Seven Tears Into the Sea
Phantom Stallion Series
Bio
Weblog
Q&A
Schedule
Media
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Grass Roots Horses !
visit
GrassrootsHorse.com
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:40 PM 1 comments
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Death in the Desert
Photo by Craig Downer
" What you are seeing are the remains of a wild horse, discovered by Craig Downer, Terri Farley, and Don Molde on a recent excursion into the Calico Mountains looking for the living remnants of the herds..."
To read a report by biologist Craig Downer and human observer Elyse Garder, click here:
Humane Observer Blog
This wide-ranging blog includes feelings and facts, comparing the past and present plight of the Calico Range horses, their capture, captivity and Craig's coverage of our first trip back to the Calico range following BLM's disastrous round-up.
Best,
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 3:36 AM 2 comments
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Phantom foals
photo used by permission of Cat Kindsfather
Three things to think about:
1) Newborn horses like the dun foal above -- trying to rise and nurse despite a broken leg suffered in a corral crowded with adult horses -- do not exist in the world of BLM until they are branded.
2) Only one vet is under contract to care for the thousands of mustangs in BOTH the Fallon and Palomino Valley facilities.
3) Despite promises to welcome the public at wild horse gathers and holding pens, program manager Don Glenn allows NO humane observers at the wild horse facilities except "by appointment"
If you object, please sign this petition to President Obama, asking for
an immediate moratorium on wild horse roundups
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 2:00 AM 7 comments
Friday, April 02, 2010
Pigeon Fever Plagues Calico Horses
photo by Cat Kindsfather
Dear Readers,
The misery visited on the wild horses of the Calico mountains goes on.
Pigeon Fever was diagnosed by visitors to the feedlot style holding pens in Fallon, a place called Indian Lakes. Sounds nice, doesn't it?
Sadly, the photo I showed you a few days ago -- -shown again above -- could be a horse suffering from this condition.
Treatment for Pigeon Fever includes warm compresses, ISOLATION and hygenic conditions. Wild horses at Indian Lakes are getting none of this treatment.
Why?
"The incidence of Pigeon Fever at the Indian Lake Facility is at the same percentages that exist on the Calico Complex," BLM's contract vet, Dr. Sanford says, so "no treatments have been administered to date."
Even if this condition crops up on the range, too, horses running free do NOT stand around with two thousand other mustangs in crowded conditions where they can't avoid contact with each others' streaming pus.
Gross? Yes, and maybe that's why BLM is not only closing Indian Lakes to visitors on Easter Sunday, but director Don Glenn has refused to schedule a make-up day.
Secrecy leads to suspicion, and since day 1 of the Calico round up, it's been justified.
If BLM won't take even basic precautions -- like putting infected horses in hospital pens -- could it be because they want an excuse NOT to free them back to their home range? Or is it just too much trouble?
Best,
Terri
More info on Pigeon Fever from Colorado State veterinarians:
Clinical signs: Early signs can include lameness, fever, lethargy, depression and weight loss.
Infections can range from mild, small, localized abscesses to a severe disease with multiple massive abscesses containing liters of liquid, tan-colored pus.
External, deep abscesses, swelling and multiple sores develop along the chest, midline and groin area, and, occasionally, on the back.
Incubation period: Horses may become infected but not develop abscesses for weeks.
Animals affected:The disease usually manifests in younger horses, but can occur in any age, sex, and breed.
A different biotype of the organism is responsible for a chronic contagious disease of sheet and goats, Caseous lymphadenitis, or CL. Either biotype can occur in cattle.
Disease forms: Generally 3 types: external abscesses, internal abscesses or limb infection (ulcerative lymphangitis).
The ulcerative lymphangitis is the most common form worldwide and rarely involves more than one leg at a time. Usually, multiple small, draining sores develop above the fetlock.
The most common form of the disease in the United States is external abscessation, which often form deep in the muscles and can be very large. Usually they appear in the pectoral region, the ventral abdomen and the groin area. After spontaneous rupture, or lancing, the wound will exude liquid, light tan-colored, malodorous pus.
Internal abscesses can occur and are very difficult to treat
.
Treatment: Hot packs or poultices should be applied to abscesses to encourage opening. Open abscesses should be drained and regularly flushed with saline.
Surgical or deep lancing may be required, depending on the depth of the abscess or the thickness of the capsule, and should be done by your veterinarian.
Ultrasound can aid in locating deep abscesses so that drainage can be accomplished.
External abscesses can be cleaned with a 0.1 percent povidone-iodine solution
Antiseptic soaked gauze may be packed into the open wound
A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as phenylbutazone can be used to control swelling and pain
Care required: Buckets or other containers should be used to collect pus from draining abscesses and this infectious material should be disposed of properly.
Consistent and careful disposal of infected bedding, hay, straw or other material used in the stall is vitally important.
Thoroughly clean and disinfect stalls, paddocks, all utensils and tack.
Pest control for insects is also very important.
Recovery time: Usually anywhere from two weeks to 77 days.
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 3:01 PM 5 comments
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Let 'em Run
Dear Readers,
The captive wild horse above is the reason that I've barely talked with you since biologist Craig Downer and I returned from BLM's Fallon corrals, Sunday, then searched out remnants of the wild herds of the Calico range on Monday.
Every spare hour since then, we've worked toward this:
FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST WILD HORSE ROUNDUP SEEKS RETURN OF 1800 HORSES TO NEVADA RANGE
When photographer Cat Kindsfather enlarged this photo, she realized that the seepage from this mustang's awful wound had pulsed all the way down to his hoof.
This callous cruelty cannot be allowed to continue.
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 10:26 AM 3 comments
Friday, March 26, 2010
Fallon Foal Death
Mare stands guard over new foal, photo by Tara Kain
There's a new set of hooves in Heaven.
BLM's death tally for the week doesn't show what happened.
However, visitors are allowed to tour the tax payer funded Indian Lakes wild horse facility. It's land-locked inside a private ranch in Fallon, Nevada, but opened once each week by reservation only for two hours.
Three observers from the CalNeva Cloud Foundation and photographer Cat, visited Sunday, March 21 and took photos, video and notes.
