# Wild Mustangs need help



## SHANA (Feb 1, 2006)

A friend of mine in Ontario is having 250 wild mustangs from Nevada shipped up to Canada as Bush wants to kill them. She has found homes for most of them but would like to save another 200 or so. The price for adoption and shipping and coggins and health papers to cross border into Canada is only $250 Canadian. You would just have to pick up at her farm. I would have taken a couple but sadly am not working. Remember these are wild horses. Anyone willing to adopt one or more please get in touch with [email protected] Lets try to save these wonderful horses. Wish I could adopt one.


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## Marty (Feb 1, 2006)

What a shame.

The BLM was here in Chattanooga in December adopting out wild mustangs and donkeys. Not a lot of them found homes. So terribly sad.


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## FairytailGlennMinis (Feb 1, 2006)

It is not as simple as "Bush wants them killed". This has been going on since long before my 30 years, so blaming Bush doesn't cut it. He is responsible for plenty of stuff good and bad, but not this issue. My family land borders the BLM in northern CA and I can tell you that the horses left to suffer because of overpopluation is much worse than any slaughter--even the bad kind that I am so against. The people that work with and volunteer for the BLM projects work their tails off to geld, vaccinate and thin down the herds do so out of love for the creatures. They work hard to educate people as well and crap like this post just really burns my buns. The horses are on the same land they have been on but because of all the protection laws (which are good!) they have grown in numbers to the point where the land can not support them. The groups trying to thin down the numbers further are because they can't adopt enough of the horses out! It is a desperate measure in a crisis and there doesn't seem to be a good answer. Please get all of the information and not just an article from someone with a short term agenda before trying to blame one person for something that has been a problem for over 30 years.

-Amy


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## stormo41 (Feb 1, 2006)

as far as blaming it on one person i agree with Amy, this has been going on for a long time. If i had the money i would more then happily adopt one but i dont so i can't. I hope they all find nice loving homes though.


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## SHANA (Feb 1, 2006)

I was just quoting what I was told. I am not blaming Bush at all. Just saying what my friend told me. It doesn't matter who is to blame, these horses are being killed and if they were free I would bring quite a few to my farm. I have a 32 stall barn standing empty, needs some work. I also have 250 acres about, and one huge pasture is empty, was all summer and all winter too. We had 50 cows in it at one point but could hold more. Anyway if you cannot adopt one, maybe you can pass the word on. It isn't the fault of the horses. I have always wanted to adopt a mustang.


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## TinyMiteVillage (Feb 1, 2006)

I don't think throwing blame around is needed. Please don't get upset for someone just passing the word around that some mustangs are in need. If you can help them then do so but if not then please don't flame soeone else because they are trying to help out.

If you could adopt a mustang they are the greatest horses. Some are so appreciative. I have had 4 in my life time and I enjoyed every minute of it. Kudos to those that adopt one.........


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## schutzandwhinnies (Feb 2, 2006)

Hey Shanna, just a thought and I'm not quite sure of your wants or needs at your ranch, but I bet if you haved the room and would be willing to take on a few of the mustangs that people that don't have the room or time would like to pay the money to rescue one and send it to your place. Just a thought. With all those stalls and pasture room it sounds like you would have the perfect set up you lucky girl. I hope that it's in God's plan for us to have a big place like you have, but until then I will just have to enjoy our 2 acres with our 1 stall barn. Wow maybe you could even have a big event at your place for the mustangs and have an adoption weekend for the prescreeners. How fun would that be :aktion033: ? Yah right after you hit the lotto huh?? Well it would be fun and help to spread awarness about these poor horses. It seems no matter how much uglyness goes on with these mustangs there are still so many people that just have no idea about them and what they are going through. My brothers belong to a group in Colorado that have bought a ton of land in Wyoming for just this type of thing. My brother Marc did the excavating of the roads going into the area as far as they could, then you have to go on horseback the rest of the way to check on the horses. They get to herd in a normal environment. Too bad more folks that have lots of money can't buy up land that is just sitting around to let these guys roam free on it. Land that has the natural preditors to help keep the numbers down naturally. Well enough saving the world, back to work. :saludando:


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## rabbitsfizz (Feb 2, 2006)

I know this is offtopic but I'm sorry buying land is NOT the answer. The answer is to prevent them breeding or to cull them humanely. The answer to the present population problem is not to sell them but to cull them quickly on land they are used to without stress or profit.

The problem was not caused by Bush- the answer, however, is his.

