2016 Goshute Emergency Wild Horse Gather
Gather completed on October 18, 2016
Purpose of Gather:
To remove excess wild horses from the Tunnel Spring area of the Goshute herd management area (HMA) in Eastern Nevada due to declining critical water sources on public lands.
Details of Gather:
The Bureau of Land Management, Elko District, and Wells Field Office began an emergency wild horse water and bait method gather on September 29 with placement of corrals near the Tunnel Spring area located in Goshute HMA. This water and bait method gather attempted to remove 60 excess wild horses from the Tunnel Spring area due to the declining critical water source on public lands. In addition, gathering the excess wild horses and removing them from the area will prevent further resource degradation and allow the range to recover from wild horse impacts.
Public Observation:
Due to the sensitive nature of the bait-trap gather method, no public observation was offered so as not to disturb gather operations.
Adoption Information:
Wild Horses removed from this range will be sent to the Indian Lakes Off-Range Corral in Fallon, NV to be entered into BLM's adoption program.
Background:
Excessive numbers of wild horses combined with extremely limited water availability in northeastern Nevada has resulted in emergency conditions within the Goshute Herd Management Area (HMA) that threaten wild horse health and well-being. The current estimated population for the Goshute HMA is 904 wild horses. The Appropriate Management Level (AML) range for the Goshute HMA is 74-123.
Wild horses within the Goshute HMA range in Henneke body condition score (BCS) from poor (BCS 1.5) to moderately thin (BCS 4). Wild horses with a BCS of 2 or less are at risk of death if they remain on the range given the current high numbers of excess of wild horses in the HMA and extremely limited water availability. If a sufficient number of excess wild horses are not promptly removed from the area, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) anticipates that individual wild horse body condition will continue to decline even further and that the most vulnerable horses – mares and foals in particular – will suffer and/or die.
For more information on the Wild Horse and Burro Program, call 1-866-468-7826 or email wildhorse@blm.gov.
Gather Reports
Monday, October 10
Summary: 12 horses gathered (7 studs, 2 mares, 3 foals). Henneke Body Condition Score (BCS) of 1.0 to 3.0.
Animals gathered: 12
Animals shipped: 0
Total deaths today: 2
Acute:
Chronic/Pre-existing: 2*
* 20+ year old, sorrel stud in BCS of 1.5 with extremely swollen joints/knees was euthanized as an act of mercy due to poor prognosis for recovery. Two month old, brown leppy filly in BCS of 1.0 died due to extreme malnutrition.
Tuesday, October 11
Summary: 5 horses gathered (2 studs, 2 mares, 1 foal). Henneke Body Condition Score (BCS) of 2.0 to 3.0.
Animals gathered: 5
Animals shipped: 0
Total deaths today: 0
Acute:
Chronic/Pre-existing: 0
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A death labeled as "acute" is when an animal dies or is euthanized due to acute injuries or medical conditions brought about by the gather and removal process including those that occur during capture, sorting and holding at the gather site. This term will include animals that die for known or unknown reasons thought to be related to gather activities.
A death labeled as "chronic/pre-existing" is when an animal dies or is euthanized for reasons related to chronic or pre-existing conditions such as body condition, lameness, serious physical defects, etc. This term will include animals that are euthanized for conditions not brought about by the gather activity.
Veterinary Reports
There are no veterinarian reports to display at this time.