Wild Heart Ranch- Wild Horse News, Endangered Animal News and more

wild horses to be shot dead in unique Australian national park

2008-01-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

Kill all wild horses in Australian national park: environmentalists

read latest news on wild horses to be shot dead in unique Australian national park
" The area has entered Australian folklore as the location of the Snowy River, which is associated in many Australians' minds with wild horses."
read full story

Wild Horses for the Soul

2007-10-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

Mustangs on the Mountain
Destined for slaughter, a herd of wild horses find reprieve -- and a home -- near Wye.

If you've never been in the midst of a large group of horses, you should try it. Even if you've been around a solitary horse or two, even if you've ridden in the past, nothing quite prepares you for the experience: Several tons of flesh crowding in on matchstick legs, their coats rippling with color in the sun and their backs — if you could somehow freeze the muscle inside from its unending, tidal, fluid movement — like loamy hills. They smell of dust and straw and that singular, not-quite-unpleasant horse smell — musty and wholly animal; strange to anyone not used to it.

If that wasn't enough, these horses, kept on the 40 acres of John Houston Eccleston “Excy” Johnston's nonprofit Wingspur Wild Horse Sanctuary near Wye, are about as wild as you'll find on this side of the Rockies. Captured by the state of Nevada in the high desert, just weeks away from a European or Asian dinner plate when Johnston bought them off a “killer buyer” after getting a tip from a mustang rescue organization, they still have the great majority of their wildness about them: their instinctual hierarchy; their wariness; their own language of lip trills and eye rolls and head shakes that only they completely understand. For a city boy, standing among them — the horses snorting hot breath over my tape recorder and trying to eat the notebook out of my hand — is to be simultaneously terrified and in awe of the beauty that nature can create when we aren't looking.
Their caretaker (“owner” doesn't fit these creatures by a mile), Excy Johnston, is an unlikely cowboy. A scion of old money from Maryland — his family made a scandalous amount from procurement contracts with the Union Army during the Civil War — about all that was left of the family fortune by the time Johnston was born was a rambling estate in Baltimore and his handed-down mouthful of a name. When Excy was 8, his father, pining for the excitement of the West, bought a ranch near Prescott, Ariz. and moved his family there. In short order, Excy became a horseman. His silver-spoon past was sometimes at odds with the rough-and-tumble young ranch hand he became. The summers he was 16 and 17, his grandmother convinced him to come back East to fulfill what she saw as his social obligations. Those summers, Johnston split his time between button-down functions and riding broncs at New Jersey's famous Cowtown Rodeo.

“I would go to deb parties all week, and then go ride a bronc at Cowtown on Saturday night,” he said. “It was really a gas. You'd have your tux on one night and then the next night you'd get out there and ride a bronc.”

Though he admits that rodeo was an addiction, there was a problem: he wasn't very good at it. Seeing the broken old cowboys who had been in the game for years, he decided the safer course was to seek an education. That choice soon landed him at Texas Tech, where he received a degree in architecture. After graduation, he hung out a shingle in Austin.

to read the full article: http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=2051da55-aafc-4cb4-bafc-b6d14ac6a170

Wild Horses of Corolla

2007-06-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

The wild Mustangs of Corolla fates are now unceratin in the near future after over 500 years of survival on the Banks of Corolla...

From Recent article...

Corolla Wild Horses Face Uncertain Future
Posted: May. 28, 2007
Updated: May. 30, 2007
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1450404/

"COROLLA — Wild Spanish Mustangs were dropped off on the Outer Banks centuries ago when the Spanish planned to colonize the islands. Today, a new management plan calls for thinning the herd from more than 100 down to just 60, and the horses face an uncertain future.

The wild horses of Corolla, also known as bankers, have survived in the Outer Banks for nearly 500 years. Now they face their toughest hurdle. The beaches where the Spanish Mustangs landed so long ago are now filling up with tourists.

“I’ve worked with horses a good part of my life,” said Steve Rogers of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. “I’d say their biggest danger is us -- people.”

Rogers’ job is to educate the masses. He spends his summer days handing out brochures on the beaches and intercepting people trying to get to close to the animals.

