Hundreds of wild horses and burros were rounded up in southern Nevada recently. BLM officials claim most of the animals will eventually be adopted out to good homes, but those claims are not supported by BLM's track record.
Some of the horses and burros that were rounded up last week will eventually be adopted out but it's wishful thinking to say most will find homes. The fact is, most of the horses gathered from Nevada end up spending years in government pens.
One reason for that is that horse adoptions in Southern Nevada are virtually non-existent. Tired of government inaction, one local horse lover has decided to take the reins himself.
"The progress is really remarkable," said Jerry Reynoldson, a wild horse advocate. He is pretty sure that his two newest horses understand that life these days is good. They've got grass and hay and room to run in their home at the Tai Ranch in Logandale.
They were born on the open range, wild mustangs, but were rounded up by the BLM and sent to this sprawling facility in Ridgecrest, California. That's where Reynoldson first spotted them.
Back in September, an Eyewitness News camera was there when he adopted the pair. They were understandably nervous about being bridled for the first time and about being loaded into a trailer. After taking the long ride back to Southern Nevada, though, they were released into something like horse heaven.
"We couldn't catch these horses. You couldn't lead them, couldn't get close to them when I brought them here," Reynoldson said. He spent time almost every day with the two horses, allowing them to get used to being around humans. Progress was slow in the beginning, but now, easy.
Lila, the filly, loves being pampered and groomed. "She's a girl. Oh yeah, I'm looking nice here." Her pal Shadow is even more comfortable with people. A deformity in his leg means he can never be ridden, but he can keep up with Lila and would make a great companion for a person or another horse.
"This horse is gonna give you as much love as you ever want for a long time. He's just a sweetheart," Reynoldson said.
In a sense, Lila and Shadow hit the equine jackpot when they were adopted. Life could certainly be worse. "Could you imagine somebody would want this horse to go to slaughter," Reynoldson questions.
There are now more than 31,000 wild horses standing around in BLM pens like the one in Ridgecrest. That's more horses than are left on the open range. Each year, BLM hires cowboys to round up thousands more horses and burros, most of them from Nevada.
Wild horse advocates know that it is sometimes necessary to stage roundups like the one last week near Cold Creek, but they allege the Nevada BLM is only interested in clearing public land of as many horses as it can, not in finding them homes.
"The priority is placed continuously and almost totally on gathering animals. There's little to no effort put into the adoption program," said Billie Young, wild horse advocate.
It's no wonder the BLM's holding pens are bursting with warehoused horses, animals that live for years in the corrals at a cost of more than $3 per horse per day. The Ridgecrest facility goes to considerable lengths to adopt out horses, but it's a far different story in Nevada, which is where most of the horses originate.
Last year in Southern Nevada, a total of eight horses were adopted out. The BLM's Juan Palma blames that on the public. "We'd like to adopt more," Palma said but adds there seems to be no demand.
Critics say it's part of BLM's job to help create that demand, to actively promote horse adoptions, to reach out to potential adopters. It's part of federal law. But the local BLM spends almost nothing on adoptions here, even though its own massive marketing study asserts the demographics in Southern Nevada perfectly match the adoption profile.
The lack of interest by the Nevada BLM is why Jerry Reynoldson is now running his own one man adoption program, working with the California BLM to find horses for Nevadans. "I just don't think the Nevada BLM is that interested in placing horses, and they are over there."
Reynoldson says he already has a home picked out for Lila, the filly. She will be a gift to a six-year-old girl. Shadow, the special needs horse, is ready to go to a good home. Reynoldson will screen potential adopters. There will be no charge to whomever adopts Shadow.
He also says he will help any Southern Nevadan to find a horse. He'll take you to Ridegcrest, even assist with transporting the horses. Eventually, he hopes his one man effort develops into a full scale program, one that sidesteps the local BLM.
Jerry Reynoldson
Wild Horses 4Ever
P.O. Box 995
Logandale, NV 89021
702-398-7799
