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.
Stallion looking for his herd. Photo from Bring Ruidoso's Horses Back
Face book is alive with chatter and pictures. Group:Bring Ruidoso's Horses Back Sign a petition to the governor at:
https://www.change.org/p/new-mexico-governor-save-alto-wild-horses
Donate to a Go Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/altohorses
Attention:Bring The Horses Back- meeting
A town meeting will be held at the Boys and Girls club at Horton Complex, 134 Reese Drive, Monday at 5.30 PM.
Please pass the word and plan to attend.
On the agenda:
1) We will recap exactly what happened, so incorrect rumors are put to rest.
2) We will discuss a plan of action based by helpful insight from Zack Cook, our State Representative.
3) Raise Awareness of the go fund me account.
4) Stress the importance of our mission- bringing back the horses.
Let's use our energy for good. Protesting Ms.McCoy in no way
accomplishes this. She is irrelevant to us at this point..
**-
The "Save the Wild Horses" ride will meet on Sunday at Quarters at one,
meet and greet and leave at 2. Cars are also welcome. This is not a
public meeting/rally simply a way to gather together and meet those in
the community that share the love of our horses.Update: RALLY tomorrow at 1 at Quarters & RALLY from 1-3 by the Public Pool! Please bring a sign to hold up that says "save our horses,"or one that
says "honk for our horses". There will be extra signs there but
please try and bring one.
This website is the official site to check for accurate information: "Facebook Bring Ruidoso's Horses Back"
Now go share, share!!
Thanks.
Melissa Babcock
Reprinted Aug 31, 2016http://www.ruidosonews.com/story/news/local/2016/08/26/alto-horse-herd-rounded-up/89432320/
Alto horse herd rounded up
Dianne L Stallings, Ruidoso News 4:34 p.m. MDT August 26, 2016 http://www.ruidosonews.com/story/news/local/2016/08/26/alto-horse-herd-rounded-up/89432320/
Complaint leads to a dozen members of the Alto wild horse herd being removed to be auctioned
About
a dozen “wild” mares and their foals were hauled away from the Alto
area Friday in response to a complaint lodged by a resident of Enchanted
Forest, who contended they were a nuisance, posed a danger to traffic
and were damaging property.
Upset neighbors and advocates for the
herd gathered outside the area where Caroline McCoy and her adjoining
property owner had corralled the horses. They wanted to work out a
solution to her problem and halt the removal of the herd, but the
process continued.
New Mexico Livestock Board Executive Director
Ray Baca was on hand, as was District 20 supervisor Troy Patterson and
inspector George Mendoza. The neighbors and many others in the Ruidoso
area called the livestock board and the governor’s office to lodge
complaints. Several neighbors who said they enjoyed having the horses
visit, questioned why the “wild” herd is not protected by federal law as
are the mustangs and burros on Bureau of Land Management property. In
New Mexico, these types of horses are treated as stray animals that
probably came off the Mescalero Apache Reservation 20 to 30 years ago,
state officials said. When reported as a nuisance, they become the
responsibility of the livestock board.
However, a local attorney
said he was contacted by a neighbor and is looking into the possibility
of filing for an injunction based on whether the board has authority
over “wild” animals, questioning the definitions of wild and estray.
The
stallion of the herd, who apparently was a major part of the problem
for McCoy, was not among the horses corralled and removed, because McCoy
said she was unable to secure him on her property, a requirement of the
process. Those watching the removal said he was “going crazy” nearby as
his mares and foals were loaded and hauled away.
The horses taken
will never run wild again, Baca agreed. Once they are “in the system,”
they will be confined for at least five days for examination by a
veterinarian, checked for brands, microchips and other signs of
ownership, then put up for auction on the livestock board’s webpage
dealing with lost, found and estray horses.
“I think the biggest
thing I am looking at right now is that we examine these horses for
tattoos or brands, or microchips or such to make sure they don’t belong
to a rightful owner,” Baca said. “And if an owner comes forward, they
have a right to them, of course, by providing proof of ownership.
“We’re
going to take them to a facility where we can work with them closely
and have our veterinarian look at them, as well as our inspectors.”
He estimated about a dozen horses were involved.
“We
will publicize them for five days and people can come forward and bid
on them at that point,” Baca said. “The public bid is held on our
website.”
The exact location where the horses will be confined
until they are bought had not been designated when they left, but later
in the day, the destination was pinpointed as Santa Fe. A herd advocate
said Mendoza said photographs of the horses will be posted on the
board’s website Monday.
