herd dynamics

some of the studs from the sheldon-hart refuge gatherin'

there are those who say "the wild horses are ruinin' the grasslands, usin' up water, causin' erosion".  (never mind that ranchers are leased this land as well and have their cattle herds there to graze...).   the government solution?  gather 'em up, of course!  pay no mind to what's right or wrong.  let's rip families apart.  let's gather 'em at the peak of  foalin' season, and see how many survive...

see that lil paint fella, mostly white?  huge gash on his neck...

the "lead mare", a gorgeous palomino.  one snort from her & the whole herd would turn..

in the wild, there's what's called a "bachelor band".
these are the "boys" who are forced from their herd, they band together, safety in numbers.  there's a low man on the totem pole and typically an elder.  they (the powers that be, USF&W in this case, tossed 'em in together with studs who had their own herds, bachelors, youngsters over 6 months of age.  a cruel thing to do...  much fightin' commences, especially fer those who've lost their herds ~ some of which are only a stone's throw away....

mares & their offspring.  again from different herds, some foals as young as 3 weeks (the gatherin' was 2 weeks prior to these pic's), some heavy with foal, some who've lost theirs...

 the mares are most apprehensive and doin' their best to protect their young.  ripped from their homelands, some foals trampled or "lost", thrown together with "strangers",  loaded onto trailers and driven all night from nevada to los lunas, new mexico.  can ya imagine the fear they must've felt?

a most beautiful loud overo mare (shame the pic's i took of her a month later didn't turn out,  her color returned!)
the youngster by her side?  not hers, an "orphan" from the round up at 2wks, he resides on my place now.

the buttermilk buckskin studs (2 of 'em in fact) were testy fella's at best, approximately 6yrs of age.   their destiny?  was told that a general in mexico had adopted 'em.... fer breedin' purposes.  no way to tell fer sure where any of the 303 horses wound up (ok, except fer the 5 that somehow fell my way) as there's no freeze brandin' done by the USF&W department.

this gorgeous fella?  contankerous fer certain,  at the age of 12 i imagine his herd was taken from him & all the other studs in which he was forced to "live" with were jest seen as competition to get 'em back.   he was put down after a week, so the story goes....was causin' too many troubles :(

aint he a looker?  sure caught my fancy!

one thing that's been proven over & over is that "thinnin' out the herds" is not an effective population control.   the BLM along with USF&W have their own ideas.  many of 'em cruel, most unknown.  folks aint allowed to be in the vicinity of these round-ups, especially with a camera in tow.  why the secrets?  it's already known that they run 'em over rough terrain fer many miles (up to 30 in a day) in the heat with helicopters.  they dump water on 'em from overhead to keep 'em from overheatin' too much.     they've no understandin' that those who are left behind will go forward and breed another generation.  why?  extra forage and water.  part of the survival instinct.  these great Mustangs have been at it fer generations.  when dna testin' is done on 'em, one finds many breeds involved.  the beloved Quarter Horse has it's roots in their blood lines.  yet they are looked upon as "trash" amongst the lands by many.

jealousy, perhaps?  after all, nature takes care of itself.  these horses have better bones, feet, athleticism than most of yer "papered" horses.  they could not survive otherwise....

once gathered, they are trailered off, never to see their kin again.  taken to strange lands, strange water and feed.  youngesters (4-6months- 1yr) are tossed in together.  no "adult"supervision.  they become quite the unruly bunch... the mares are saddened by their loss.  they are then hauled to different "events" in hopes they can be adopted out.

i've been to several of this adoptions, local & afar.  seems we have the misfortune here of havin' the most unskilled "horsemen" tendin' this American treasures.  the horses brought here are always underweight, wormy & in severe need of hoof care. the wranglers are impatient and cruel in their handlin' & feedin' of
'em as well.  it breaks my heart further as my concerns fall upon deaf ears...

the "best" adoption i've been to was in Wichita Falls, TX a few years back.  the horses were in great shape, relaxed.  some were so gentle, they'd come up to folks to get a good scratchin' or rub on the neck. great care was taken in feedin' 'em and also in gettin' 'em separated and loaded into the new adoptive "parents" trailers.  i left there relieved (as did the hubs coz i resisted the urge to adopt yet another, lol) in the knowin' that at least once bunch was treated with a lil respect.