| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Faransgirl |
Posted - Sep 08 2009 : 7:53:07 PM
Has anyone heard on the news about Cloud. Remember a few years ago on the Discovery Channel there was a documentary on a wild horse called Cloud. Well the BLM is in the process of rounding up his herd. They went after him particularly today. There are over 200 horses in that group and they are taking the majority of them. They are planning to sell Cloud. We have observers up there but the judges in Wyoming and Montana are no help. The Senator from Montana actually told one of our ladies today "I don't care what the BLM is doing". It has been a sad couple of days at work. You can still find the book on Cloud. The horses in the video's look so healthy. They have found uranium under the mountains and want the horses out of the way so they can mine the uranium. It is just criminal.
Farmgirl Sister 572
May the force of the horse be with you. |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Alee |
Posted - Sep 10 2009 : 11:31:45 PM
Once I get back from my family reunion I will take my camera down and go preview before the sale on the 26th. It's good to see all the Pryor horses looking fat and sassy this year. Everyone is predicting a hard winter.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
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| Tracey |
Posted - Sep 10 2009 : 9:11:51 PM
Gather on the Pryors, Day 7: http://pryorwild.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/september-9-2009-gather-day-7/
Rae, check with your local animal shelter to see what they've got. Ours recently started a farm due to all the horses needing homes. They also had some sheep. Alpacas and llamas, I suspect, could find their way to shelters on occasion, too.
Take a Ride on the Wild Side!
http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com |
| Old Spirit |
Posted - Sep 10 2009 : 08:47:52 AM
Dumb question but how does sign up or go about getting animals that are being mistreated. I am talking farm animals that we could raise and give a good home too.
Rae
Farm Girl #647
...those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles:...
Isaiah 40:31
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| Tracey |
Posted - Sep 10 2009 : 08:02:12 AM
Hi Alee,
No, this mare is from Coyote Lakes. What I found interesting was recently I had someone complaining about all the horses in the pens looking thin, while fat ones were on the range. Last year in Oregon, the South Steens horses were to be gathered, but Coyote Lakes came in instead because there were some thin ones, such as this mare. People can twist things to make it seem one way or the other, based on what they'd like to have you believe. If they don't want you to know there are pockets of dry areas or thin horses, they're not going to show you.
Ken McNabb posted to his website recently about being up on the Pryors recently, and he was supporting the gather based on his assessment of the range.
Right now the holding facilities are full. There are horses in Oregon with big white hip brands, something they do to all the six and older horses for easy identification.
There's such a huge following for Pryor horses, they really haven't got much to worry about in terms of finding homes. The Kigers are the same way; there's been a huge hype built up around them and people go nuts. Even the 17 year old stallion was adopted.
Bottom line is, these horses were set free or escaped from domestic life. They're non-native, and are a threat to all the animals who are. Horses eat the vegetation down to nothing, and when their herd sizes double every 4-5 years, if we left them alone we'd have an even greater problem...such as rather than 30,000 on the ranges, a half million. So gathers are a good thing, and I'm glad to see the PZP being used on more mares each year.
And if you missed the blog link earlier, here it is again: http://pryorwild.wordpress.com/
Take a Ride on the Wild Side!
http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com |
| Alee |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 9:36:57 PM
Tracey- It's good to hear from you! Is that picture of the mare and foal from the Pryor range? None of the pictures I have seen from the round up have any of the mares and foals looking run down, and especially not that ribby?!
I hope that none of the horses do end up at slaughter. I have been to horse auctions where the announcer says this is a horse from such and such Wild horse range and the kill buyer ends up getting it because the owner never figured out how to train a wild horse and no one could get near it. Unfortunatly the wrong humans adopting can worsen the chance of the horse- don't you agree?
If I can get down to the holding pens for this adoption- I will try to get some pictures. Hopefully all of them will go to homes and none of them will have to go to any of the holding facilities.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
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| HeatherAnn |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 9:28:26 PM
although I haven't looked into much of this, and this is the first I've ever heard of cloud, I know quite a few people with mustang experience. They are fun to own. A few of my parent's friends picked up some BLM geldings. Mustangs, because of their limited experience with humans, are some of the easiest to tame. very unlike an abused animal, which is more of what my mother works with.