“Have them contact me and I will let them
know where they are,” Baca said for people who want to inspect the
horses before placing a bid. “We have our state veterinarian check them
for health and whoever the winning bidder is can retrieve the animal,
claim their property. We will microchip them and we will keep a record
of that.” The horses once purchased must be treated like any other
domesticated equine and cannot be released back into the wild, he
emphasized.
“The major concern and problem now is that we find a
safe place for the horses that has adequate care and facility for them,”
he said.
McCoy said she and her husband have been dealing with
the horses since they moved to Enchanted Forest from Nogal a year ago.
When they arrived, fences had been broken down and she repaired and
improved the arrangement.
“(An adjoining property owner), who
helped the livestock board, wanted them penned because they were
destroying his property and making substantial inroads into ours,” she
said. “I’m an older person (77) riding my mare and she becomes so upset
with all of these horses. When I’m riding and come across them or my
mare is in heat and there is a stud out there, it’s dangerous for me.”
The horses also eliminate in the driveway, eat her flowers and put hoof prints in damp ground, she said.
“But
more than that, these are not wild horses, not the romantic mustang,”
McCoy said. “These are abandoned horses just turned loose in the
mountains and now the herd has separated and the one herd is up over on
the mountain – a great place for them to be. Unfortunately, many
residents treat (the removed herd) like deer, which is really illegal to
feed, and put out grain. They say they will eat out of their hands,
which they will. But when we were working with them this morning, these
are not horses that are gentle by any means. If someone didn’t know what
they were doing, they could get hurt.”
More than that, however,
is the danger to drivers when the horses cross New Mexico Highway 48,
she said. “I’ve seen people hit one of the mares once. I know of people,
not with this herd, killed by horses on the highway. It’s a very
dangerous situation,” she said.
McCoy also contends that in-breeding isn’t healthy for the stock.
“That
stallion has his stamp on every one of the mares and again on their
colts,” she said. “My horses are racing around crashing against the
fences and hurting themselves. My mare has banged up her face because
she’s so excited. It just doesn’t work.”
McCoy emphasized that the
complaint also came from her adjoining property owner who helped load
the horses, but he could not be reached for confirmation by press time.
By
being rounded up, the horses will have a chance for a good home, McCoy
said. “We talked about that immediately, and they will be advertised and
they are legally bound to do that,” she said of the livestock board. “I
know people ready to bid on them.”
But based on an incident in
2014, involving Rock Star, a horse from the herd that was penned as a
nuisance by a new resident in the area and was sold at auction for
$42.59 by a business already charged with several counts of misdemeanor
animal cruelty, a positive ending isn’t guaranteed. Paperwork indicated
he probably was sent to slaughter, although McCoy said she was told by
livestock board officials that he was not destroyed.
Lynda Blaney,
who now lives in Colorado, went through an adoption of a filly from the
herd after the Rock Star incident in 2014. The horse turned out to be a
great addition to the family and has since given birth to her own
daughter, she said. During the uproar over Rock Star’s fate, Blaney and
other advocates met with livestock board officials including Baca and
Patterson about being able to receive automatic notifications on horses
and the procedures to adopt. They complained that the procedure in place
when Rock Star was picked up failed to allow them the chance to bid on
the horse and save him.
Alto resident Russell Perrin said his
family enjoyed having the herd in the area and watching horses that he
didn’t have to feed. They didn’t eat the flowers like the elk and deer,
he said. They just trimmed the grass.
Large wild horse herd in trouble. One woman in Enchanted Forest has about 15 horses penned and waiting for Brand inspector to come them pick up and take away-FOREVER. Herd is at ? Linda Vista. CALL governor 505.476.2200 and NM Livestock Board - District #20 Area Supervisor: Troy Patterson 505.250.5956, Brand Inspector: George Mendoza (575) 642-3993
Raise a ruckus! Say horses are a tourist attraction. Say they are a part of our heritage here in Lincoln County (they have been around a long time) Whatever to stop this. Dianne Stalling knows and will write up a story for Ruidoso News, but it is too late for today's paper. Know any radio personalities? - get them in our camp and the news out on the radio.
OH no - 8/26/16 noon: just heard they already picked up 12 horses. Only Stallion left.
Stop them from being moved away from our area. Watch New Mexico Livestock Board website - Estray notices. For 5 days horses will be listed - then gone to auction.
