The Pryor Mountain Mustang is a Mustang substrain that is considered to be genetically unique and one of the few horse strains verified by DNA analysis to be derived from the original Spanish Colonial Horse that was brought to America by Spain. They live in the Pryor Mountains of the Wild Grass Mountains in the Pryor Mountains of Montana and Wyoming in the United States, and are the only remaining Mustang herd in Montana. They are protected by the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA) and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which has established the optimal number of herds in 120 animals. Genetic studies have revealed that flocks exhibit high levels of genetic diversity and low levels of inbreeding, and BLM has recognized the genetic uniqueness of swarms. Pryor Mountain Mustangs is a relatively small horse, showing a natural walking style, and Prebor Mountain Mustang being domesticated is known for their strength, firmness and stamina.
Wild horses are documented as living in the Pryor Mountains in the early 1700s, although they may have existed since the late 1600s. In the late 1800s, thousands of wild horses inhabited the area. In the early 1900s, many unbranded unbranded horses, to allow the cattle to graze without competition, and in 1964 only about 200 horses remained. In 1964, BLM announced that the horses would be removed altogether, for public outrage. The controversy continued until 1968, when BLM legally ceased from removing all horses, and the area declared Wild Horse Protection. Following the signing of WFRHBA in 1971, BLM spent the 1980s and 1990s conducting population studies and developing management and adoption policies; During this time, many genetic studies have also been completed.
The BLM management of the herd has included improvements in the range to provide additional horse access to the water, and many roundups have resulted in the removal and adoption of hundreds of horses for private individuals, including more than 50 horses in 2009, and 44 others. in 2012. By 2015, a plan is approved to collect 6-12 horses one and two years annually until the horse contraceptive vaccine can lower the birth rate more. This results in the final collection and transplanting of 17 horses and 1 foal. Again, every horse that was captured was adopted. The Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range is one of the most accessible areas to see the herd of wild horses in the United States and tourism to the area has increased in recent years.
Video Pryor Mountain Mustang
Characteristics
Mount Pryor Mustang has a very specific type of conformation. These breeds generally have 13 to 15 hands (52 to 60 inches, 132 to 152 cm) tall, with an average of 14 to 14.2 hands (56 to 58 inches, 142 to 147 cm). The horses weigh 700 to 800 pounds (320 to 360 kg), and more if raised in captivity. They show a variety of solid colors, including bay, black, brown, dun, grullo, and blue or red roan. Pig skin color is rare but occurs, and pinto staining can be minimally expressed. The brown horses in the range show primitive signs like the back line, cross line across the withers, and the horizontal "zebra" line on the back of the front foot. The body of the Pryor Mountains is very heavy, with strong bones. The fur and tail tend to be long, and the horse's winter coat is very heavy and often curly. His head is convex (sometimes called the "Roman nose") or straight, with wide eyes, crooked ears, and a wide forehead that shrinks well into the muzzle. The front teeth meet evenly, the upper lip is usually longer than the bottom. , and small and medium-shaped crescent nostrils, and most animals have only five lumbar spines (anatomical features common to primitive horses) - although some have fifth and sixth fused vertebrae. The horse's shoulders are long and tilted, withered wings, and medium to narrow width chests. Croup is generally slanted, and the tail is low, the nails are large and very hard.
Some Pryor Mountains Mustangs show a natural walking style. They are generally intelligent, strong, and confident feet, and show remarkable stamina. Like all wild horses, they generally avoid human contact, disbelief, and easy fear. However, once they are familiar with an individual, they can show a strong social bond with the individual. The Pryor Mountain horse can be broken and ridden, and trained to perform any task a horse can take. Pryor-trained Mountain horse has a calm temperament, and is alert on the path.
The horses formed a band or "harem," in which one stallion and controlled a group of about six horses. A total of 8 to 10 other "bachelors" accompany the band in the distance, hoping to win control of a stallion or mate with a mare.
