Tag Archives: outreach

Stop the war on wild horses

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The War on Wild Horses

The War on Wild Horses

Icons of freedom are under attack

Take action against the war on wild horses by contacting your congressional representative today. Request an immediate moratorium on roundups before the herds are wiped out and symbols of the American spirit are trafficked to slaughter.

The evidence is in they are being sold to slaughter violating the public trust and the news story is going viral.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been selling America’s protected wild horses by the truckload to kill buyers like Tom Davis, as revealed in the Inspector General’s report released October 23rd

Please sign and share the petition to increase the fine for trafficking a wild horse to slaughter to $50,000. Since kill buyers are motivated by profit, the fines need to increase to make buying wild horses and selling them to slaughter a risky and unprofitable business.

The BLM has plans to sterilize herds to manage them to extinction. This is a gross violation of the Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act and must be stopped. How? We need to start rallying to raise public awareness, write letters and meet with elected officials to demand the BLM stop managing wild horses to extinction. The clock is ticking . . .

Some mustang groups have bought into a belief that fertility control drugs like PZP made from slaughterhouse pig ovaries and others are needed to “control” population when the truth is there aren’t enough wild horses left on public land that has been ravaged by livestock overgrazing. Before you agree to PZP ask yourself, “Are there really too many wild horses left on public land?”

America’s wild horses are an indigenous species that must be protected to fill their niche in the ecosystem and inspire future generations with their beauty and spirit. Take action today!

 

Links of interest™

Viral news story on wild horses sold to slaughter: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/10/24/investigation-says-buyer-shipped-horses-killed-meat-mexico/74547060/

Inspector General’s report: https://www.doioig.gov/reports/investigative-report-bureau-land-management-wild-horse-buyer

Forum on PZP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForumPZPWildHorsesBurros

Petition for a Moratorium on Roundups: https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-urgent-grant-a-10-year-moratorium-on-wild-horse-roundups-for-recovery-and-studies

Petition to Stop Wild Horse Trafficking: https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-u-s-senate-u-s-house-of-representatives-increase-fines-to-50-000-per-mustang-for-selling-american-wild-horses-to-slaughter

Protect Mustangs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProtectMustangs

Protect Mustangs: http://protectmustangs.org

Sign up for Intro to Environmental Law (free)

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(Photo © Grandma Gregg)

(Photo © Grandma Gregg)

What:  Introduction to Environmental Law and Policy Course
 
 
When:  Starts Monday, January 13, 2014  (This is not a cutoff date.)
 
Where:  Anywhere, anytime, on-line.
 
Length:  Six weeks
 
Professor:  Don Hornstein, J.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
 
Cost:  FREE — including all materials that you’ll need
 
Register:  FREE — It’s a very simple procedure too.
 
Earn:  A Statement of Accomplishment, but no college credit.
 
Prerequisites:  None.  Designed for the under-grad.
 
Format:  Videos (15 to 20 minutes each) and short readings per topic.
 
Repeat:  Rewatch the videos and reread the readings as often as you like.
 
Quizzes:  Typically 8 questions, multiple choice.  Take when you’re ready.
 
Retake:  To improve your score on any test, you can retake it … twice!
 
Participation:  There are opportunities to take part in a forum if you’d like.
 
Professor Hornstein teaches what is known as “positive law” (what the law actually is) as opposed to “normative law” (what the law ought to be).  He is an outstanding teacher.  
 
The course imparts insight into how lawyers and judges think and reason with regard to environmental law.  It does not specifically address wild horse and burro issues.  But the information is still relevant for our purposes.  For instance, one of the first topics covered is “nuisance law.”  On the surface, it might not seem applicable to our advocacy.  But wait — don’t the wild horses and burros get blamed for being nuisances when they step outside the invisible boundaries of their herd management area?  So, understanding “nuisance” as a legal concept — determining what is and what is not deemed a nuisance according to the courts — can make us better-able to defend our clients.  Advocates who have reviewed and responded to BLM environmental assessments will already be familiar with many of the terms, concepts, and laws that are discussed.  
 
Dr. Hornstein has many teaching assistants that help him.  They are eager to answer questions.  Also, you will find that students from all over the world, not just America, take the course.  Last term, there were reportedly about 20,000!  Yes, twenty thousand!  
 

