Thank you for being such an important part of the AAE volunteer team! You ARE the heartbeat of AAE, and we couldn’t make this world a better place for horses without every one of you!
With every moment given, your passion, love, dedication, and hard work make a significant difference in the lives of horses and for AAE. The work isn’t always glamorous and the weather isn’t always ideal, but you show up to get the job done, and you save lives! Thank you for your commitment to the horses.
Special recognition to all of our Shift Leads and Team Leads that have made the huge dedication to the horses, their teams, and AAE leadership.
Without all of you, there is no AAE. You truly make the world go around at AAE, you make a much better world for the horses we serve, and it is an absolute privilege to have you in our herd!
Thank YOU!
Would you like to join our volunteer team? Start here.
It’s National Volunteer Week — a time to celebrate people who give back. That’s why we want to (1) share a few words from our incredible Field Volunteers on Nevada’s Virginia Range who work tirelessly to help us prove to the world that fertility control is a sustainable, effective alternative to ensure the conservation of our wild horses and burros, and (2) ask you to sign a thank you card for their tireless service!
Michele Einarson Michele started out as a documenter on the Virginia Range. She continued to get more involved, and now, as a herd lead, she assists with managing our scientific database!
“I chose to live on the Virginia Range just for the horses. I love watching them and learning about their herd behavior. Volunteering with AWHC is my best way to support the preservation and protection of the wild ones.”
Karen Roemmich We wouldn’t be where we are today without Karen’s tireless work on the Virginia Range. She is a long-term darter and herd lead, helping out immensely with training new volunteers.
“I’ll be the first to admit that I bought property in the Virginia Highlands, near Virginia City, in northern Nevada, after a group of horses, including several beautiful pintos, crossed my path while I was looking at the property. I was enchanted! I knew that I needed to live here where the wild horses roam! It has been a unique and enriching experience, satisfying my enormous passion for the wild horses, by working as a volunteer documenter and darter for the past seven years. It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the innovative and successful AWHC Fertility Control Program!”
Margaret Dziolek Through Margaret’s volunteer work with AWHC and other organizations, she has developed invaluable knowledge of the wild herds of the Virginia Range!
“I have seen them birth, I have watched them grieve, I have cried many tears over them. I have watched stallions brutally battle other stallions and return to the band and gently nudge a sleeping foal. I have watched foals bound and leap with the pure joy of living. I have found my peace with them, and through them, I have found my strength, as well.”
Every day is Earth Day for our team at American Wild Horse Conservation, BUT that doesn’t mean we won’t take the opportunity to celebrate a little extra on this special day
Today, we invite you to join us in focusing on the conservation of our beautiful planet and all of the amazing creatures who inhabit it — and we can think of no better way than doubling down on our commitment to our cherished wild horses and burros!
Here are 3 ways you can take action for our herds today:
1) For the last two fiscal years, Congress has allocated up to $11 million in funding to implement fertility control initiatives in wild herds managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Despite this, the BLM continually fails to implement robust fertility control programs, instead relying on its cruel and costly roundup and stockpile system. Thankfully, Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) are taking a stand. Please ask your representative to sign on to their letter calling for pro-wild horse language in the FY 2025 Interior appropriations legislation!
2) Each year, millions of donkeys are brutally slaughtered for the production of ejiao (eh-gee-yow), medicinal gelatin that is made from boiling the skins of these animals. The donkey skin trade is now decimating global donkey populations as well as harming the global communities that rely on them for survival. That’s why U.S. House Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) has reintroduced the Ejiao Act (H.R. 6021), which would ban the knowing sale or transportation of ejiao made with donkey skin, or products containing ejiao made with donkey skin, in interstate or foreign commerce. Please take a moment to tell your U.S. Representative to cosponsor the Ejiao Act!
3) When people hear about what’s happening to wild horses, they care. We need you to help educate your friends and family about the plight of wild horses and burros today! Take a second to download and share the below graphic on your social media pages with the hashtags #KeepWildHorsesWild and #FreeWildBurros to show your support for wild horse and burro conservation this Earth Day!
Thank you for standing with our wild herds. Happy Earth Day!
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
Recently we asked you to take action and ask your representative to support pro-wild language in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations legislation. Our records indicate that your representative supported wild horses last year, but has not joined this year in calling for reforms to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program.
Right now, Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ) are circulating a bipartisan sign-on letter to the Appropriations Committee urging it to support pro-wild horse language in Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations legislation.
