Good News for Cloud's Herd

According to Ginger Kathrens of The Cloud Foundation, the BLM announced it would not begin roundups of the Pryor Mountain Herd. They received many phone calls and e-mails questioning the roundup, especially because they had announced in June they did not have the budget to feed the ones they already have rounded up.

As taxpayers this is an issue we CAN do something about, and we must. Many people are upset about the frequent breakdown of racehorses, but the industry is regulated by individual states and it is a very complex situation. The BLM is entrusted to manage the program under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and they should be held accountable.

Someone made a comment about an e-mail I posted in a Yahoo group about Cloud's herd saying maybe it was better if the land was left to the wildlife. Most people don't know the horse's ancestor originated in North America. See the Desert USA article.

Besides, wild horses do much less damage to the land than cattle. And did you know that ranchers only pay $1.35 a head for grazing rights which has been the same rate for decades?

Right now I am reading "Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West", an new book by Deanne Stillman, a journalist. It took her 10 years to research and write it, and it is a very interesting and thorough history.

Here is a photo from Ms. Kathern's e-mail, which shows some very healthy members of Cloud's family, including his granddaughter Ember: