Help Save the Wild Horses from the BLM

Imagine there is a small town in America, about 200 people live there. They live out in the middle of nowhere, minding there own business.

They raise their families.

Everyone helps with the education and protection of their little ones.

They respect the old ones among them, and keep them close. Old friends are free to enjoy life, now that the hard work for them is done.

They are stewards of the land, respecting the very ground that sustains them. They know how to manage, and maintain the land so that it will nourish them and keep them strong.

Suddenly one day helicopters descend on this small, and peaceful town. Men on 4 wheelers, and horseback chase them, terrifying them. Moms are separated from little ones, old ones collapse in exhaustion. They are forced into fences, some die in the process. Terror rains down on them. They are pushed into awaiting trucks, frightened, scared, disoriented. Then, they are taken from the only home they have ever know, losing their freedom, their families, forever.

If this happened to a town of people, the outrage would be loud, and rightly so. But when this happens to a wild horse herd, the outrage is not so loud, and that needs to change.

I found out yesterday that another herd of horses in this area, the ones I have spent time with, learned about, and fallen in love with, are to be rounded up in February. My heart is breaking, my mind is reeling. I feel helpless, angry, scared, and most of all extremely sad. From what I have read, the Cedar Mountain HMA is the roundup area, but this herd is very close to that, and I worry they will be effected too.

The young horses will lose their freedom, the joy they have for life. The family bond they have with the herd.

This old stallion just barely keeps up with the herd. He has an old injury that obviously makes running painful for him. Would he just collapse and die in a roundup?

And what of these two old friends. Will they lose each other, will they become injured because of their age?

In my post Friends and Family bands I talk about the closeness, and bonds these horses have among themselves. How can the BLM be so heartless towards these amazing, loving animals?

My post Waiting for the Dust to Settle talks about how we went to visit the horses, and suddenly there were several hundred head of cattle there. In a blink, the whole dynamic in this area changed.

It’s probably a good thing I can’t be there when this round up is supposed to happen. My emotions are so high on this issue, I would be a complete mess. Between extreme anger, and disdain towards the BLM, and sadness, and worry for the horses. They say there are too many in this area. But the cost to remove them, and house them, is extraordinary.

Wild horses don’t have money to pay the BLM, cattle ranchers do. But here’s the thing….this is supposed to be “Public land.” I’m part of the public, you’re part of the public, why don’t we have a say what happens on our land? I don’t want cows on my public land, do you? I want horses to be free and not terrorized, don’t you?

It’s time to take action. No matter what part of the country you live in, you have a voice and it needs to be heard. This is not a Western United States issue, it’s an American issue.

The state director for the Utah BLM office is Ed Roberson his email address is  eroberson@blm.gov The state office email is blm_ut_so_mail@blm.gov. Write emails, voice your opinion, let them know this is not OK!

@BLMUtah is the twitter handle for Utah BLM. Tweet them, tweet about this issue tagging them. Here is a link to the facebook page. Message them, let your voice be heard. Ironically, the national BLM has an Instagram page @mypubliclands. Tell them what you want to happen with YOUR public lands.

I will be doing anything I can think of to stop this roundup, and hopefully any future roundups. Writing letters, using social media, anything to let the voices of the horses be heard. Also donating 15% from any sales of wild horse images from my website to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign. I have already donated some funds to them, but I would love to help them more. Any print purchase you make from Mary Hone Photography, will help the wild horses.

Please share this post, share the information, encourage your friends to take action.

Now is the time to let our voices be heard.