– Allocate no less than 10% of the agency’s budget for the implementation of humane fertility control programs in at least five additional Herd Management Areas (HMAs)
– If the BLM fails to do this 120 days after the passage of this bill, it will incur a $100,000 fine per day until it implements acceptable fertility control programs.
– Ensure no funds are used for ovariectomy procedures
– Study humane alternatives to the use of helicopters and manned fixed-wing aircraft
– Stop cash incentive payments for adoptions
– Identify HMAs and Herd Areas that could be redesignated for relocating horses as an alternative to off-range holding
– Continue to prohibit the sale or adoption of healthy wild horses and burros that results in their destruction.
AAE Friends, Supporters, Service Providers, & Boots & Bling Sponsors
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all for your support and generous contributions assisting with our recent law enforcement intakes.With supporters like you, we know we can give second chances to so many horses-in-need.
LARGE SEIZURE GROUP UPDATE
This sweet mare finally delivered a beautiful and healthy little filly on Eclipse Day, and she’s so excited to share the news. Her little’s name is Tyler (as in Bonnie Tyler and “Total Eclipse of the Heart”). Mom is Sweeney. Y’all know our new intakes all get country artist inspired names, right?
Is she not the most precious creature?? This makes two new little fillies who were able to come into a much better world thanks to all of you. Both moms and babies are doing well.
The first filly and her mom have new names, too! Everyone, meet Noah and her mom Norah.
We were asked to assist with three more of the potentially pregnant mares from the group of 22 seized horses. The other rescue assisting with this group was unable to take the mares, so we jumped into action and picked them up just over a week ago. They’ve been reunited with their herdmates at AAE! Stay tuned for more updates on these all of these ladies. There’s so much more to share!
Meet Kacey, Mica, and…
… Karli!
We’re working our way through all of these beautiful mares and foals. Most are unfamiliar with a halter and lead (or act like they are), so they’re learning to live in our human world. Most aren’t familiar with hoof handling, either. We are working toward their spa days when they will have their dental and hoof care, as well as vaccines and microchips. Mares who are not with new foals and who are not obviously pregnant will be preg checked, too. Once they’re current with basic care and any further evaluation needed, they’ll be available for adoption. Keep an eye on the website, if you’re interested.
If you’re able to help support the costs associated with this rescue, please donate, post, share, etc. These horses appreciate your support, and so does everyone at AAE!
Please consider sponsoring a horse or creating a sponsor team. Sponsoring with a monthly donation is a huge way to help cover the ongoing costs for basic and maintenance care as horses await there forever family. Become a Hero for a horse! Learn more about our sponsorship program here.
As the nation’s leading wild horse and burro conservation organization, some of the most important work we do for our wild herds is in the courtroom, so we wanted to provide you with a legal update.
Wyoming Checkerboard
AWHC and our co-plaintiffs, the Animal Welfare Institute, Western Watersheds Project, author and Casper College instructor Dr. Chad Hanson, and wildlife photographers Carol Walker and Kimerlee Curyl, continue to pursue a more than decade-long battle to save the iconic wild horses of the Wyoming Checkerboard. Specifically, our lawsuit challenges a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to “zero out” (eliminate all wild horses from) the Great Divide Basin and Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Areas (HMAs) and eliminate wild horses from 2 million acres of designated habitat within the state. We’re up against not only the BLM, but also the powerful Rock Springs Grazing Association (RSGA), which views wild horses as competitors for cheap livestock grazing on public lands.
Adoption Incentive Program
Our lawsuit against the BLM’s notorious Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) is pending a decision in federal court. Filed by AWHC and Skydog Sanctuary, this legal action challenges the agency’s implementation of the AIP, asserting that the failure to analyze the impacts of the program on federally-protected wild horses and to provide the public the opportunity to comment on plan violated several federal laws. As we predicted, the cash-for-adoption scheme has been a disaster for wild horses and burros, sending truckloads of these innocent animals into the slaughter pipeline. We aim to halt the program through this litigation.
Freedom of Information Act
AWHC’s investigations team works to promote accountability and transparency by using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain government records. that shed light on federal wild horse and burro management. We have filed dozens of FOIA requests with the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, but both agencies habitually violate the requirement for a response within 20-working-days. As a result, we are forced to file legal action. We currently have 19 pending federal lawsuits seeking to compel the release of records relating to the Adoption Incentive Program, livestock grazing information, and the transportation of wild horses and burros between holding facilities.
