Round Up Your Passion!

Freedom isn’t free – as the old Pete Seeger song tells us.  And I’m talking about the latest Mustang Roundup a few weeks back in in Spring Creek Basin out in Disappointment Valley.  You ever wonder why it is called Disappointment Valley? It is the home to a most magnificent herd of Wild Horses.  Beautiful country where the mustangs live in harmony with the deer, elk, pronghorn sheep and of course, the cattle.  They live in peace and harmony….so why can’t the humans who “manage” the land live in harmony as well…I wonder why all involved can’t take a lesson from the horses and wildlife…and learn to find a balance.  Well, of course, the solution is not that clear cut….if fact, it isn’t clear at all…in fact…no one knows

what the solution is….and that’s why every 4 years…the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) plans these roundups, to remove horses from the herd, to keep the numbers within the parameters of the forage and water available to keep the range and the animals healthy.  And let’s not forget the oil and mineral interests.  Folks, there has got to be a better way.  When you remove horses from the range, you breakup family groups….they’re called “bands” and you destroy relationships.  Yes, horses are herd animals and they have close ties….ties that bind.

And where do these horses go once they are rounded up?  Well, some get adopted….and yes the others, at least in this area, go to Canon City - that’s right….the prison, where they can live out their lives.  Right now, Canon City is home to about 2000 wild horses who have been removed via roundups. Across the country…in at least 10 Western states the same procedures are followed. There are some 40,000  (the number can vary depending who you talk to) horses who have been rounded up.  Some eventually do find good homes…some stay in large long term holding facilities or go to what is called a sanctuary…..and unfortunately, some do find their way to slaughter and that is in Mexico and it is brutal for the horses…..There are no slaughter houses in the U.S. any longer….at least they were regulated…or so I am told.  In all fairness to Canon City, BLM does have a wonderful inmate program where horses are trained and worked with.  They help the horses and the horses help them.

Not only do the roundups stress and traumatize the horses,….the whole “processing” procedure can be devastating…in fact, in this last roundup….one little horse was being led through the alley to be loaded…something happened…no one seems to know exactly…he was trampled, broke his neck and had to be euthanized.  Maybe he is the lucky one…..maybe he was trying to tell us something.  Like…humans get it right some day. He found out that freedom wasn’t free…but now he is free.  Perhaps, for this one little beautiful black and white paint….paying the ultimate price of death…is FREEDOM.

The mustang represents freedom…our American symbol.  We are loosing our wild horse herds, by the thousands each year…and this includes burros also. The 1971 Wild Horse and Burros act supposedly protected our herds on public lands….but who is protecting them now?  This is a very complex issue…with a high level of emotion on both sides.  But these are our wild horses…Just a metaphor for what our culture has become and we too are loosing our freedoms…and have been for years.

So please, find your passion…pursue it.,…Your American Dream….or is it still alive? Perhaps somewhere…Leave something wild in this world.  Live on the edge…get out of the box…..or as someone said the other day….What box?

If you would like more information on this issue, contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 970 729-1848. Get educated…..don’t take my word for it - and come Spring -  come out and welcome my newly adopted little mustang mare,  LIBERTY.