Not giving up on the wild horses
We occasionally get asked “why bother” with respect to the apparently never-ending battles with the Nevada Department of Agriculture and other agencies over wild horses. Here’s an example as to why:
A volunteer spotted one of the bands of wild horses that we keep tabs on so I went out to check them. In this instance we wanted to check the condition of a foal as well as check on a weanling filly that had gotten caught in a fence and separated from her band the week before. The band had just finished drinking and Sentinel, the band stallion, was driving his band up into the hills and away from another stallion’s territory.
The horses found a nice grazing spot. Being familiar with this band I was able to walk among them so long as I stayed quiet, so I found a nice rock to sit upon and took a number of photos. Pretty soon I was encircled by horses who were content to have me among them so long as I minded my manners. Sentinel, however, always grazed about 6 feet from me — close enough to capably intervene should I do anything that he perceived as a threat to his band. A few bolder horses gave me gentle pokes with their noses.
The Virginia Range horses are predominantly intelligent, curious and gentle animals. They don’t provoke disturbances outside their own social circles, are content to stay in the background when not enticed by hand-outs and unfenced, California-style landscaping. They are an incredible component of the traditional Nevada landscape and if we want Nevada to stay Nevada, we all need to pull together to preserve these noble creatures.
I could have stayed with the horses all afternoon, but I had other things to do, primarily challenge the false claims of director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture, Tony Lesperance, who wants to remove these creatures from the range.
When I left, Sentinel sniffed at my tracks, then went and “inspected” each one of the horses that had visited me. Don’t worry, Sentinel. We have your back.
Willis Lamm
Source: RGJ