www.spanishmustangspirit.com

This is an effort by Karen Parker in conjunction with the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary to promote and display the Spanish Mustang as Part of the Wild Horse Project. You can either find it on www.spanishmustangspirit.com.

BLM DIRECTOR' s CHALLENGE: www.volunteer.gov 10/29/11

Release Date: 10/29/11
Contacts: Kaveh Sadeghzadeh , (202) 912-7423
BLM's "Director's Challenge" Initiative Will Enhance Volunteer Opportunities on Western Rangelands
WASHINGTON – As part of its ongoing effort to ensure the health of Western public rangelands, the Bureau of Land Management is announcing its “Director's Challenge” initiative to expand volunteer participation in monitoring and sustaining the health of wild horse and burro Herd Management Areas (HMAs). More specifically, this volunteer program is aimed at engaging members of the public in monitoring, conducting inventories, and restoring natural resources on BLM-managed HMAs throughout the West. The Director’s Challenge initiative will offer citizen-based science opportunities that enhance both the BLM’s and stakeholders’ knowledge of resource conditions on public lands. Under this initiative, BLM field offices may receive up to $25,000 to implement projects that will engage citizen stakeholders in addressing land health issues within the HMAs. Possible challenge projects include conducting inventories of water sources, monitoring riparian area conditions, removing invasive plant species, and protecting spring sources. "The BLM is committed to ensuring the health of the Western rangelands so that the species depending on them – including the nation’s wild horses and burros – can thrive," said BLM Director Bob Abbey. "The projects that will spring from this challenge will enhance the BLM's ability to make land management decisions based on the most current information, while also providing hands-on opportunities for those committed to preserving the Western rangeland." Appropriate challenge activities may range from projects requiring specific skills and/or training, such as the inventory of key resource indicators, to riparian restoration projects that may require minimal training. Community or partnership-supported volunteer efforts are preferred, and field offices will recruit individuals at http://www.volunteer.gov, where volunteers can review project opportunities.
The BLM manages more land - over 245 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
--BLM-- Here is the topic of discussion: The BLM manages over 245 million acres  in 12 Western states. Approx 35 million acres of those are still utilized by horses through the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro protection act. Yet already approx 25million have disappeared due to complicated and intransparent shifts of landuse. And those areas defined as HMA's (total of 188) still feed and overwhelmingly exceeding amount of cattle, which leads to the continuous struggle for forage and results in the removal of more and more horses, without ever having established the actual number (USGS studies at the FORT are inconclusive) of horses on the range...With increasing public pressure over the last 2 years and and ever growing BLM budget, (Feeding nearly 50 000mustangs in Long term Holding by the end of 2011) the need for reform is apparent. Above is the OFFICIAL request for public involvement, though not to sit down and develop different management strategies which will preserve the horses on the range, eliminate roundups and reroute the never ending stream of horses into long term holding to meaningful and actual preserves and adoption events. The request is for VOLUNTEERS to support and assist the Field Offices with range studies and water improvements, with counts and most likely also with Fertility control (After training)...OUR first reaction is: "....so they want US to do the work and provide all the data, how many horses, where they are, what they are eating and drinking..." and then go out to round them up and all on our DIME and OUR VOLUNTEER TIME?" On second thought we need to look beyond that and as in the example of the Little Bookcliffs Herd and also the Pryor Mountain HMA and the Kiger Horses, there is an advantage to be directly at the base of command and information and it will benefit the horses and us to be out on the range and witness their life-conditions on a daily basis. That is why I believe monitoring work like the daily blogs by Nancy Roberts for the Sandwash Basin are a very important aspect of public involvement and claiming of our herds. So the answer to the Announcement of the BLM would be Yes, let us know what we can do for and with the Field Office of any particular Wild Horse Management area....and YES, let it be clear that our activism will result in the elimination of roundups and cruel processing of our horses.

...and here's the dance...

I LOVE THIS STUFF...AND THEY DO TOO

he's strutting his stuff...

Aragon in the background, cognac and Galicio. riding Vee-da-woo

look at these colors

HE MIGHT HAVE TO REMAIN UNSADDLED...but what suspension

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST...

Photo courtesy A C Kandler

Transparency has become such a popular expression, similar to sustainability and just like love it is in the eye of the beholder. It is said, that you can do anything you want in life as long as you don't expect credit for it and/or care. So with these photographs by my friend Al Kandler, taken the first couple of days at the Black Hills Sanctuary, I take credit for being a catalyst to modernize a chapter of WILD HORSE PRESERVATION in a PRIVATE SANCTUARY not to the Exclusion of the Protection of WILD HORSES on our vast public lands once and for all designated to be reserved for an american ICON.
The mustang is americas renewable resource horse, provided and tested by nature at no charge, to the dismay of profit-seeking individuals and organizations. The horse comes in all shapes and sizes, (to the surprise of those who want to make him bigger) and in all colors and conformations. The mustang belongs to our public lands on the range, into private sanctuaries, into all competitions and disciplines. THE WILD HORSE is a serious contender to domestic breeding and deserves protection, admiration and the utmost RESPECT.