“I just want to give you some information about the horses,” Rogers told a group of tourists. “You have to stay at least 50 feet away at all times and not feed them."

"Most of the folks who come here don’t know the rules," Rogers said.

Karen McCalpin, who runs the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the group charged by the county to oversee and protect the horses, said the animals do not belong to anybody.

“They’re nobody’s horses,” she said. “They don’t belong to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. They don’t belong to the county.”

McCalpin routinely has to remove injured horses from the herd. The injuries are often caused by humans.

“We’ve had six that were intentionally shot,” McCalpin said.

The horses roam 12,000 acres or 11 miles of the island. Much of that land is privately owned and those owners continue to build.

“There are about 300 houses in that area, but there are 3,080 platted lots.” McCalpin said. “And certainly if all those were to be built out, I don’t know how long people and wild horses can co-exist. Probably not another five centuries unless we do more careful thinking about how we develop the rest of the other banks.”

Rogers and McCalpin want to see horses, houses and humans all get along. They are glad to see people admiring the horses, but they do not want to see people love them to death.

To Read the full article: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1450404/

Reporter: Bill Leslie
Photographer: Richard Adkins
Web Editor: Kamal Wallace

Saving Nevada's wild horses

2007-02-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

From a recent article in http://www.lasvegasnow.com- wild horse advocates and government see the issues of round ups very differently
One sees it from the hear- one tries to use logic to defend their position

"This is a very passionate issue for some people. The Bureau of Land Management says there is not enough food to support the amount of horses and burros. Wild horse advocates say that's not true and the government needs to manage the herds better.

Wild horses represent the picture of freedom to Billie Young. That is why she took on the federal government. She formed America's Wild Horse Advocates.

check out the full article to see where you fit in -
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=6007145

Wild Horses Become Part of the U.S. Marines

2006-06-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Wild Horses Become Part of the U.S. Marines
Carson City
http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/2925476.html

Former wild Nevada horses are now the newest members of the Mounted Color Guard, based at Barstow, California.

The horses were trained by state inmates of the Warm Springs Correctional Facility in Carson City, and handed over during a ceremony on Saturday. Fifteen additional horses were also there, up for public adoption.

The training procedure is a special tradition between the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Marine Corps., dating back two decades.

Sale of wild horses for slaughter stopped by House Vote

2006-05-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

Victory for wild horses with House vote
For those of you that love wild horses:

The House directed the Interior Deprtment on Thursday to halt the sale of wild horses for slaughter, saying that was not the purpose of the program that makes the horses and burros available for adoption.

full story:
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2006/05/22/news/regional/1310b1f045e2bb6d87257173005b3c5a.txt

call to action to save wild horses

2006-05-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

I received this email and feel I should post for others to review and respond to this call to action to save wild horses

Dear Friends of Wild Horses,

We have another opportunity to stop the slaughter of 8,200 wild horses awaiting their fate in BLM holding facilities. The U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on an amendment introduced by Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV) on May 18th - Thursday that will prohibit your tax dollars from being used to send wild horses to slaughter. This amendment will be attached to the House Interior Appropriations Bill.

It was just one year ago that an identical Rahall amendment passed overwhelmingly in the House but was sabotaged by Senator Burns in the Senate Conferee Committee. Senator Burns was the one who introduced the stealth amendment in 2004 allowing the unprecedented change in the 1971 Wild Horses and Burros Act granting BLM "sale authority" of animals over the age of ten and those horses who fail three adoptions. This amendment was in direct opposition to the intent of the 1971 law - that no wild horse or burro should ever again be slaughtered.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please call your Representative immediately - CAPITOL HILL OPERATOR - (202) 224-3121 (To find your Rep - www.congress.org )
Ask your Representative to vote for the Rahall Interior Appropriations Amendment that will stop your tax dollars from funding wild horse slaughter
Please send this to as many people on your E-mail list as possible
To find out how your Representative voted LAST YEAR (listed below and follow directions)
Please let us know if you have made the call - ispmb@lakotanetwork.com
It is critically important that you take the time to call and help us end wild horse slaughter. We thank you so very much for your efforts.

Click on your state below and then go to Vote Totals and then click "by state."

