STONE CABIN ROUNDUP - THOUGHT-PROVOKING FIRSTS

                      The CATCH/TREAT/RELEASE  ROUNDUP at the STONE CABIN HERD MANAGEMENT AREA is over.  It was a different experience.  It is always good to see wild horses returned to freedom on their range, so let's start with that...

Oops...

                  I have been spending hours, literally, going through and selecting from hundreds of photographs and then watermarking them so I can post them, bringing you out to where the horses are.  I would rather let the story tell itself through the horses and only add my words to clarify and fine-tune.   

           I want to cover many issues.  

           But the primary issue underlying all things wild horse and burro is this:  How do we change the old pattern in terms of land use planning and wild horses?  In other words, BLM policy must be changed to actually plan and prioritize HMAs to the wild horses and burros so they aren't outnumbered 4 to 1 by cows and sheep.  Case in point:  At present in Stone Cabin, for every five blades of grass, horses get one blade, cows and sheep get the remaining four.  

           This is upside-down.  The 1971 law states the wild horse and burro ranges should be managed principally but not necessarily exclusively for them in keeping with the multiple-use mandate, meaning they are to have priority.  As the numbers clearly depict. cows and sheep currently have priority.  So who is "excess"?  BLM is only allowed to remove "excess" horses.  There is no excess of horses in the HMAs.   Excess cows, perhaps?...

           I had a good experience with the personnel at the Stone Cabin roundup.  But these numbers are policy issues, meaning they are issues decided by people generally inaccessible to the public. These are decided whether the people conducting actual roundups are compassionate and care about the horses, or not.  

           On one hand, the same "new low" exists in terms of the BLM's policies and plans of permitting four times the number of grazing livestock than the number of wild horses on their own Herd Management Area.  

           And the plan for the wild horses and burros at Stone Cabin was as egregious as I've seen them.  Due to public pressure and the very real threat of litigation, they abandoned one of the most offensive plans this time around, thankfully.  Specifically:  

           They abandoned the plan to geld a bunch of stallions and put them back out on the range as a nonreproducing herd.

           This plan is utterly contrary to the intent of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act which defines a herd as "a stallion and his mares."  

            Nevertheless, in defiance of that 1971 Act, this approach is now common to every HMA, meaning each large HMA (Herd Management Area) across the western U.S. is planning this nonreproducing "herd," and advocates are having to threaten suit and actually file suit against the Bureau of Land Management in one HMA (Herd Management Area) after another to stop this.  

            But now for the plus side... 

EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP AND HORSE HANDLING

            National policy problems notwithstanding, District Manager Doug Furtado and his staff — Field Manager Tom Seeley, Wild Horse and Burro Specialists Dustin Hollowell (COR), and Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Shawna Richardson, who came in from another District to assist,  demonstrated the most concern and effective leadership I've seen yet in both addressing and forestalling real and potential problems with the helicopter contractor in terms of efforts made to protect the horses during a roundup. 

             These two knowledgeable Wild Horse and Burro Specialists were in the field the entire time during this roundup, the only exceptions being I believe two days, when they were required each to take a day off.  This meant either Shawna Richardson or Dustin Hollowell were present, one at the trap pen and the other at Temporary Holding for any processing/sorting going on.

 These frightened foals, approximately six to seven months old, huddle together for security. The lovely pale medicine hat colt is protecting his lovely Stone Cabin Grey sister.  She kept her head tucked down low under his for much of the time they were in this pen. He is the little stud among them and has all the protective attributes of an excellent band stallion.  You will be pleased to know a big-hearted advocate adopted both of these horses so they wouldn't be separated.   He would have made a fabulous band stallion in the wild.   Sigh...

There's a lot going on in this photo.  The colt is rearing up in the chute, and the soft padding this BLM crew installed on all the upper bars, where his face is, is saving his face and head, and possibly his neck, along with the wrangler's arm that got squeezed into the bars when the foal reared.  By the way, the rearing colt is the little boy who was protecting his sister, above.  The dark filly is pawing at the water trough because she's thirsty but doesn't like the water.  It's not the fresh reservoir water she's used to drinking from in the wild. I watched her; she finally drank. The white filly is watching the commotion in the chute, which settled down fairly quickly.  

           I've not seen better handling in BLM than Shawna did during branding these youngsters in the chute (that's Shawna in the blue and black jacket) and the quality loading of these young horses into waiting trailers.  I thanked her.  So good to see the person in charge is a genuinely caring individual. 

           No offense intended to other conscientious BLM wranglers and horsepeople, but I have just come off the Calico roundup where an injured horse was hotshotted to make him stand up quickly, given no time to collect himself after a front leg was freed from being stuck in a divider panel in the trailer.  

             For one thing, the COR (Contracting officer's Representative, i.e., BLM's lead person in the field during this roundup) Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Dustin Hollowell, actually knows the horses on this range, knows where they were, and made sure the trap sites were moved frequently  to try to prevent injury to the horses.  

             This has been a concern to me since Sun-J has in the past been known to remain at trap sites day after day after day, driving horses from further and further away.  There were still a troubling number of deaths and "euthanizations."   We are talking about these things openly.   These roundups are, very simply, really brutal for the horses and these babies. 

