for working with law enforcement officers, re-feeding the starving horse and veterinary care for the neglected horse. The seminar is sponsored by the Kentucky Equine Humane Center and will feature Essie Rogers, Director of Education and Welfare for the Kentucky Horse Council. Click here

http://www.kentuckyhorse.org/attachments/wysiwyg/5/Identif_Neglect_FooAppl.pdf for an application.

Food Assistance Available Through Equine Safety Net Program

Horse owners experiencing a job loss or hardships due to the economy may be eligible for assistance in feeding their horses through a program initiated by the Kentucky Horse Council. Equine Safety Net provides a month of feed for horses whose owners qualify.

For more information about the Equine Safety Net Program call the Kentucky Horse Council at 859-367-0509 or 1-866-634-0030

For Additional Information

Kentucky Equine Humane Center is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. To learn more about the Center including adoption and surrendering of equines, to volunteer or make a donation, click here. http://www.kyehc.org/

Read Best Friends article: The Courage to Take a Chance http://network.bestfriends.org/groups/horseevents/news/archive/2006/06/24/the-courage-to-take-a-chance.aspx

Story and photo of Cressie by Stephanie Rommel,

Best Friends Network Volunteer

New EU Rules May End Slaughter of American Horses

bullwhips — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:29:00 GMT

August 3, 2009

CHICAGO, (EWA) – The European Union (EU) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have announced that the rules on slaughtering horses for human consumption are about to change radically due to concerns regarding contaminated horse meat.

The new EU rules will become effective in April 2010, requiring that either slaughtered animals have complete health records showing they have not received banned substances or a 180 day quarantine for the horses. Claude Boissonnealut, head of the CFIAs red meat programs, has indicated that Canada will likely abide by the 180 day quarantine, as mandated by the EU.

Equine welfare advocates have warned of the contamination of American horse meat for years. Substances banned from food animals range from toxic wormers to phenylbutazone (PBZ), the “aspirin” of the horse world, and even include fertility drugs that can cause miscarriages in women. “PBZ is a known carcinogen and can cause aplastic anemia (bone marrow suppression) in humans”, says Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) member, Dr. Ann Marini, Ph.D., M.D.

But the list of contaminants is not limited to conventional drugs. “Some of the garbage ‘treatments’ that are given to performance horses included iodine-peanut oil injections along the spine, anabolic steroids, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids and even snake venom”, explains Dr. Nicholas Dodman, DVM at Tufts University.

The new rules will mean that horses coming from auctions and other sources in the US will have to be kept drug free on a feedlot for half a year. Producers estimate that feeding horses that long will more than double their cost, making them less competitive with horses from other sources. And that is likely to be only half their problem.

EWA member Christy Sheidy, of Another Chance 4 Horses, routinely rescues slaughter bound horses from Pennsylvania’s New Holland auction. Sheidy warns, “Outbreaks of diseases like strangles and shipping fever will be inevitable in these quarantine feedlots. Left untreated, many horses may die before they can be slaughtered.” Treating the horses would restart their quarantine time.

In recent years, European authorities have cracked down on horse meat producers within the EU, requiring a “passport” system that specifically documents whether a horse has received such substances. Owners must state that their horses are intended for slaughter.

USDA statistics show that in 2008, the US exported 56,731 horses to Mexico and 77,073 horses to Canada for slaughter, resulting in the second highest slaughter total since 1995. Diners abroad have no idea whatsoever what dangerous chemicals they are eating in the American horsemeat that is shipped from plants across our borders.

In an interview with EWA, Henry Skjerven, a former director of the Natural Valley Farms slaughter operation in Saskatchewan, Canada, said: “Unfortunately, North America, US and Canada, were never geared for raising horses for food consumption. The system as it stood when we were killing horses was in no way, shape or form, safe, in my opinion.”

Skjerven went on to say, “We did not know where those horses were coming from, what might be in them or what they were treated with. I was always in fear - I think that it was very valid - that we were going to send something across there [to the EU] and we were simply going to get our doors locked after we had some kind of issue with the product.”

