Horse Paintings Blog - BLM Roundup - Day 2

Tales from a BLM Roundup - Day 2
Posted August 31, 2011

Before meeting Serena on Sunday, I visited the official BLM holding pens in Rock Springs. The mares and foals were calmly meandering around, patiently waiting for hay. Take a look at the holding facility and the foals.... and see if there are any you might like to adopt. Serena said they'd be available in January 2012.

That's White Mountain in the background. The wild horses would be released on top of that mountain later in the afternoon. First the mares would be vaccinated with Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) that will prevent pregnancies for 2-3 years. This helps control herd size and reduce the need for roundups.

The Sunday group met up with Serena and we caravanned to the temporary holding pens. Treating the horses took quite a while. The group of spectators patiently waited. We had to be ready to follow the semis, which would be loaded with the wild horses designated to be returned to the desert. The most beautiful and most healthy horses are returned to the range. While we waited, I took a few more photos.

Finally, the vaccinations were all administered, and the trailers loaded with their first delivery. Approximately 30 horses were loaded on each of two semis. There were partitions in the semis, so about 10-11 horses were in each of three compartments. The semis took off up the highway, with a caravan of SUVs, trucks and cars following closely. From the highway the we turned on a dirt road leading to the White Mountain HMA. After driving (in a HUGE cloud of dust) for a few miles, the semis stopped and attached the chute to the back door. Horses would be coming down the chute soon!

Photographers anxiously awaited. And then . . .

It was so beautiful to see the wild horses running freely across the desert! I cannot wait to start painting some of these gorgeous horses!

Thank you to Serena and all the wonderful people who work with her -- and those who decided that roundups can be viewed by the general public. We love horses! And we love the rangeland! Thank you to the BLM for taking good care of our beautiful natural resources.

BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Program

Click here to see the Wild Horse paintings
based on photos from my trip.

posted by Karen Brenner

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