Saturday, March 20
a pale dun foal is born to a buckskin mare
Sunday, March 21
11:00 Members of the public arrive to tour the Fallon facility. Director John Neill is their guide and he waits for a late arrival
11:37 tour begins
11:45 visitors observe buckskin mare and newborn foal in a pen with other adult horses. Foal looks like "he had melted into the contours of the ground" according to one observer and Mr. Neill said the foal was a weak newborn from the night before.
12:30? Sometime during the tour, members of the public notice a nursery pen with just six mare and foal pairs inside and wonder why the buckskin and her foal aren't with them*
(RIGHT: As adult horses move, mare makes a protective barricade of her body, photo by Tara Kain)
1:45 Tour ends, passing by the buckskin mare and her foal. Mr. Neill agreed with visitors that foal might be sick and indicated he would check on it. If necessary, a vet would be called. He added that volunteers from WHOA might be asked to bottle feed the foal if it couldn't rise to nurse.
2:00 as observers depart, foal is still down.
Monday, March 22
no deaths are listed on the BLM's facility update, so CalNeva Cloud observers hope for the best
Tuesday, March 23
9:55 am
Still no deaths listed for the weekend**, but one observer calls and talks to John Neill who says "the colt was euthanized." She understands Neill to say the vet had determined the colt had a broken femur and must have been kicked.
The caller commented, "Oh, that's why he never got up."
Neill replied, "No, he was up that morning nursing." Sometime after that, he speculated, the colt must've been kicked."
Neill said the foal was destroyed via chemical injection.
(with freedom tantalizingly close, mare urges foal to rise and nurse, photo by Tara Kain)
Friday, March 26
I reached John Neill at Palomino Valley wild horse corrals and he answered my questions about the Medicine Hat stallion I've told you about before and this foal.
He clarified two points from the timeline above:
* "Once we know the colt's strong, we put them in the nursery pen" along with their mothers
** Live births are not entered into BLM's system until horses have been freeze-branded, which takes place after four or more months.
Since foals delivered "in facility" are not listed as born, they are not listed as dead. So, they are not posted on BLM's online Calico Round-up updates.
John Neill described the last hour of the little dun's life.
"He was down during the tour. Afterward I went out to check on him and he was packing a right hind leg and he had to be put down."
"When did the vet come?" I asked.
"He didn't."
"Was it a compound fracture so that you could see it was broken?"
John answered, "I could just tell, so I took care of it."
After our call ended, my English teacher brain flashed to "I am cruel only to be kind." Hamlet, I remembered, and knew that if I were watching over a newborn foal with a fatally fractured femur, I would not want it to suffer.
But "Hamlet" ends with a stage strewn with corpses.
I tried to get confirmation that such a leg injury is easily diagnosed, but the two vets I consulted disagreed on both diagnosis and prognosis.
John Neill told me "We have births daily and if something happens like this or there's a bad mother, we can't track them all accurately."
Is it fair to the public that our mustang foals are born and die without notice?
This is not Neill's decision; it is BLM policy. As with so many other BLM policies, the numbering of lives and deaths are rough estimates.
That's wrong.
There are no disposable mustangs. Taxpayers have no disposable income, especially for a system they hate.
There must be a moratorium on the capture of our wild horses, before a ruined system erases an entire species.
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 1:17 PM 4 comments
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Medicine Hat is Missing
Dear Readers,
Three wild horse advocates searched for this captive horse today.
photo by Mark Terrell
They couldn't find him. If BLM can't supply photo verification that he's still there, we need to know what's happened to him.
Those of you who read my books know that I'm partial to sorrel horses like Hoku and sassy little bays like Ace, but this horse, because of his flashy coloring SHOULD be easy to follow through BLM processing.
I will ask BLM if I can go out and search the corrals this week.
You can see more photos of your mustangs in the feedlot in Fallon here
I'll let you know what happens next.
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:18 PM 4 comments
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Visiting Day at the Feedlot
Dear Readers,
Two hours each week, the public is allowed to see their captive wild horses at the feedlot style corrals in Fallon, Nevada. So I went today.
What I hated most was a group of young ones trying to do the truly joyous "let's run!" thing and have four of them end in a pileup because there were so many in such a confined area. Lots of fresh freeze brands on the mares. Even the ones in hospital pens.
I will transcribe my notes soon, but I have to say the most surprising thing I heard
was that the gather/facility death toll was LOWER than than it usually is because the Calico horses are less "crashy" (further defined as prone to spooking) than horses from other herd areas.
The official death toll posted by BLM was up to 57 on Friday and one member of our group was told four more died Saturday.
Oh, and the word "processing" (for vaccinations, freeze branding, age determination, etc) has been struck from BLM vocabulary and the official word is "preparing."
I'm sure that makes it feel better.
T.
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:50 PM 4 comments
Thursday, February 25, 2010
BARREN
Rachel Yoder - Artist
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 8:20 AM 5 comments
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mustangs in Misery
Dear Readers,
What did you do on Saturday? Did you have breakfast in your pjs? Hang out with your friends? Sleep in a warm house?
On Saturday, I talked with Senator Harry Reid about BLM's treatment of our wild horses.
Since then, at least six more wild horses have died at BLM's modern state of the art facility.
A two-year-old filly died after sustaining a serious spinal injury
A 10-year-old mare was found dead of "foaling complications." Her full-term foal was not properly positioned in the birth canal, and they both died.
A four-year-old filly was euthanized due to "poor condition"
A 25 year old stallion was put down due to poor condition
Two 20-year-old mares were put down because they never recovered from the stress of the capture
You can read the government account of all that's happened to the wild horses since they came into contact with BLM here:
Calico Horses
I warn you, it is not pretty.
It is also a sickening use of my tax dollars.
Wind and rain are predicted for Fallon, after snowstorms and still there's no shelter for the horses, only a few plywood panels on one side of the hospital pens.
Beset by thoughts about greed,
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 6:27 PM 5 comments
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saving a Stallion
photo by Mark Terrell
Wild Horses of Nevada
Dear Readers,
I'm in love with this horse, a Medicine Hat stallion, captive at BLM's Fallon corrals.