Skjerven’s plant began killing horses in September of 2007 for the Belgium’s Velda Group following the closing of their Cavel slaughter plant in DeKalb, Illinois. Natural Valley’s horse slaughter plant was closed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in January of 2009, for health issues.

Unlike Canada, horses going to Mexico are killed in two types of slaughter plants. The three largest plants export the meat to the EU and will fall under the same new rules. Mexican authorities have yet to announce whether their smaller plants, that provide meat for domestic consumption, will be required to follow the new rules.

“We don’t need to eat horses. Horses are for riding, jumping and doing a whole lot of great things. They’re not food”, concluded Skjerven.

www.equinewelfarealliance.org

posted with permission by Tamara Fleck

Good News for America's Wild Horses & Burros

bullwhips — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:13:16 GMT

July 17, 2009

Congress Passes Wild Horse and Burro Protection Legislation

CHICAGO, (EWA) – The Equine Welfare Alliance applauds Congress today in passing, Restore Our American Mustangs" (ROAM) Act, H.R. 1018, legislation that will protect America’s heritage, our Wild Mustangs.

The legislation, although heavily supported by Democrats, also received twenty-four percent of GOP votes. “This is an indication,” said EWA's John Holland and Vicki Tobin, “of the bipartisan support horse legislation has enjoyed in past years. We are optimistic of continued bipartisan support for legislation to end the slaughter of American horses (HR 503 & S 727) and the banning of double decker cattle trucks for use in the transport of horses (HR 305).”

The legislation restores what former Montana senator, Conrad Burns, removed from the 1971 Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

An important aspect of this bill is the prevention the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and the wholesale killing of healthy wild horses by the Bureau of Land Management and possibly others.

“This is definite indication of the mainstream support for protecting our heritage and ending the unnecessary slaughter of our horses that all of these bills enjoy,” said Tobin..

The message to western state legislators, supported by the deep pockets of agriculture associations, couldn’t be any clearer. American’s revere their heritage and our horses that work, race, perform and provide services and their outrage of American horses ending up on elite foreign diner’s dinner plates.

Again, the EWA reiterates its support of the animal agriculture where the horse has always served as man’s loyal helpmate in bringing meat to market. We don’t eat our equine helpmates. We eat cattle, swine, poultry and other traditional food animals.

For more information about the Equine Welfare Alliance and the inhumane and unnecessary slaughter of America's horses, please visit the EWA website at: www.equinewelfarealliance.org

Posted with permission of EWA by Tamara Fleck

Resources

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:06:59 GMT

Documents

Disaster preparedness

Links

Equine disaster and emergency preparedness

Farm animal housing and shelter

Whats the best shelter type for your farm animal?

Goat and Sheep care links

Horse care links

Just for Kids!

Pot Belly Pigs

Pot belly pig care and help

Reliable rescue organizations for Equine and other farm animals

Canadians Against Horse Slaughter

bullwhips — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:14:51 GMT

Bobcaygeon woman spearheads petition to ban horse slaughter for meat

May 11, 2009

A Bobcaygeon woman is spearheading a petition to MP Barry Devolin to ban the slaughter of horses in Canada for meat in European and Asian markets.

Denise Lockhart has been involved with horses for about 10 years, and says she's "passionate" about putting a stop to the "horses as food" industry in Canada.

Eating horse meat is a common practice in many countries around the world.

A member of the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition, Ms Lockhart says the slaughter of horses for meat was banned in the United States late in 2007. The Coalition protests the inhumane treatment of horses awaiting slaughter and the method of killing them.

"Ever since the U.S. banned slaughtering horses, they are shipped to Canada and Mexico."

Ms Lockhart is trying to get signatures on a petition to present to Mr. Devolin, hoping he will introduce a private member's bill in the House of Commons.

Ms Lockhart says the animals often endure horrendous conditions when they are trucked over long distances. She added that because horses are flight animals, their fear when in the killing chutes makes it difficult to kill them.

"They try to get away...and the stun gun used to kill them sometimes takes about six shots, because of the anatomy of the horse's skull. It's not a quick, humane kill."

She referred to a CBC documentary that aired last year in which undercover video was shot at a Canadian slaughterhouse, raising the issue of questionable methods of killing horses.

