Mingo, a very handsome and sturdy bay stallion, was born and lived wild and free in Nevada’s Great Basin. His estimated year of birth is 2007. He displays the dramatic presence of a bold and strong but kind draftier type horse common to this area. On January 23, 2022 his world came to an end when he was among over 2000 wild and free horses captured from their freedom, families and the only home they had ever known.

Mingo is thoughtful and not one to rush into any confrontation but also noble in that he will stand his ground and protect his protégé Nelson! Upon arriving to the sanctuary (on May 13, 2022), he always remained calm. Even when he was released into the rolling hills where over 40 other horses reside, he always kept a respectful distance and slowly integrated remaining protective of Nelson, his 2 year old bay colt who stayed close by his side.

Photographer Monica Ross was present at the roundup and then later in the holding corrals when the captured horses were moved from the trap site. A young bay colt would not leave Mingo’s side and Mingo was his protector. When we received urgent pleas to accept these horses to come to Return to Freedom’s sanctuary, we knew they needed to stay together. After losing everything it was the least we could do. Mingo must have lost some of his beloved mares and foals. And understanding just how loyal a protector he is, we will never truly know his suffering.

Special thanks to Monica Ross, Joyce Smith and Robert Watson who found a way for these two bonded horses!

——-The Pancake Complex—-
The wild horses in the Pancake Complex share nearly 850,000 acres with hundreds of wildlife species and privately owned livestock in elevations ranging from 5000 ft. to 11,000 ft, the horses acclimated to hot summers to -20 degrees F in the winters. The horses that roam in that region are descended from draft horses and morgan and thoroughbreds that were turned loose by the Army Remount Service from the 1900’s to the 1940’s to create hardy horses to work. The horses there are strong and hardy and mainly bays and sorrel with some greys and blacks.

By February 14, 2022, a total of 2,054 wild horses were captured from The Pancake Complex in Nevada, about 30 miles west of Ely or 80 miles northeast of Tonopah, Nevada.

The Pancake Complex includes the Pancake Herd Management Area(HMA), Sand Springs HMA and the Jakes Wash Herd Area, managed by BLM, as well as the Monte Christo Wild Horse Territory, managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Jakes Wash is not actively managed for wild horses.

Altogether, the complex includes 1.2 million acres of public and private lands. In March 2001, the BLM estimated the population at 3,244 wild horses in or just outside the Herd Management Areas. The combined agency-set “Appropriate Management Level” is 361-638 wild horses.

By comparison, BLM allows up to 59,427 Animal Unit Months of seasonal private cattle grazing over the same acreage. That’s the year-round equivalent of 4,952 cow-calf pairs.

A total of 26 wild horses were killed, 21 for what have been listed as chronic / pre-existing conditions, like swayback and blindness, and five for sudden / acute injuries, including a broken leg and neck.
A total of 15 mares and three stallions are listed as “released” with no further explanation. The mares were not listed as being treated with fertility control in the gather report.

BLM set out to capture 2,060 wild horses and remove up to 2,030 from their home range. The agency said that it planned to treat and release with the fertility control vaccine PZP-22 up to 30 mares but only if it captures any of a small number of mares treated with fertility control in 2012, an action too small to be effective in halting future roundups. No updated plans on treating and releasing mares have been released.

BLM last removed wild horses from the complex during “emergency” bait-and-trap roundups in 2018 and 2016 during which a combined 228 wild horses were captured and five killed. During both of those roundups, BLM failed to treat and release additional mares with safe, proven and humane fertility control that could slow reproduction and halt future roundups.

In a press release before the roundup, the BLM said that the removal of wild horses was necessary “to reduce [the] overpopulation of wild horses within and outside the complex, where there currently is not enough water and/or forage, both for short- and long-term management, to support the number of horses in the area, and to prevent further degradation of public lands by helping to balance herd size.”

Captured wild horses will be transported to the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Center, in Reno, Nev., Indian Lakes Off-Range Wild Horse and Burro Corral, in Fallon, Nev., and Sutherland (Utah) Off-Range to be prepared for adoption or sale.

LINKS:
https://returntofreedom.org/2022pancake_complex_roundup_ends/
https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/herd-management-areas/nevada/pancake-hma
https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/gathers-and-removals/nevada/2022-pancake-complex-wild