Wild mustang bait/trap gather begins in the Pryors

The Bureau of Land Management is currently reporting on its website that nine wild mustangs have been removed from the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. The horses have been removed as part of a much-anticipated bait/trap gather that began on Aug. 5. The goal of the gather is to remove 15-20 excess horses between the ages of 1-3. All of the horses removed from the range will be made available for adoption.

The gather operation was reviewed and analyzed in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range Bait/Water Trap Gather Environmental Assessment, which is posted on the BLM website http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/billings_field_office/wildhorses.html.

Local advocates from the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center (PMWMC) have worked with the BLM to determine which horses can be removed from the range with the least detrimental impact on the genetic makeup of the herd.

“Young horses ages 1-3 have been carefully selected in an attempt to maintain a genetically strong herd of wild horses on the Pryor Mountains,” said Nancy Cerroni of the PMWMC. “The Mustang Center has been very involved with the selection of horses that would have the least impact in reducing the existing gene pool.”

When the BLM sets up a bait-trapping operation, a special portable pen is set up in an area that is known to be frequented by wild horses. Mineral block and other nutritional treats are left in the trap, while horses are allowed to enter and exit on their own over a period of several days. At a certain point, the gate is closed and certain horses that have been targeted for removal are loaded into trailers and taken to a special holding area to wait for adoption. The rest of the horses are released back onto the range.

This is the second time the BLM has used this method of gather on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. In the summer of 2012, the BLM used the same method and found the horses were less subject to injury than when helicopters are used to gather the horses.

The BLM caught 28 horses in a pen that was set up near Krueger’s Pond. According to PMWMC, horses removed from the range after being trapped in the trap included: 3-year-olds McKeahnie (male), Maelstrom (male), Meriwether (female) and Mesa (female). It also included 2-year-olds Nahwa (male) and Nye (female), as well as, yearlings Odakota (Male), Olivia (Female) and Ojai (female).

According to the PMWMC, the operation is currently being moved to the Dryhead area. A trap is being set up at Layout Creek, where the rest of the horses will be captured and taken to a holding area at Britton Springs.

The BLM will be using an Internet adoption process for the removed horses this time around. Those wishing to adopt horses will find information at a special website set up by the BLM Billings Field Office during the adoption process. The site, listed below, provides ongoing information about the gather and contains a link to information about the adoption process.

Additionally, photos and information about the horses is also available on the PMWMC website and the Cloud Foundation Facebook page.

The Mustang Center is working in coordination with the BLM, the Cloud Foundation and Wild in the Pryors to find good homes for the 20 horses that will be removed from the range in this gather.

Cerroni encourages those interested in adopting to contact the PMWMC, which is located just east of Lovell, on Highway 14A or to call the Center at 307-548-9453.

The following website has been set up by the BLM for those who wish to follow the gather and to learn about the adoption process: http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/billings_field_office/wildhorses/2015gath....

By Patti Carpenter