Shelley Grainger, Eastern Region Director for the Coalition, says while the organization's mission is to ban horse slaughter altogether, that is a long-term goal.

"Our short-term goal is to educate people, that there are alternatives to killing horses," she said. "They are a service animal; some of them have served their owners for 20 years."

She said many horses shipped to auctions and sales barns end up being sold for meat rather than finding new homes as riding animals.

Ms Grainger said the coalition would like to see governments at both the provincial and federal levels be more proactive in regulating horse transportation and conditions. While there are regulations pertaining to animals' welfare while being transported, (such as not shipping horses in double decker rigs because of a lack of head room), Ms Grainger said the rules aren't strictly enforced.

"Right now, they are mainly guidelines; the conditions in which the horses are transported are up to the haulers' own standards.

Ms Lockart said her petition is available at three locations in Bobcaygeon; The Promoter, The Village Florist and Kawartha Coffee Company.

She said people have come from as far away as Coboconk, Kirkfield, Norland and Pontypool and to date has more than 260 signatures.
"We don't eat horses in Canada," she said. "Horses are companion animals; pets. They should not end up like this."

For more information, visit www.defendhorsescanada.org

Posted with the permission of Mary Riley of the Kawartha Lakes This Week newspaper in Lindsay, Ontario, Canada

Photo by Best Friends photography staff

Saving the American Wild Mustang

jhayes — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:28:18 GMT

Madeleine Pickens’ dream of creating a free-roaming horse sanctuary could become a reality - with your support

Story by Roni Raczkowski, Best Friends Network Volunteer

It is every child’s dream. Little girls ask Santa for ponies and little boys play “cowboys and Indians” by chasing each other on imaginary horses. As adults, we’ve come to recognize the American wild mustang as a representation of strength and courage, symbolic of our country’s great beginning. We even have a true muscle car that bears its name. But today, this noble creature is suffering in silence and living in fear.

One woman has risen to the task of saving the American wild mustang. Madeleine Pickens, wife of billionaire oilman T.Boone Pickens, has made it her mission to restore freedom to thousands of captive horses and help end the unnecessary suffering and slaughtering of this courageous animal.

Madeleine Pickens’ Proposal
Pickens became interested in the plight of wild horses when working with others to end the slaughter of American horses. The more she learned of their management by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the more despondent and frustrated she became. It did not seem sensible to manage a program to the point where there are more horses in holding than there are on the range, and where the proportion of animals in captivity to those in the wild will only increase as the years go on. It doesn’t make sense for the horses, and it doesn’t make sense for American taxpayers who are footing the bill.

Mrs. Pickens has put forward a very serious proposal to the BLM to establish a 501(c)(3) eco-sanctuary for all horses currently in holding facilities. She has been actively seeking appropriate land with sufficient forage, water sources, and more. The animals will be free-roaming and able to form natural bands. While the primary objective of the project is to care for these wonderful creatures, they will also be stewards of the land.

The business plan proposed by Pickens and the National Wild Horse Foundation have been set forth to save the government approximately $1 billion over a decade while “providing a humanitarian home” for the 32,000 horses in captivity. The expected holding costs for the BLM in 2009 are $33 million, and in 2014 are estimated to be $85 million.

Pickens' plan to form a single large wild horse and burro sanctuary would save taxpayers as much as $700 million, which would otherwise be used on holding pens and pastures until 2020. This business plan will help unravel the problem that the BLM has created in gathering horses off the range land at taxpayers’ expense.

The Problem
The BLM estimates that there are currently more than 33,000 wild horses and burros roaming on BLM-managed rangelands in 10 Western states. This figure is approximately 5,700 higher than the appropriate “manageable” level of 27,300. Wild horses and burros have virtually no natural predators and their herd sizes can double about every four years. As a result, the agency removes thousands of animals from the range each year to control herd sizes.

Off the range, there are nearly 32,000 other wild horses and burros that are fed and cared for at short-term (corral) and long-term (pasture) holding facilities. All wild horses and burros in holding, like those roaming the public rangelands, are protected by the BLM under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

And the wild horse and burro program costs are increasing significantly, as holding and caring for these equines exceeded $27 million—or three-fourths of the 2008 enacted funding level of $36.2 million.

