September 2025 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN September 2025 4 Iconic Herds of Horses and Burros Stir Imaginations and Controversy Suzanne Bushkin The Wild-Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed by Congress in 1971, declaring that these iconic creatures “are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.” For more than 50 years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been respon- sible for protecting wild horses and burros—balancing their health with the health of the landscape where they roam, graze and reproduce. That was then. Today the horses and burros that inspired books, movies and songs, and that stoked the imaginations of generations of kids are at the center of an epic battle. On one side, the people who love these creatures and want to protect them and the landscapes where they roam. On the other side, there are lobbyists, ranchers, and bureaucrats who see the wild horses as pests. In the 900-plus-page tome that contains the Heri- tage Foundation’s Project 2025, hardly any aspect of government escapes harsh judgment accompanied by strategies to rectify what the authors view as chronic mismanagement. Project 2025 has been the de facto roadmap for the current administration, and somewhere around page 530 in the chapter focused on the BLM, William Perry Pendley brings the hammer down on the horses and burros. “Congress must enact laws permit- ting the BLM to dispose humanely of these animals,” he wrote. Pendley’s critique led to efforts in Congress to eviscerate the budget for the care of wild horses and burros, which would force the BLM to euthanize thou- sands of animals. The Kill Switch Historically, Congress has prohibited killing healthy wild horses and burros as a means of controlling their populations on the land BLM oversees. President Don- ald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal omitted the protections that prohibit BLM from killing healthy wild horses. Additionally, the budget proposal opened the door for BLM to sell wild horses and burros without explicit protection against slaughter. “We’re really happy to see that that wasn’t adopt- ed, and that the (budget) versions of both the House and the Senate maintain those critical protections,” says Amelia Perrin. “Reversing them would be against our American values and essentially against the will of the public who all want these wild horses protected and kept wild and not slaughtered.” Perrin is Senior Communications Manag- er of American Wild Horse Con- servation (AWHC), a non-profit group in Davis CA focused on protecting wild horses and their habitats. Despite this budget victory, contentious issues remain be- tween those who advocate for the wild horses and burros, and the ranchers, lobbyists and oth- ers who have differing views about the proper use of public land. Over-grazing and Habitat Destruction Pendley says that wild horses and burros are destroying their own habitat because of over- population. “There are 95,000 wild horses and burros roaming nearly 32 million acres in the West—triple what scientists and land management experts say the range can support. These an- imals face starvation and death from lack of forage and water,” he explains in Project 2025. One of the strategies BLM has em- ployed is rounding up, or gather- ing, herds of animals and mov- ing them to off-range facilities. It’s an expensive and some say “cruel” approach, because the roundups employ helicopters to chase the horses and burros into traps where they can be trans- ferred to trailers for transport to the off-range facilities. “They bring helicopters in and they run the horses for po- tentially miles following them into a trap and separating from (Continued on page 44) Photo by PhotoAdvocacy Add KAUFFMAN’S Integri-Hoof to your horse’s diet today to provide the key nutrients to grow strong, tough hooves fast! Call or Click Today 800-992-3147 • ka-hi.com SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTH & PERFORMANCE ® Premium Equine Products | A Division Daniel Baum Company, Inc. 1383 Arcadia Rd. Ste 102 | Lancaster, PA 17601 | 800-992-3147 Day 1 on Integri-Hoof™ 6 months on Integri-Hoof™ “My horse came in from the pasture with a portion of her hoof missing and I started her on Integri-Hoof ™ in June, 2018. Within 6 months (November, 2018) my horse’s hoof had completely grown back and closed up. I had to change her farrier schedule so she would get shod every 5 weeks instead of every 6 weeks because her toe was growing that fast! My farrier was impressed with her rapid and healthy hoof growth. I now use Integri-Hoof all year round!”- KAUFFMAN’S ® Integri-Hoof Customer Formulated to deliver the essential nutrients, in the proper ratios, to help combat quarter cracks and grow strong, healthy hooves. Integri-Hoof ™