This month, federal courts have issued rulings unrelated to AWHC’s cases but with potentially positive impacts for wild horses. In Nevada, the court ruled that the BLM violated federal law by failing to prepare a Herd Management Area Plan (HMAP) for the Pancake Complex before rounding up over 2,000 wild horses. During this roundup, a shocking 31 animals died. Forcing the BLM to prepare HMAPs, which allows the public to weigh in on wild horse management, is a positive step. Unfortunately the judge also ruled that the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act allows the BLM to remove “excess” wild horses whether or not an HMAP is in place. In short, this is an interesting ruling and a good start, but one that is unlikely slow down the BLM’s harmful roundups, at least in the short term.
In a separate case, a federal court in the District of Columbia ruled that the BLM cannot rely on long-term Environmental Assessments to continue to remove horses after the Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) have been achieved in HMAs. Instead, the agency must prepare new environmental analyses, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), before conducting “maintenance” roundups to reduce the populations back down to AML. This case is related to roundups in Utah’s Muddy Creek and Onaqui HMAs as well as the Pine Nut Mountains HMA and the Eagle Complex in Nevada. This is a narrow win, but a good win, according to AWHC’s attorneys.
Thank you for standing with wild horses and burros.
On March 25, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its 2024 wild horse and burro population census numbers, estimating that 73,520 wild horses and burros remain free in the wild compared to the estimated 82,883 last year.
Using these numbers, the BLM is doubling down on its mass roundup plans, targeting 20,000 wild horses and burros for capture and removal from the wild this year. The agency’s ultimate goal is to drive the population down to fewer than 27,000 animals – the number that existed in 1971 when Congress protected them unanimously because they were “fast disappearing.”
Over the past three years, the BLM has spent $401 million rounding up 50,000 wild horses and burros, with the captive population now exceeding 64,000 and set to rise to over 80,000 this year –meaning that, for the first time in history, the number of wild horses in confinement will exceed the number that remain free on the range!
This waste of taxpayer funds and animal lives serves one purpose: to prioritize commercial livestock grazing on public lands over conservation of our federally protected wild horses and burros.
We believe in a better way. At American Wild Horse Conservation, we’re fighting to reform the BLM’s inhumane practices and offer humane and sustainable conservation solutions.
We’re acquiring habitat through our Land Trust, fostering public-private partnerships, and demonstrating the efficacy of humane fertility control as an alternative to costly and traumatic roundups. Recent peer-reviewed science affirms the success of our Virginia Range fertility control program in Nevada and its feasibility in managing a large wild horse population in an expansive habitat area.
We’re also working with Congress to enact stronger legislation that compels the BLM to prioritize fertility control and prevents the agency from ignoring Congressional directives as it has done in past years.
And we’re raising awareness to counter the influence of the powerful livestock lobbying groups that relentlessly demand more roundups. By harnessing the power of the people, we can ensure that the voices of the 80% of Americans who want to protect our iconic wild horses and burros are heard.
Join us in safeguarding the future of our magnificent wild herds. Our commitment to their freedom is unwavering. Will you stand with us?
AAE Friends, Supporters, Service Providers, & Boots & Bling Sponsors
March was an incredibly busy month at AAE with several law enforcement intakes, and together we have been able to help so many horses-in-need. Before we could introduce two new horses to you, we got the call regarding the big seizure. While the group of 12 is wrapping up their quarantine, we’re taking a few minutes to introduce the two new kids.
TRINITY AND RIMES
AAE welcomed Trinity and Rimes last month after they were seized by law enforcement in a cruelty case. (More applause for law enforcement!) These two were thin and not so trusting when we arrived to pick them up. Despite being hesitant to be haltered, they both loaded into the trailer without issue.
Trinity
Trinity is about a two-year old filly. She has swelling above one of her front fetlocks, and from radiographs and a vet exam, it appears to be scar tissue from an old soft tissue injury that was likely untreated.
After quarantine, Trinity received dental care, vaccines, and deworming, and she got a microchip. She’s been terrified of anyone touching her legs, let alone trying to pick up her hooves, so hoof care is a work in progress until we can handle her hooves safely and our farrier can work safely. Fortunately, her hooves are in fair condition.
Trinity is starting to enjoy people more and more (as long as they aren’t touching her legs or hooves), and we know she’ll make someone a wonderful partner. She will be available for adoption, soon!
Rimes
Rimes is an estimated 2013 mare with a beautiful, icy blue eye. Upon arrival to AAE, she was lame with swelling over her right rear pastern, and her long hooves (especially the right hind) caused more pain and discomfort. Pain meds and a quick trim to the long hind provided her with immediate relief.