STONE CABIN HORSES

Frightened foals hiding as best they could.  These are babies, and some appear to be only about five months old.  They are tall horses in Stone Cabin compared to other mustangs, and some suspect these horses are younger than the age BLM approximates.  I'm trying to put a positive face on this, but darn it, this stinks.  They each have been doted on and protected by both mother and dad, the band stallion.  Now, all that was familiar is gone.  One demonstrated a curiousity about people. Note the little Stone Cabin Grey filly's head (right) tucked under her brother's.  

 Frightened, distrustful eyes watched me.  They have never before been without an adult horse to look to for leadership.        

             These classic Stone Cabin foals stole my heart.  They have been adopted and found a safe place to land although it galls me that they were taken off the range to begin with.  The 1971 Act states that  (c) "range" means the amount of land necessary to sustain an existing herd or herds of wild free-roaming horses and burros, which does not exceed their known territorial limits, and which is devoted principally but not necessarily exclusively to their welfare in keeping with the multiple-use management concept for the public lands.  (Emphasis added.)

              BLM has it upside-down since only 404 wild horses are allotted on this 500,000-acre Herd Management Area, yet over 4,000 cows and sheep per year are permitted on the Stone Cabin range.  The unfair numbers of cows/sheep as related to horses demonstrates what I perceive as a perversion of the 1971 law as set forth in the above paragraph, and it's what forced the removal of these babies from their families.   

             AGNES and DORIE 

              I have to tell you Agnes's story.  Agnes had a hard time.  She is an old girl, and she had a hard time in the trailer and then getting out of the trailer.  Agnes is old and skinny.  And yours truly, well, I'm getting older, and I'm skinny.  But my teeth are good (LOL!), and so are Agnes'.  And because Agnes' teeth are good, and we are coming up on Spring,  COR and Wild Horse and Burro Specialist Dustin Hollowell released this horse instead of "euthanizing" her.  Any other roundup I've been to, this mare would have been killed.  She isn't suffering.  She's alive.  She is full of life.  With a mouth full of good teeth, there is absolutely no reason to keep this old mare from living out her days in the wild mountains she has known all her life.  I hugged Dustin. 

              And her friend, Dorie, waited for her.  They were the last ones out of the trailer; all the other, younger mares had run off, eager to be away from the trailer and the humans who put them there.  But Dorie hung back and waited for her old friend Agnes who had kind of fallen out of the trailer and sat down on the ground, and took a minute to get her legs under her.  

              Once Agnes was up, her left hind leg looked a little ginger, but she was fine (I've had days like that).  She was putting her full weight on it and trotted up the hill strongly to the waiting Dorie.  

Agnes

L to R:  Agnes and Dorie

Happy Spring, soon, girls. 

For the wild horses and their humble, stalwart burro friends,

Elyse Gardner

BIG DAY FOR HORSES: LANDMARK WIN IN LAURA LEIGH'S NINTH CIRCUIT COURT CASE, WHICH RULED IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFF LAURA LEIGH & CORRECTS THE LOWER COURT JUDGE, TAKING UP ITS ROLE AS GUARDIANS OF THE FREE PRESS -- BUT DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH... and UNITED LEGAL EFFORT SAVES 198 FOREST SERVICE HORSES' FREEDOM; and GRUESOME ATLANTIC CITY HORSE DIVING PLAN IS DROPPED

  

                As you probably know, Laura Leigh has won an important legal victory today.  The beginning of the litigation:  

                I REMEMBER WHEN IT STARTED.  Laura held her stomach and said she was nauseous seeing her name, "Leigh vs. Salazar."  But she knew she had to proceed.  The Bureau of Land Management really doesn't give the wild horses or the advocates a choice because try as we might to work with them, no policy changes were happening.

               In fact, access was getting more and more limited.   I would drive hundreds of miles, spend a lot of money on gas and motels and food, and be given teasing glimpses of the horses coming in, not be able to see them coming driven in front of the helicopter and only having visibility when they were halfway down the jute funnel into the trap; never except one time able to see respiration rate once they had landed in the pen; not be permitted to see them processed in Temporary Holding.  

STEAMING, perspiring horses in sub-freezing weather.  Pneumonia in the making.  

               What I was seeing was lack of oversight in holding facilities teeming with wild horses, and I was posting these things on my blog through photos and videos.  Meanwhile, AMLs were getting lower for the wild horses and burros while cattle grazing, mining and mineral extraction were increasing, squeezing the wild horses and burros off their legal land as roundups continued to increase; 

                I became a known advocate with a cutting edge blog because I was constantly in the field and posting videos and photographs and explanations of what they depicted on that blog (this blog).  And FOIA'd documents (documents requested under the Freedom Of Information Act) revealed that Nevada and D.C. BLM decision-makers actually closed out the public from the privately owned, privately contracted short-term holding facility known as "Indian Lakes" or "Broken Arrow" largely because of the fallout and image problems to BLM's reputation from "Elyse Gardner's blog." And they stated that the fallout from members of The Cloud Foundation and from my readers would be intense, but that would "pale in comparison" to the damage BLM was suffering to its reputation by allowing me (and others) to continue to witness and post photographs from Broken Arrow.  

