Wild horses on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area. BLM photo.
For background about this roundup and to take action, scroll down.
Day 21, Nov. 28
The Bureau of Land Management captured 64 wild horses on the 21st and final day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev.
They included 22 stallions, 32 mares, and 10 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,605 (658 stallions, 737 mares and 210 foals). A total of 1,415 of what the agency deems “excess” wild horses have been removed from their home range and shipped to a facility to be prepared for adoption or sale.
The BLM has treated 81 of the captured mares with fertility control. It plans to release them on or about Dec. 14 after they receive a booster. A BLM press release said that 109 studs had already been released.
No wild horses were put down on Tuesday, according to BLM’s gather report. A total of 21 horses were put down during the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. A 22nd wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck during the roundup.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 20, Nov. 27
The Bureau of Land Management captured 73 wild horses on the 20th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 32 stallions, 32 mares, and nine foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,541.
Two wild horses were put down on Monday, according to BLM’s gather report: a 20+-year-old bay mare, blind in her right eye, and a 13-year-old palomino stud with a previously broken left hind leg
A total of 21 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. Another wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck during the roundup.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 19, Nov. 26
The Bureau of Land Management captured 43 wild horses on the 19th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 18 stallions, 19 mares, and six foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,468.
Two wild horses were put down on Sunday, according to BLM’s gather report: a sorrel mare aged more than 20 years, blind in right eye; a foal roan stud, with a previously broken left hind leg.
A total of 19 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. Another wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck during the roundup.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 18, Nov. 25
The Bureau of Land Management captured 123 wild horses on the 18th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 61 stallions, 48 mares, and 14 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,425.
No wild horses were put down on Saturday.
A total of 17 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. Another wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck during the roundup.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 17, Nov. 24
The Bureau of Land Management captured 62 wild horses on the 17th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 25 stallions, 30 mares, and seven foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,302.
No wild horses were put down on Friday.
A total of 17 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. Another wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck during the roundup.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 16, Nov. 23
The Bureau of Land Management captured 42 wild horses on the 16th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 19 stallions, 21 mares, and two foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,240.
Two domestic horses were captured and turned over to the state.
No wild horses were put down on Thursday.
A total of 17 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. Another wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck during the roundup.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 15, Nov. 22
The Bureau of Land Management captured 68 wild horses on the 15th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 22 stallions, 32 mares, and 14 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,198.
Five wild horses were put down on Wednesday, according to BLM’s gather report: a white stud foal, blind in both eyes; a 2-year-old white stud, blind in both eyes; a 4-year-old black stud, “blind in left eye – cancer”; a 7-year-old sorrel stud, club foot deformity; a 12-year-old bay stud, previously fractured left knee.
A total of 17 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. Another wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck during the roundup.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 14, Nov. 21
The Bureau of Land Management captured 68 wild horses on the 14th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 29 stallions, 33 mares, and six foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,130.
No wild horses were killed on Tuesday. A total of 12 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. One wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, has died after suffering a broken neck.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 13, Nov. 20
The Bureau of Land Management captured 12 wild horses on the 13th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included two stallions, nine mares, and one foal, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,062.
No wild horses were killed on Monday. A total of 12 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. One wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, has died after suffering a broken neck.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 12, Nov. 19
The Bureau of Land Management captured 40 wild horses on the 12th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 17 stallions, 11 mares, and 12 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,050.
No wild horses were killed on Sunday. A total of 12 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. One wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, has died after suffering a broken neck.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 11, Nov. 18
The Bureau of Land Management captured 97 wild horses on the 11th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 33 stallions, 51 mares, and 13 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 1,010.
One wild horse was killed on Saturday: a 12 year-old bay mare with a prolapse uterus. A total of 12 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to missing or blind eyes. One wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, has died after suffering a broken neck.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 10, Nov. 17
The Bureau of Land Management captured 81 wild horses on the 10th day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 31 stallions, 41 mares, and nine foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 913.
No horses were killed on Friday. A total of 11 horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to blind eyes. One wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, has died after suffering a broken neck.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 9, Nov. 16
The Bureau of Land Management captured 76 wild horses on the ninth day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 24 stallions, 46 mares, and six foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 832.
One wild horse, a 6-year-old buckskin stud, died after suffering a broken neck.
Three other wild horses were put down: a 20-year-old sorrel mare (cancer in left eye), a 12-year-old brown mare (blind right eye), and a 16-year-old mare (blind right eye). A total of 11 horses have been put down since the roundup began. The buckskin stud was the first death attributed directly to the roundup by the BLM.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
Day 8, Nov. 15
The Bureau of Land Management captured 155 wild horses on the eighth day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 70 stallions, 77 mares, and eight foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 756.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
No horses died or were put down on Nov. 15. A total of eight horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to a missing eye.
