An Appeal to President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Deidre Sharp. It is my hope that this letter finds its way to your desk, your eyes, and most importantly, your heart. I am writing with the same hope for change that was in my heart when I voted for you a little more than a year ago. I’m not writing about joblessness -although I’ve been unemployed - or healthcare - even though I don’t have health insurance, or even the mortgage crisis – don’t have one of those either – I am writing to you on behalf of America’s Wild Horses – the American Mustang. Please Mr. President, I’m asking you to take a look at the Bureau of Land Management and the inhumane and unnecessary round ups which are occurring right now with total disregard to the welfare of the horses they are supposed to protect. This agency appears to have its own agenda – eradicate the mustangs. They also seem to be above the law which is apparent in many of their actions. The 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act is supposed to preserve wild horses and burros in more than 300 areas of publicly owned rangeland in the west. It forbids their exploitation, harassment and removal. Now only 30 million acres remain of the 54 million acres designated primarily for wild horse use in 1971. Over 100 herds have been completely removed by the BLM and many remaining herds are too small to insure their long-term survival. The BLM's current policy of eradicating these herds is also completely against the wishes of the American public. It’s all about cattle grazing (private stock on public land?) and special interest groups. The horses not facing any imminent threat to their well-being such as drought, wild fires or illness – the only threat is that from the hands of humans. The most recent and ongoing “gather” of the Calico Herd Management horses has resulted in 43 deaths – all inhumane and unnecessary. While a few of the horses were much older and thin, several died or were euthanized from issues resulting from feed change, 20 mares aborted foals, a direct result of this “gather”. It is noted that most are “in good flesh”. However, the most horrific is the account of the foal who had to be euthanized because he was losing his hooves. This colt died needlessly and with great suffering. Please take the time to read the accompanying Veterinarian Report and essay.

Vet Report
January 22, 2010

Black Rock East

History and Report on Sloughed Hoof Foal

This foal was received at the Indian Lakes contract holding facility from the Calico
Complex gather around 1/6/2010. He was fed and watered for a day and when noticed to be lame was removed from the general population and placed in a hospital pen. On 1/8/2010 this horse was treated with phenylbutazone (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and penicillin (an antibiotic) for presumptive sole bruising and abscesses. No abscesses were noted at this time but there was some foot swelling suggesting hoof trauma. During the next 5 days the colt which was nine months old was fed and watered in the hospital pen and observed for body condition and lameness. He was retreated on 1/13/2010 with phenylbutazoneand penicillin.
Sole abscesses and potential hoof sloughs were noted. Both hind feet were flushed with
betadine (an antiseptic) and bandaged with gauze, antibiotic ointment and tape. The colt was slightly improved after treatment but over the next couple of days spent more and more time lying down. On 1/18/2010 the 2 hind feet were examined again. Multiple hoof sloughs were noted and the foal was euthanized for humane reasons. The cause of these hoof abscesses/sloughs was most likely hoof trauma from the gather operations.

Richard Sanford DVM

NV #565


Essay

The Death of the Calico Colt
An Essay by Ginger Kathrens

He was wild and free, roaming the vast expanses of the rugged Calico Mountains with his mother and father and the other members of his family. This would be his first winter, a time when life slowed down for all the wild ones—the elegant pronghorn he watched on the distant horizon, the tiny pygmy rabbits that foraged in the sage brush undergrowth and darted into their dens when he tried to touch them, the fat sage grouse that were some of his favorites.

When he was just days old, he heard their strange, booming sounds and saw the males strutting and displaying for a mate. When he wandered toward them, it was his father who gently guided him home. His mother softly nickered to him. She smelled of sweet sage and invited him to nurse.

Then, one day while his mother and father and the others in his family were quietly foraging, conserving their energy in the growing cold, he saw his father jerk his head up. Ears forward, the stallion watched and listened and the colt did too, mimicking his father. The colt could hear a rumbling drone. In the distance, he could see something flying toward them. It was even bigger than the majestic golden eagles that soared over his home. It came closer and closer, dropping low over the sage. The drone grew into an ear shattering roar. His family began to run and he followed, galloping beside his mother where he would be safe. Mile after mile the menacing, giant bird chased them. His legs ached and he wanted to rest, but he could not leave his mother. He kept running, struggling to keep up. Fear gripped the Calico colt.

Then he saw a horse in front of his father and it too began to run. Safety must be ahead. His family followed the stranger and suddenly they were trapped inside walls of steel. His father tried to jump over the wall but it was too high. There were two legged animals running at them with long sticks and something white that fluttered madly. Suddenly, he was separated from his mother when a two-legged moved between them, striking out at him with the frightening stick and the fluttering bag. He was driven into another corral. When he whinnied for his mother, she answered. He raced around the corral calling for her, but found his feet were too sore to run anymore and he stopped. He could hear his father calling and he knew the proud stallion had been separated too. The colt answered him. He could see his mother through the bars of his cage and this gave him strength and hope.

