Wild Horses of Alto - Save the herd!: March 2015

Wild Horses of Alto. Save the Herd!

WILD HORSES OF ALTO (W.H.O.A!) disclaimer: this blog is in no way associated with the group WHOA (Wild Horse Observers Association). This blog has actually become like a vertical file in the library where important past documents - like newspaper articles - are filed and kept for research when needed. It has become almost a lesson in librarianship for me.

WILD HORSES OF ALTO The herd of wild horses in Alto, N.M., are the offspring of estray horses that roamed Sierra Blanca on Mescalero and National Forest land. Today the herds roam the same territory as well as dropping in to visit some of the subdivisions, such as Enchanted Forest, Sierra Vista, Sun Valley, LaJunta, Little Creek and occasionally Alto Lakes Golf & Country Club. For the most part, the herds are loved and welcomed. But sometimes not.

At this time, it is being decided in a court of law whether the horses are wild or domesticated (and therefore estray). At present, the horses fall under the auspices of the N.M. Livestock Board. We are trying to save all members the herd and other herds that exist in the area. We do NOT want to deny the horses the freedom they have known in the past and the comradeship the herd provides them.

To institute change in the policy and protect the future of our magnificent Wild Horses of Alto herd, we have a petition at https://www.change.org/p/new-mexico-governor-save-alto-wild-horses, a fundraising site for lawyers and feed/care at https://www.gofundme.com/altohorses, an account set up at City Bank-Ruidoso for donations to the "Wild Horses of Lincoln County Trust Fund" and an ongoing facebook group "Bring Ruidoso Horse's Back". Click on the Stallion's photo to go directly there.

PLEASE SPEAK UP, sign petitions, give to the trust fund for the horses. Sign up to this blog to get continual updates and to also post your own comments.

We LOVE our horse herd.

HELP save the Wild Horses of Alto (WHOA!) herd

Sunday, March 15, 2015

2014 - the Year of the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac and in Lincoln County!

On the blog website, I just added the Ruidoso News link to the Top Ten Stories of 2014. Our fight for the herd last summer made it in the Top Ten!

The top story was another horse story -- the search for the lost horse, Pasha, a 15-year-old Arabian horse in the Fort Stanton BLM lands.

Here's the story on the herd from the article:

Wild Horses

In July, admirers of a wild horse herd that roams the mountains around Alto were horrified to learn that one of the horses, Rock Star, a particularly tame and social animal, was corralled and eventually sold for slaughter.

The subsequent outrage prompted a meeting between residents and officials with the New Mexico Livestock Board that is responsible for the welfare of the unclaimed horses. The result was a better understanding of the conflict created when people try to tame a wild horse, but then do not follow through the proper state channels to adopt it and ensure it does not become a nuisance. New lines of communications were establish with the brand inspector, who handled the incident.

In August, herd supporters also handed out flyers to discourage visitors from trying to interact with the horses, who probably descended from equines turned loose on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Some residents still help out with hay and other feed during the winter, but they are dropping it farther up the mountain and away from the public.

One of the first "sanctioned" adoptions of a herd member occurred in September.

Members of the Alto herd show a bit of their "wild" side. (Courtesy photo in the paper)

Wild Horse herd sighting

Bays, the tail-end view

The herd that is composed mainly of bay horses was sighted in Enchanted Forest subdivision in Alto. The person reporting the sighting said the herd was approximately 12 horses. She didn't see any palomino colored with the white splotches. Someone else reported they had seen the herd on the other side of Hwy 48 in this same general area, like where Jack Johnson's and Otero Electric are located. There is a Wild Horses sign located here.

Wild Horses of Alto - Save the herd!