State Yes No Not Voting
Alabama 4 3 0
Alaska 0 0 1
Arizona 4 4 0
Arkansas 3 1 0
California 34 16 3
Colorado 2 4 1
Connecticut 2 1 2
Delaware 1 0 0
Florida 14 11 0
Georgia 6 5 2
Hawaii 1 1 0
Idaho 0 2 0
Illinois 15 3 0
Indiana 4 5 0
Iowa 0 4 1
Kansas 1 3 0
Kentucky 1 5 0
Louisiana 1 6 0
Maine 2 0 0
Maryland 7 1 0
Massachusetts 8 0 2
Michigan 10 5 0
Minnesota 3 5 0
Mississippi 2 2 0
Missouri 3 5 1
Montana 0 1 0
Nebraska 0 3 0
Nevada 1 2 0
New Hampshire 2 0 0
New Jersey 12 1 0
New Mexico 2 1 0
New York 27 2 0
North Carolina 7 6 0
North Dakota 0 1 0
Ohio 7 7 3
Oklahoma 0 4 1
Oregon 4 1 0
Pennsylvania 14 4 1
Rhode Island 2 0 0
South Carolina 2 4 0
South Dakota 1 0 0
Tennessee 6 3 0
Texas 13 13 6
Utah 0 3 0
Vermont 1 0 0
Virginia 6 4 1
Washington 6 3 0
West Virginia 3 0 0
Wisconsin 5 3 0
Wyoming 0 1 0
Total 249 159 25

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

Karen A. Sussman
President, ISPMB
PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636
Tel: 605.964.6866
Cell: 605.365.6991
Saving America's Wild Horses & Burros since 1960

www.ispmb.org

Become a member of ISPMB today!
http://www.ispmb.org/membership.shtml

wild horses in New Zealand

2006-05-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

Kaimanawa Wild Horse Preservation Society Inc. (KWHPS) is responsible for all public placements of wild horses that have been captured during the annual muster that is conducted by the Department of Conservation (DOC) in New Zealand http://www.nzwildhorses.com/

Homes are being sought for Kaimanawa wild horses, ahead of the Department of Conservation's annual muster.

The Kaimanawa Wild Horse Preservation Society (KWHPS) wants people interested in taking home a horse from the muster in June, to apply.

KWHPS president Kathy Asplet said the horses made excellent pets and work animals.

"They are very good for any discipline, for pony clubs, horse trekking, A and P shows, as farm horses or riding for the disabled. They are really proving themselves."
full info: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3661525a11,00.html

Poem to Wild Horses

2006-01-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

Craig Carpenter Downer championing the plight of wild horses- wrote the following poem, published in "Streams of the Soul," while walking in a Nevada desert:

Poem to Wild Horses

I write a poem

about the wild horse,

'cause there's a lot of feeling here,

albeit much long suffering

and abuse by man - most gruesome!

... Yet, too, vast wide-open spaces,

and MANY lives lived out

with Grace and in Joyful Freedom!

-T'is a saga of the Old West

- and I believe the New -

this story of the wild horse,

this enduring, wind-drinking

runner of desert and plain,

as - Alas!- of very Time!

His story is one with yours and mine.

May he reach far upon this Earth Plane!

For 't is a saga of what this Land is yet to be,

of a Destiny yet unfulfilled,

when Man and Horse in Freedom live

once again with mutual Respect.
full story - http://www.recordcourier.com/article/20060115/Community/101150010/-1/rss01

24,500 wild horses and burros in holding facilities

2006-01-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

Romance meets reality

By ELECTA DRAPER
The Denver Post Saturday, December 31, 2005

DOVE CREEK, Colo. - The notion of wild horses roaming the American West might be more a national delusion than a reality.

Almost 35 years ago Congress proclaimed that the West's wild horses were an American treasure. It passed a law in 1971 to protect them from slaughter.

But the realities of the Bureau of Land Management wild horse and burro program are different from the romantic images painted then by Congress and still held by many Americans.

Because for the roughly 32,000 wild horses and burros roaming the range in 10 Western states, there were, by October of this year, 24,500 wild horses and burros in holding facilities.