I fail to see why everyone in these terrible situations thinks that the government, or people who work for the government, are entitled to make money out of it.

Some of these animals are, without a doubt, better off dead, and i would certainly rather see their lives ended by a marksman's bullet, with dignity, than I would to see them trucked around from place to place, stressed beyond belief.


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## SHANA (Feb 2, 2006)

Hi,

I'd love to adopt some, even one if i could. It just isn't possible for me right now as I am unemployed and still owe money on 2 horses I have purchased. We grow our own hay so feeding wouldn't be a problem. I also have one empty stall in my small horse barn and the way my boyfriend is talking he may adopt one for me. :aktion033: I hope so. My 2 arabians stay outside 24/7 as my bay arabian mare hates being in the barn. She also hates to be alone so my grey arab stays out with her. They do have a huge shed to go in when it is snowing or raining and blankets when the weather gets really cold. You can see pictures of my horses at www.spharabians.piczo.com. Go to Terry's page to see all my munchkins and my boyfriend Terry. Can't you tell he just loves the horses.




:

You can see our huge barn in a few photos on Terry's page, one with Cody and Des in it.


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## FairytailGlennMinis (Feb 3, 2006)

The bill that is currently in legislation has been written and rewritten so many times that it isn't even funny and looks almost identical to one from 15 years or so ago, so I don't see how Bush has anything to do with it...he isn't even an issue really. If it gets all the way for him to sign final approval, then he is one person at the end of a VERY long chain.

I mostly agree with Rabbit on this one...these horses are wild and noble and free...and dying from overpopulation! This is a MAN made problem that require a man made solution. Leaving them alone and free like something in a story is not the answer since it will only lead to more of them suffering. There was a HUGE block about not interferring with "nature" to geld the majority of the colts and lots of other BS...and boy has that helped....uuug! These wonderful horses are a part of my own family and I think they are the best thing since sliced bread...but humane control is needed to protect them in my opinion.

-Amy


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## Ashley (Feb 3, 2006)

DO you honestly think you are gonna beable to stall a wild horse??????

i think they need to geld all of the boys. And all but one of the boy offspring this year. Cull out some and then possibly let that young colt grow up and breed in a few years.


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## js1arab (Feb 3, 2006)

Well, I probably won't be very popular here, but I'm with Rabbit on this one. I have said for years that adopting these horses out is in many cases much more cruel than a good marksman. I can see some of the weanlings, maybe yearlings, but after that, many of these horses' natural survival instincts are so strong that they can be very dangerous animals. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some excellent mustangs, but those were ideal horses in ideal situations. I feel very comfortable working with horses, but the only way I'd ever adopt a mustang is if I had days or weeks to watch the horses and hand pick the one I thought might best adapt to captive life. I would not go to the BLM auctions and purchase in one days time whatever was the "prettiest" or best marked etc. I have seen and heard too many stories of people and horses being hurt by good intenetions. There is no ideal situation when it comes to dealing with the wild horses. Unfortunately we are crowding them out of their natural locations and they continue to reproduce on small feeding grounds. Birth control and gelding aren't proving to be as easy and reliable as they'd hoped. If the Bureau needs to "cull" then I feel some of the older, sick or inferior stock is truly more humanely dealt with by a single shot. The horse never knows the terror of human handling and is never injured during capture or trucking. Shana, I know you and your friend have your heart in the right place, so please don't think I'm saying you are doing the "wrong" thing, it is just my personal preference to do as I mentioned. I wish your friend well as at least she is trying to do something about a bad situation.


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## SHANA (Feb 3, 2006)

I know that gelding would be great, except for a few quality stallions or colts. I also know if my boyfriend did adopt one for me I would not be able to stall it for sometime but that wouldn't be a problem as my 2 arabians are outside so the horse would be in a herd situtation. I would just put a strand or 2 of electric on top of my mesh fence to raise the fence higher. It is about 5 feet in height now so a strand or 2 would make it 6 feet, which should be high enough. I have worked with a horse who never knew people much. The only time he had been handled was the day he was gelded and taken away from his dam and put in with a bunch of other colts and the day he was caught and loaded in the trailer to go to the trainers. He was very wild but we had him in the round pen which is quite high for sometime and he got use to us feeding and handling him. I was the first to ride him and he took me for a ride around the round pen but I kept talking to him and he settled down and relaxed. He is now a brave trail horse and his owner is like in his late 50's. I also would go pick mine out of the bunch that came. I can tell a lot by watching the horse. I learnt that by training horses. If we do not adopt one I just hope some get adopted as not all mustangs are bad.