 A special thanks to Marybeth Devlin for bringing this class to our attention.

 
 

Fundraising dollars go to care for wild horses in the outreach program

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Thanks to donations for the Outreach Mustangs, Tibet was able to get his feet trimmed.

Good foot care is essential to keep a horse healthy and for youngsters to grow properly. In the wild, mustangs wear their feet down but once they are living in captivity quality foot care is one of the best things you can do for them. Sadly the Bureau of Land Management neglects captive wild horses feet in the pens. We are grateful to be able to give excellent corrective foot care to the wild horses in our Outreach Program.

Every trim is always another learning experience. Today Tibet (Divide Basin, Wyoming) was trimmed for the first time in the big barn at the boarding facility with other horses around in stalls, horses walking in and out and being saddled up and hosed off. His back was facing a lot of the activity so he learned to be OK with that.

Terry Johnson, one of our the farriers, is so patient with young horses and has no prejudice against wild horses. Sadly some farriers think wild horses will be difficult and refuse to work with them. Wild horses are just like green horses once they are gentled.

Tibet is only 2. We saved him a year ago from facing his 3rd Strike and possibly being sold to a kill buyer for $10 in a truckload of wild horses ending up at slaughter.

One hoof trimmed and 3 more to go.

Then he got squirmy so I hand fed him some hay. A lot dropped on the floor. We had to keep his head up so the farrier could work on him without Tibet moving about.

Tibet heard the tractor going to get the hay for dinner and he became more squirmy.

The farrier suggested we give him some alfalfa pellets and boy was Tibet a happy camper! So that’s how we finished the job.

Blondie got a trim also thanks to her sponsor

Blondie was distracted by so much activity in the big barn but the grain worked wonders for her also. Such a great learning experience for Blondie too!

Val and Sol need their feet trimmed next please donate to help the Outreach Mustangs

Val and Sol need sponsors

Contact us if you would like to sponsor Val, Sol or Tibet to be a very special part of their lives and an essential force in our Outreach Program. These Ambassadors are educating many people about the plight of America’s wild horses.

You may also make a one time or monthly donation for the Outreach Mustang Fund that pays for hay, board and trims. We are 100% volunteer non-profit organization with all the money going directly to the wild horses. We donate our time to care, train and engage in outreach with the wild horses in our program.

Right now on Facebook we have a fundraiser for the Fund. You can donate $150 and receive a one of a kind handmade turquoise bracelet as a thank you.

Here is a slide show of Blondie & Tibet during their first turnout after we gentled them.

Greetings from Blondie & Tibet

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PM Blondie & Tibet Dec 2 2013
Blondie (rt) & Tibet (lft) were yearlings facing their 3rd Strike with no adopters. We kept our pledge to find homes for them and others. Many found homes but Blondie & Tibet did not. We welcomed them into our Outreach Program and gentled them last winter. We are grateful to Blondie’s anonymous sponsor and hope someone will come forward to be a special part of Tibet’s life by becoming his sponsor.  www.ProtectMustangs.org

We need a trailer for wild horses ~ Please help!

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Loading Blondie & Tibet the first time with halters and lead ropes.

Loading Blondie & Tibet the first time with halters and lead ropes.

It takes a village! Here is the link for the fundraiser: http://www.gofundme.com/WildHorseTrailer

 

Dear Friends of Wild Horses,

We urgently need a used 3 horse gooseneck trailer for the 5 wild horses in our Outreach Program, to help other wild horses go to their forever homes and in case of emergency. Visit our fundraiser: http://www.gofundme.com/WildHorseTrailer to help.

In September, it took 30 hours to get Sol, a California wild horse, to the vet hospital after our field vet said, “Take him to the hospital. I can’t fix this in the field.”  If Sol had a life threatening condition he probably would have died in 30 hours.

We called everyone to get transportation. Our friends and volunteers with trailers were away at shows or working. The local pro haulers were at horse shows and the big shippers did not have the right set up to access the location nor did they have the holding capacity for a wild horse who could not tie safely.

A used 3 horse trailer for wild horses will save us money because hauling is expensive. We need a 3 horse trailer so they can turn around and unload safely. A trailer for Protect Mustangs will ensure the wild horses are never abused and can get emergency medical care at the hospital if needed.