Rimes’s basic needs were updated: dental and hoof care, vaccines, and deworming, along with a microchip. Additionally, we needed radiographs to better understand what was going on with her hind pastern. We learned this poor girl has two older, unhealed fractures in her hind pastern. A fracture at the bottom of the bone is almost fused, but the second at the top of the bone is not healing. She is currently on stall rest and daily medication in hopes the upper fracture will heal with some quiet time. Rimes will be re-evaluated in two to three months to see if the fracture has healed. If not, surgery will be considered. If the fracture has healed, she will be available for adoption as a non-riding companion.
Despite her current condition, Rimes seems more comfortable and more trusting than when we first met. She is a sweet mare, and we are hopeful she will heal so she can find her special human and have a special relationship for the rest of her days. Keep your fingers crossed for this sweet gal.
Most new intakes have had little to no basic care, and often other issues or injuries go untreated like Trinity and Rimes. New intakes generally need, at minimum, hoof and dental care, vaccines, deworming, and a microchip. Often times, they need more, like diagnostics (e.g. lab work, radiographs, etc.), various treatments, or even surgery (e.g. castration, etc.). Most are thin to emaciated and it takes time and extra feed for their body conditions to return to normal.
Your support today and every day assures we can assist horses-in-need, including these coming in through law enforcement, to help them transition from rescued to rehomed.
AAE has a very heavy population right now, and it’s especially important we have the resources to support law enforcement when asked. If you can donate to help support the care costs for these two sweet girls, please do. Your support makes this work possible, and it makes a difference in the lives of horses-in-need.
I just got a call for 2 orphan foals. (Pictures just to remind us of how much milk they drink and how much care they need.) I have NO idea what these babies look like, but they will need TLC!
We need money for bail, transport, Foal Lac Powder, Foal Lac Pellets, baby grain, meds, etc. etc.
PLEASE HELP so I can say YES!!! It’s been awhile since Chilly Pepper had a fundraiser. Funds are extremely tight, and in addition to funds for the baby, we currently need hay in NV and WA.
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
It looks like we got everyone here with no time to spare!! We have a new foal from the rescued group! A new filly was born very early Sunday morning! She’s a big distraction, and it’s hard to get our work done! Both mom and filly are doing well.
As you can see, baby girl is adorable! She is tall, and mom is so relieved her big belly is gone! Mom went from uncomfortably full-figured to trim, in just a short while. Pictured above left was mom last Friday and again, yesterday morning. She arrived back at AAE late Wednesday night, and baby came early Sunday morning. She had barely moved to her own paddock on Saturday, but it was just in the nick of time. If you missed the story about how/why they came to AA, click here.
Welcome to the world, precious girl! You are already loved beyond your imagination!
Good news and sad news. Spice is safely settled in at home in NV. Thank you for saving her life. She so appreciates your love and support, as do I, of course.
There are so many hard times in rescue, and once again we had another hospice case with Dexter. Sadly, our beautiful boy was too badly injured to have any type of quality of life. Doc ended his suffering and we are all reeling from another heartbreak due to evil humans.
He was seen by Doc several times, and we need to cover the vet bill for those visits and to have him euthanized and laid to rest.
On a brighter note, Spice is not a mean or vicious horse whatsoever. Our on site gal Tiona, has already had hands on her and she is doing very well. I guess she didn’t need a bullet after all. It still enrages me that her fate was a bullet while the so called “trainer” got a new horse.
THANK YOU for saving her.
I am hoping all, or at least most of you take a moment to go to the link below. Just copy and put in your browser. It is a video of Dakota, our beautiful stallion who is now waiting for major surgery as he is cryptorchid. (Only one testical dropped and the other is floating somewhere in his abdomen.)
He is so amazing, and will warm your heart as he chatters to me, sounding almost like he is a rapper. I really hope y’all can take a minute as he will definitely make you smile and bring joy to your heart.
We see so much sadness, and this silly boy really helped me with my struggles. I am dealing with some tough issues with my leg, and was in so much pain, but he really cheered me up.
We need hay in NV and WA again, and I appreciate every single dollar y’all donate. You, my Chilly Pepper Family, are simply wonderful, and I am honored you support me in saving so many lives.
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
Thanks for your patience. It’s been a busy couple days.
Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for your passion for and commitment to helping horses! Thank YOU for donating, sharing this story, and sending your love.