                And last but not least, questions and FOIA requests regarding wild horses who disappear into long-term holding were going unanswered and being refused.  Something had to be done, and journalist Laura Leigh up and did it, exercising that precious American right:  she filed suit against the government, joining the ranks of courageous, committed people in organizations such as The Cloud Foundation, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, and others who've been hard at it, stepping up to fight the abuses and sickening wrongs we see the American wild horses and burros subjected to by the branch of government tasked with protecting them.

                Importantly, Attorney Gordon Cowan and Laura Leigh saw the big picture and recognized the enormity of what is really going on here in terms of an American's First Amendment rights and the United States Government's obligation to transparency.   The Freedom of the Press to report actual goings-on is paramount in a democracy.  When our President, or any other government official, boasts of transparency, that should be a given.  Like it or not, transparency of the government is what this nation is based upon, short of national security secrets that could jeopardize our national security.   

Photo taken July 15, 2010

L TO R: Laura Leigh, Elyse Gardner (me)

                This photo was taken after the court hearing on July 15, 2010, which took place just six days after my colleague and friend, Laura Leigh and I were rear-ended on the way to the hot, summer Owyhee roundup by a drunk driver on July 9, a roundup which had been planned for months (perhaps as long as a year) despite the known heat that time of year, despite the brand new foals and the many heavily pregnant mares ready to foal.  The first days of the roundup had already claimed the lives of 21 horses, a disaster.  Considering the time of year, it wasn't unpredictable.
               My Toyota Rav4 was totaled, Laura was rushed to the hospital while I stayed in my disabled car with her best friend Elvis, the affable but protective Burnese Mountain Dog who was also injured in the crash.   If you look closely at the right side of Laura's face, above, you will see it is green from her injury where her face hit the passenger window.  My knees took the hit because I braced when I saw him coming in my rear view mirror as the freeway traffic in front of us was slowing to a stop, and there was nothing I could do, didn't even have time to warn Laura.  And I've since had surgery on one torn meniscus and am nursing the other torn meniscus... but another time for that.
               We felt a sense of urgency because of the severity of the hot weather and the developments with the horses, so by the following afternoon my totaled car was left for the towtruck, I had obtained a rental (very grateful for good car insurance, a must), and with Laura nursing a concussion and my wounded knee and neck, and Elvis limping a bit, we were back on the road.
The below photo taken 26 January 2011, L-R: Attorney Gordon Cowan, Laura Leigh, author and President of Wild Horse Freedom Federation RT Fitch,
     
                All of this to say:
               The reason for the phrase in this blog's title, "Don't Hold Your Breath..." is this:
               Advocates thought Laura won in Court that day — and she did — because even though the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was lifted and they proceeded with the roundup, her First Amendment rights were affirmed, and we heard the Court use words like "credible" about Plaintiff Laura Leigh and say she should be allowed to see what was happening.  This was a major victory with far-reaching implications.
               Further, Judge Hicks ruled BLM couldn't close down acres and acres of public land around a roundup, another major victory (and the reason BLM now allows daily "access" to roundups on public land although at the time people scarcely noticed the implications of this.  It tickles me to this day when BLM tells me how good I have it that I can come out every day to see a roundup, and I politely remind them that they had to be dragged into court for this to occur).
               So imagine our surprise when Laura, Deniz Bolbol and I drove all night, showed up at the roundup the following day with cameras in hand only to be completely stonewalled.  Amazingly, we never were permitted to see any of that particular roundup.  Not one horse.  Read George Knapp's report on the stonewalling of advocates at this deadly roundup despite the previous day's Court ruling.  I tell you, BLM has impedence (new word?) and evasive manuevering down to a fine art.
      ©2010 Elyse Gardner   -  no use without permission, please.

We were followed by a ranger who wouldn't give us specific information

               Laura was forced to go back to court to file allegations of contempt.  What I want to say is Laura Leigh is bonafide in-print press, which puts her in a different class than an interested citizen and which elevates this First Amendment case to a whole new level.  It is the reason Amicus ("friend of the Court," interested parties) briefs have been filed by two prestigious journalistic associations .  She is not "just" an interested citizen or advocate.
                None of it made any difference.  The access slammed shut.  An award winning journalist, author of children't books, artist, Laura realized if change is going to happen, we have to press beyond our normal comfort zones.   She is pressing to be able to report firsthand on America's wild horses from birth through death, wherever they are.  What is particularly upsetting to me is longterm holding because over 40,000 wild horses have been spirited away to this mystical place called "longterm holding" which we've never seen.
Below taken January 5, 2012, During the "Calico"roundup in Nevada. This stud's family is in the trailer.  He is soaked with white lather, sweat.  He fought off the helicopter for well over an hour, jumped the 6-foot fence out of the trap pen, escaping when his family was caught, and then evaded the trap again later when he joined up with other horses after his family was hauled away.  He was eventually captured, but he was one of the fortunate studs released a couple of days later, having been stripped of his family, who remained in captivity.   I was there when he was released, and I was so very happy about that.  Sigh.

 He has come up to check us out.  His angst at the loss of his family is evident, tangible as he hovers around the area watching and calling to them. 

                 BLM documentation assures the public that these horses retain their "wild" status, which means they are afforded certain protections under the law even as captives in longterm holding.