Although I have very mixed feelings about naming wild horses, in my imagination he has a name. And a story. During the last two days I've been writing it. I can't seem to stop.
I hope to keep track of him and see that he's set free in the spring.
Do you know any stories about Medicine Hat horses? Please respond to this blog post if you do, and we can share what you know with other readers.
Best to you,
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 10:25 AM 8 comments
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Why is BLM so fussy?
photo by Deniz Bolbol shows how close choppers get to wild horses
The BLM announced a strict new visitation policy to the Fallon wild horse facility.
Ten people each week, on Sunday for two hours will be allowed to view the horses. This INCLUDES humane observers.
read more at In Defense of Animals'blog
Their excuse? BLM staff has lots of work to do, branding, vaccinating, etc.
This excuse concerns me because I've watched these tasks go on at the Palomino Valley holding pens and not only didn't I interfere, but no one huffed around saying, "I can't work when you're looking at me, Terri."
In fact, no one seemed to notice I was even there.
So why is BLM being so fussy now?
photo by Mark Terrell (watch for more!)
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:50 AM 9 comments
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Range runners in captivity
Dear Readers,
I just returned from the Fallon facility and learned that a mass gelding of mustangs begins on Monday. I haven't transcribed my notes yet but when I asked why the "tours" will end (they will resume on selected Sundays), Susie Stokke, the BLM staffer leading us around said "we have work to do" and verified that they would be gelding about 900 stallions and colts old enough to be weaned.
It's going to be an awful, bloody business and it's made worse by the cage.
I've seen these used to contain horses for vaccinations and freeze branding, but missed the fact that the metal cage can be turned and rotated so the gelding can be performed through the bars.
Stokke verified that every male horse will be gelded. It's standard procedure, she said, like neutering cats, so that there won't be "indiscriminate breeding" by adopted horses.
I'll write more later, and share photos from Mark Terrell, an amazing wild horse photographer who accompanied me, but this issue has a time element, so I've contacted In Defense of Animals and the Cloud Foundation for help. I've also heard from Holly Hazard of the Humane Society of the United States.
If there's any chance that the Calico horses will be preserved as a heritage herd -- and I saw once more the unique characteristics of these horses which made them the model for the fictional Phantom's herd. One smoky dun with dread-locked mane just stole my heart, but then so did a fuzzy bay baby and a majestic Medicine Hat stallion who carried himself like royalty in exile.
If these male horses are all castrated, there's no do-over. The gene pool for the Calico Mountain horses will have been reduced to the few horses BLM left on the range, and though they may be hardy survivors, nothing will ever be the same.
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 12:55 PM 5 comments
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Killing colts as world watches makes BLM uneasy
A rest before dying/photo by Lora Leigh
Dear Readers,
Someone at BLM has realized we're watching, and we care.
After nearly 2000 beautiful horses were captured and injured, the Calico Complex round-up was halted.
Now, the Eagle territory round-up has been postponed:
Ely, Nevada – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has determined there is not adequate time to safely conduct the proposed Eagle Herd Management Area (HMA) gather prior to the beginning of foaling season, and therefore, will defer issuing a decision on the proposed gather until later this year after the foaling season.
We're having an impact.
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:08 PM 7 comments
Saturday, January 23, 2010
BLM: giving new meaning to THE DEAD OF WINTER
After being rounded up on private land and trucked to the facility on private land, the horses still are not safe.
BLM confirms deaths of wild horses in their "care"
At least six horses have died in captivity, most recently a foal run so hard, his back hooves sloughed apart and began detaching from his legs.
We have requested an autopsy by an impartial veterinarian.
To my knowledge BLM has not responded.
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:44 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Captured Calico Wild Horses Denied Shelter from Storms
Captured Calico Wild Horses Denied Windbreaks
BLM’s double-standards leave nearly 1000 captured mustangs in the cold
Fallon, NV (January 19, 2010)— 956 wild American mustangs rounded up off public land by helicopters in the past two weeks now stand in a feedlot-style Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contracted holding facility outside of Fallon, Nevada on private land. The new Fallon facility is not equipped with shelter, windbreaks or protection of any kind for the horses. High winds, rain and snow are expected to continue through the end of the week. In Calico, herds can move to sheltered canyons for protection from the harsh winter weather. Yet, in Fallon, they are deprived of adequate protection despite recommendations from wild horse advocates. This is in direct opposition to BLM’s own standards.
“I’m confused by the double standard. Before members of the public are allowed to adopt a wild horse from BLM we must prove we have adequate shelter. Why doesn’t BLM have to meet the same standards?” asks Ann Evans, adopter of three mustangs.
Yesterday, members of the public reported an inhumane lack of windbreaks. No apparent effort has been made to tie canvas tarps on fences to block the howling wind and the anticipated driving snow. On Friday January 15, advocates asked local Nevada BLM staff, Directors and top-level Department of Interior (DOI) under-secretaries to intervene on behalf of the horses by creating wind blocks.
"Those that care about the welfare of the wild horses or burros are asking for minimal protection for these vulnerable animals. Wild horse families are being ripped out of their natural environment where they can take care of themselves, separated from their family members and incarcerated on a windswept plain outside Fallon where they have no ability to protect themselves from the elements. BLM then tells the public their actions are for the good of the animals,” states Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation (named for the famous wild horse Kathrens has documented for the PBS/Nature series)
The DOI and BLM responded that at the just constructed Fallon facility “weather is not that extreme to require wind breaks for healthy horses. . . they do not require protection from the elements to maintain good health. . . .there is nothing to be concerned about from an animal well-being standpoint.” Thus, no actions to protect the captured horses have taken place, not even for foals or sick horses. Advocates contend that the horses are more prone to strangles (equine distemper) due to the lack of adequate protection.
“When these horses were rounded up, some where limping and wet with sweat. They are now terribly traumatized, depressed and confused. Their immune systems are compromised, making them more vulnerable to illness, like strangles (equine distemper) and death,” explains Craig Downer, wildlife ecologist, third generation Nevada native, and witness to the Calico roundup.