We are always awed by the kindness of our community, but this time, we are absolutely overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity and support. Everyone came together and raised three times our initial goal for these horses. It’s amazing, it’s what we need with an undertaking like this, and you came through in a big way! Thank you so much for helping!
On Wednesday, our plan was to pick-up three or four of the heavily pregnant mares and a mare & colt pair, then return in the near future for an additional five or six mares and weanlings. Well, as with anything horse-related it seems, once we arrived, there was another plan in the making. We left Pilot Hill early morning, and after a long day, we returned to AAE with the 11 original horses we committed to, plus an extra! In rescue work (and with horses), we’ve learned that we need to be prepared for the unexpected! Thanks to our community of horse-loving folks, our wonderful volunteers, and a few other caring individuals, we handled a quick pivot and got it done!
We are eager to learn more about these girls and the two little guys as we move them forward to better health.
After figuring out who was who, and who would ride where, the horses were sorted and loaded. Despite being so young, the littlest guy and his mom handled the journey well (as did the rest of the herd). Back at AAE in the dark, the group was unloaded into three large, connecting paddocks, and they spent the next morning huddled together, relaxing as the sun came up. (The rising sun was beautiful, but not great for photos). They spent the day settling into their new surroundings, while enjoying a little TLC. Everyone is adjusting in nicely, and we are eager to get to work! Thanks to your support, life is already getting better for these beautiful fur babies! Stay tuned for more updates!
…and know, even though we reached our initial goal, please don’t let that hinder you from donating now or in the future to support these horses. Wednesday was just the beginning, and there will be ongoing costs associated with the continuing needs of this group of horses (not to mention all of the other horses in our care). Each will initially get their basic care needs met: dentals (for those two years and older), hoof care, vaccines, deworming, and a microchip. The filly with the slipper hoof (pictured above) will have hoof radiographs, and the mare with the infected leg will receive treatment. Babies are coming soon, and any newborn foals will have IgG testing to assure they have absorbed ample antibodies from mom’s colostrum. Mares were free-roaming with stallions, so we suspect all the girls are pregnant. The mares who are not obviously pregnant will have blood drawn for pregnancy testing. There are also two colts (so far) who will need to be castrated. Once each horse is in good health, he or she will be available for adoption and receive maintenance care until finding his or her person. As you can see and as many of you know, there’s a lot that goes into rescue after initial intake, and it often feels like intake is the easiest part.
Please consider sponsoring a horse or creating a sponsor team. Sponsoring with a monthly donation is a huge way to help cover the ongoing costs for basic and maintenance care as horses await there forever family. Become a Hero for a horse! Learn more about our sponsorship program here. More individual horse information will be available soon.
AAE hasn’t taken on a larger scale rescue in some time, but this one hits close to home and takes us back to our roots (mare/foal pairs and pregnant mares). It compels action! Think back to 2009, Sierra/Dayton/Clayton, Lacy/Sparky, Zuni/Fallon, Takela/Carson, and the many moms and babies that followed. Team AAE is currently en route to support a Nor Cal law enforcement agency with a large horse seizure. This group of horses was discovered abandoned on a large property several months ago and left to fend for themselves in high desert conditions. They were starving when discovered, and a few perished before law enforcement began providing feed and ultimately seizing 20+ animals. The horses were transported for care by the agency, and they have been housed at a public facility.
Sadly, most law enforcement agencies don’t typically have the resources to provide the care and monitoring needed for a seizure of this scale, and many simply cannot or will not. We are so grateful this agency acted! These horses need resources and an environment where they can be monitored and care provided continuously, and we’re jumping into action to assure they get what they need.
AAE is working with another rescue to support this law enforcement agency with this large group that includes mostly pregnant mares, a couple mature stallions, and several stud colts and fillies. AAE is focusing on the pregnant mares, a mare/foal pair, and fillies while the other rescue is focusing on the stallions/colts. AAE is on the road now to pick-up the heavily pregnant mares that are imminent to foal. We’ll also bring back the mare/foal pair. Mom delivered a little colt (pictured above) in the last week, and they need to get to safety. We will know more about the remaining horses in the coming days.
One heavily pregnant mare has an infected leg; another young filly has a slipper foot; and thanks to feed provided by law enforcement, many that were malnourished are slowing regaining weight. They all appear to be friendly, willing, and handleable. Thankfully for most, their condition has improved since they were discovered. Nearly all (except the youngsters) need dental care, and all need hoof care, vaccines, and deworming. Some will need further diagnostics (e.g. hoof radiographs, pregnancy checks, etc.) along with treatment and any other needs discovered. Stay tuned for more info when we return.