But, when the BLM sells off horses near or in Norco, ca(i've never been to a sale so I'm not totally sure), my mom and a bunch of her friends go. They are good people. And a lot of these horses (and donkeys often as well) go to great homes and are loved throughout their entire lives. It's not all bad. And like it is with any adoption program, you simply can't be guaranteed that 100% go to great homes. But a large majority do. There is hope for those that they catch. And the point about the starving ones, I think is pretty dang valid. If you can save a mare and foal from dying, albeit naturally, from starvation and find them (with pretty good odds) a good home with lots of food and care, lets do it!
Heather Ann
Apartment Farmgirl
"You got to look at all the good on one side and all the bad on the other and say 'Well, alright then.'" - Aunt Eller, Oklahoma
www.plumblossomknits.etsy.com |
| Tracey |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 8:28:36 PM
http://pryorwild.wordpress.com/
Good blog with play by play analysis...and not overly wrought in personal emotion.
Take a Ride on the Wild Side!
http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com |
| Tracey |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 8:06:38 PM
Hello all. MB sent me the link so I figured I'd let you know what I've heard and know.
First, it's doubtful any of the aged horses will end up on a truck to Canada, and even less likely to MX (if you were to haul to slaughter, wouldn't you go north, which is closer?) Before buying a horse through the sale authority act you need to sign a bill of sale that states you will not sell to slaughter or as bucking stock. Obviously, people can disregard this, but most folks in the horse slaughter business are looking for low profile horses, not Cloud's herd.
Second, there are a lot of people who would be more than happy to purchase an aged horse. We did. I recently got together with a small group of women and formed a non-profit which works specifically with Long Term Holding and Sale Authority Horses. Any horse from Pryor Mt is an automatic celebrity.
Third, I've seen starving horses come in, while others are fat and healthy on the same HMA. Better to bring the herds in and not risk starvation to my way of thinking. There's nothing sadder than a pregnant mare trying to feed last year's foal while wasting away to skin and bones before winter has even set in yet.
As for Three Strikes Ranch, Jason was an egomaniac who thought more about how he looked shirtless than the horses. We'd exchanged emails last year before all those horses were found; he simply did not wish to understand methods that did not align with his own and trash talked many a good trainer. He was the exception, not the rule, when it comes to people and mustangs. Unfortunately, we tend to only hear the bad stuff, and then assume everyone operates in the same fashion.
Here's a picture of Liberty, the 11 year old mare we bought for $25:
Take a Ride on the Wild Side!
http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com |
| Alee |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 6:18:28 PM
The really sad thing is that the horses that are being sold will most likely go to Canada or Mexico to one of the equine slaughter facilities. Conquistador is one of my favorites. He is very stunning! He is built "stronger" than a lot of the other horses. He seems to have a stronger presence and his body type is more like what you would expect well bred warhorse to look like (He looks like he could carry an armored general all day without breaking a sweat). He is gorgeous.
The Three Strikes Ranch was horrible. I am so glad those horses got rescued. www.thecloudfoundation.org is a wonderful site. They have set up a blog specific to this round-up. It can be found here:
http://thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com/
The Mare Electra- Clouds Sister- avoided round-up. A younger mare will be going in her place to be adopted. Cloud has already been released with the remaineder of his band. They took 4 out of his band and one of the four is going to be released but with a different band (why I have no idea).
If this story touches your heart, phone calls can help. The BLM should release the older horses. They have lived their life on the range. Let them pass the end of it there too. Here are some contact numbers to help:
White House switchboard – 202/456-1414
Ask for Senior Advisors: Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod
Senate Committee of Natural Resources – 202/224-4971
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
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| Faransgirl |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 3:44:22 PM
The latest release from our observers is that they have decided to keep more of Cloud's herd than they first thought. As for Conquistador he is being SOLD. He is to old to keep in captivity. We just took 200 Mustangs from a place in Nebraska called the three strikes ranch. It was a "SANCTUARY" for wild horses that had been adopted out but then could not handle being kept in captivity. Before we got there 78 had already died and the rest were starving. We still have three at our rescue facility and the rest have been adopted again. This is their 5th try at a forever home. They would have lived a natural life had they been left alone. One of them was 38 years old and just had a baby last month. That is like an 80 year old woman having a baby. She did great but it was a miracle. This is all about money. Those horses are fat and sassy and need to be left alone. Conquistador will not be happy no matter where they put him. If you go to - thecloudfoundation.com - you can get more information that is closer to the truth than what the media is reporting - when they report at all. We have observers on site but they are being kept way away. One truck load of horses has already disappeared. Having worked with Mustangs - wild ones from the BLM for more than 5 years now - I can tell you that they are not at all like domesticated horses. They do not think the same. They do not react the same and they do not do well in captivity. If - you can get one trained they make great trail horses but training them takes a special kind of person with a special kind of training. The BLM does little to make sure the adopters are the right kind of people which is why they end up at places like the Three Strikes Ranch. The first horse I ever trained was a Mustang. After Annie every other horse I worked with was a piece of cake. The first time put a saddle on her she tore it to pieces and up to then I had done everything to make sure she was ready. She did fine for 10 minutes then she sort of realized it was there and flipped out. I threw the saddle away when we got it off of her. That was with weeks of prep before we put the saddle on. They just are not the same of domesticated horses and need to be left in their native habitats.