Maps Pryor Mountain Mustang
History
Historians and scientists speculate that wild horses lived in and near the Pryor Mountains at least since the late 1600s. The Crow tradition states that the horses came to the area around 1725. The East Shoshone tribe also inhabited the area during the 1700s. Non-Indian explorers found natives who owned horses in large numbers as early as 1743.
Thousands of wild horses lived in the area as American pioneers began to settle near the Pryor Mountains in the late 1800s. Between that time and the 1930s, many pet horses were breached in range, accidentally or deliberately; the tamed stallion was married to a horse in the range with the aim of producing a cavalry remount for the military. With the passage of the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, other cattle and horses were allowed to graze in the area, and in 1946, the BLM was formed. Throughout the 1940s, there was no protection for wild horses in the area, and unbranded horses were routinely rounded up so as not to compete with cattle for feeding. Some are sold to slaughter, others are kept for riding. However, with the passage of the Wild Horse Act in 1959, motor vehicles were forbidden to be used to capture, harass or pursue wild horses. In 1964, there were about 200 horses remaining in the area, which were seen as "symbols of the Old West" by local residents. That year, BLM announced its decision to remove all horses from the Pryor Mountains and disperse the flock through a public auction, a move strongly opposed by the public. The public opposition to the plan succeeded in delaying any movement against the horses.
In 1968, wild flocks were concentrated on BLM land due to the previous roundup and the construction of boundary fences. That year, BLM again declared its intention to remove the herd, this time with the possibility of returning a small amount (either 15 or 35) to the range. In response to the new announcement, the Pryor Mountain Wild Horses Association (PMWHA) was established with the aim of preventing rounding, and began working with larger organizations such as the International Society for the Protection of Animals. BLM believes that the horses were removed because they tend to starve, because they have over-envied their environment, while PMWHA believes the degradation range is not due to horses and that in fact they are not in danger of starvation. The organization further alleges that BLM acts on the orders of other state and federal organizations that want to see horses removed, rather than acting in line with public opinion. The PMWHA is also concerned with the effect that will be given on wild horses.
The battle over Pryor Mountain's flock moved to the national level on July 11, 1968, when ABC broadcasted exclusively on horses on the evening news. The public reacts with anger, and the BLM replies that "there has been no decision about the horses." However, at the end of August, the trap to collect the horses has been completed. At the same time, the BLM did not respond to efforts by members of the public, senators and officials of the United States Humane Society to ascertain the final plan regarding the horses. Because of this, the court proceedings began, and on August 27, 1968, a US District Court judge made a decision which had the result of a BLM restriction to remove the horses from reach. On September 9, 1968, Interior Secretary, Stewart L. Udall, declared the area occupied by Pryor Mountain Mustangs as Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Refuge (PMWHR), in a later decision recorded in the Congressional Record . After the creation of shelters, BLM appointed a committee to study the area and make recommendations on the exact number of groups. The committee, which met in late 1968 and early 1969, comprised ranging experts and wildlife, locals interested in cattle and representatives from several federal, state and private organizations. Boundary adjustments are made for protection, adding some ground in Wyoming. The final report of the committee, submitted in June 1969, was that the horses were not in danger of starvation, that excessive grazing was probably caused by domestic sheep that used the land decades earlier, and that horses were the greatest possibility of any species to survive and thrive in the Pryor Mountain neighborhood. On December 18, 1971, the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA) was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon. The law makes it a crime for anyone to harass or kill wild horses or burro on federal soil, requiring Interior and Agriculture departments to protect animals, study the necessary habitats and animal habitats, and allow public land to be organized. set aside for use. The Land Management Bureau and the Forest Service are jointly assigned the responsibility for administering the Law. The National Park Service is also involved in land management. These federal agencies are limited to managing horses only in public lands where "wild horses are documented as 'currently discovered' at the time of passage of the Act in 1971."