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## FairytailGlennMinis (Feb 3, 2006)

Mustangs can indeed be wonderful mounts...my grandfathers mount of the last 20 years is a mustang and we have had many other wonderful ones. The younger they are when you get them the easier it usualy is to tame them. As for fencing, no regular fence will hold a mature mustang--period. Hotwire? Not in your dreams. Those horses will try to jump 6' and some will hurt themselves trying. We aren't talking about "unhandled" horses here, these are mustangs that have been known to break necks and legs trying to go THROUGH fences...the reality is nothing like the fantasy image most people have. The beurocrats that want to fight gelding, culling and weeding out are only causing more harm and it makes me so sad.

-Amy


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## keeperofthehorses (Feb 3, 2006)

Something doesn't seem right here. There are many requirements to adopt a single BLM horse or burro, much less a couple hundred. How did your friend get the BLM to agree to allow her to adopt and ship over 200 horses out of the US without pre-approved homes already arranged? How are they being transported? Have these horses already been gentled? I checked the BLM website and there is no mention of a shipment of horses going to Canada, or of an adoption being held in Canada. There's also no holding sites listed for Canada. Are these BLM horses?

Shana, before you consider bringing one of these horses home, please go and read the BLM Wild Horse and Burro site, especially the housing requirements. https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/index.php/p...ionRequirements

These animals have been surviving in the wild for generations and are very different from an unhandled horse in a fenced pasture. I wouldn't want you, or the horse, to get hurt.


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## SHANA (Feb 3, 2006)

Well I didn't know about the electric wire but I have brand new mesh fencing, and can put a 2 by 6 inch board on top, middle and bottom easily. I have a huge run in shed in that pasture too. It may be a little bigger than 50 by 50 but a lot of it is taking up by the shed. I also have a brand new Exiss Stock trailer with rubber mats for flooring. Also I can open up the double doors to the barn and let the horse go in and out as it wishes as the doors connect to this pasture. Though this doesn't say I will get a mustang, but I do have the facilities to house one.


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## Ashley (Feb 4, 2006)

I would some day love to have one, however I know it wont happen. I could not afford the amount of land needed for them. I would not have one to tame, I would have it set so they can live as close to what they are used to. I would have several acres fenced in 8 foot high woven wire.

In my opinon, these horses should not be tamed. They should be culled and gelded or whatever it takes to make less of them, but I dont think they should be forced in a small area and tamed.


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## rabbitsfizz (Feb 5, 2006)

A few years ago, in a senior moment, I agreed to take two New Forest mares that had run on the Forest all their lives and never been touched. These ponies are as near to Mustangs as you get, but often smaller (around 13- 14hh). These mares came off the horsebox in a pair, they were herded through my series of yards with all the gate wide, straight onto the bottom filed- which is three and a half acres, spilt up into three to allow all field access to the river. The fences are stock fencing and again, all gates were left open (except the ones leading to the top field) so they were isolated on the river fields. The fences never even gave them _pause_ they went straight through them as if they were not there, at a trot. They flattened three fences in as many minutes but were still held by the river and a natural fence line of trees- which they could see and understand. Once they had been with me about a week the started to understand what fences were for, which is when we found out how well they could jump!!!

In the end I passed them onto a friend who had a bull pen. The older mare was sin foal so, since they had "quarantined" with me he put her out with his mares and left her to think about it. I believe she foaled fine and is still five years later, thinking it over!! The younger mare they put in the bull pen and isolated her form equine contact. A fair amount of firm but gently handling went on, in spite of her best efforts to escape.

_Eventually_ she did quieten down- she was only three, we then found out, and she was _eventually_ saddle trained. I believe she was a good pony under saddle.

The older mare is still trying to decide whether or not she likes people, but she is a good broodmare and has nice foals, so she is OK there, thank goodness.

The older mare will never come round, is my gut feeling. They may be able to halter train her- at present they just run her into a crush for her yearly jabs and checks, and only worm her in feed (which she took over a year to learn to eat).

These NF ponies have actually seen people as the New Forest gets a lot of tourists and campers, hikers and riders. They are not nearly as secluded as Mustangs.

I have seen mares over twenty go through the yearly drifts for pennies- I do understand this is no longer allowed but someone was trying to abandon a pen of colt foals and the asking price in the ring was 50c!!!

Sometimes a horse really is better off dead- so long as the death is painless and quick.

The thing that really really annoys me is people trying to make a bit of money out of it!!


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