Heber Wild Horses - Heber Wild Horses

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 30

1/28/2023

Domestic Grey Mare’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side’

It is rare that a domestic horse winds up in the forest. And when it happens it’s usually not long before the wayward steed is reunited with its rightful owner. Such was the case in June 2015 when stable horse Crackerjack went missing and her forest adventure began. Since the riding stable backed up to the forest it was presumed that’s where she went. Word spread to be on the lookout for her. So when one of our advocates was out in the forest looking for wild horses to watch and photograph she also kept her eyes open for the grey mare. Grey is not a color of the Heber wild horses in the Black Mesa Ranger District.

Crackerjack had been on the lamb for over two weeks when the advocate spotted her in the company of two young stallions who were fighting over her. The advocate called the mare’s human to come and retrieve her. When he arrived he walked up to Crackerjack and slipped the halter on under the watchful eyes of the two stallions who made it clear by their demeanor that they were not happy that the mare they had been fighting over was being led away and loaded into a horse trailer.

A forest can be a treacherous place for a domestic horse who is used to having her meals served to her in the safety and comfort of her corral or stall. With water always available and hooves trimmed and shod, the life of a domestic horse is very different from that of the wild ones. After just 17 days of living in the wild, Crackerjack had lost weight, developed lameness, had numerous kick and bite marks on her, and the hair around her eyes was missing due to pesky flies. Good care and time healed her.

The following year Crackerjack gave birth to a beautiful healthy foal as a result of her walk on the wild side.

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 29

1/26/2023

Land Management Plan for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests

In 2015 the Forest Service released their Record of Decision (ROD) for their Land Management Plan. The Land Management Plan is different from the Heber Wild Horse Territory Management Plan that is expected to be released and implemented in Oct 2023. The Land Management Plan is more broad and inclusive and it does affect the Heber wild horses as well as other facets of the forest.

Several appeals were filed by different groups and agencies against the ROD. One appeal was submitted by the attorney representing the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB) and the TerraWind Ranch Eco-Action Group. The appeal consisted of a 23 page document and 27 exhibits.

The reasons for the appeal were:

1. THE LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN FAILS TO RECOGNIZE THE HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY PRESENCE OF THE WILD HORSES.
2. THE USFS VIOLATES THE WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSES AND BURROS ACT OF 1971, A FEDERAL COURT ORDER, AND THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT BY IGNORING ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER EACH.

3. THE USFS’S CHARACTERIZATION OF THE WILD HORSES AS “FERAL” AND “INVASIVE” IS UNFOUNDED AND IGNORES EVIDENCE CONTRARY TO THOSE LABELS.

4. THE USFS FAILS TO CONSIDER – LET ALONE ANALYZE – HOW THE LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN WILL IMPACT THE WILD HORSES AND THE TERRITORY.

The following paragraph is an excerpt from the conclusion of the appeal:
“The Plan should be required to contain specific direction and objectives for the Territory. The brief section devoted to the Territory pales in comparison to other sections with significantly more developed guidance, such as that provided in the “Desired Conditions” and “Guidelines” sections of the Plan. The indifference to the wild horses and the Territory is further illustrated in the Plan by its ignorant characterization of the Territory as suitable for all uses – without analysis of the Territory itself. The Plan failed to carefully analyze the needs of the wild horses associated with the Territory and the impact that other uses would have on them both. The lack of attention to the Territory and the horses is dumbfounding in light of the fact that the Plan purports to include particular direction for special areas, naming the Heber Wild Horse Territory as one of those areas.”
The appeal called for a revision to include “distinctive and specialized objectives and safeguards for the Heber Wild Horse Territory”.

July 13, 2016 the ISPMB issued a press release regarding the Land Management Plan.

Excerpts from the press release:

“A settlement of appeals was agreed upon between the Forest Service of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest‭ (‬ASNF‭) ‬and the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros‭ (‬ISPMB‭) ‬and the TerraWind Ranch Eco-Action Group‭( ‬TREAC‭) ‬assuring the future protection of these unique wild horses.”

“The resolution harmonizes the plan with the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of‭ ‬1971.‭ ‬It removes certain inflammatory language pertaining to the horses and finally it requires the FS to show how the plan will impact the wild horses.”

But as we know, the fight to keep the Heber wild horses free and free-roaming in the Sitgreaves National Forest continues.

Some of the faces of the Heber wild horse herd...

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 28

1/25/2023

Oh those bachelors! What an important role they play in a wild horse herd.

Remember, every stallion started out as a bachelor! So don’t let your human emotions get in the way if you see a bachelor attempting to steal a mare or two from your favorite band stallion. They are just answering nature’s call and an important call it is.

Nature’s Way

Over the two plus decades that we have been watching the Heber herd we have noticed years where there were significantly more colts born than fillies. This results in a natural male gender ratio skew. In a wild herd with minimal human interference and no use of birth control or culls, a greater number of breeding age stallions will result in smaller band sizes and thus a deepening of the gene pool. A natural sex ratio skew is not the same as that imposed by manmade management plans which have the intention of shrinking the herd size for motives having nothing to do with the health of the herd.