This photo is from the Owyhee roundup in 2010. This officer politely warned us we faced arrest if we stepped onto the private land where the trapsite was situated and if the owner of that land complained.  He would not tell us where that private land was. It was abundantly evident, however,  that he would be sure to notify the owner if and when we did step on that private land so that the owner could be sure to complain.   I kid you not.  I never thought these things would happen to me; you're only supposed to read about stuff like this... 

                 Here's the rub:  until recently we the public were led to believe horses lived unmolested, happily-ever-after in these places, these longterm holding ranches located primarily in the midwest, most in Oklahoma.
                 But by BLM's own word, we have learned wild horses are sold out of longterm holding by the truckload.  By the truckload.   Recently a truckload was stopped by a wary BLM employee, Gus War, who smelled trouble, and a truck full of horses was spared any horses' worst nightmare, a trip to a Mexican slaughterhouse.   Advocates have asked for and have FOIA'd (filed under the Freedom Of Information Act) BLM's receipts for the bulk sales of these horses to no avail.  In other words, we want to know exactly how many horses were sold out of longterm holding over the last few years and to whom.   BLM is not releasing that information.  Why?  Their stated policy is to not sell wild horses to slaughter, but exactly how hard do they look at prospective buyers?

NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE HEART AND SOUL OF THIS HUGE WIN FOR THE HORSES AND FOR AMERICA

                 I've endeavored to give you  an encapsulated overview of what the wild horses and burros are dealing with and why it is so imperative that this heretofore impenetrable shield be broken through at least by a good journalist who knows horses, is street savvy, and a wild horse advocate at heart.  I believe Laura to be really excellent for this.  But I do not expect BLM to just suddenly agree, and I am asking for you to continue to support the efforts of those in litigation, which include Laura Leigh, The Cloud Foundation, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign.

                 I am deeply moved upon reading the Opinion:  dare I yet hope in this Land of the Free, in the sacred Constitution of this United States?  My hope in my beloved country is renewed this day by this ruling.
                  I cannot tell you how my observations of these roundups and the small-minded power plays, the denials and marginalization of obvious suffering and wrongs done to these horses, and the continued attempts of the BLM personnel to block my access and dismiss the public's concerns have disillusioned me, truly, about my America — where had she gone?  This Court has done a great service, a tremendous thing, in correcting one of its own. These Judges executed their role so beautifully.
                 This is a win for America even more so than for the horses, but dare I say it, the wild horses ARE America, as the 1971 Congress well understood when it unanimously said:  "That Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West," this is more than just flowery words.  The very soul of America is bound up with these animals, as well it should be since this country was literally built on their backs.
                 And how well this Ninth Circuit Court stated:  "If a government agency restricts public access, the media's only recourse is the court system. The free press is the guardian of the public interest, and the independent judiciary is the guardian of the free press. Thus, courts have a duty to conduct a thorough and searching review of any attempt to restrict public access."
                  I encourage everyone to read this ruling.  It is a beautiful application of the pure principles of our Constitution to the current situation we have been facing with the wild horses and burros.  I believe that more than any other, the First Amendment is the heart and soul of our Freedom.  Violation of our First Amendment Rights is the beginning of an internal decay that will destroy America from the inside out, disillusioning her hardworking people.
                  In this economically difficult time, it is more important than ever that we know we can believe in our country, that we know our courts will uphold our vital Constitutional rights against a government run riot, against a renegade agency behaving like a wrecking ball and playing word games with our Constitutional rights.  How I revere our founding fathers, how thankful I am this day for unbiased, visionary people who love and serve the brilliant Constitution of this great land.  My eyes are wet with gratitude as I write these words. We have a ways to go, still; the battle is not won, but make no mistake:  a huge mountain has been reclaimed, and we have Laura Leigh and Gordy Cowan to thank for this great moment in our nation's history.

  UNIFIED LAWSUIT CONVINCES U.S. FOREST SERVICE TO REVERSE COURSE

and to abandon its planned removal of Monte Christo horses in Eastern Nevada.
The Forest Service has agreed to back down from rounding up and zeroing out Monte Christo horses; read more about the Monte Cristo horses here.  They have also reversed course once again on the plan to release gelded horses onto the range and call them "wild horses."  This is a huge relief and win for these animals and for the mountains who stood to lose the presence of the wild horses.  This is a huge victory for The Cloud Foundation, AWHPC, and Western Watersheds who combined to make a powerful, well reasoned case.  Thank you to you great unceasing advocates!
               All of us working together, exercising our unique gifts, are giving our wild horses and burros a voice.  They need every one of us.

       PUBLIC PRESSURE HAS CAUSED ATLANTIC CITY BUSINESSMAN TO ABANDON CRUEL "HORSE DIVING" FROM HIS PLANNED RENOVATION

        My heartfelt thanks to all who wrote and called, which persuaded the Atlantic City boardwalk and businessman to drop his ugly plan.  Look at these great strides we were given on Wednesday, Valentine's Day 2012.
         I don't know about you, but to me it certainly appears interesting that all of these powerful positive turns should happen on this Valentine's Day... what a gift of love to the horses and to us who have been working so hard.  Pretty interesting timing for such big events to occur simultaneously.  I'm just saying....