In September a volunteer was paid $550 (mileage, bridge toll, food) to come from the Foothills to the Bay Area to take Sol for emergency care up to UC Davis and then bring him to a barn in the Bay Area and then return to the Foothils. Professional haulers are very expensive too. If we had our own trailer it would have cost us less than $80 (gas & toll) to take Sol to UC Davis and back and we could have taken him in immediately–not after 30 hours.

Now 3-year-old Val (Twin Peaks wild horse) needs to go up to the hospital and come back (2 RTs for the hauler) because he needs medical help for the ringbone–probably from the roundup. We need to haul him but we don’t have a trailer. . .

When we get the used 3 horse trailer with removable dividers we will join the Fleet of Angels to help transport wild horses. Please share widely so we can make this happen!

We want to help others bring down their adopted wild horses from Litchfield, PVC and the Reno area. We know how hard it is to find haulers for wild horses. They are either, very expensive, won’t haul “wild horses”, have the wrong type of trailer for a wild horse, or use “harsh methods” to move the horses like twitches and stud chains.

Some haulers use twitches and stud chains. We don’t. We take our time to load and unload.

After all the cruel roundups and abuse wild horses have suffered, they deserve to be treated with compassion and kindness.

As you see in the photo with Blondie & Tibet, we go on “horse time” when loading wild horses. We know every time we work with them it’s a training opportunity. Hauling can be easy on the horses if they aren’t scared or stressed.

We need your help.

Please donate what you can http://www.gofundme.com/WildHorseTrailer and share this call for support. Thank you so much!

Many blessings,

Anne Novak

Volunteer Executive Director for Protect Mustangs

www.ProtectMustangs.org

Saved from government holding, 2 long yearlings get a second chance

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“Follow your heart. Adopt a pair of mustangs. Gentle them with love.” ~Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs

Both wild yearlings, Blondie and Tibet, had 2-Strikes from failed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adoptions. Protect Mustangs stepped in to prevent a 3rd Strike and save them from sale ($10 each by the truckload) and probable slaughter.

Blondie is the soon to be 2 year old palomino filly from California’s Fox Hog herd.

Tibet is the 18 months old gelding with a blaze from the Continental Divide in Wyoming.

Blondie arrived untamed from the Litchfield BLM Holding Corral in December 2012 and Tibet arrived from the Wyoming Corral in February 2013 thanks to our village of supporters.

Now both wild horses are gentled. They have been exposed to cars, trucks, helicopters, people riding horses, kids, dogs, cats, kids on scooters, tarps and more. They can be haltered, pick up their feet and be lead. This is their second turnout in the main arena at the training facility. Anne Novak has donated their training.

Protect Mustangs is an all volunteer organization and are very grateful for your help. Please donate towards board and care for the wild horse Ambassadors. Protect Mustangs is also raising money for a used truck and trailer to facilitate adoptions by bringing wild horses down from the BLM corrals near Reno and Susanville, once the mustangs have been adopted. The organization will use the truck and trailer for community outreach and education work as well. Please help by donating here: http://protectmustangs.org/?page_id=701

No treats were used during this training session.

All images © Anne Novak for Protect Mustangs.org, all rights reserved.

Wild horses at risk ~ Get the word out!

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Wild horses exist in thriving natural ecological balance on public land ~ removals are a sham. Taxpayers are funding their management to extinction while the Bureau of Land management fails to provide the American public with an accurate head count. Inflated estimates do not justify mistreatment of our living legends of the West.

Permission given to use this photo/flyer/poster to raise awareness. Contact us if you want a jpeg.

 

Matthew Rockwell painting of Elizabeth Taylor ~ A fundraiser for outreach work

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Fundraiser for Protect Mustangs ~ Matthew Rockwell portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, signed 1964.

We are pleased to announce the stunning Matthew Rockwell portrait of Elizabeth Taylor was donated to Protect Mustangs to fundraise for our outreach work educating the public about the mustang crisis. It is signed by the artist, the nephew of Norman Rockwell, and dated 1964. Please contact us if you would like additional information about the painting or information about the requested donation. You may also email us at Contact@ProtectMustangs.org .