The National Geographic Magazine feature article for February 2009 examines in detail the plight of our wild horses, including Cloud's Pryor Mountain herd. Although the article paints a disturbing picture regarding the future survival of an integral part and icon of the American West, the factual information, which it provides, warrants thoroughly reading it .
In this article, Ginger Kathrens, the Executive Director of
The Cloud Foundation, contributes her long-term and first-hand observations, which point out the mismanagement of the wild horse herds along with its damaging side effects.
Excerpts:
Some herds are direct descendants of those brought by the conquistadores, notably the Pryor Mountain herd in Montana and northern Wyoming, whose centuries-old Spanish heritage was established through blood tests in 1992.
"In some cases," [Ginger] Kathrens said, "I've seen a stallion lose his mares in a BLM gather, and for that stallion, who has fought life-threatening battles for those mares, his life is over. He'll end up on his own, and I don't think it's too strong to say that some stallions succumb to a form of depression."
Contributions - Be It Large or Small - to The Cloud Foundation are always welcome.
