Reports from the Field: Range Creek Wild Horse Roundup 2020

On July 1, 2020, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) initiated a roundup and removal of approximately 125 wild horses from Federal, State, and private lands. The initial days of the operation were not open to public viewing due to the trap site being on private property, where access was denied by the owner.

The appropriate management level for this Herd Management Area (HMA) is 75-125 animals, with the current population at 184 horses. Horses removed from the range will be transported to the Axtell Off-Range Contract Wild Horse Facility in Axtell, Utah.

Following are daily reports from the ground.

Day 6: July 6, 2020

The roundup and removal of wild horses from the Range Creek HMA concluded with 148 wild horses captured.

Day 5: July 5, 2020

Approximately 39 wild horses were rounded up and removed from the Range Creek HMA in Utah today. The BLM met its overall removal quota but continued to treat more mares and release them back to public lands.

At one point in the pen, a stallion was rearing up and trying to escape.

At Holding:

• At the holding pen, there was very little food.
• The holding pens are small, causing the horses to fight due to close quarters. A white horse was separated for being especially aggressive.

Day 4: July 4, 2020

The helicopter contractors captured approximately 104 wild horses today. A foal escaped the jute:

The mare (mother) of this black foal came looking for him minutes later, defying the helicopter. We nicknamed her Lady Liberty and her child Baby Sam, being the 4th of July—the day we are supposed to celebrate freedom, not take it away.

The helicopter pursued her back and forth for about 10 minutes before she went to the pen. She spent time in the area where her baby had ducked under the jute, likely smelling him. Once again, a heartbreaking reality of why roundups are so devastating.

The foal was lassoed and walked back in. The wranglers used a rope on his neck and another behind to push on the tail, at some points lifting him off the ground:

There were two white horses captured, a mare and her foal, and from our photos, they appeared to be albino.

Large groups of horses were brought in running at high speeds.

At Holding:

• At holding, there was very little hay again in the pen. We were told this is because it was to be watered down and would get trampled when they brought the new group in.
• By the time we arrived at holding, the 3 trailers of horses moved from trap to holding an hour earlier were already reloaded and gone. So from the trap (no food), to holding (no food), to the drive, is at least several hours of no food.
• One horse in holding had a huge gash.

Day 3: July 3, 2020

American Wild Horse Conservation's (formerly American Wild Horse Campaign) field representative was one of three members of the public onsite to document the roundup and removal of wild horses from the Range Creek HMA. Thirty-five mustangs were captured today, and there were no deaths or injuries reported at the time of this post.

It was a 6 am call time, and the operation ended curiously early at approximately 9:50 am, even though there seemed to be more horses in the area.

The trap site was located in the same location as in the Fall except reversed; near where we used to observe became the trap, and where the old jute run was became our vantage point. This is because so many escaped the jute over and over again in the Fall capture.

• There was a moment of escape, but it was difficult to tell how, as it happened so fast. The helicopter was very low, and you can see the wind kicking up.
• At another moment, a horse stopped and did a 180 turn and booked the other way.
• A foal running behind was shut out when its group was closed in the trap. He was then bear-hugged and physically picked up by one of the contractor's crew and then put into the pen.
• Horses were visibly sweating.

At Holding:

The contractors did not allow us to immediately enter (we spent about 30 minutes before heading to holding).

By the time our field representative was permitted to enter holding, the first trailer of horses had already left. The contractors said we had to wait for the last run of the day (four horses) to be delivered to the pens. Initially, there was no hay present for horses at the corrals. While we were waiting, the contractors started giving them the tiniest amount of hay, kicking a handful under the pen. It seemed almost like they were preventing us from entering because there was no food, and they had to feed them—an attempt to prevent us from seeing it.

• There was one agitated horse kicking in the pen, drawing blood from other horses. They left this angry horse in the very small pen for at least an hour, with frequent fights occurring.

Day 2: July 2, 2020

The helicopters flew again on private land today, and zero horses were captured. The trap site is now being moved to public lands to begin the first public day of the operation. Even though we were not permitted to view the operation, we were able to view temporary holding, which is located 42 miles up 9 Mile Canyon. There are cows everywhere in the canyon.

The trap site is on the other side of the mountains, southeast of the holding. The contractor, the Cattoors, did not want to navigate the switchbacks with the trailers, so they are bringing them down through 9 Mile Canyon paved roads. Safer for the horses and less dust.

From Our Field Representative:

• "I can't get over how haunting it is to be in such a beautiful place while the wild horses are losing their freedom. It is the strangest backdrop for a roundup and holding site. It's like putting a prison on a tropical island."
• "The foals looked really sad. You can see their expressions on their faces."

Day 1: July 1, 2020

The first day of the Range Creek HMA roundup and removal was yesterday. Eleven wild horses lost their freedom. The operation ended early because of high winds. No public observation yesterday because they were on private land.

Because our field representative was unable to attend the roundup today, they drove to the short-term holding facility where horses removed from the range are being held.

The captured horses are being kept in an area called 9 Mile Canyon before being shipped to the Axtell holding facility. It is a beautiful canyon with petroglyphs the entire distance, along a corridor of cliffs rising like cathedrals. A note from our field representative that it feels weird to be in such a beautiful place knowing this is a temporary prison for stressed horses losing their freedom. Cattle ranchers are abundant the entire stretch, and signs let drivers know cows freely walk the roads here.