Of last year's BLM wild horse and burro budget of $39.6 million, more than half, $20.1 million, was spent to keep the animals off the range and in these holding facilities.

full story

No More Night Mares: A Dream of Freedom

2005-12-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

No More Night Mares: A Dream of Freedom

FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Nancy Garhan Attebury
Do not miss this book about Eclipse, the shiny black stallion, and his mares. A rival stallion named Golden Earth respects Eclipse so much that he races to warn Eclipse of the dangers from men who have entered the area. In his quest to maintain freedom, Eclipse leads his four prized mares to safety by having them escape into the sky. The magical ascent into the night sky allows the mares to become lights of inspiration while Eclipse stays on earth to protect the other wild horses. Even the horse-catching men understand the beauty and magic of the escape. The author's poetic and lyrical words paint vivid pictures of power and excitement throughout the daring tale. Beautiful horse illustrations with star-shaped borders add extra appeal to this title. Youngsters will want to read this book again and again. As a bonus, on the back cover several website addresses for wild horse preservation are listed. 2004, Wild Heart Ranch, Ages 8 to 12.

Adopt something "wild" for Christmas ...

2005-12-22T20:51:00.000-08:00

What better Christmas idea than to donate to an animal protection foundation and adopt a wild animal ?

Here are just a few ideas:

Adopt a Comstock Wild HorseProgram : http://www.whmentors.org/lhp/adopt01.html

Donate to : Save the Mustangs Foundation http://www.savethemustangfoundation.com/home.html

Adopt a wild mustang or Burro http://www.mustangs4us.com/adopt_a_mustang.htm

Learn more about how you can adopt a wild camel: http://www.wildcamels.com/

news source for wild horse news

2005-12-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Wild Horse News
Local news for Wild Horse, CO continually updated from thousands of sources on the web:
http://www.topix.net/city/wild-horse-co

Przewalski's horses change status from extinct to "endangered"

2005-12-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

'Extinct' wild horse roams againBy Charles Clover(Filed: 19/12/2005)
The wild horse has been saved from extinction after a successful programme to reintroduce captive-bred horses to their natural habitat in Mongolia.

A working group of scientists at London Zoo has now recommended that Przewalski's horse, previously characterised as "extinct" in the wild, should now be listed as "endangered".
It is a rare case of a species climbing away from extinction. If the new status is accepted by IUCN, the World Conservation Union, scientists say it will be a milestone for large mammal conservation.

full story: http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/19/nhorse19.xml

Wild horses in Mongolia

2005-12-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

In the endangered animal world ...

Mongolia: Extinction crisis looming
By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL Published December 6, 2005
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia -- Wildlife Conservation Society scientists say they are deeply concerned about an alarming decrease in general wildlife populations in Mongolia. The New York-based organization blames overhunting and excessive trade in skins and other animal products for the problem, the New York Times reported Tuesday. A WCS study of Mongolia's wildlife says by some estimates, the populations of endangered species -- marmots, argali sheep, antelope, red deer, bears, Asiatic wild asses -- have plummeted by 50 percent to 90 percent. Two exceptions are an apparent increase in the number of wolves and a gradual increase in the number of endangered Przewalski wild horses.
full story: http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20051206-010106-1673r

Wild Heart Ranch Contest Winner

2005-12-15T20:15:00.000-08:00

CONTEST WINNERCongratulations to our first contest winner Kayla E. Levasseur! Kayla is an 11 year old girl who is animal crazy. She has shown that she really cares about animals in need and has helped to make a difference in the world, “helping those who can’t help themselves”. Kayla volunteers her time at the RISPCA and takes care of the dogs and other animals. After hurricane Katrina she helped raise money for animals in need and raised awareness for adoption of all of these pets without a home. Kayla is an inspiration to us all, and we at Wild Heart Ranch thank her for her kindness towards all of these animals. Congratulations Kayla, and happy holidays!To read the full story. Click Here: http://www.wildheartranch.com/kidsclub/kc_winner_011105.asp

wild horses or not?

2005-12-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

A federal judge is barring the U-S Forest Service from rounding up hundreds of wild horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and selling them for slaughter.The judge says the Forest Service argument that it didn't have to comply with laws governing wild horses because the animals strayed onto the forest after the 2002 Rodeo-Chediski fire and were domesticated hadn't been proven.
Three animal rights groups argued the horses on the forest could be traced back hundreds of years and were in fact wild, triggering the wild horse law.

full story: http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4241757&nav=HMO6

birth control for wild horses ?

