North Dakota Badlands Horse: A New Era of Conservation
North Dakota Badlands Horse: A New Era of Conservation
As wild horse advocates throughout the United States continue to work hard, there is some great news for the wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home in western North Dakota. The North Dakota Badlands Horse (NDBH) group advocates for, promotes, and documents the horses that are born and live within the boundary fence of the National Park named after our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt.
Documenting the Wild Horses
NDBH President Marylu Weber has been documenting these horses since the 1980s after admiring them while horseback riding in the park with her family. Because these wild horses are not managed by the BLM, but by the National Park as a demonstration herd, there are no short/long-term holding pens for the horses to live out their lives once captured. The old way was that they were rounded-up, processed, and then taken to a local sale barn where they were put up at public auction and vulnerable to kill buyers and often (pre-2013) going to slaughter.
A New Partnership for Protection
With a new Partnership Agreement signed between the NDBH group and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, they will now be brought in using low-stress techniques that will minimize the number of horses leaving the population at one time, as well as reduce the risk to humans and horses. Also included in the Partnership Agreement, the horses will be transferred over to the NDBH, and it is their responsibility to find homes for those coming out via low-stress.
Innovative Techniques and Promising Results
With the use of low-stress techniques and the birth control GonaCon, it is indeed a new day for these amazing horses. Dr. Dan Baker, of Colorado State University, has recently issued this statement: “Preliminary Results with GonaCon Immunocontraceptive Vaccine in Wild Horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park Shows Promising Results.”
For more information about this herd of wild horses, including how to adopt one, please visit the Facebook page North Dakota Badlands Horse.
The Role of Public Support
The success of the Partnership Agreement is dependent on many things, one being the public’s willingness to step up and give these American icons a deserving home.
The North Dakota Badlands Horse Registry is a Federal 501 (c) (3) non-profit since 2009.