This is a big undertaking! These horses need our support and proper care to get them back to good health, and to renew their faith in humans. Law enforcement agencies need to know we are here to support them when they take action. To our community, there’s a lot to do! These horses need you, and so do we!
Can you help us raise $5500 to help with the initial costs (approximately $500 per horse) of this intake? This should help with costs for transport, hoof and dental care, vaccines, deworming, and some of the other known issues. Additional funding will likely be needed as the mares deliver, and if additional vet needs are discovered, etc. Please help us get these sweet girls to safety. Take action, and donate now.
These horses will also need sponsors (or teams of sponsors) to help cover their ongoing costs of for basic care/maintenance. Become their hero and learn about our sponsorship program here. More individual horse information will be available soon.
It has been a little while since AAE has been contacted by law enforcement to assist with horses-in-need, but when it rains, it pours. We are currently assisting with three different cases. In addition to this seizure, we recently took in two medical horses from a nearby cruelty seizure, and we are fostering a group of three strays. Stay tuned for more information on these horses.
It is vitally important that we support law enforcement agencies with cases like these. We want them to know they will have our continued and dedicated support whenever they need to step in and intervene. When you support AAE, you support law enforcement agencies.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed a plan to remove nearly 600 wild horses from the HMA, a move that would drastically reduce the population to the lowest Appropriate Management Level (AML) of just 205 horses on nearly 400,000 acres of land. This unscientific population limit was set in 1997 and has remained unchanged ever since.
The current proposal has no plans to humanely manage the White Mountain wild horses with fertility control, setting the stage for yet another mass roundup in a few years. What’s worse, the BLM is basing the removal number on a 2022 census, conducted before the extremely harsh winter of 2023 which caused heavy mortality for wildlife, including wild horses, across Wyoming. Instead, the BLM is claiming that while the winter severely affected other wildlife species, it did not result in significant mortality in the White Mountain herd.
That’s why AWHC is speaking out against this proposal through our public comments. Before the BLM undergoes any roundup, it must complete an updated scientific population estimate to have an accurate population count as well as undergo a full Environmental Assessment to ensure a thriving natural ecological balance. Further, it must consider the use of humane, reversible fertility control in any further management planning.
America’s wild horses are considered a native re-introduced species. A native reintroduced species is a species that at some point became locally extinct in its indigenous lands, but eventually returned, either on its own or by being reintroduced back to the land by human beings. This is what happened to America’s wild horses.
Wild horses began to evolve and grow on the North American continent millions of years ago. In fact, the forerunner to the modern horse was traced to the Tennessee Valley. During glacial periods, when the sea level would drop, wild horses would move back and forth across the Bering Land Bridge into Siberia. About 12,000 years ago, the wild horses of North America went locally extinct, but they were not globally extinct.
On the contrary, wild horses thrived in Asia and were eventually domesticated approximately 6,000 years ago. The domestication of horses spread throughout Asia and Europe. Finally, when Europeans came to North America in the 1500s, they brought their horses with them, re-introducing a native species back to its place of origin!
America’s Disappearing Wild Horses
Photo by Kimerlee Curyl
In the 19th century, the population of wild horses in America was estimated to have reached more than two million. But by the time the wild horse received federal protection in 1971, it was officially estimated that only about 17,000 of them roamed America’s western lands.
More than 1 million had been conscripted for World War I combat; the rest had been hunted for slaughter, and even for the sport of it. These innocent animals were chased by helicopters and sprayed with buckshot; they were run down by motorized vehicles and, deathly exhausted, weighted with tires so they could be easily picked up by rendering trucks. They were run off cliffs, gunned down at full gallop, shot in corralled bloodbaths, and buried in mass graves.
This horror brought America’s wild horses to the brink of extinction until one woman decided to take action…
The Beginning of Wild Horse Conservation
Velma “Wild Horse Annie” Johnson
One morning while on her way to work in the early 1950s, Velma Johnson, who would later come to be known as “Wild Horse Annie,” witnessed an appalling scene — a truck full of bloodied, injured wild horses recently captured from Nevada’s Virginia Range.
Bravely, Annie followed the truck to its final destination, a slaughterhouse. After this experience, she learned that ranchers, hunters, and “mustangers” would capture these horses for commercial slaughter using airplanes and trucks, often with no regard for the injuries they caused. Annie was horrified.