TWIN PEAKS HORSES GET ANOTHER 
IMPORTANT DAY IN COURT

                   There is a another vitally  important hearing upcoming on Friday, February 24, in Sacramento, in the Twin Peaks case.  The horses will have their day in court.  This is where the rubber meets road... Determinations of AMLs will be discussed among other nitty gritty aspects of the Wild Horse and Burro law and program.  If you live anywhere within a few hours I urge you to please come and show your support with your presence.  This is another landmark time.  I would dearly love to see you all there.  If you are a praying type, please do it.
Details:
Location: United States District Court
Eastern District of California
501 I Street
Sacramento, California

To be argued in front of Morrison England Jr., Courtroom #7 which is on the 14th floor.
There is paid parking across the street in the Amtrack parking lot.
The Courthouse opens at 9:00 a.m. - if you want to be guaranteed a seat you should arrive early so that you can get through security. 
             Please let me know if you can attend - if the numbers look like they might exceed capacity we can ask the court for accommodations.  Please write me at elysesings@comcast.net if you are planning to come so I can tell Plaintiffs' attorney and we can plan from there.  Hope to see you then!   Thank you.  

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY QUESTIONABLE AS BLM COR MELANIE MIRATI ADMITS ORDERING THE HOTSHOTTING OF AN INJURED WILD HORSE DURING CALICO TRI-STATE COMPLEX ROUNDUP; and ANSWERS ARE LONG IN COMING FOR MARE SHOT FROM TEMPORARY HOLDING

                 Melanie Mirati, BLM's replacement COR for the Calico Tri-State complex, acknowledges ordering a hotshot be used on an injured, downed horse they struggled for 10 minutes to free from his stuck position in a stock trailer.  A review of my film, below, reveals he got stuck when being packed in like sardines, the last horse forced into an untenable situation, a customary habit among BLM ground personnel and roundup contractors eager to fill up each trailer load for economics. 

             I've put together my film of the incident, below, so I can walk you through exactly what happened as we saw it.  The brief interview is at the end. 

             For the tender hearted (that's a lot of us), my rating of this film is G; this film shows people trying to get a horse unstuck and doing unsavory, upsetting things at times, but it isn't graphic or violently upsetting.  You can only see just enough to know what is going on.  

                   For starters, contrary to Ms. Mirati's statement in this brief interview, this horse was given zero time to rest and collect himself before being hotshotted and forced to stand after being down, injured, and stuck in the trailer for 10 long minutes as those he feared most struggled none too gently to free him and then flagged, poked, prodded him relentlessly to stand.  I doubt he even comprehended what was being asked of him. 

                  She refers to the hotshot being an "acceptable" tool for "livestock" management.  That may or may not be the case for domestic horses, who also are not universally agreed to be "livestock," but certainly the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act treats wild horses as anything but livestock and decrees they are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the American west and are to be treated as an integral part of the natural system of public lands, not treated as livestock.  Additionally, the law states they are to be protected from capture, branding, harassment, and death.  A few minutes here, just a few simple minutes given to this lovely trapped animal who didn't intend to get his foot caught, could make the difference between harassment and compassion, between truly upholding this law and respecting this noble animal, or treating it as livestock, as Ms. Mirati openly admitted she does, whether she recognizes it or not.  

                 It is high time for the members of the Bureau of Land Management to take a personal inventory and reevaluate because Ms. Mirati may well be in violation of the law by treating these animals as livestock, and so would be every member of the elite Bureau of Land Management who does likewise.  

                 Ms. Mirati replaced Ashley Whitman as COR of this Tri-State Complex roundup, who was relieved of her duties after standing by doing nothing while burros were abusively hotshotted when the Sun J crew went into high gear to empty the trap pen for incoming horses rather than tell the pilot to hold off on bringing in more animals, as revealed by Ginger Kathrens' film when she attended the Calico roundup in December 2011.  Candidly, one wonders if Ms. Mirati would have responded any differently. 

Here this unfortunate stallion, whose injured front leg is finally free from being stuck inside the

   trailer, is given no time to calm down, has a rope around his neck and is having his head yanked. 

                I had reported on this in my previous blog post, Yes, It's Bad Enough for Me, and had posted Laura Leigh's video.  After Melanie confirmed her hot-shotting order, I decided to post my video and walk us through the actual event.  

                The day Ginger Kathrens filmed the abusive hotshotting of the burros, a BLM internal investigation and report was released which stated that as part of their investigation, animal welfare experts told BLM officials that electrical prods should be used only as a last resort when human or animal safety is in jeopardy.  

                 This situation, with an injured, downed horse who was shutting down, docile, convinced he was going to die, doesn't come close to meeting that criteria.  He endures poking, prodding, pulling, flagging, with a completely subdued, submissive spirit, surrounded by humans he greatly fears, yet there was no fight, no resistance.  Contrary to Ms. Mirati's statement in her brief interview, he was given no time to collect himself and decide to stand on his own. 

                 The crew makes an attempt to hide the use of the hotshot, but the behavior of the horse gave it away, and when confronted with the question, Ms. Mirati admitted she asked for the hotshot to be used on this horse. 

                 Another concern I want to report on:

                 Farewell to this lovely mare...

