Opinion by Barbara Sophia
Special to The Sopris Sun
We were escorted down dusty roads in the wee hours of the morning, arriving near the roundup site for the West Douglas wild horse herd. Cars were unrecognizable, coated with remnants of the thick clouds we had just barreled through. In those early dawn hours, a painted sky of orange and pink, garnished with a double rainbow, was seen to the East, but there was a very different scenario unfolding to the West.
The drone of the helicopter became audible. After turning 180 degrees, we saw the red flashing light of the hovering machine, blades lifting swirls of more fine powder into the faint sky.
For close to 12 hours, we watched the helicopter scale and comb the rugged terrain mountainside. A matter of weeks prior, I had hiked through that same landscape and all of the while thinking, “If the roundup occurs, how are these wild horses going to run through this landscape of foreboding cliffs, escarpments, gullies and ravines, decked in tall, dense vegetation?
I knew there would be young foals, pregnant mares, stallions and older horses literally running for their lives.
Seven of us, who had come to observe and document, were strategically placed three-quarters of a mile away on a rocky, uneven hillside with limited viewing. The helicopter forced the wildies through the treacherous wilderness toward cloth-covered corrals — to further obscure our view, I suspect.
A total of 26 wild horses had been collected, including six foals. In the distance, we could hear their whinnies, cries and hooves banging against the walls of trailers.
On May 20, Governor Jared Polis signed and passed a bill to help protect our state’s wild horses. “We can ensure that our wild horse herds have a humane and sustainable future in Western Colorado,” he’d said. “We also want to highlight this will set a national example.”
Yet, roundups continue to ensue in Colorado. Bill SB23-275 prioritized, in part, maintaining the well-being and health of historic wild horse herds in Colorado’s four herd management areas (HMAs). In turn, this would reduce the incredible costs and destruction of the roundups.
The West Douglas Creek HMA, where this roundup is taking place, consists of 123,387 acres. There are various reports as to how many horses are actually in the area, estimates ranging from virtually none to 122. Various seasoned and knowledgeable advocates believe some of the horses may have been driven from the neighboring Piceance-East Douglas HMA.
On Sept. 1, 26 horses were rounded up, with a total of 84 as of Sept. 4. The roundup is scheduled through Sept. 20 with a goal to zero out the herd.
Who pays for all of this? We do! Just this roundup is costing the American people $187,000. Last year alone, $137 million of our tax dollars were appropriated.
Once these wildies leave the land, their fate is unknown. Few are adopted, some end up in the kill pen pipeline, and others spend their lives under horrible conditions in short and long-term holding facilities, where well over 60,000 wild horses currently reside. This summer, I visited five facilities in various states, all of which provided no shelter from the heat or elements. In 2021, 145 horses died in a Canon City holding facility, which was found to be in violation of federal policies of proper equine care.
As fires rage across the nation, it is especially a shame that these magnificent creatures are removed since they mitigate wildfires by eating back various grasses, weeds and brush. Also, wild horses are known to travel up to 20 miles in a day, thereby not overgrazing or trampling the vegetation.
We need to be the voice they can’t be. Stop the roundups!
For additional photos and to follow Barbara Sophia’s journey of documenting wild horse herds, visit www.instagram.com/wildhorselegacy