Farmgirl Sister 572
May the force of the horse be with you. |
| maggie14 |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 2:38:30 PM
This makes me so mad and sad at the same time. I can't even put my thoughts in to words. I've watched the movies on cloud and his herd and read all the books. Its so sad. I hope your right Alee!!!
Maggie |
| Alee |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 2:34:53 PM
From everything I have been reading, Cloud and most of his herd will be released. Some of the younger members are going to be adopted out. The herd that is actually in danger- all targeted to be sold or adopted is Conquistador's herd. Conquistador is 18 years old and I think that is a bit too old to be adopted. The reason his herd is targeted completely is because they have made it their habit to live off the protected wild horse range.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
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| southerncrossgirl |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 2:08:17 PM
I saw something very recently regarding that, and you are right, the horses have plenty of grass on the higher elevations. They all seem to be very healthy.
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
| Faransgirl |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 11:07:03 AM
Apparently public outrage was overwhelming. They are releasing most of the horses back. The news releases are not accurate as far as numbers. The already have injured one 1 month old foal and have separated others from their mothers. They are releasing back all but 70. Most of Clouds herd is going back but no word yet on whether or not Cloud will be kept or released. If you saw photos of the horses you can see that forage is not the problem. My DH is a long time oil man and word in the oil business is that they want to start drilling out there as well. We spoke to the Office of a Montana Senator yesterday and they wouldn't talk to us, their comment was "He isn't interested".
Farmgirl Sister 572
May the force of the horse be with you. |
| Annab |
Posted - Sep 09 2009 : 03:25:45 AM
How sad.
I have watched this docu. many times
Do you think the horses would jsut move on once mining began?
It's still pretty trashy considering that area is so pretty
Also kind of a shame to break up family groups like that very similar to elephant herds and herd dynamics
those that are plucked out will be missed!
and this isn't placing human values on animals...its how these animals function. they are very aware
I'll be keeping tabs too
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| Alee |
Posted - Sep 08 2009 : 8:33:33 PM
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909080331
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
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| Alee |
Posted - Sep 08 2009 : 8:22:17 PM
I haven't heard anything about mining in the BLM protected horse lands. I am not sure if they could actually do that. There were 190 horses on the BLM land up in the Arrowheads, not including the foals (a little hard to keep an acurate count on them since many die in their first year). The BLM did go forward with the roundup on the 1st, and on September 26th they will sell the horses that weren't released. They will be releasing back 120 horses with as close to a 50/50 ratio of males to females.
Supposedly they are taking so many off the ranges due to degradation of grazing. I don't know. I haven't had a chance to go visit the wild horses this year. I will probably try to go preview the sale horses. I'll let you know if Cloud is actually going to be auctioned or sold, though I doubt they would actually sell him since he is so famous and his unique coat color is a desired genetic trait. But I have no idea. You never know what way the wind blows, so to speak.
This all is happening in my back yard- I am less than 50 miles from the Pryor Horse Range. I'll try to keep you all updated if you are interested in the situation.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
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| prariehawk |
Posted - Sep 08 2009 : 8:02:17 PM
That is just despicable. I was at Farm & Home store today and saw a book on Cloud. If they sell him, some greedy person will buy him and parade him around like some Hollywood horse. All for some uranium, for what? to make weapons? I like to believe the world is changing for the better in regards to how we view the natural world, but situations like this are very discouraging.
Cindy
"Dog is my co-pilot"
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