2005-12-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

The Bureau of Land Management and the Humane Society have agreed upon a possible solution for managing herds in a form of birth control in New Mexico
more info:
http://www.krqe.com/archives/expanded.asp?RECORD_KEY%5bNews%5d=ID&ID%5BNews%5D=13280

Horse Rescue Web Directory

2005-12-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

For anyone interested in horse rescue - there are several non-profits that are involved in saving and rescuing both wild and domestic horses in need

Here is a directory worth checking out: http://www.equinerescues.net/state.html

as well as some of the links we have compiled: http://www.wildheartranch.com/nonProfitLinks2.htm

"No More Night Mares, A Dream of Freedom"

2005-12-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Wild Horses Honored in Children's Book "No More Night Mares, A Dream of Freedom"

Wild Heart Ranch, Inc.s’ book release, "No More Night Mares, A Dream of Freedom” honors wild horses in a tale of myth and magic. The book comes at a critical point in wild horse history, following changes to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The back of the book lists several well known wild horse preservation groups for horse lovers to research and support.

The company hopes to help build further awareness for the plight of wild horses through the "No More Night Mares" line of plush toys and books, as well as through its interactive, website, http://www.wildheartranch.com/. The amendment to the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act allows for the sale of wild horses to foreign markets, if the horse is over the age of 10, or if younger, then after they have unsuccessfully been offered for adoption three times. Wild horse advocates are currently lobbying to get the bill reversed.

To learn more, please visit some of the recent news at: http://www.wildheartranch.com/kidsclub/kc_endangeredAnimalNews.asp#wh

ISBN: 0-9761768-1-5Written by: Dawn Van ZantIllustrated by: Kim McElroy
McElroy is known for portraying the emotional, spiritual, and dynamic presence of these magnificent creatures and offers us a timeless glimpse of its soul. More of Kim's artwork can be viewed on her website, http://www.spiritofhorse.com/

Book Reviews: http://www.wildheartranch.com/toysBooks/tb_reviews.htm

Book Excerpt: "Night Mares look down upon us and watch over us. It's their dream that there will always be wild horses living on the land below as a reminder of freedom. We can chase them from the lands, but we can't reach them in the stars. So, if you awaken to a storm with lightning and thunder on a dark night, it may just be the Night Mares, streaking across the sky...."
"We don't have to be afraid of the dark...

CODY THE WILD MUSTANG FOAL

2005-12-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

Foal Gallery: Cody

CODY THE WILD MUSTANG FOALWith the help of the “Save the Mustang Foundation”, Cody the foal’s life was made possible. A bill which was passed in 2004 by the United States government, stated that, “any wild horse in captivity, over the age of 10, or that has failed 3 times to have been adopted, will be disposed of in the most humane, cost effective manner” The foundation saved Cody’s mother Wild Blue Freckles, from the fate of that bill. Soon after being saved she gave birth to Cody, a roan mustang foal. Cody is destined to bring awareness to the plight of wild horses. Cody has been proving to the world that wild horses can not be so easily “disposed” of and that there is hope of survival for wild horses still to run free in America.

To read the full story about Cody click on: http://www.savethemustangfoundation.com/Codys_Story_-89204.html

Excerpt from site “SAVE THE MUSTANGS FOUNDATION was created for the benefit of the Wild Horses and Burros in an effort to eliminate the need to destroy the “Excess.” With your help through sponsorship and donations, “Save the Mustangs Foundation” will lease and/or purchase range land, allowing the Wild Horses and Burros to roam free in as close to their normal habitat as possible. As the wild horses and burros come to the end of their natural life cycle, monies will be used to purchase more “excess” animals from the various agencies that have been assigned to round up herds in the wild. It is our intention to hire trainers to work with some of the horses and burros and make them available to the qualifying public for purchase, as well as, creating educational programs for the general public.”

To read the full story about the "Save the Mustang Foundation" click on: http://www.savethemustangfoundation.com/home.html