“BLM continually tells the public and the media that the wild horses are starving and must be removed from the range. Yet, the BLM provides them with no shelter in dangerous weather conditions where the horses will burn fat reserves attempting to keep warm. No reputable rescue would place any horses in a situation like Fallon,” stated Hilary Wood, President and Founder of Front Range Equine Rescue..
When asked about the lack of windbreaks the BLM indicated that the contractor who built the facility was not asked to provide any shelters or windbreaks. BLM zeroed out a portion of the Dishpan Butte wild horse herd in Wyoming solely on the basis that the wild horses did not have cover according to BLM Program Chief Don Glenn.
“We owe so much to these mustangs—it’s a dishonor that our government does not provide wind protection from the harsh elements,” said Elyse Gardner, humane observer, Calico and Pryor Mountains roundups
The Cloud Foundation and the public call on Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, to stop the Calico roundup and take immediate action against the cruelty and mismanagement of the BLM's wild horse and burro program. Canvas tarps are affordable and readily available at various outlets in the Reno/Fallon area.
###
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 7:34 PM 1 comments
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Calico Horses on the run
It was a bittersweet day on the Calico range. The sage smelled spicy-clean and the mountains soared to meet the skies, but never, all day, was there silence.
Wildlife trails have been graded into roads for huge trailer trucks and the incessant beat of helicopter blades sliced through me.
People who think horse lovers anthropomorphize these animals should have been there today. These creatures have strong family bonds.
>Stallions battle minutes after they were forced from thousands of acres into tiny corrals.
BLM staffer: They're just fighting because they're crowded.
No, they're doing what they know; protecting a few square feet of ground and their families.
>Mares and foals are separated, able to see each other, but crying back and forth, wondering why they can't nuzzle or touch.
BLM staffer: They're a poor looking bunch.
>Hills resound as horse flesh slams metal corral bars and then, from a ridge, a black horse moves stiffly and calls to his family. They call over and over again, but the black hesitates.
BLM staffer: Don't worry, they'll get him in the next load.
Not band, not herd, or even bunch, but these wild creatures are named by the way they're transported away from home. And there's no attempt at understanding the confusion of this horse who's always know safety is with the herd, until today.
I'll tell you what, though, you all: I am more fired up than ever to fight for these horses.
This can't be allowed to go on.
Pictures soon.
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 10:47 PM 4 comments
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Wild Horse Facts & Fictions
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 2:20 PM 1 comments
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Stealth Round-Up during BLM Meeting
Huddled horses in BLM corrals were rounded-up while I was in the Monday meeting; now they have no shelter, no windbreaks
Dear Readers,
On Monday,
>BLM said the ratio of livestock to horses is: 8,000,000,000 / 30 000 but still blamed wild horses for range damage
>BLM brushed aside communications from Americans who want mustangs to run free. Saying people are ill-informed, BLM insists entrapment,capture and confinement best serve the wild horses
>BLM wild horse advisory board would not agree to read even a few of your letters
>While a snowstorm raged outside, during the hours BLM insisted the public and humane observers were always welcome to watch gathers, BLM had helicopters in the air, making a stealth round up of horses slated for capture in August 2010.
At least one mare was killed and other horses, including a number of foals, were injured.
Right this minute, those horses stand in corrals -- as shown above -- without shelter or even windbreaks.
Brynna, one of my favorite PHANTOM STALLION characters, was a BLM staffer, and I've dedicated books to real BLM staffers, but the Bureau is running amok and using my money to do it. Even if their actions are technically legal, they are sneaky and shady.
So, I'm now a plaintiff in a lawsuit to stop the BLM's roundup of the Calico horses.
On Wednesday, I'll be sitting in a Washington, D.C. court room listening as BLM and Safari Club International fight for the capture and transport of wild horses to "preserves" where they]ll live in "non-reproducing herds." That means there will be no foals.
Soon enough, they'll be "preserving" nothing; they will be empty.
Yes, life is tough for America's wild horses, but you're standing up for them and I'm standing up for them and you.
More later,
Terri
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 7:58 PM 5 comments
Friday, December 11, 2009
Wild Horse Sorrow
BLM Investigating Possible Shooting Deaths of Wild Horses in Northern Washoe County, Nevada
Investigators from the U. S. Bureau of Land Management are looking into the suspected shooting deaths of up to six wild horses on public land along the Nevada-California border about 45 miles northeast of Susanville, Calif.
The bodies of six mustangs were discovered Saturday, December 5, by a helicopter pilot working on a wild horse round-up in the BLM’s Buckhorn Herd Management Area in Washoe County, Nev. BLM staff members who went to the scene said five carcasses were found in one area, and another was found about a half-mile away.
Officials said several of the animals had evidence of gunshot wounds. They estimated the animals had been dead for about two weeks.
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:07 PM 1 comments
Grass Roots Horses !
visit
GrassrootsHorse.com
Labels: BLM, Cloud Foundation, Grass roots horses, helicopter roundups, IDA, mustangs, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:40 PM 1 comments
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Death in the Desert
Photo by Craig Downer
" What you are seeing are the remains of a wild horse, discovered by Craig Downer, Terri Farley, and Don Molde on a recent excursion into the Calico Mountains looking for the living remnants of the herds..."
To read a report by biologist Craig Downer and human observer Elyse Garder, click here:
Humane Observer Blog
This wide-ranging blog includes feelings and facts, comparing the past and present plight of the Calico Range horses, their capture, captivity and Craig's coverage of our first trip back to the Calico range following BLM's disastrous round-up.
Best,
Terri
Labels: BLM, BLM round ups, Calico Complex, Craig Downer, Elyse Gardner, mustang deaths, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 3:36 AM 2 comments
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Phantom foals
photo used by permission of Cat Kindsfather
Three things to think about:
1) Newborn horses like the dun foal above -- trying to rise and nurse despite a broken leg suffered in a corral crowded with adult horses -- do not exist in the world of BLM until they are branded.
2) Only one vet is under contract to care for the thousands of mustangs in BOTH the Fallon and Palomino Valley facilities.