The History
North America was the original home of the equine species, where they evolved and thrived for over 57 million years. About 8,000-10,000 years ago they are believed to have become extinct on this continent, but had emigrated to Asia, Europe, and Northern Africa. For many pre-historic groups of people, horses were a prey species. However, somewhere along the line, various human cultures discovered that the horse had talents and usefulness far beyond “food,” and soon the horse became one of the most valuable of all species.

The Spanish explorers brought horses “back” to North America in the 1500s, and by the 1800s, over two million wild horses roamed the American west, having adapted to the harsh and rugged environment. Unlike their domesticated cousins, the wild horse has a shorter cannon bone, a thicker hoof wall and can survive in the most inhospitable areas.

Throughout the 1900s wild horses were rounded up and harvested by the hundreds of thousands. Tired of the cruelty and concerned about the possibility of wild horse extinction, Velma Johnson, aka "Wild Horse Annie" led a campaign of public awareness, and in 1971 persuaded Congress to pass the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Under the provisions of this law, wild horses and burros may not be captured for slaughter. Instead, the BLM is charged with protecting and managing the wild herds.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act required the protection, management and control of wild equines. Local livestock operators now had to claim and permit their private horses and burros grazing on public lands or lose ownership of them. After a specified time period following passage of the Act, any remaining unbranded and unclaimed herds inhabiting BLM or Forest Service lands were declared "wild free-roaming horses and burros" and became the property of the federal government.

Now wild horses are once again threatened. Each year the BLM rounds up some 9,000-10,000 wild horses from public lands in the west. Failed land management policies and competing interests for the open spaces of our western public lands have resulted in the aggressive removal of wild horses from the open range. Today, fewer than 25,000 wild horses remain in the wild, while over 30,000 languish in government holding facilities.

BLM’s Response to Pickens’ Plan
In the BLM’s response to Pickens’ Wild Horse Sanctuary proposal, they concede her plan would save the taxpayers millions of dollars, but they raise several legalisms that would prevent them from accepting her proposal without Congressional authorization.

First, Mrs. Pickens’ plan to care for these animals at $500 per horse, per year is similar to the long-term holding contracts that the BLM currently has with private landowners in the Midwest, where about 22,000 unadopted or unsold animals are cared for at an annual cost of about $475 per horse. The animals graze on private pastures in Oklahoma, Kansas and South Dakota, where forage and water are abundant. In contrast to these annual contracts, Mrs. Pickens has asked the BLM to commit to lifetime payments. Because Congress appropriates the agency’s funding on an annual basis, the BLM is not authorized to make such an unlimited commitment.

Second, Mrs. Pickens’ plan proposes to take the animals from private pastures and facilities and instead graze them on private and public lands on a large ranch in Nevada. However, current Federal law prohibits the BLM from using allotments associated with that ranch for grazing wild horses. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act restricts animals to the areas where they were found roaming when the Act was passed in 1971. Unfortunately, none of the BLM grazing allotments that Mrs. Pickens proposes for her sanctuary were areas where wild horses roamed in 1971, which means Congress would have to amend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to address this aspect of Mrs. Pickens' proposal.

As an alternative, the BLM has offered to advertise for a long term holding contract on private land and welcomes a bid from Mrs. Pickens’ foundation. Open bidding on such a contract would ensure that taxpayers get the maximum benefit from their investment.

Help Save the Mustangs!

Sounding determined and confident, Pickens explains how her dream can become a reality. “The American public must be made aware of the plight of the wild mustang. Our campaign is a grassroots effort to raise awareness and generate support of current legislative acts that will protect this noble species.”

► Pickens suggests contacting Acting Director of BLM, Mike Pool, at mike_pool@blm.gov or (202)208-3801, and emailing Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar via her website at MadeleinePickens.com. There are several templates for letters and emails requesting the end of the slaughter and confinement of America’s wild horses and burros. “The more support we can show for my plan, the better success I will have in implementing it,” states Pickens.

► Also, contact your federal legislators and urge them to vote in favor of H.R. 1018 and H.R. 503. To find out who represents you, visit the United States House of Representatives and U.S. Senate websites.