                  I saw and photographed this lovely mare on the one day the public was permitted to tour the last Temporary Holding area for this 2012 Calico roundup.  She was down, had been given banamine according to Ms. Mirati, and we were to "keep walking" so we didn't upset her.  

One has to wonder what goes on behind the scenes.  I was under the distinct impression she was to be given time, like overnight, to improve.  I read in the Gather Updates that she was euthanized later that same day. Perhaps I misunderstood the timeline.  But what concerns me is the manner of her death:

                 I'm told she was killed by firearm, and I've been trying to learn why this unfortunate young mare, by the looks of her, was forced as her last living act to load into a trailer, obviously feeling very ill and/or in pain, and be driven off alone to be shot when she could have been administered an overdose injection if she in fact needed to be euthanized at all. I am waiting for her necropsy, as well.  

                 But the very worst thing a person can do to these very social, herd animals is isolate them from others of their kind, especially under stressful circumstances like a roundup.  The circumstances of her death haunt me. 

                 I will update as I receive information.  

CALICO ROUNDUP 2012 is over: SUN J SADDLE HORSE MAKES GREAT EFFORT TO ESCAPE ON THIS LAST DAY OF ROUNDUP; MOUNTAINS BEREFT WITH TOKEN, BROKEN HORSE & BURRO HERDS REMAINING

 (Photos and videos in this blog are for informational purposes only.  Do not use without express written consent from me.  Feel free to link or cross-post to this blog, however.  Thank you. -Elyse Gardner)


          THE BELOW PHOTO is not what you think...
©2012 Elyse Gardner

Sun J saddle horse makes valiant effort to escape

                  Although what you see above looks like helicopter-assisted roping of a wild horse, the fleeing horse is actually Sun J's own saddle horse.  

                  It was around 9:20 a.m. on Monday, January 9, 2012, when we arrived at the trap site.  We'd been driving since 6:40 a.m., and burro roundup operations were already under way.  I was anxious to get out to the observation area and anxious for Roger Oyler to get up to the trap pen to begin his advisory role.

                 As Mark Wilkening, Roger Oyler, and I were hiking up the dirt road — Mark and I to head out to the observation point, and Roger to head up to the trap pen to advise local BLM and Sun J on the characteristics of burros and how best to round them up -- when we all saw a horse running down the road away from the trap pen out into the vast open spaces.  

                 I was baffled for a moment since burros were targeted on this day (which turned out to be the last day of the roundup since BLM reached its inordinately high goal of  rounding up140 burros). 

                We all realized almost simultaneously what we were seeing, and as I took off my pack and quickly got out my video camera, Mark stated it:  "That's one of the saddle horses."  Wranglers had already mounted up and were in hot pursuit as I fired up my camera:

                  This would be humorous if it weren't so sad.  I'd already witnessed and filmed the "Judas horse" try to escape just a few days earlier, and that video will be up shortly (I will put the link here when it is available as well as post it on the blog about the Judas horse).  

                   Roger is BLM's knowledgeable Wild Burro and Horse Program Lead from Arizona. Roger puts the burro before the horse since he specializes in these amazing little animals and, in Arizona, they outnumber the wild horses.  His "official" title is "Wild Horse & Burro Program Lead.  After 20 minutes with him, I am impressed with this man and his knowledge and was glad he was there.

                  Mark Wilkening is BLM's Public Affairs Officer from Oregon.  Mark and I spent a lot of time together during the Twin Peaks roundup, also.  I was glad to see him again. 

                  After Ginger Kathren's had filmed and publicized the inhumane hotshotting of burros during this roundup, she pressed for remedial action to be taken, and Winnemucca District Manager Gene Seidlitz arranged to have BLM's burro expert from their Yuma, Arizona office, come to oversee and advise the contractors and BLM crew on burros and burro roundups.  We also saw no more of the COR present during that ugly abuse of the burros. 

                  I was also troubled that Gene Seidlitz went back on a commitment and did not wait the one day for Roger to arrive despite having initially arranged to do so, and had gone ahead and started the burro roundup the day before, without Roger.  Hmm.  Sigh.  But the effort was made, and Roger was present at least for the last day, and that's certainly better than a kick in the shins, and I'm certain this entire crew learned something from him they could take with them if they care to.

                 In terms of remedial actions taken in response to Ginger's eye-opening footage, even though the COR present during the hotshotting of the burros was removed, she was replaced with COR Melani Mirati who finds it acceptable to use a hotshot on an injured horse to make him stand up if he even could — which was unknown at the time — without having given him even five minutes to stand on his own — or even 10 seconds, for that matter.  I will be posting my interview with Melanie Marati where she acknowledges making the call to hotshot the injured stud who went down in the trailer.

                      The escape effort was made by this horse, who is one of Sun J's saddle horses.  

                  Here is our saddle horse escape-attempter after being roped and captured.  He sure gave a mighty effort.  Of course, once roped he was quite docile (though I suspect unrepentent).  

                  I have now witnessed two of Sun J's horses — their "Judas" horse, who no longer deserves that name since he tried to quit, and this horse they use as a saddle horse — make determined escape attempts to be free.  I will go into more detail when I get the videos up and posted.

CALICO BURRO ROUNDUP CONCLUDES

CALICO TRI-STATE BURRO NUMBERS REDUCED TO 39 in nearly 600,000 acre complex. 