Day 6-7: Nov. 13-14
The Bureau of Land Management captured 83 wild horses on the sixth day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 44 stallions, 30 mares, and 9 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 601.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
An 11-year-old bay mare with a previously fractured pelvis was put down, according to the gather report. A total of eight horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to a missing eye.
No roundup operations were conducted on Nov. 14.
Day 5: Nov. 12
The Bureau of Land Management captured 79 wild horses on the fifth day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 37 stallions, 29 mares, and 13 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 518.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin).
No horses were killed, according to the gather report. A total of seven horses have been put down since the roundup began for reasons ranging from cancer to a missing eye.
Day 4: Nov. 11
The Bureau of Land Management captured 144 wild horses on the fourth day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 47 stallions, 72 mares, and 25 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 439.
The BLM reported body condition scores of 3-4 (thin to moderately thin). No scores were included in the BLM’s gather report earlier in the roundup.
Four wild horses were euthanized: a 3-year-old sorrel stud and 3-year-old bay mare, each with cancer, a bay stud more than 20 years old with an abscess infection, and a 3-year-old sorrel mare with a severe abscess on her neck, according to the BLM’s gather report. A total of seven horses have been put down since the roundup began.
Day 3: Nov. 10
The Bureau of Land Management captured 85 wild horses on the third day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 34 stallions, 35 mares, and 16 foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 295.
Two wild horses were euthanized: a 2-year-old black mare with a ruptured tendon and a grey stud more than 20 years old with cancer polyps on his head, according to the BLM’s gather report. A total of three horses have been put down since the roundup began.
Day 2: Nov. 9
The Bureau of Land Management captured 80 wild horses on the second day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 43 mares, 29 stallions and eight foals, bringing the total number of horses captured to 210. A 5-year-old bay mare was put down because of a “missing left eye due to a previous injury,” according to the BLM’s gather report.
Day 1: Nov. 8
The Bureau of Land Management captured 130 wild horses on the first day of a helicopter roundup on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev. They included 62 stallions, 46 mares and 22 foals. No deaths were reported.
Background
The Bureau of Land Management plans to remove 1,381 wild horses from the range in a helicopter roundup starting on or about Tuesday, Nov. 7, on the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area, about 60 miles east of Fallon, Nev.
According to an agency press release, “The action is … necessary to reduce overpopulation of wild horses within and outside the area and to prevent further degradation of public lands by balancing herd size.”
The number of wild horses on and just outside the 304,763-acre Herd Management Area is estimated at 1,993 by the BLM, which has set a population goal, or “Appropriate Management Level,” of 612 to 979 horses.
By comparison, the BLM allows up to 6,796 Animal Unit Month of private sheep and cattle grazing on three allotments overlapping the Herd Management Area. That’s the equivalent of 566 cow-calf pairs (an AUM is defined as a month’s forage for one horse, one cow-calf pair or five sheep).
Since 2017, actual livestock use has amounted to 6,359 AUMs of seasonal livestock use or 530 cow-calf pairs. The Environmental Assessment makes repeated mention of rangeland degradation caused by livestock as well as wild horses — making it clear livestock numbers must be reduced.
For example, “Riparian proper functioning assessments completed in 2021 documented wild horse use that, combined with cattle use, was concluded to be a causal factor in not achieving wetland-riparian area standards due to extensive spring degradation, streambank alteration, trailing damage, and some utilization of forage within riparian and wetland habitats.”
In addition to the wild horses removed from the range, the BLM will treat “up to” 81 mares with GonaCon, a form of fertility control, and release them with 121 studs.
Return to Freedom strongly supports the robust use of fertility control to slow herd growth as a way to reduce the size and frequency of roundups with the goal of eliminating roundups altogether. However, RTF prefers the use of PZP over GonaCon. PZP has been studied and proven safe, effective, and humane over the longest period of time and in the greatest number of horses, including, importantly, the greatest number of horses in free-roaming situations.
The number of mares being treated with fertility control is also too low to make a significant difference. Unless a high enough percentage of mares is treated and released to the herd, it will not stabilize population growth.
As for skewing the number of wild horses released toward studs over mares, maintaining a population’s normal sex ratio should be prioritized since behaviors and herd health and vigor are likely associated with herd demographics. Sex ratios always return to their original state (for horses, 50:50 male to female), so any population growth slowing benefits are only temporary.
Wild horses captured during the roundup will be shipped to the Palomino Valley Off-Range Corrals near Reno, Nev., the be readied for adoption or sale.
To read the BLM’s planning documents, click here.
Take Action
Support safe, proven and humane fertility control that can end wild horse roundups: Send a letter to Congress.