3) Despite promises to welcome the public at wild horse gathers and holding pens, program manager Don Glenn allows NO humane observers at the wild horse facilities except "by appointment"
If you object, please sign this petition to President Obama, asking for
an immediate moratorium on wild horse roundups
Labels: BLM, Don Glenn, Indian Lakes, mustangs, Palomino Valley, phantom foals, pigeon fever, terri farley, wild horse deaths, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 2:00 AM 7 comments
Friday, April 02, 2010
Pigeon Fever Plagues Calico Horses
photo by Cat Kindsfather
Dear Readers,
The misery visited on the wild horses of the Calico mountains goes on.
Pigeon Fever was diagnosed by visitors to the feedlot style holding pens in Fallon, a place called Indian Lakes. Sounds nice, doesn't it?
Sadly, the photo I showed you a few days ago -- -shown again above -- could be a horse suffering from this condition.
Treatment for Pigeon Fever includes warm compresses, ISOLATION and hygenic conditions. Wild horses at Indian Lakes are getting none of this treatment.
Why?
"The incidence of Pigeon Fever at the Indian Lake Facility is at the same percentages that exist on the Calico Complex," BLM's contract vet, Dr. Sanford says, so "no treatments have been administered to date."
Even if this condition crops up on the range, too, horses running free do NOT stand around with two thousand other mustangs in crowded conditions where they can't avoid contact with each others' streaming pus.
Gross? Yes, and maybe that's why BLM is not only closing Indian Lakes to visitors on Easter Sunday, but director Don Glenn has refused to schedule a make-up day.
Secrecy leads to suspicion, and since day 1 of the Calico round up, it's been justified.
If BLM won't take even basic precautions -- like putting infected horses in hospital pens -- could it be because they want an excuse NOT to free them back to their home range? Or is it just too much trouble?
Best,
Terri
More info on Pigeon Fever from Colorado State veterinarians:
Clinical signs: Early signs can include lameness, fever, lethargy, depression and weight loss.
Infections can range from mild, small, localized abscesses to a severe disease with multiple massive abscesses containing liters of liquid, tan-colored pus.
External, deep abscesses, swelling and multiple sores develop along the chest, midline and groin area, and, occasionally, on the back.
Incubation period: Horses may become infected but not develop abscesses for weeks.
Animals affected:The disease usually manifests in younger horses, but can occur in any age, sex, and breed.
A different biotype of the organism is responsible for a chronic contagious disease of sheet and goats, Caseous lymphadenitis, or CL. Either biotype can occur in cattle.
Disease forms: Generally 3 types: external abscesses, internal abscesses or limb infection (ulcerative lymphangitis).
The ulcerative lymphangitis is the most common form worldwide and rarely involves more than one leg at a time. Usually, multiple small, draining sores develop above the fetlock.
The most common form of the disease in the United States is external abscessation, which often form deep in the muscles and can be very large. Usually they appear in the pectoral region, the ventral abdomen and the groin area. After spontaneous rupture, or lancing, the wound will exude liquid, light tan-colored, malodorous pus.
Internal abscesses can occur and are very difficult to treat
.
Treatment: Hot packs or poultices should be applied to abscesses to encourage opening. Open abscesses should be drained and regularly flushed with saline.
Surgical or deep lancing may be required, depending on the depth of the abscess or the thickness of the capsule, and should be done by your veterinarian.
Ultrasound can aid in locating deep abscesses so that drainage can be accomplished.
External abscesses can be cleaned with a 0.1 percent povidone-iodine solution
Antiseptic soaked gauze may be packed into the open wound
A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as phenylbutazone can be used to control swelling and pain
Care required: Buckets or other containers should be used to collect pus from draining abscesses and this infectious material should be disposed of properly.
Consistent and careful disposal of infected bedding, hay, straw or other material used in the stall is vitally important.
Thoroughly clean and disinfect stalls, paddocks, all utensils and tack.
Pest control for insects is also very important.
Recovery time: Usually anywhere from two weeks to 77 days.
Labels: BLM, Craig Downer, Don Glenn, Fallon, Fallon facility, Indian Lakes, Pgeon Fever, terri farley
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 3:01 PM 5 comments
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Let 'em Run
Dear Readers,
The captive wild horse above is the reason that I've barely talked with you since biologist Craig Downer and I returned from BLM's Fallon corrals, Sunday, then searched out remnants of the wild herds of the Calico range on Monday.
Every spare hour since then, we've worked toward this:
FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST WILD HORSE ROUNDUP SEEKS RETURN OF 1800 HORSES TO NEVADA RANGE
When photographer Cat Kindsfather enlarged this photo, she realized that the seepage from this mustang's awful wound had pulsed all the way down to his hoof.
This callous cruelty cannot be allowed to continue.
Terri
Labels: BLM, Craig Downer, Fallon, lawsuit, mustangs, terri farley, wild horse deaths, wild horse injuries, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 10:26 AM 3 comments
Friday, March 26, 2010
Fallon Foal Death
Mare stands guard over new foal, photo by Tara Kain
There's a new set of hooves in Heaven.
BLM's death tally for the week doesn't show what happened.
However, visitors are allowed to tour the tax payer funded Indian Lakes wild horse facility. It's land-locked inside a private ranch in Fallon, Nevada, but opened once each week by reservation only for two hours.
Three observers from the CalNeva Cloud Foundation and photographer Cat, visited Sunday, March 21 and took photos, video and notes.
Saturday, March 20
a pale dun foal is born to a buckskin mare
Sunday, March 21
11:00 Members of the public arrive to tour the Fallon facility. Director John Neill is their guide and he waits for a late arrival
11:37 tour begins
11:45 visitors observe buckskin mare and newborn foal in a pen with other adult horses. Foal looks like "he had melted into the contours of the ground" according to one observer and Mr. Neill said the foal was a weak newborn from the night before.
12:30? Sometime during the tour, members of the public notice a nursery pen with just six mare and foal pairs inside and wonder why the buckskin and her foal aren't with them*
(RIGHT: As adult horses move, mare makes a protective barricade of her body, photo by Tara Kain)
1:45 Tour ends, passing by the buckskin mare and her foal. Mr. Neill agreed with visitors that foal might be sick and indicated he would check on it. If necessary, a vet would be called. He added that volunteers from WHOA might be asked to bottle feed the foal if it couldn't rise to nurse.