©2012 Elyse Gardner

Two of the targeted 140 burros being rounded up and removed from Calico and the "Tri-State Complex"
                    Yes, that is not a misprint:  39 burros in 600,000 acres.  Sickening.  BLM is looking to reduce the wild burro population to a mere 3,000 in the entire west.  This would be listed as an endangered species were it anything else.
                    I must check out of this motel and get on the road, but I wanted to be faithful to provide updates to what is occurring in the Calico complex and wild horse program in general.
SOME FINAL COMMENTS 
                    I WANT TO MAKE ONE THING CLEAR:  I am glad BLM called Roger Oyler in to advise on the burro roundup even though they didn't use him at the start.  But this program, BLM's Wild Horse and Burro program, must have an actual Standard Operating Procedure, a legal code to which they can be held to account, e.g.:
                    There must be a distance certain/mile limit beyond which horses and/or burros may not be chased by helicopter or any other mechanized instrument;
                    There must be a distance the BLM and contractors can be held to account for, that the helicopter must keep between it and an animal unless an emergency exists, such as guiding an animal away from a ledge;
                    There must be temperature limits over which roundups must be called/postponed, both for heat and cold;
                    There must be tighter guidelines on the use of hotshots.  
                    These are just a few of the issues; this list is not complete by any stretch.  But I do have to check out of this motel (yes, I'm in another motel, heading for another holding facility to observe the horses and look to see if a particular black stallion has been captured, since I was precluded from being able to see all the horses coming off the range.)
                     Leaving these things up to the judgement of those involved isn't sufficient.  The experience and caring, or lack thereof,  of those involved is too variable; the cast of characters changes all the time.   It is time for a legal standard.
                     This is why the humane case Laura Leigh has filed is so important, and it comes before the Court on January 26, 2012.  Please stay tuned to Wild Horse Education (http://wildhorseeducation.org) for updates on this important litigation.
                    And if you haven't already done so, I urge you to contact respond to requests from The Cloud Foundation, AWHPC (American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign), Wild Horse Education, and me in terms of letters and calls to various lawmakers and BLM.  The wild horses and burros need our voices.
                    That's all I have time for right now.  I will be supplementing posts with video and photos and adding new posts and film from this roundup.
                    I hope to see you along the good trail...

CALICO ROUNDUP 2012: BURRO ROUNDUP STARTS

            ( All photos by Elyse Gardner unless otherwise stated.  No use without prior written consent from same.)
             Burro roundup started today.
             Could not see at all at the original observation area we were given. This was it.

                I vigorously requested a better spot.  A visiting BLM official encouraged them to search for a better viewing area, and District Manager Gene Seidlitz, who was present, decided to pursue that and obtained what appeared to be a much better viewing point.  He said he had "called in his last favor," and would not ask for a better viewing spot for this particular trap site, that this was it.

Although an effort was made, we still could see nothing of the burros actually being chased with helicopter-assisted roping. I was, however, able to see them returning with the captured burros and hollow-backed horses.   

                   The "called in his last favor" comment rankled.  BLM is the arm of the American government tasked to "protect and manage" a much loved American treasure, our wild horses and burros.  As Americans, our Constitution is framed as a government by the people and for the people, and it assures us of the permanent right to hold our government, which is to serve the people. to account for how it spends our tax dollars, and to be visible and open in what it does.

                   At this point I will tell you that I have been quietly looking for Freedom, the courageous black stallion who escaped during the Calico roundup of 2010.  If he is captured, I can take adopt him and restore him to some of his mares.
                   Ironic that  I have not been permitted to see a single horse up close except for a very quick walk around Temporary Holding on Saturday only because the private landowner on whose property they have built the Temporary Holding pens doesn't want people on his property more than onde a week.  I have searched Litchfield Corrals, BLM's short-term holding facility in Litchfield (where the Twin Peaks horses went)  to see if he was taken during the Fox Hog roundup, since that HMA abutts Calico where Freedom was captured and escaped.  I have searched the BLM corrals at Palomino Valley Center near Sparks, Nevada, before arriving at the Calico roundup.
                      So BLM's intimation that I should be ever so grateful for a wee bit better viewing area just doesn't wash.  I am not going genuflect because my government takes a step toward doing what it is tasked to do:  be accountable to the American people.  Here I am trying to adopt a horse if they've captured him, yet BLM seems to almost revel in its power to block me from seeing horses fresh off the range.  It's diabolical.  Yet I don't take it personally; BLM has just gotten a bit big for its britches.
                  Along these lines (but slightly different), Laura Leigh's First Amendment case on access goes to the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco today.  It is hugely important to the press community, which has joined her lawsuit, not just wild horse advocates.  Laura is accredited print media with a press credential.  The "now you see it, now you don't" kind of "access" given at trap sites, and the total barring of access for the press and for the American public to long-term holding and to America's wild horses and burros because BLM contracts with private landowners to house them must be challenged, and Laura has taken that on.  My hopes and prayers are with her, and I hope yours will be, also.

