Wild horses captured during the 2014 roundup at the Reveille Horse Management Area in Nevada. BLM file photo.

The Bureau of Land Management this week ended an “emergency” roundup on the Antelope Valley Herd Management Area, located on private land about 40 miles southwest of Wendover, NV.

The agency transported 45 captured studs, 34 mares and 15 foals to Indian Lakes Off-Range Corral in Fallon, NV. BLM said that a 13-year-old bay mare was found dead of a broken neck at the trap site on May 12. One older stud in good condition was released on May 31 after being captured alone, according to BLM.

The landowner requested removal of the horses. BLM justified the capture and removal because of “a projected lack of water.”

“The BLM Wells Field Office determined that even though there has been above average amounts of precipitation this winter and spring, there are still no known water sources in the area for wild horses to obtain water later this spring and summer,” the agency announced in a May 9 press release.

The “emergency” bait-and-trap operation, which used water as a lure, began on May 8 and ended June 7. The BLM paused the roundup near Boone Spring for 10 days while it waited to see if more wild horses would move into the area before resuming trapping.

BLM’s “Appropriate Management Level” for the Antelope HMA is 155-259 wild horses. It estimated the population at 1,320 wild horses, not counting foals, as of March 1.

The 502,909-acre HMA is made up of 496,356 acres of BLM land and 6,553 acres of mixed private and other public lands.