2:00 as observers depart, foal is still down.
Monday, March 22
no deaths are listed on the BLM's facility update, so CalNeva Cloud observers hope for the best
Tuesday, March 23
9:55 am
Still no deaths listed for the weekend**, but one observer calls and talks to John Neill who says "the colt was euthanized." She understands Neill to say the vet had determined the colt had a broken femur and must have been kicked.
The caller commented, "Oh, that's why he never got up."
Neill replied, "No, he was up that morning nursing." Sometime after that, he speculated, the colt must've been kicked."
Neill said the foal was destroyed via chemical injection.
(with freedom tantalizingly close, mare urges foal to rise and nurse, photo by Tara Kain)
Friday, March 26
I reached John Neill at Palomino Valley wild horse corrals and he answered my questions about the Medicine Hat stallion I've told you about before and this foal.
He clarified two points from the timeline above:
* "Once we know the colt's strong, we put them in the nursery pen" along with their mothers
** Live births are not entered into BLM's system until horses have been freeze-branded, which takes place after four or more months.
Since foals delivered "in facility" are not listed as born, they are not listed as dead. So, they are not posted on BLM's online Calico Round-up updates.
John Neill described the last hour of the little dun's life.
"He was down during the tour. Afterward I went out to check on him and he was packing a right hind leg and he had to be put down."
"When did the vet come?" I asked.
"He didn't."
"Was it a compound fracture so that you could see it was broken?"
John answered, "I could just tell, so I took care of it."
After our call ended, my English teacher brain flashed to "I am cruel only to be kind." Hamlet, I remembered, and knew that if I were watching over a newborn foal with a fatally fractured femur, I would not want it to suffer.
But "Hamlet" ends with a stage strewn with corpses.
I tried to get confirmation that such a leg injury is easily diagnosed, but the two vets I consulted disagreed on both diagnosis and prognosis.
John Neill told me "We have births daily and if something happens like this or there's a bad mother, we can't track them all accurately."
Is it fair to the public that our mustang foals are born and die without notice?
This is not Neill's decision; it is BLM policy. As with so many other BLM policies, the numbering of lives and deaths are rough estimates.
That's wrong.
There are no disposable mustangs. Taxpayers have no disposable income, especially for a system they hate.
There must be a moratorium on the capture of our wild horses, before a ruined system erases an entire species.
Labels: BLM, Fallon, helicopter roundups, Indian Lakes, mustang, wild horse deaths, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 1:17 PM 4 comments
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Medicine Hat is Missing
Dear Readers,
Three wild horse advocates searched for this captive horse today.
photo by Mark Terrell
They couldn't find him. If BLM can't supply photo verification that he's still there, we need to know what's happened to him.
Those of you who read my books know that I'm partial to sorrel horses like Hoku and sassy little bays like Ace, but this horse, because of his flashy coloring SHOULD be easy to follow through BLM processing.
I will ask BLM if I can go out and search the corrals this week.
You can see more photos of your mustangs in the feedlot in Fallon here
I'll let you know what happens next.
Terri
Labels: BLM, Fallon facility, Indian Lakes, Medicine Hat, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:18 PM 4 comments
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Visiting Day at the Feedlot
Dear Readers,
Two hours each week, the public is allowed to see their captive wild horses at the feedlot style corrals in Fallon, Nevada. So I went today.
What I hated most was a group of young ones trying to do the truly joyous "let's run!" thing and have four of them end in a pileup because there were so many in such a confined area. Lots of fresh freeze brands on the mares. Even the ones in hospital pens.
I will transcribe my notes soon, but I have to say the most surprising thing I heard
was that the gather/facility death toll was LOWER than than it usually is because the Calico horses are less "crashy" (further defined as prone to spooking) than horses from other herd areas.
The official death toll posted by BLM was up to 57 on Friday and one member of our group was told four more died Saturday.
Oh, and the word "processing" (for vaccinations, freeze branding, age determination, etc) has been struck from BLM vocabulary and the official word is "preparing."
I'm sure that makes it feel better.
T.
Labels: BLM, Fallon corrals, feedlot, mustang deaths, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:50 PM 4 comments
Thursday, February 25, 2010
BARREN
Rachel Yoder - Artist
Labels: BLM, helicopter roundups, mustangs, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 8:20 AM 5 comments
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mustangs in Misery
Dear Readers,
What did you do on Saturday? Did you have breakfast in your pjs? Hang out with your friends? Sleep in a warm house?
On Saturday, I talked with Senator Harry Reid about BLM's treatment of our wild horses.
Since then, at least six more wild horses have died at BLM's modern state of the art facility.
A two-year-old filly died after sustaining a serious spinal injury
A 10-year-old mare was found dead of "foaling complications." Her full-term foal was not properly positioned in the birth canal, and they both died.
A four-year-old filly was euthanized due to "poor condition"
A 25 year old stallion was put down due to poor condition
Two 20-year-old mares were put down because they never recovered from the stress of the capture
You can read the government account of all that's happened to the wild horses since they came into contact with BLM here:
Calico Horses
I warn you, it is not pretty.
It is also a sickening use of my tax dollars.
Wind and rain are predicted for Fallon, after snowstorms and still there's no shelter for the horses, only a few plywood panels on one side of the hospital pens.
Beset by thoughts about greed,
Terri
Labels: BLM, Fallon, mustangs, wild horse deaths
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 6:27 PM 5 comments
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saving a Stallion
photo by Mark Terrell
Wild Horses of Nevada
Dear Readers,
I'm in love with this horse, a Medicine Hat stallion, captive at BLM's Fallon corrals.
Although I have very mixed feelings about naming wild horses, in my imagination he has a name. And a story. During the last two days I've been writing it. I can't seem to stop.
I hope to keep track of him and see that he's set free in the spring.
Do you know any stories about Medicine Hat horses? Please respond to this blog post if you do, and we can share what you know with other readers.
Best to you,
Terri
Labels: BLM, Eagle Lakes, Fallon, Medicine Hat, mustang, phantom stallion, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 10:25 AM 8 comments
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Why is BLM so fussy?
photo by Deniz Bolbol shows how close choppers get to wild horses
The BLM announced a strict new visitation policy to the Fallon wild horse facility.