From that day forward, she dedicated her life to stopping the inhumane treatment, abuse, and slaughter of wild horses. She began her fight in Nevada where she led the State Legislature to pass a law, the Wild Horse Annie Act of 1959, banning the use of aircraft and land vehicles for roundups. But she didn’t stop there.
She went on to lead a nationwide campaign that inspired thousands of schoolchildren to write letters to their elected officials and even testified before Congress herself. After another decade of advocacy, Congress finally passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, the most significant and influential piece of legislation affecting wild horses in the United States, which finally established federal protections for these iconic animals.
Wild Horse Conservation Today
Photo by Kimerlee Curyl
Today, over 50 years later, the 1971 law passed thanks to Wild Horse Annie’s efforts has unfortunately been significantly weakened – largely due to lobbying by special interest groups that see wild horses as competition for their commercial livestock.
As a result, wild horses have been subjected to constant roundup operations for the past several decades by federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In Fiscal Year 2024 alone, over 20,000 wild horses and burros are scheduled to be removed from their homes on public lands – the majority of which will be done using helicopters, an inhumane practice that often leads to severe injuries and even deaths.
That’s where American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) comes in. Our team has boots on the ground in some of the most remote corners of the West where these operations take place to document this mistreatment. We’re fighting to bring these stories to light and taking the federal government head-on in the courts to protect these innocent animals.
We have a lot of information to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews! Please read on for an opportunity to speak out for Wyoming’s White Mountain wild horses, an important update about the president’s budget for Fiscal Year 2024, and a celebration of our National Day of Action.
The White Mountain HMA is home to beautiful paints, bays, sorrels, and roans. These wild horses live on nearly 400,000 acres of public and private lands and yet the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) allows for an Appropriate Management Level (AML) of just 205-300 wild horses. The agency recently released its plans to remove 586 White Mountain horses, bringing the population down to the low AML of 205 horses, leaving just one horse per 1,917 acres! Click here to sign on our petition and speak up for this spectaular herd!
This past weekend, President Joe Biden signed into law a $460 billion package of Fiscal Year (FY) 24 spending bills, narrowly averting a government shutdown. Among the provisions was a significant spending cut for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program budget, emphasizing the need for a shift towards humane, more compassionate and sustainable conservation strategies. Notably, the legislation preserves $11 million in funding specifically designated for the implementation of a robust, and humane fertility control program, as advocated by both House and Senate versions of the bill. Click here to read our press release.
On March 1st, American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) orchestrated a nationwide day of action to mark National Horse Protection Day. The objective was clear: urge Congress to implement reform measures to ensure the conservation of wild horses and burros across the nation. Throughout our advocacy efforts, over 23,000 letters were sent to congressional offices, highlighting the widespread support for change among the public! Click here to read our recent blog post about the day of action.
This one really infuriates me, and she is one of our own BLM wild mares, (Nevada peeps, or so I was told).
I was asked about a week or so ago if I could help place a BLM Mare that needed a place to go. I was trying to see if we could make any progress in helping find that home, as I am not really set up to take her on right now.
Then I got the “last call,” a few hours ago.
TODAY, we were told “IF SHE IS NOT OFF THE PROPERTY BY FRIDAY, SHE WILL GET A BULLET IN HER HEAD.
Do you know why???? Because A NEW HORSE IS COMING AND NEEDS HER SPACE. So, if she is NOT off the property. they will SHOOT HER DEAD, simply because they couldn’t do anything with her and they are bringing a “better horse” home to take her spot.
Spice is a wild mustang, is “reactive”, and “can’t be trained”, so their answer is to not feed her properly and shoot her. She has been alone for years, with zero contact with any other horses for years. It’s time to end her suffering and bring her some joy.
Please help us save her life. We need funds for transport, any vetting needed, feed, possibly for years, and the list goes on. We need to say yes, AND raise funds for a horse that may take a very long time to place. She deserves so much better than she has gotten!
As usual, I am going on Faith, and am trusting God will provide for her and make this happen. I couldn’t say no.
Let’s keep one more BLM mustang from ending up dead, like so many others.
Dexter seemed like he was improving, but his hind end, and the foot with the shoe on it is still causing serious issues. His front feet are improving, but he is still too weak to lay down with sedation, so Tiona is working with him a little bit more, every day. He needs serious prayers. He is not out of the woods yet :(.
Teddy Bear has a new babysitter, so he is feeling better, and things are going well for him, so far.