Photos courtesy of Madeleine Pickens and Roni Raczkowski

Hundreds of Mustangs Rescued from Nebraska Ranch Ready for New Homes

bullwhips — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:34:54 GMT

Rescue Agencies and Volunteers Continue to Care for the `Nebraska 200'

UPDATE 1 May 2009

Alliance, NE – More than two hundred neglected horses and burros found at a Morrill County ranch are now available for adoption through Habitat for Horses, a Texas-based equine protection organization.

On April 22nd, more than two hundred horses and burros were seized from Three Strikes Ranch, a private mustang facility just outside Alliance, Nebraska. An additional 74 animals were confirmed dead. Necropsy results on a number of these animals revealed significant fat and muscle atrophy, which is consistent with starvation.

Jason Maduna, the ranch's owner, was arrested on one count of felony animal cruelty, but additional charges are expected. The animals are now recuperating at their temporary home at the Bridgeport Rodeo Grounds. The Humane Society of the United States, Habitat for Horses and Front Range Equine Rescue have been working alongside the Bureau of Land Management and area veterinarians to feed, treat, and assess the 220 animals, including a number of foals born since the seizure. According to Jerry Finch of Habitat for Horses, "the outpouring of support from the local community is humbling. From home-cooked meals for the volunteers, to hay provided by the local Farm Bureaus, we could not ask for more
or better support."

Of the 220 animals at the Fairgrounds, 22 have been identified by their owners and will be returned to them. The remaining animals are available for placement with qualified individuals or groups. Those interested, should contact Hillary Wood of Front Range Equine Rescue at 719-481-1490. The horses have all received a negative Coggins and have been dewormed, vaccinated and microchipped. Finch strongly cautions that they are looking for those with experience in handling and training wild mustangs. According to Finch, "these are not back yard ponies."

A dedicated website has been setup which includes photographs and descriptions of the available animals, as well as forms and contact numbers. For more information, please visit:http://nebraska200.horsereunions.com/

Donations are still needed to help cover the cost of medical care. Credit card donations can be made online at Habitat for Horses. Donations can also be mailed to:

Habitat for Horses
P.O. Box 213
Hitchcock, TX 77563

Please notate on your check and/or credit card donations that it is for "Nebraska 200". Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

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UPDATE 22 April 2009

Ranch Owner Signs Over Horses to Rescue Agencies

Alliance, NE More than one hundred emaciated horses found at Morrill County 3-Strikes Ranch were legally surrendered Tuesday to horse rescue groups Habitat for Horses and Lifesavers Foundation. The agreement to sign over the animals was coordinated by the Morrill County Sheriffs office, which earlier in the week arrested the owner, Jason Meduna, on one count of animal cruelty.

Jerry Finch of Texas-based Habitat for Horses found that Medunas ranch had pastures devoid of grass with little or no edible grazing. On Sunday, Finch accompanied a sheriffs deputy in a flyover of the property. It was then that the bodies of more than 60 dead horses were discovered. Nearly all of the animals on the ranch were malnourished, their back, ribs and hip bones were very pronounced. Two animals were so compromised, it was determined that humane euthanasia was necessary. Lab reports on the cause of death will be returned by Friday of this week.

Finch applauded Medunas decision to surrender custody of the animals, stating we can now give these horses the medical treatment they need to get them on their feet again. The horses have been moved to the Bridgeport Rodeo Grounds where veterinarians and volunteers will examine and treat each horse as needed. Finch estimates that more than 30 stallions were comingled in herds, indicating that many of the mares may be pregnant. According to
Jill Starr of Lifesavers Foundation, the ultimate goal is to place these
animals in homes and facilities capable of addressing their needs and where they will have the opportunity to thrive.
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Ranch Owner in Jail and Need for Aid is Urgent

19 April 2009

Alliance, Nebraska -– At least 60 horses are dead and more than 100 others are seriously emaciated at a mustang facility in Morrill County, Nebraska. Habitat for Horses, an equine rescue organization, received reports last week of problems at the 3-Strikes Ranch. Jerry Finch of the equine rescue organization Habitat for Horses returned from flying over the property early Sunday, and reports that “The situation is even worse than we suspected.” They spotted another 20 animals on the range, several barely able to stand. Another 50-100 emaciated horses are in holding pens with only a small amount of muddy and trampled alfalfa. They are suffering from a variety of ailments including severe worm infestation and terribly neglected hooves. Two young foals, approximately four months old, were found dead. Necropsies have been performed on both; a full report, including toxicology results is due back Friday.

