Help the Mustangs
If you are a fan of the wild horses of Canada, you might
want to send some support to the Wild Horses of Alberta
Society, who are offering a $4500 reward for information
leading to the identity of the parties responsible for the
shooting deaths, in the past two years, of sixteen mustangs.
The Society’s spokesperson, Bob Henderson, is of the opinion
that the Alberta government, as evidenced by its “horse
capture regulation”, is not averse to having the entire wild
horse population removed from the area around Alberta’s
western foothills.
The herd of mustangs, which numbered as high as 1000 in the
mid 1980’s, has been reduced to only two hundred today, and
if their numbers are further diminished, will not be able to
sustain a gene pool diverse enough to produce healthy
offspring.
The horse capture regulation allows anyone to track and
capture the animals, and it has been suggested that most of
the captured mustangs are sold for slaughter. But the
animals which have been found shot, were shot for no
discernible purpose.
The mustangs are considered neither livestock nor wildlife,
so they are supposed to fall under the protection of
Alberta’s Sustainable Resources Development Ministry. One
has to question, however, exactly who is working at
sustaining them.
You can contact the Wild Horses of Alberta Society, and read
more about the plight of the Alberta mustangs, at:
http://northernhorse.com/wildhorses/index.php/category/supp
ort-us
Or here’s a suggestion: if the Alberta government actually
does want to be rid of the horses, give them to Nevada’s
Wild Horse and burro Expo, which has been set up as a
non-profit organization and uses its funding, in part, to
make sure the Nevada’s wild horses and burros have
sufficient habitat available. And they are doing this in
spite of the fact that Nevada is currently the fastest
growing state in the U.S., with land prices steadily
increasing. Where there’s a will…
On another somewhat discouraging note, Kentucky Derby winner
Barbaro has suffered a recurrence of the laminitis in his
left hind hoof which was such a grave cause of concern
earlier this summer.
The flare-up has necessitated further surgery to remove
damaged hoof tissue, and to cut his left digital flexor
tendon so that it stopped pulling on the coffin bone which
attaches to the hoof wall, and required that Barbaro, who
had been enjoying daily outdoor grazing sessions, and was
close to being moved from the New Bolton Veterinary Center
to complete his recovery in a regular facility, is now back
to using a body sling to support his weight for several
hours each day.
The good news, if there is any, is that both of Barbaro’s
hind legs are infection-free, and that his primary doctor,
Dean Richardson, says that, in spite of the setback,
Barbaro’s left hind hoof still has more healthy tissue than
it did following his first laminitis surgery in July.
On the bright side, we are already in the Thoroughbred
foaling season, and spring CANNOT be far behind!