We appreciate all your help with these precious souls. If you want to donate to their vet care, you can call Zimmerman Veterinary at 775-623-0981.
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
This winter roundup season has been relentless. In just four months, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) capture operations have resulted in the deaths of 71 innocent wild horses and the removal of over 7,000 animals from their natural habitats – including more than 1,000 foals.
Among those captured is Thora, a beautiful six-month-old filly from the McCullough Peaks Herd Management Area.
Thora, alongside companions Tabasco, Trinity, and Juniper, was separated from her mother last month. Despite massive public outcry, the agency plowed ahead with the controversial roundup, which has already taken its toll with the death of the filly Kat Ballou. She suffered a fatal head injury last month after she had been separated from her mother and left unattended in a capture pen.
These tragedies are emblematic of the broader, deepening crisis affecting our nation’s wild horse and burro populations. Thora is just one out of thousands of vulnerable foals who have been removed from their homes and are now languishing in holding facilities. Many more are in danger as the BLM presses ahead with its roundups. That’s why AWHC’s observation program is so important.
To document these roundups and ensure no death or abuse goes unrecorded, AWHC has assembled and trained a team of photographers and videographers who are deployed to some of the most remote corners of the West where these operations occur. The evidence they collect helps us establish an irrefutable pattern of cruelty to prove to members of Congress, the media, and the public that change is desperately needed. And it’s working. The public’s awareness of the plight of wild horses and burros has never been greater. In fact, our grassroots army recently mobilized and sent 23,000 letters to Congress calling for a ban on helicopter roundups.
Oftentimes, our representatives are the ONLY ones on site to document any violations taking place. Our observers were present at the East Pershing complex roundup where they documented the capture of 365 foals and the dangerous conditions they faced. They saw firsthand the physical toll on these animals, including injuries and deaths that could have been prevented.
A Foal from the East Pershing Roundup
One of these preventable deaths includes a foal who suffered a dislocated knee during the roundup. After his injury, he was removed from the view of the public and tragically euthanized.
As our Day of Action comes to a close, I wanted to personally tell you about some big news for AWHC.
You may have noticed something different in the email my team sent you this morning. From this day forward, the American Wild Horse Campaign is now officially American Wild Horse Conservation.
Since our inception, AWHC has engaged in a head-to-head campaign against the federal government and commercial interests to safeguard the majestic wild horses and burros roaming free on our western public lands. But today, AWHC’s mission has expanded beyond the bounds of what can be described as a “campaign.”
AWHC is at the forefront of revolutionizing wild horse and burro protection, both in the U.S. and across the globe. For more than a decade, in addition to demanding change and building a grassroots movement, we have been setting the standard for a new wild horse and burro conservation model.
We have created the first-ever land trust dedicated to wild horse and burro habitat conservation, securing 3,300 acres in Fish Springs, Nevada, as the inaugural project for this new approach.
Habitat improvement on a much more significant scale is our long-term sustainability goal. In the meantime, there are 62,000 wild horses and burros crammed into federal holding facilities who will be joined this year by 20,000 more after a relentless, terrifying helicopter roundup campaign by the federal government.
Fertility control is the in-the-wild conservation solution that addresses the immediate danger to wild horses and burros. That is why we created the world’s leading wild horse fertility control initiative at the Virginia Range in Nevada, proving a new science-based protection model that is humane, cost-effective, and scalable.
We’ve partnered with local organizations to build fertility control programs in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Herd Management Areas in northwestern Nevada and we are expanding to Utah, working collaboratively with on-range partners to prove darting a large, very wild herd is feasible.
This is the critical step in persuading Congress that true in-the-wild conservation is the viable, scalable alternative to helicopter roundups and the only solution that is backed by science and sound fiscal policy.
AWHC is more than a campaign. AWHC is American Wild Horse Conservation.
As American Wild Horse Conservation, we embody the breadth and depth of our commitment to America’s wild herds. We are not just advocating; we are implementing, studying, and leading the way for humane management. That’s why our first official act under our new name is leading this nationwide Day of Action to support critical legislation that will strengthen protections for wild horses and burros.
I am profoundly grateful to all the supporters who have brought us to this pivotal point. Working together, we will realize our shared commitment to safeguard America’s promise to wild horses and burros by ensuring their freedom and protection on our western public lands.
Thank you,
Suzanne Roy
Executive Director
American Wild Horse Conservation
Good news and sad news. Spice is safely settled in at home in NV. Thank you for saving her life. She so appreciates your love and support, as do I, of course.