3-Strikes Ranch, according to its web site, is a "Mustang outpost, a Non-Profit habitat to hundreds of mustangs from all over the United States, a natural environment for wild horses to run on the open prairies of the Sand Hills." Mustangs captured by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that were not adopted after three attempts -- three strikers -- were sent to Jason Meduna at 3-Strikes Ranch. Meduna also accepted horses from people unable to care for their mustangs, and those in need of special training. A number of private owners who had placed horses with Meduna have already retrieved their animals. The BLM was at the facility last week and removed one of the three horses for which they currently hold title. The others were reported to be dead.

According to ranch owner Meduna more than 300 animals were living at the ranch in January. He has attributed the deaths to toxic poisoning, but to date no proof of this has been provided. Meduna is currently in jail on an animal cruelty charge stemming from the horse
already removed by the BLM.

How You Can Help
Habitat for Horses is assisting local law enforcement, the Bureau of Land Management, and a number of volunteers in caring for these animals.

Hay and feed-based wormer are urgently needed. Local families are urged to contact Finch if they are able to provide tactical support for this operation. CONTACT: Jerry Finch 409-682-6621

Donations for hay, medical care and transport are being collected by Front Range Equine Rescue in Colorado. Use the PayPal button on their website at: http://www.frontrangeequinerescue.org/howyoucanhelp.html

If you do not have access to Paypal you can mail donations to:
Front Range Equine Rescue
P.O. Box 307
Larkspur, CO 80118

Please notate on your check and/or Paypal donations that it is for "3-Strikes Mustangs". Any and all help with hay is greatly appreciated.

(Habitat for Horses (HfH) is a not-for-profit equine protection agency committed to the prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of neglected, abused and homeless horses. The largest organization of its kind in North America, HfH operates a rehabilitation ranch in Hitchcock, Texas, as well as a growing network of foster homes throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Louisiana. The organization has taken a leadership role in horse protection issues and has been instrumental in developing and promoting legislation to eliminate the slaughter of American horses. To learn more, visit Habitat for Horses

Lifesavers specializes in the rescue of American Mustangs. Since 1997, Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, a program of nonprofit organization, Lifesavers, Inc., has provided refuge, training and adoption placement for hundreds of horses in need. To learn more, visit www.wildhorserescue.org

Photo by Best Friends photography staff
Press Release posted by Tamara Fleck, with permission from Jerry Finch/HfH

Slaughterhouse Ruse

cmoon — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:07:23 GMT

Disputing the claim that horse slaughter reduces abuse, neglect and abandonment.

By Ted Brewer

Currently and for the foreseeable future, slaughtering horses for human consumption cannot occur legally in the United States. Bills pending in both houses of the U.S. Congress would turn that illegality into an outright ban, and would help ensure that horse slaughter plants never again open on American soil. It would also outlaw the transportation of American horses to slaughtering facilities in Canada and Mexico.

Nonetheless, legislators in several states are looking for ways to make the barbaric practice legal again within the U.S. They’re invoking animal welfare to make their case, doing so in support of an industry that is anything but humane, an industry which entails slaughtering them while they are still conscious.

"While I don't know anybody who would feel really great about putting down or slaughtering horses, it is not humane to starve them," Idaho State Sen. Les Bock told the /i]Idaho Statesman [/i].

Bock is not alone in his efforts to press Congress to remove all prohibitions against horse slaughter. Montana State Sen. Ed Butcher successfully introduced a current law to establish a slaughter house, and both North and South Dakota have pending bills to re-open these killing facilities.

The “humane” fallacy
The pro-slaughter advocates’ “humane” argument boils down to this: it’s more humane for those who can no longer care for their horses to send them to slaughter than to abandon or leave them to starve. They also contend that in these harsh economic times, many owners can’t afford to euthanize and properly dispose of the carcasses, making the slaughter option more pertinent, since owners can generally make a few hundred dollars selling their horses for meat.