Genetics
It is widely believed that the Pryor Mountains were the direct descendants of the Barb stallions brought to North America by Juan de OÃÆ' ± Ates expeditions to explore the northern American Rio Grande in the early 1600s. Blood lines may also include American Saddlebred, Canadian, Irish Hobby, and Tennessee Walking horses. In the early 1900s, Thoroughbred and Arabic horses also changed into the range. However, the breeding of Pryor Mountain's herds is being disputed for years. A horseman hired by the federal government during the 1920s to gather excessive wild horses in the region stated, "The whole country around it is flooded with thousands of guard horses... but this little band... is, and, is a native Spanish horses and there are about 70. I'm not trying to get it and hope no one else will do it. "Others claim that the horses are nothing more than local domestic horses who fled into the wild. In 1992, the horse geneticist, Dr. E. Gus Cothran conducted genetic research on herds, and concluded that their main lineage descended from the Spanish Barbs. Since no genetic variant was observed nor seen in domestic horse breeds, in 2010 Cothran also concluded that the horse was not a unique species that survived in North America from prehistoric times. Instead, they are linear descendants of Spanish Barb, with some evidence of genetic similarity to light racing and riding races. The genetic test also reveals that the Pryor Mountains horse carries a rare allele variant known as "Qac" which is only carried by Spanish horses to America. Dr. D. Phillip Sponenberg of Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, an expert on horse breeds, observes that, physically, the horses correspond to the type of Spanish Colonial Horse.
Genetic studies also reveal that flocks exhibit high levels of genetic diversity, and BLM has recognized the genetic uniqueness of the herd. Due to the unique genetic makeup of the Pryor Mountains Mustang herd, Cothran concluded in 1992 that "the Pryor group is probably the most significant herd of wild horses left in the United States." Sponenberg agreed, noting, "[These animals] do not exist elsewhere." This herd is the subject of the 1995 documentary Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies and its sequel, the 2003 documentary The Cloud Heritage: The Wild Stallion Returns .
The Pryor Mountains herd management has focused on meeting the requirements of the Free-Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act that BLM maintains "a naturally evolving ecological balance". In general, BLM initially focuses on how many horses can be supported and in keeping with the standards of the Pryor Mountains. However, with the development of DNA tests in the mid-1980s, the focus changed, including maintaining the genetic viability of the group. In 1988, researchers at Washington State University wrote a paper expressing concern that the group showed a lack of genetic diversity, and could suffer genetic drift and/or population congestion. BLM contracted with Cothran (later at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Kentucky, but now at Texas A & M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences) to take random genetic samples from herds in 1994, 1997, and 2001 Cothran analysis found "no evidence of bottleneck". Genetic diversity is actually above average for wild horse herds in the United States, and just below average for pet breeds. BLM, however, interpreted this study in 2009 to show that the genetic diversity of the Pryor Mountains herd is "well above average" for domestic breeds. Cothran considers the herds to be in genetic equilibrium, though he warns that at least 120 children should be kept in the range to maintain the genetic health of the herd. Research by biologists and veterinarians at Colorado State University, the University of Kentucky, and other colleges found that there was little inbreeding in the band, since horses tend to drive away the horses when they are about two years old.
Management
BLM calculates the flock visually about every four years by flying over a range, reporting every animal found, and using statistical methods to correct the historical shortcomings and other issues. In 1984, BLM regulated the maximum bearing capacity of the Pryor Mountains Wild Horses Mountains in 121 adult animals, and revised this to 95 adult animals in 1992.
For years, BLM also allowed horses to be adopted out of reach. Since the adopters love the "beautiful" horses, the color genes of the herd change so that most of the coves and blacks remain in the area. The adoption procedure was changed in 1994 so that now the original colors and patterns flock back. In 1992, a private group, the Pryor Mountains Mustang Breeders Association was formed to preserve the herds of gene pools and make the registry for the Pryor Mountains horse in private hands. In order to be placed in the register, the horse must have registered names and dams, have a degree issued by BLM or Tillett farm, and have a blood-typing certificate from the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky. In 2008, 209 horses in 16 US states and one Canadian province were in the registry. BLM made a pile of horses in 1997 to reduce the number, and officials hoped to do another by the end of 2000 when the size of the herd reached 200. In August 1999, there were 180 adult horses and stallions in that range.
