Wild Horse Rally at School House Park Aug 28, 2016

http://www.ruidosonews.com/story/news/local/2016/08/28/supporters-mobilize-save-alto-wild-horse-herd/89513272/

Rally draws attention to plight of wild herd while organizers work to consolidate efforts to bring the horses home one way or the other

Story Highlights

• Conflicting views on definition of wild horses
• Legal reality may be tough for supporters, but laws can be changed, they say

Honking from nearly every vehicle traveling Sudderth Drive Sunday drowned out chants of "Bring Them Back" and "Save Our Horses" as hundreds of supporters of the Alto wild herd lined both sides of the street at School House Park to drawn attention to the plight of mares and foals gathered Friday off private land.
A town hall meeting on the situation is set for 5:30 p.m., Monday at the Sierra Blanca Boys and Girls Club, 134 Reese Drive in the old middle school Horton Complex. Melissa Babcock said she hopes to gather people from multiple groups that sprang into action after the horses were picked up by the New Mexico Livestock Board following a complaint from a landowner who claimed they were nuisances and penned them for collection.

Unfortunately, some of the information may not be what people want to hear, Babcock said.
Based on a conversation with State Rep. Zach Cook,a Republican from Ruidoso who also is an attorney, she said, "The truth of the matter is (the livestock board) is not just going to release the horses. This bunch will never roam wild again, but I don't think people realize that."
Delivering that message is one of the main reasons the meeting Monday is needed, she said, as well as to consolidate fund-raising efforts to ensure that when bidding begins for the purchase of the horses, people with the same goals aren't competing against each other and driving up the cost.

Debbie Wilcox with the Cloud Riders said she organized the rally that grew throughout the afternoon to call attention to the confiscated horses. She pledged that this time, securing their future protection will not be dropped as a cause. (Photo: Kelly Brooks/Ruidoso News)

Shelley McAlister, another organizer in support of the herd, said enough money has been raised to buy the horses and cover their veterinarian and feed bills while trying to work out a procedure to return them to the wild. She was trying to pull in several other herd advocates to meet with her at the Ruidoso New Mexico Real Estate office that afternoon, because of conflicting information of when the bidding will begin. She was told initially, the horses would be held five days to allow any owners to claim them, but since has heard bidding could be initiated as early as noon Monday. She also holds out hope that somehow the confiscated herd members could be released again, as did the hundreds at the rally.

Debbie Wilcox with the Cloud Riders said she organized the rally that grew throughout the afternoon to call attention to the confiscated horses. She pledged that this time, securing their future protection will not be dropped as a cause. In 2014, a small group rallied after Rock Star, a member of the herd, was penned and sold at auction, possibly to go to slaughter. But nothing was done to try to change the law or to develop a specific legal protection for the Alto wild herd. A second section of the herd still roams far up Ski Run Road out of heavy public scrutiny.

Babcock said she hopes with everyone under one roof Monday, they can discuss the realistic message that the movement needs to shift from "free the horses" to "save the horses," because they are going to be up for auction. Ten acres of land has been offered as a place to house the horses, she said. Advocate Bruna Campos has contacted a lawyer, who agreed to take the case. He was going to try to file an injunction to stop the auction, but didn't know if he could accomplish that by noon Monday, she said.

"What we mean by what can be done is 'O.K., guys, it is not going to happen,'" she said. "They are not going to roam free. So if you love them, who in the community wants to own one? That's what needs to happen, kind of what the article (posted online in the Ruidoso News) said Friday, but we didn't want to hear that."

 Cook was aware of a lawsuit that occurred over the collection of the Placita wild herd a few years ago, Babcock said. But he told her the situation was different in that the horses were captured on public land. But not everyone with legal background agrees that the livestock board has jurisdiction over the herd as "estray" or abandoned equines.

 

However, for now, "This is the way the law is written and we can change that," Babcock said. "But that takes time. It probably won't help with this herd or happen any time soon, and it will take money. The towns people need to know protests and signs won't (cause the livestock board to) haul them back and let them loose. Sadly that is not the case."

During the Sunday rally, Wilcox and other Cloud Riders handed out sheets urging people to attend the Monday meeting and to join the Save the Wild Horses Petition, in addition to flooding Gov. Susana Martinez' inbox with messages. "Keep up to date on meetings and news and how to help on FaceBook pages, 'Cloud Riders of New Mexico'" and 'Bring Ruidoso's Horses Back,' they said. The petition calling for the return of the horses was nearing 5,000 signatures Sunday afternoon.

Besides live horses, a mock unicorn and a miniature horse adding color to the rally, a group of motorcyclists also joined the movement, traveling to one of the "Wild Horses" traffic warning signs on New Mexico Highway 48 and then adding their numbers to the protesters.

Debbie Wilcox with the Cloud Riders said she organized the rally that grew throughout the afternoon to call attention to the confiscated horses. She pledged that this time, securing their future protection will not be dropped as a cause. (Photo: Kelly Brooks/Ruidoso News)

Horns were honking and protesters shouted Sunday voicing their disapproval of the removal of the Alto wild horse herd Friday due to a complaint by an Alto resident. (Photo: Kelly Brooks/Ruidoso News)

Protesters lined the street Sunday in front of Schoolhouse Park on Sudderth Drive in opposition to the removal of the Alto wild horse herd Friday. (Photo: Kelly Brooks/Ruidoso News)