"Amanda, why don't you come into the roundpen and say Hello to ARROW..."

Here is a beautiful account of what the work or training and demonstrating can do for the mustang at a place like the sanctuary in the Black Hills. During my work in the last couple of months, numerous visitors of the training barn had the opportunity to physically engage with the horses whose stories I told as we watched them perform different tasks pertaining to their level of training.  One of the most appreciated stories and horses was Arrow, because he combines beauty and wildness and a portion of sadness to his presence. Mustangs are indeed (because of the lack of domestication) a seperate entity and more solemn and souvereign and this one is in particular. Still that is where our visions and aspirations start to fly and where we allow ourselves to live in the moment and connect. Thank you Amanda, for sending me the mail and the pictures, I hope to see you at the sanctuary for our future training camps for the Youth.


She writes:
" This is Amanda. I came to watch you training Arrow.I fell in love with him. Here are some  of the pictures of him. I will send you some of the other ones. If you don't mind sending me some other pictures of him. I will try to come and see you over some of my other breaks. Thank you so much for letting me watch him in training. Hope to see you at a later date. "

PRAIRIE LARK - THE LAST SURVIVOR OF THE ORIGINAL bunch...

(photo courtesy IRAM)

This is Prairie Lark, the last remaining survivor of the original bunch of 200 horses rescued from a Holding facility in 1988 by Dayton O'Hyde, and one of the foundation mares of the IRAM institute, Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. She was trained and ridden by Dayton O'Hyde...You can see her in the morning approaching the Corrals of the Sanctuary amidst a picturesque herd of paints and quarterhorses.

Sorraia or Sulphur Springs or Spanish...the word is out BEAUTIFUL

DON JUAN, sire of Cognac

When all is said and done, Dayton O'Hyde had a great dream...

It is autumn...at the IRAM institute ...

...and I have said goodbye to the horses and the beautiful land of the Cheyenne River valley...winter is coming and the decision was hard. Yet my bones are aching and I long for the southern ocean or at least a warm house...Aragon, Silhouette, Galicio and Veedawoo have loaded up and the Mellow the Main Coon and Shawnee are in the truck...we are headed back to Colorado for a couple of months. See you back in the spring.

ARROW - a rendition by Melody Perez

ARROW IS A 5 YEAR OLD SORRAIA GELDING WITH BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENTS AND A BIG HEART.

This is Melody Perez' love story, the little Sulphur Springs mare that runs with cinnamon and Arrow

 This little mare, yearling or a bit more is gaited and captured Melody's heart. She is extremely shy and skiddish and will take a lifelong attention to come around. Only hours of sitting with her allowed us to touch her face, but it will take so much more to get her ready for travel.

More training

This little yearling Sulphur Springs mare was rescued from the BLM Utah holding facility that made the news due to the horses standing in knee deep manure. She came out alright, her little companion not so much, had completely shot knees from what could be excessive driving during a roundup.

 There are 4 Sulphur fillies currently in the paddocks, two being the ones, Arrow was turned out with.

 This BLM mustang mare is in the quarter horse pasture. She has been removed several times but keeps returning compromising the fence and insisting on being with her selected bunch.

Me amongst the Curlys, American Bashkir or Iberian, mustang or not...more about them later....

the next day...

The little horse had been caught in a bait corral on the wild side the night before and Dayton wanted him haltered. It was a non issue that night but the next day looked different. And as we know "halterbroke" means more than just get the halter on and drag the animal around by his teeth. There is no short cut to this it just takes time to be present with the animal.

The next day the little buckskin had decided to be wild after all and gave Jobeth a run for her money when she tried to lead him. But how great to have the time to do things right and soon he came around and was leading happily through the gate and into the alleyway. Particular to note that she recognized he preferred to be approached from the back and not from the head.

OPPOSITS ATTRACT...

Buckskins from the wild side - two totally opposed characters join...

THE LITTLE WEANLING COLT ON THE LEFT CAME IN AND DISPLAYED NOT A CONCERN AT ALL.  He also was supposed to go through the chute to receive a halter but Jobeth and I determined within minutes that it would not take much to get a halter on him. In 1/2 hour of her walking behind him she touched him all over and had him gently accept the rope around his face, out of which he proceeded to try to awkwardly back out. Joining him with the now healing and improving Buckskin was a smart and sensible decision and we hope they will both have time before castration.

DESERT SAND - YEARLING FROM THE WILD SIDE...

This is the young desert-sand yearling from the Wild side, who came in and beat himself up in the chute. Since we are a showcase and educational facility, individuals like him should be singled out and spared the extra stress of processing in a chute. Accidents are to be expected but with some anticipation and understanding can be curtailed. I decided to work with him in a small corral and even though it took days and multiple hours to even approach him (which most commercial operations do not have time for) I felt he would pay back bigtime, which he did. When he finally let me touch him his curiosity and progress was astounding and when he was combined with a singly-caught weanling he turned out to be the perfect companion----- and now walks on the leadline completely out of controlled environment. And most of all he can be walked up to with a halter and haltered and lead. No more pain.

Injuries on both hind legs front leg infection and face...

depressed and rejecting

Vee-da-woo in the background being patient