Notes from the Range
May 2, 2025
By Ryan McCarthy, RTF staff
Spring is in full swing in the Great Basin Desert. As we come out of winter and the days grow warmer and longer, the remaining snow melts, and water can seem abundant, but it is fleeting and only momentary.
Slowly, the birds return and fill the air with their songs, coupled with the formation of new buds on shrubs and grasses that appear in what was just recently barren ground, signaling a change in the seasons.
Then, like the flick of a switch, a substantial growth period occurs, and everything begins to bloom, creating a dappling of bright colors layered over the muted greens and browns of the landscape that persist year-round. New life and growth are everywhere and abundant this time of year in the region.
With spring, we can expect a new foal crop. Wild Horse foaling season typically begins in March and lasts through June, peaking in most areas and herds in late April and early May.
On May 1, while doing population counts and documenting range conditions on Herd Management Areas North of Reno, Nevada, I was able to capture footage of a band with new foals, socializing and grazing on fresh spring forage of native grasses. This area receives a high level of recreational use, and this band got very close to me over the 90 minutes I spent observing them.
While we love seeing new foals on the range, it is a good reminder of the need for comprehensive management that includes a robust fertility control program. This, in turn, can support an ecological balance that provides for healthy range lands. Fertility control programs maintain sustainable populations by slowing reproductive rates, ensuring family bands remain intact and free-roaming on the range instead of being captured and removed.
Wild mares can foal multiple times within their lifetime, with studies indicating they may foal two out of every three years during their fertile years, ranging from as young as 18 months to late teens or early twenties. However, fertility declines with age. Left unchecked, herd populations can double in as little as four years.