This is what it looked like on a summer morning on public land in Idaho last month.
And this is what it looked like hours later, after the Bureau of Land Management's "gathering" of the wild horses by helicopter, chasing one wild stallion relentlessly. According to the Cloud Foundation, "In the Challis round up in Idaho round up just last week six horses were killed, six foals were orphaned and the majority of the 400+ horses lost their freedom. All this destruction when the range looks the best it has in over 80 years according to local residents."
You can read more about it here.
It reminds me of the strip mining sites I've seen. Is this the future of our great American West? Cloud's herd is also scheduled for a round-up in September. Please take a moment and help.
(Both photos by Elissa Kline, published on wildhorsepreservation.com, July 2009.)