Ten people each week, on Sunday for two hours will be allowed to view the horses. This INCLUDES humane observers.
read more at In Defense of Animals'blog
Their excuse? BLM staff has lots of work to do, branding, vaccinating, etc.
This excuse concerns me because I've watched these tasks go on at the Palomino Valley holding pens and not only didn't I interfere, but no one huffed around saying, "I can't work when you're looking at me, Terri."
In fact, no one seemed to notice I was even there.
So why is BLM being so fussy now?
photo by Mark Terrell (watch for more!)
Labels: BLM, Eagle Lakes, Fallon, humane observers blocked, mustangs, Palomino Valley, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:50 AM 9 comments
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Range runners in captivity
Dear Readers,
I just returned from the Fallon facility and learned that a mass gelding of mustangs begins on Monday. I haven't transcribed my notes yet but when I asked why the "tours" will end (they will resume on selected Sundays), Susie Stokke, the BLM staffer leading us around said "we have work to do" and verified that they would be gelding about 900 stallions and colts old enough to be weaned.
It's going to be an awful, bloody business and it's made worse by the cage.
I've seen these used to contain horses for vaccinations and freeze branding, but missed the fact that the metal cage can be turned and rotated so the gelding can be performed through the bars.
Stokke verified that every male horse will be gelded. It's standard procedure, she said, like neutering cats, so that there won't be "indiscriminate breeding" by adopted horses.
I'll write more later, and share photos from Mark Terrell, an amazing wild horse photographer who accompanied me, but this issue has a time element, so I've contacted In Defense of Animals and the Cloud Foundation for help. I've also heard from Holly Hazard of the Humane Society of the United States.
If there's any chance that the Calico horses will be preserved as a heritage herd -- and I saw once more the unique characteristics of these horses which made them the model for the fictional Phantom's herd. One smoky dun with dread-locked mane just stole my heart, but then so did a fuzzy bay baby and a majestic Medicine Hat stallion who carried himself like royalty in exile.
If these male horses are all castrated, there's no do-over. The gene pool for the Calico Mountain horses will have been reduced to the few horses BLM left on the range, and though they may be hardy survivors, nothing will ever be the same.
Terri
Labels: BLM, Calico Comples, Calico mountains, castration, Fallon corrals, gelding, Holly Hazard, IDA, mustangs, the Cloud Foundation, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 12:55 PM 5 comments
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Killing colts as world watches makes BLM uneasy
A rest before dying/photo by Lora Leigh
Dear Readers,
Someone at BLM has realized we're watching, and we care.
After nearly 2000 beautiful horses were captured and injured, the Calico Complex round-up was halted.
Now, the Eagle territory round-up has been postponed:
Ely, Nevada – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has determined there is not adequate time to safely conduct the proposed Eagle Herd Management Area (HMA) gather prior to the beginning of foaling season, and therefore, will defer issuing a decision on the proposed gather until later this year after the foaling season.
We're having an impact.
Terri
Labels: BLM, Calico, Eagle Herd Management, foals die, wild horse deaths, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 4:08 PM 7 comments
Saturday, January 23, 2010
BLM: giving new meaning to THE DEAD OF WINTER
After being rounded up on private land and trucked to the facility on private land, the horses still are not safe.
BLM confirms deaths of wild horses in their "care"
At least six horses have died in captivity, most recently a foal run so hard, his back hooves sloughed apart and began detaching from his legs.
We have requested an autopsy by an impartial veterinarian.
To my knowledge BLM has not responded.
Labels: BLM, death, foal, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:44 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Captured Calico Wild Horses Denied Shelter from Storms
Captured Calico Wild Horses Denied Windbreaks
BLM’s double-standards leave nearly 1000 captured mustangs in the cold
Fallon, NV (January 19, 2010)— 956 wild American mustangs rounded up off public land by helicopters in the past two weeks now stand in a feedlot-style Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contracted holding facility outside of Fallon, Nevada on private land. The new Fallon facility is not equipped with shelter, windbreaks or protection of any kind for the horses. High winds, rain and snow are expected to continue through the end of the week. In Calico, herds can move to sheltered canyons for protection from the harsh winter weather. Yet, in Fallon, they are deprived of adequate protection despite recommendations from wild horse advocates. This is in direct opposition to BLM’s own standards.
“I’m confused by the double standard. Before members of the public are allowed to adopt a wild horse from BLM we must prove we have adequate shelter. Why doesn’t BLM have to meet the same standards?” asks Ann Evans, adopter of three mustangs.
Yesterday, members of the public reported an inhumane lack of windbreaks. No apparent effort has been made to tie canvas tarps on fences to block the howling wind and the anticipated driving snow. On Friday January 15, advocates asked local Nevada BLM staff, Directors and top-level Department of Interior (DOI) under-secretaries to intervene on behalf of the horses by creating wind blocks.
"Those that care about the welfare of the wild horses or burros are asking for minimal protection for these vulnerable animals. Wild horse families are being ripped out of their natural environment where they can take care of themselves, separated from their family members and incarcerated on a windswept plain outside Fallon where they have no ability to protect themselves from the elements. BLM then tells the public their actions are for the good of the animals,” states Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation (named for the famous wild horse Kathrens has documented for the PBS/Nature series)
The DOI and BLM responded that at the just constructed Fallon facility “weather is not that extreme to require wind breaks for healthy horses. . . they do not require protection from the elements to maintain good health. . . .there is nothing to be concerned about from an animal well-being standpoint.” Thus, no actions to protect the captured horses have taken place, not even for foals or sick horses. Advocates contend that the horses are more prone to strangles (equine distemper) due to the lack of adequate protection.
“When these horses were rounded up, some where limping and wet with sweat. They are now terribly traumatized, depressed and confused. Their immune systems are compromised, making them more vulnerable to illness, like strangles (equine distemper) and death,” explains Craig Downer, wildlife ecologist, third generation Nevada native, and witness to the Calico roundup.
“BLM continually tells the public and the media that the wild horses are starving and must be removed from the range. Yet, the BLM provides them with no shelter in dangerous weather conditions where the horses will burn fat reserves attempting to keep warm. No reputable rescue would place any horses in a situation like Fallon,” stated Hilary Wood, President and Founder of Front Range Equine Rescue..
When asked about the lack of windbreaks the BLM indicated that the contractor who built the facility was not asked to provide any shelters or windbreaks. BLM zeroed out a portion of the Dishpan Butte wild horse herd in Wyoming solely on the basis that the wild horses did not have cover according to BLM Program Chief Don Glenn.
“We owe so much to these mustangs—it’s a dishonor that our government does not provide wind protection from the harsh elements,” said Elyse Gardner, humane observer, Calico and Pryor Mountains roundups
The Cloud Foundation and the public call on Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, to stop the Calico roundup and take immediate action against the cruelty and mismanagement of the BLM's wild horse and burro program. Canvas tarps are affordable and readily available at various outlets in the Reno/Fallon area.
###
Labels: BLM, Calico Complex, Cloud Foundation, mustangs, round-ups, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 7:34 PM 1 comments
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Calico Horses on the run
It was a bittersweet day on the Calico range. The sage smelled spicy-clean and the mountains soared to meet the skies, but never, all day, was there silence.
Wildlife trails have been graded into roads for huge trailer trucks and the incessant beat of helicopter blades sliced through me.
People who think horse lovers anthropomorphize these animals should have been there today. These creatures have strong family bonds.
>Stallions battle minutes after they were forced from thousands of acres into tiny corrals.
BLM staffer: They're just fighting because they're crowded.
No, they're doing what they know; protecting a few square feet of ground and their families.
>Mares and foals are separated, able to see each other, but crying back and forth, wondering why they can't nuzzle or touch.
BLM staffer: They're a poor looking bunch.
>Hills resound as horse flesh slams metal corral bars and then, from a ridge, a black horse moves stiffly and calls to his family. They call over and over again, but the black hesitates.
BLM staffer: Don't worry, they'll get him in the next load.
Not band, not herd, or even bunch, but these wild creatures are named by the way they're transported away from home. And there's no attempt at understanding the confusion of this horse who's always know safety is with the herd, until today.
I'll tell you what, though, you all: I am more fired up than ever to fight for these horses.
This can't be allowed to go on.
Pictures soon.
Terri
Labels: BLM, Calico Complex, round up, terri farley, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 10:47 PM 4 comments
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Wild Horse Facts & Fictions
Dear Readers,
I'm proud to have been interviewed as a voice for our horses.You can read this most recent article at the link below my quotes and I hope you will
"There are millions of cows and thousands of horses," said Terri Farley, a Reno author who joined the lawsuit against the BLM roundup. "So tell me, who is eating the grass?"
Farley, who said she has observed range studies and researched the issue for years, said the BLM "needs to look at its science on this." She said the gathers, coupled with birth-control methods used on horses that remain on the range, will eventually "zero out" the ranges, leaving no wild horses at all.
"(The BLM) says they are doing it for the good of the horses," she said. "I lean towards the conclusion they are doing it for the good of the cattlemen.
"People may remember when they saw their first wild horse, but will they know when they've seen their last? I think the last wild horse may already have been born."
She said the argument that activists are fighting the government gathers on the basis of romance alone -- the iconic image of herds running free -- is easy to make, but not accurate.
"It can be a persuasive argument because it fits in with the idea of crazy cat ladies and things like that, but that's why I've made it a point to educate myself," Farley said. "... I'm not buying the BLM's numbers. It's as though they are being eliminated on a whim. If it's about range damage, then look at that. If it's about a different political issue, then we need to look at that."
Labels: BLM, mustangs shot, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 2:20 PM 1 comments
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Stealth Round-Up during BLM Meeting
Huddled horses in BLM corrals were rounded-up while I was in the Monday meeting; now they have no shelter, no windbreaks
Dear Readers,
On Monday,
>BLM said the ratio of livestock to horses is: 8,000,000,000 / 30 000 but still blamed wild horses for range damage
>BLM brushed aside communications from Americans who want mustangs to run free. Saying people are ill-informed, BLM insists entrapment,capture and confinement best serve the wild horses
>BLM wild horse advisory board would not agree to read even a few of your letters
>While a snowstorm raged outside, during the hours BLM insisted the public and humane observers were always welcome to watch gathers, BLM had helicopters in the air, making a stealth round up of horses slated for capture in August 2010.
At least one mare was killed and other horses, including a number of foals, were injured.
Right this minute, those horses stand in corrals -- as shown above -- without shelter or even windbreaks.
Brynna, one of my favorite PHANTOM STALLION characters, was a BLM staffer, and I've dedicated books to real BLM staffers, but the Bureau is running amok and using my money to do it. Even if their actions are technically legal, they are sneaky and shady.
So, I'm now a plaintiff in a lawsuit to stop the BLM's roundup of the Calico horses.
On Wednesday, I'll be sitting in a Washington, D.C. court room listening as BLM and Safari Club International fight for the capture and transport of wild horses to "preserves" where they]ll live in "non-reproducing herds." That means there will be no foals.
Soon enough, they'll be "preserving" nothing; they will be empty.
Yes, life is tough for America's wild horses, but you're standing up for them and I'm standing up for them and you.
More later,
Terri
Labels: BLM, mustang, phantom stallion, Safari Club, terri farley, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 7:58 PM 5 comments
Friday, December 11, 2009
Wild Horse Sorrow
BLM Investigating Possible Shooting Deaths of Wild Horses in Northern Washoe County, Nevada
Investigators from the U. S. Bureau of Land Management are looking into the suspected shooting deaths of up to six wild horses on public land along the Nevada-California border about 45 miles northeast of Susanville, Calif.
The bodies of six mustangs were discovered Saturday, December 5, by a helicopter pilot working on a wild horse round-up in the BLM’s Buckhorn Herd Management Area in Washoe County, Nev. BLM staff members who went to the scene said five carcasses were found in one area, and another was found about a half-mile away.
Officials said several of the animals had evidence of gunshot wounds. They estimated the animals had been dead for about two weeks.
Labels: BLM, mustangs shot, wild horses
Permalink to this blog post
Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:07 PM 1 comments