“The economic climate has some effect on abandonment,” says Jen Reid, manager of Horse Haven, the horse department at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. “But to say that the climate necessitates abandonment or neglect, I don’t buy that. We were arguing this issue of abandonment five years ago, when the economy was much better.”

Horse slaughter for human consumption has been illegal in the United States since 2007, when Congress cut the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s funding to conduct horse ante-mortem inspections. Slaughter plants would therefore remain illegal no matter how many bills or resolutions are passed in state legislatures, begging the question: what’s the point of all this pro-slaughter legislation, especially when Congress appears poised to pass a bill banning slaughter plants outright?

Laura Allen, executive director of the Animal Law Coalition, believes that the legislators are trying to drum up popular support at the behest of the slaughter industry in hopes of creating a market for horse meat in the U.S. Allen has researched the industry—a mainly foreign one—thoroughly, and describes it as “as sleazy and criminal as you can get.”

Pointing to the statistics, Allen contends that the pro-slaughter argument is a “fallacy.”

She refers to a nation-wide study conducted in conjunction with the Animal Law Coalition, showing that after the last horse slaughter plant in the U.S. closed, there was actually a reduction of cases involving horse neglect and abuse.

Responding to numerous newspaper and magazine articles claiming an upsurge in horse abandonment in state parks across the country during 2007 and 2008 (that is, after the last slaughter houses in the U.S. closed), a group of independent horse advocates queried state park and local law enforcement agencies to see whether they had any confirmed reports of abandoned horses. Thirty-one of the 48 states that replied to the query had no such reports. Only three—Arizona, South Dakota, and Florida—did.

Overall, the group found nearly every instance of horse abandonment cited in these articles to be unfounded, and that no such surge in abandonment nationwide had occurred after the last slaughter houses closed down in the U.S. (To see the condensed results of this study, called “Deleting the Fiction: False Claims of Abandoned Horses,” click here.)

One more statistic which undermines the charge that we need slaughter houses to take care of the supposed high rate of unwanted horses comes from the USDA, which says 92 percent of all horses slaughtered are healthy, and not old, sick, injured, or neglected, as the pro-slaughter advocates would have us believe.

Allen says that the true motive behind horse slaughter is, unsurprisingly, profit, and certainly not concern for the welfare of horses.

“Abandonment has nothing to do with the lack of horse slaughter,” Allen says. “It’s economics that drive horse slaughter, not so-called abandoned horses.”

Tamara Fleck, horse specialist on Best Friends’ No More Homeless Pets animal help desk, agrees.

“The high rate of abandonment is a myth that’s being perpetuated by pro-slaughter people to make it seem that we need slaughter houses to clean up these massive numbers of abandoned horses that supposedly exist, but in reality don’t,” she says.

Slaughter Houses May Increase Horse Population
As Reid points out, one element conspicuously absent from the pro-slaughter “humane” argument is the over-breeding of horses. “There is the horse overpopulation issue, so why not address that issue?” she asks.

As it turns out, overpopulation may actually have a correlation to the slaughter industry. “We believe the availability of slaughter encourages the production of excess horses,” says Keith Dane, director of equine protection at the Humane Society of the United States. “If breeders could not profitably dump horses at slaughter, then there would be no incentive to breed excess horses in the first place.”

Fleck says that while she’s seen a recent increase in calls from people who are having trouble affording care for their horses, she’s also noted that the reason they’re calling Best Friends is because they would never consider sending their horses to slaughter.

How You Can Help
• If you live in a state where pro-slaughter legislation is still pending, contact your legislators and your governor and make your opposition to horse slaughter heard.

• Ask your congressman to vote for the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009, H.B. 503.

• Ask your senators to vote for the senate’s version of the same bill, the Landrieu-Ensign Prevention of Cruelty Act, S 727.

• Find your U.S. Representative.

**Best Friends Animal Society has not taken a position of support of opposition to this piece of legislation. For more information on how animal legislation is reported on the Best Friends Network, click here.

Photos by Molly Wald, Best Friends Staff
Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Staff