Days passed. It was cold and there was no place to get out of the wind. In his home, his mother would have led the band below a rocky outcrop that blocked the wind. The colt began to fear he would never again smell the sweet sage of her breath or taste the warm milk she offered to him. His feet, so sore, became worse. Shooting pains darted through his whole body when he tried to walk so he moved as little as possible, hobbling a few steps to eat the plants the two-leggeds had thrown on the ground for them. One frigid morning, the two leggeds came and drove him into a truck with others that were his age. The pain was constant now and when the truck moved out, he stayed on his feet but the pain riveted him with every jolt and bump. He called for his mother, but there was no answer. Would he ever see his parents again? Hours passed and the truck moved onto smoother ground and it turned into a place where he could hear the calls of his kind. He whinnied as loud as he could, but the answering voices were unfamiliar. The two-leggeds drove the colt from the truck into a bigger cage and he struggled to keep up with the other foals. Some of them were limping too. His eyes scanned the horizon, looking for something familiar but the flat horizon looked nothing like the land of his birth.

Days went by and he spent hours laying in the dirt, the pain growing. He could feel something happening to his feet. His once strong, dark hooves were beginning to separate from the bone designed to hold them fast. He laid flat and closed his eyes, imagining the home and family he feared he would never see again. The two leggeds walked toward him. He wanted to jump up and dash away but he could not. Over the next few days he grew too tired to move at all. The wind howled and as it began to snow, he closed his eyes for the last time and dreamed of his family. Then two leggeds came again and killed the Calico Colt.

In death, the lively spirit of the Calico Colt was released to roam free once more. He has
returned home to his family and the land of his dreams. He is not just a statistic. Neither
he nor what he symbolizes will ever be forgotten.

(Ginger Kathrens is a filmmaker, author, and founder of The Cloud Foundation, dedicated to preserving our mustangs on public lands. The Foundation is calling for a stop to the roundups that are robbing public lands of our legendary, native wild equids—the very embodiment of freedom for many Americans. The Calico colt is only one of many who have died as a result of the ongoing roundups this year alone.)
*Actually, as of today, February 2, 2010, a second foal had to be euthanized for the same injury/trauma.

Now, Mr. President, if a regular citizen had done such a thing to a horse, they hopefully would be caught and sent to jail. Are these the actions of an Agency whose duty it is to protect these horses? This appears to be a blatant disregard of the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act at the very least, if not just sickening cruelty and disregard for the animals’ welfare. In these round ups, the horses are “driven” for miles by a helicopter. In the past 2 years, at least 205 horses have lost their lives as a direct result of these “gathers”.

I am not just another “horse hugger” (although that’s not a bad thing), I am an equine behaviorist, educator and the founder and president of Horse Play. Horse Play is a non-profit equine rescue and sanctuary located in Saunderstown, RI. We even have several mustangs here. We clean up the mess the BLM creates when they adopt out wild horses to totally clueless individuals. Most importantly I am a human with a heart and conscience. While Ginger Kathren’s essay may seem to some as a bit anthropomorphic, I assure you it isn’t. Horses are incredibly sentient, intelligent and social beings. The herd is the family. Family means everything to them – to all horses actually. Existence depends on the herd. The round ups and holdings create incredible, unimaginable amounts of stress on these animals and it really is inhumane and unnecessary.

I realize this isn’t on the scale with healthcare reform or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but it does impact the economy and the American taxpayer’s wallet. At present, more than 33,000 wild horses are in government holding facilities. The cost to taxpayers is $100,000 a day. The scheduled removal of 2,500 from Nevada will bring that total to more than 35,000 and the cost will rise. Again, please look at the number of horses in the holding facilities. As more are “gathered”, more will end up in one of these facilities. It is delusional of the BLM to think that many of the horses gathered will be adopted. Our farm is full to the limit with many well-trained, younger horses available for adoption – but I can’t adopt out if no one wants a horse. There are ads in papers and websites offering horses for free – again, young, well-trained, great horses. No one is adopting anything right now – it is highly unlikely that folks will adopt the “wild “ones. Please take another look at the number of mustangs who weren’t adopted – the ones in the holding facilities. Then take a look at the BLM and its current agenda. All unnecessary.

So, Mr. President, I hope you have taken a moment to read this. I hope you will take some action and fully investigate the BLM. Civilizations were built from the backs of horses. The American Mustang is an icon of freedom. If the BLM continues this decimation of the American herds, the wild horse in America will become extinct – and extinction is forever. Please help prevent this.
If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me. Also visit the following websites
www.equinewelfarealliance.org
www.thecloudfoundation.org
http://rtfitch.wordpress.com

Thank-you for your time and consideration.
Peace all ways
Deidre Sharp, Founder & President
Horse Play
www.hptrc.org
horseplayri@msn.com