CALICO ROUNDUP 2012: BURRO ROUNDUP PHASE TO BEGIN AS JUDAS HORSE CALLS IT QUITS AND TRIES TO JOIN HIS ESCAPING WILD KIN AS BLM *COR STEPS UP AND CALLS OFF THE FINAL RUN ON HORSES, WHO GO FREE

*(COR stands for Contracting Officer's Representative, i.e., the BLM person in charge on site. -EG)
 ©2012 Elyse Gardner

I watched this bravehearted member of the final five horses being rounded up by Sun J twice defy the helicopter until...

 ©2012 Elyse Gardner

... he finally is able to escape as the helicopter pilot chooses to continue to try to capture his remaining four friends.  

©2012 Elyse Gardner

The final four horses embarking on their hard-won freedom as the Sun J helicopter breaks off the chase. 

             After putting up a determined fight to remain free -- which impressed the Sun J Judas horse so much he tried to quit his job and join them (video soon to come) — the last five wild horses to be chased by the Sun J helicopter retained their freedom today.
©2012 Elyse Gardner

Sun J Judas horse being contained by two wranglers as he makes a break to follow the wild horses.

         
              BLM COR Melanie Mirati called off the final chase after these frightened, freedom loving wild mustangs put up a valiant fight, breaking away from the mouth of the trap and ignoring the Judas horse, refusing to be intimidated into running anywhere near the jute funnel again for a very long six-minute, full-speed face-off with the helicopter. After intense criticism over the previous day's events when the helicopter continued hazing and flying dangerously low at an 11-horse group of wild horses who at least three times failed to follow Sun J's unsuccessful Judas horse into the final trap pen, and which included a compromised stud who stood weakly apart and even flopped down for about 30 seconds while the chaotic, intense helicopter chase ensued all around him, the BLM finally stepped up to do its job and protect these horses from life-threatening harassment. (Video is being prepared and will be coming soon. ) That was one of the ugliest days I've seen in roundups.
              I am certain that it didn't hurt any that BLM's Winnemucca District Manager Gene Seidlitz was present at the trap site observation area today.  Mr. Seidlitz, who manages for multiple use and is not a horseman, nevertheless stated he "couldn't watch" the videos of Sun J's handling practices from Triple B, and told this reporter that he made it clear to his staff and the contractor that he does not want those types of practices happening on his watch.
              Those words seem to have fallen on deaf ears until today, with his CORs having been passive and nonassertive as hotshotting, overcrowding trailers, and long and fierce low-flying helicopter hazing of horses has persisted during this ugly Calico roundup, while Sun J's characteristic fracturing of bands being run long and hard and lathered up during the chase has continued.
               Things have gotten so bad during this roundup that Amy Lueders, the Nevada state lead of BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, during Christmas week issued a stern directive to BLM field personnel that the best way to stop horse protection advocates from undermining BLM's roundup policies with video footage of the mistreatment of the animals, thereby making it harder for federal land managers to win the public trust, was to stop abuses when they saw them.  I am saddened that the stated reason for stopping abuses is about saving BLM's image, not about protecting the horses. Nevertheless, I'm all for BLM stopping abuses of wild horses and burros even if it's for self-serving reasons.
                District Manager Gene Seidlitz insisted to this reporter that he felt the Sun J contractors had improved, but he's been busy with other matters and hadn't been in the field much, apparently relying on reports from staff.
                His presence today was felt by staff.  I observed that the fierce struggle of the wild horses yesterday, including the compromised stallion in the middle of it all, was worse,  continued longer,  and was never called by the COR.  So today's calling off this intense, final face-off between helicopter and wild horses today was a smart move if this District office is to have any credibility.
              These five horses have been given a hard-won reprieve since the horse-roundup phase of this Calico Roundup is over, and the helicopter will now be looking for burros.   I am grateful to have been able to be present this last week.  I am grateful that the COR is acting with more leadership.
              I am told Burro roundups may start as early as Saturday, January 7.  God willing, I will be there.

CALICO ROUNDUP 2012 REACHES NEW LOWS: ROUNDUP CONTINUES AROUND A DOWNED HORSE

        Thursday, January 5, 2012:  Sun-J and BLM reached new lows.
        Speaking of just one of the several mishandled, abusive chases of wild horses at the Paiute Meadows trap site which began today, for over an hour the horses ran, evading the trap four times with the Judas horse running in with no one following.  
        In the midst of this melee, one of the studs being chased stood apart, obviously compromised, at one point laying down, displaying signs of colic or "tying up," common parlance for the condition rhabdomyolysis, the result of massive muscle destruction, where the physical toll of great physical exertion causes the breakdown of muscle tissue that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobulin) into the bloodstream.  Myoglobin, harmful to kidneys, often causes kidney damage.  
        Despite observers' alarm and firmly asking that the BLM COR call this chase off, the chase continued uninterrupted.
        Several horses escaped the trap this day.  Here is Laura Leigh's video of this day.  This was bad.  It was very bad.  However:
         For the tenderhearted:  I rate this video a "G" for general audiences.  It is always hard to watch horses being run and run, but this contains nothing grossly violent.  The way these horses are rounded up is inherently violent, but you will be all right and can watch this, and I hope you will.
         BLM, this is an example of what Amy Lueders does not want to see.  Thank you, Amy, for your new guidelines.

calico wild horse roundup/ one stallion from Laura Leigh on Vimeo.