Another advantage that comes with having a larger number of stallions...
“Having a larger number of males competing could favor females by enhancing the opportunities for mate choice, could mean that males of higher genetic quality would achieve harem stallion status, or both."
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13511.

A research paper, “Population Characteristics of Feral Horses Impacted by Anthropogenic Factors and Their Management Implications” published in 2022 by Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution stated in their conclusion:

“We suggest minimizing human interference with these feral populations. This should start by not arbitrarily and irresponsibly removing the adult males because they are the key for group protection, both against predation or harassment from other males and for genetic variability.” Also noted in the conclusion was how research on equine behavior and ecology can “provide essential guidelines to aid population management and fight the extinction” of horse breeds.
Certainly more research on wild horses is needed in order for our wild herds to be responsibly managed in a way that protects them instead of destroys them.

Please call Secretary Vilsack’s office at 202-720-3631 and ask that the Heber Herd become a “Study Herd” .

Ask that the Secretary of Agriculture, TOM VILSACK, declare the HEBER HERD of NORTHERN ARIZONA a “STUDY HERD” for the next 7-10 years as requested by the NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN 1980; (As ordered by PRIA, Public Rangelands Improvement Act and never carried out by the BLM and FS)

That NO horses be removed until the study is completed;

That NO fertility control drugs ever be implemented on this herd.

Some of the boys...

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 27

1/24/2023

In May of 2014 the Forest Service conducted their first aerial wild horse inventory of the Apache-Sitgreaves. They followed up with another one in February of 2015 and some since then. Inventories are part of their preparation of the Heber Wild Horse Territory management plan.

A sample of some of the numerous flight photos taken during the 2014 and 2015 inventories. Also a map showing where horses were seen during the 2014 inventory. Most of the horses are not in the Territory partially due to being unable to access a large part of it because of cattle pasture fences and natural geographical barriers. The Heber Wild Horse Territory draft management plan calls for the capture and removal of horses not using the Territory. Photos and map obtained through a FOIA request.

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 26

1/24/2023

Band stallions of the Heber herd.

Not all bachelors become band stallions. But in about two decades of our observations we have noticed that if a stallion is going to become a band stallion he often begins aquiring mares when he is approximately 4-6 years old.

Here are just a few band stallions of the Heber herd past and present.

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 25

1/20/2023

“Wanagi”

“According to Lakota tradition, every Lakota baby that is born is given a wanagi. A wanagi is like a spirit from a star.” ~ Chynna Lockett

He was first seen as a colt by one of the Heber wild horse advocates prior to the Rodeo-Chediski fire in 2002. He was only about two months old at the time and he was the first cremello she had seen in forest. She didn’t see him again until February of 2005. It became customary for him to disappear around Oct only to resurface in March of every year with a least one bachelor but usually three or four. They would hang with him for a few days then he would run them off. She often wondered if he had “babysat” them all winter in the canyons. Although she loved seeing him she didn’t give him a name because back then naming a wild one wasn’t something she did. It wasn’t until 2015 when a family that was local to the area named him Wanagi. She last saw Wanagi in 2020. There have been some more recent photos mislabeled as Wanagi.

Not all wild stallions are destined to be band stallions yet they all have purpose within the herd. As humans we often tend to anthropomorphize animals which on one hand is good because it helps to generate empathy and compassion for them. However we cannot let that cloud our understanding of their biological course in the world of nature. Horses are sentient beings with the capacity to have feelings and emotions but they are still different than humans. We often assign human feelings and characteristics to them, we give them names, we have our favorites and those we may not like so much, particularly if we feel they are in some way doing harm to the ones we favor. An example would be if a bachelor “steals” a mare from our favorite band stallion. Some would see the bachelor as an enemy of sorts while all he is doing is carrying out his role within the herd by adding to the depth of the gene pool which is crucial to the success of the herd.

Henry Beston said it best:

“We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate for having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein do we err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with the extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings: they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.”

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 24

1/20/2023

Failed capture attempts...ones that got away.

Over the years people have captured some of the Heber wild horses with various motives in mind. Some have made it a business to capture, break, and sell them without the prospective buyers knowing the horse they are considering buying was once wild. There will be more on that in future “Chronicles”. But this is about some that managed to escape their captors. Some with a little help from their friends aka wild horse advocates.

Without a doubt the most well known Heber wild horse who regained his freedom from would-be thieves is Sir Studly Dudley. He ran around in the forest for a few years with the red halter they managed to put on him. It never stopped him from becoming a successful band stallion. Over time the halter became more and more worn. The last time it was seen on him it was just barely hanging on. To this day some say the halter was somehow taken off of him by a human. Dudley is not a people friendly guy, so until we see some evidence, such as photos or video of a person taking it off or even a photo of somebody holding the halter, we’re not inclined to believe that story.

