Friday, April 11, 2014

"The Last Wild Horse In America Died Today - Feature Friday"


Howdy Folks,
We looked up and they were no more … Just as this year the Black Rhino in Africa was poached to wild extinction, our own Federal Government will, with reckless abandon and determination, do the same for America's wild horses.

Proud horses, families and bands yanked apart and driven mercilessly by helicopter and other violent means, to greatly overcrowded corrals where they stand, broken hearted and bewildered, awaiting their uncertain future ... Often that future is years in those filthy, overcrowded corrals while their health and spirits deteriorate. Their future dims. 
Accustomed to wide open spaces to run and live free, suddenly they have a mere few square feet in those concentration camps, with little or no protection from driving snow, or blistering heat, and too often a gross shortage of water to drink. Out of reach are their familiar sheltering valleys and watering holes. Hooves that are used to traveling tens of miles a day grow long with neglect … confused foals try to understand. Confined band leaders search for their families. Fights occur regularly because separation is not possible. Crowded as they are, sickness is a constant.

Once the wild horse was one of our proudest and most magnificent symbols of the great American Spirit. Even the United States Congress declared it to be true in 1971 when they recognized them as, "Living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, which continue to contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people." Today that same Congress considers them, "Feral nuisances" that need to be gathered and removed, often sent to slaughter.

Shallow, transparent excuses like, "overgrazing, and land management," are the most sited excuses for this race to annihilation. In many cases cattle and sheep roaming those BLM managed grasslands outnumber the horses 100 to 1 ... Causes one to wonder who's actually doing the over grazing.
Many wonderful and concerned folks have been working hard and politely to defend and protect our wild horses. I've written about some of those fine people. Thousands more have contributed donations to help those folks defend the noble wild horses. In response those government employees and departments, "charged with managing millions upon millions of acres grazing rights and other management practices," continues to run hell-bent toward the extinction of our wild horses, in a most disgusting, brutal and underhanded way.
BLM helicopter running terrified horses through barbed wire fence
On any given day there are over 30,000 wild horses in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) long term holding pens, and another 11,000 in temporary holding pens. These 40,000 wild horses, burros and Mustangs outnumber those running free today; the BLM estimates the number of still wild horses at about 20,000. A number so low it virtually guarantees extinction. Many of the herds now clinging to freedom are too small to continue viable genetic bases. The BLM does not own the wild horses, they are charged with managing the grasslands. The American people own the wild horses.
From Laura Leigh founder Wild Horse Education - "Very little of what happens to our wild horses and burros on public land actually has to do with wild horses and burros. Livestock interests and extractive industry drive our public land policy. In the 12% of public land occupied by our last American herds it is no different. If we are not careful the industrialization of public land will not only change the physical landscape, but will extinguish our American spirit in the form of the wild horse." 

I weep in fretful fear of the day headlines scream, "The Last Wild Horse In America Died Today."

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry 

Photos courtesy of Laura Leigh and Wild Horse Education -

9 comments:

  1. This saddens me and at the same time makes me extremely angry! WHY do we allow our Congress to abuse their authority? To disregard laws that they created? WHEN will the AMerican Public STAND UP TO THIS BULLYING??

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  2. Thank you Dutch! This is especially pertinent today as Laura Leigh enters the legal battle against Nevada Association of Counties, NACO is calling for the extermination and sale to slaughter of the American Wild Horse. Please encourage your readers to send her financial support as she and her Lawyer enter this legal arena against NACO.

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  3. I pray to God that we NEVER hear those words. When I get home from my ride, our wild horses will be my focus. It rips me up when they're doing to them. Every horse advocate in the country will have to relinquish their leadership status of their respective organizations (and suppress their egos) and band together for this fight, though; stopping this rogue government agency will be the fight of their lives, and the fcentury. Our government needs to realize that most of America would much rather have wild horses running free than dangerous franking, filthy oil pipelines, or cattle that are raised to be shipped overseas. In order to save our beloved wild horses, we've simply got to work together. Imagine the power of ALL of our voices and pens!

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  4. Thanks for this article, Dutch. I am writing a paper on this very subject from an ecofeminism viewpoint, so it is quite timely!

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  5. Anita, you should talk with Laura Leigh.

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  6. ... thanks to you dutch - of course i had just written a comment & smehow lost it - grr. it does take interest & reading to come to the truth of this govt genocide. conducted in plain sight - under the noonday sun, tho most all americans do not see it - or are even aware of it. as those who have come before me - before us - we need to sound the alarm - alert the american people of this travesty. it is first off - illegal (violating the free roaming act) the B U R N S amendment in itself is illegal - the d i's b l m is acting illegally. this is all we really need to know & use against the beast (govt rogues & corporate crooks & creeps). as it took me some time to read & assimilate from believable writers, it shall be likewise for those yet to understand this emergency. it is essentially a killing machine - Xing out the wilds - displacing abducting & killing in one way or another - so obvious yet so few americans have the time take the time or even have been alerted ! thanks dutch, poignant choice of words to convey. otis

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    1. Thanks Otis ... Yes this is a most horrible thing, and no matter how hard we try, it seems we are helpless to help ... But we will keep trying ...

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  7. Sandta Gordon ShafferJuly 14, 2017 at 5:24 PM

    Omg, how sad! I wish I was in a position to help. I have written and called a lot of people in government but with no response. I hate this!!

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    1. It is sad, Sandta.. All we can do is keep spreading the word, and calling elected officials - over and over ...

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