1,430 Wild Horse Lose Freedom in Owyhee Roundup
The following is an update from the American Wild Horse Preservation.
November and December have proven to be rough months for the wild horses living in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Owyhee Complex in central Nevada. The BLM office in Washington D.C. even authorized the round up of 220 more horses than originally planned in this largest BLM roundup in two years. In total, 1,832 wild horses (704 studs, 773 mares, 355 foals) were captured within the Complex, and 1,430 of these beautiful mustangs were permanently removed from their homes on the range. At least 17 horses died in the roundup, and 402 were returned to the range.
The unreleased horses — more than 1,400 of them — were loaded onto semi trailers and trucked away from their high desert homeland to BLM’s holding pens near Reno, NV. These horses will never be free again. They — along with the nearly 46,000 other wild horses and burros warehoused in BLM holding facilites — face an uncertain fate.
AWHPC staff and prominent wild horse photographer Kimerlee Curyl were onsite at the round up last week. Check out our pictures, video and report on the roundup by clicking below.