Not as well known is the bay mare, Juniper. In 2015 game camera photos were the first to surface of her with a halter and two very long leads attached. It didn’t take long for the leads to be shortened by her hooves as she grazed. We don’t know the circumstances of her capture and getaway but she was back with her band and her beautiful new foal was delivered shortly thereafter.

In 2018 there were the two palomino mares and two foals that were captured in a corral in the forest. We got word through a Facebook private message from kind and caring people who spotted them captured in a corral and suspected they were wild. We contacted another advocate, Stacy Sanchez and asked he if could check out the situation. When he got to the corral he realized the two palomino mares and very young foals were indeed wild. Only one of the captured mares had a foal of her own but she was seen nursing both foals. Stacy opened the gate of the large corral and was able to slowly move all four horses through. He followed them and watched as they reunited with their band that was back in the trees not far away. The little foal found his real mom which turned out to be a third palomino. It was a happy ending to what was most likely another failed horse theft attempt. Sometimes it takes a village.

Time is running out for the Heber wild horse herd.

1/17/2023

Why the Heber wild horse herd "Chronicles"?
Because time is running out and their truth needs to be told.

“If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity.”
― Albert Einstein

Photo of Old Buck who was a magnificent Heber wild stallion and protector of his band.

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 23

1/17/2023

“hundreds of thousands of horses running all over the place” in Nevada. Really? Oh, Mark, shame on you. You’re either woefully ignorant or willfully deceptive.

In June of 2015 the public lands ranchers in the Heber/Overgaard area had a rally to gather the troops in opposition to the Heber wild horse herd. Their keynote speaker was Arizona Department of Agriculture Director Mark Killian. So here we have yet another government agency that has ignored the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act and come out against the Heber wild horses, YOURS and MINE!

The following is a transcript from the video of AZ Dept of AG Director Mark Killian speaking at the Public Lands Rancher Rally and posted on Endangered Ranchers of Arizona June 12, 2015

“And the thing that’s most important for the ranchers right now is that the horse numbers go up they’re going to cut the number of cattle off these allotments. And if this continues on, pretty soon there won’t be any ranchers left on these allotments. It’ll be just like it is in Nevada where they’ve got hundreds of thousands of horses running all over the place creating all kinds of problems. And so we’re working with the Forest Service to see if we can’t find a solution. But ultimately in my opinion we’re going to have to go back into court and prove to the court that these horses are not original....

At that point the person who took the video ran out of memory for her camera but posted that Killian had finished that sentence by saying: “we have to go back to court to prove that these horses are feral horses, not original wild horses.”

There is no support for any argument that in order to prove the horses are protected as wild free-roaming,‭ ‬one must show a direct line to particular horses from any particular time.

Heber wild horses with leg barring. Photo was taken in July 2017.

From the Chronicles of the Heber Wild Horse Herd Part 22

1/12/2023

Federal agencies, state agencies, and local public lands ranchers spoke out against wild horses and in many instances specifically Arizona’s Heber herd.

As time went on it became more and more apparent who the enemies of the Heber wild horses were. The public lands ranchers appeared to be a driving force pushing for the removal and even the slaughter of the wild horses living in the Sitgreaves National Forest.

Heber Wild Horses: Legendary Or Problematic?
KNAU News Talk - Arizona Public Radio | By Aaron Granillo
Published June 5, 2015

Excerpt:
In his own lifetime – 57-years – Gibson’s seen the wild horse population increase exponentially. He pays the Forest Service about $1,600 a month for grazing rights, and feels he’s not getting his money’s worth. Gibson believes there’s one solution to protect livelihood and land.
“So in my opinion, the best thing to with these up here would be remove every one of them. [Heber wild horses] Whether they go to adoption, or, you know, I hate to say it, euthanized or to a slaughter plant," Gibson says. "I mean that sounds kind of harsh, but something has to be done with them.”

This interview gives the impression that Mr. Gibson was the ranch and grazing lease owner at the time. In fact he was not. He was the ranch manager. Therefore it doesn’t add up that "he" paid for the grazing rights and "he" wasn’t getting “his money’s worth”. As for the population increase, based on numbers by the Forest Service the herd size has remained relatively stable using their estimates from 2005 to the present. Overpopulation of the Heber herd has never been proven.

https://www.knau.org/.../heber-wild-horses-legendary-or...

Arizona Game and Fish Department Director Larry Voyles had recommended killing healthy wild horses. He didn’t specify the Heber herd, just wild horses in general.

Arizona agency lobbies for wild horse euthanasia
Posted on Sep 3, 2010 by Tuesday's Horse

Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), is recommending the Bureau of Land Management euthanize healthy excess wild horses and burros as a management alternative.

In a letter addressed to BLM director Bob Abbey, AZGFD Director Larry Voyles states, “In order to have a truly open dialogue and consideration for all viable management alternatives, the BLM should reconsider the inclusion of two options, which have been identified as “off the table” for the development of the new draft strategy: 1) euthanasia of healthy excess animals, and 2) their sale without limitation.”
https://tuesdayshorse.wordpress.com/.../arizona-agency.../

Larry Voyles announced his retirement from the AZGFD in 2017.