Post-2000 policy change and postup
In May 2009, after several long-term studies of the rangeland, the BLM determined that the maximum carrying capacity range was 179 wild horses. It is assumed that all BLM land, as well as leased land from other owners (public and private), will continue to be available to animals, and that BLM will be able to manage horses by using artificial watering sites to encourage horses to utilize parts of the range. BLM also said it would implement other distance management techniques, and proposed the purchase of 1,467 acres (594 ha) of land from the state of Montana, and 632 acres (256 hectares) of private land, to be added to the range.
At the same time, the BLM says it will reduce the flock from its existing 195 adults to 120. The stated goal is to temporarily remove horses from protection to allow ranges to recover from historic shepherding caused by livestock, not because BLM believes there are too many horse in the range. Sixty percent of the remaining horse is male, to reduce the rate of population growth. The agency said it would move 30 horses per year from the flock and stabilize them at an annual cost of $ 18,000 to $ 21,000 until the right herd size and sex ratio had been achieved. Horses to be taken out of the herd include those not suited to the type of conformity; which are genetically represented; who is 11 to 15 years old, has become a father or a lull, and not a stallion band; and aged between five to 10 years or 16 to 20 years. Genetic diversity will be measured by visual observations of the flock conformity for typing using visual systems developed by Dr. Sponenberg, and actions taken to increase genetic diversity if signs of inbreeding occur. The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue, both advocates of wild horses, are challenging a retraction in federal courts. A federal district court judge delayed a three-day resignation to consider their request, but on September 2, 2009, dismissed the order and allowed the roundup to continue.
BLM began collecting wild horses in the Pryor mountains in early September 2009. After a few days, 130 of the 188 wild horses were collected. Forty-six horses are prepared for adoption, while the freed horse is given a contraceptive vaccine to help keep the livestock population down. Also in 2009, BLM also put "guzzlers" in the range. Guzzler is a rainfall collecting device (usually rainwater) that traps water in storage tanks ranging from a few to several thousand gallons. Storage tanks may be above ground, partially buried, or underground. The mechanical valve releases water into the drinking trough from the storage tank, allowing the animal to access the water. When the valve senses that the water level in the trough is low, it opens and allows more water to the drinking area. Five guzzlers are placed in the lower area to encourage horses to further utilize the forage.
In August 2012, another roundup was completed, resulting in 45 more horses removed and adopted to the public through an auction. In this collection, 38 adults and 7 foals were removed, and the public paid an average price of $ 225 per horse; The maximum fee is $ 2,300 for a combination of horses and horses. During roundup, 63 horses were treated with contraception, and the post-collecting population of swarms was estimated at 133 horses. The price paid for these horses is higher than that paid for horses from most of the other Mustang herds; horses taken from an anonymous herd in Oregon can be adopted at an additional cost of $ 125. However, it is lower than the price paid for horses from some other popular animals; the horses of the Kiger Mustang cattle sometimes sell for over $ 7,000. In 2013, BLM estimates there are 145 horses in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Mountains (PMWHR), a number above the "Appropriate Management Level", which continues to be set at 120. The PMWHR is the only Herd Management Area (the BLM area is managed for horse- wild horses and/or burros) in Montana. There are six additional Herd Regions (BLM areas currently owned or owned by wild horse populations in the past, but considered unsuitable for horses) in the state, but none currently contain horses, leaving the only Pryor Mountain Mustang the free mustang roaming is left in Montana.
In the fall of 2010, BLM issued a series of draft strategy papers to operate the wild horse program, and requested public comments on the plan. After receiving many comments, BLM said in February 2011 it would accelerate the step in which it makes revisions to its rounding procedures, the use of fertility control drugs, and wild horse and burro land management. The agency also commissioned research from the National Academy of Science (NAS) on wild horse management. In September 2011, BLM announced it would begin working with the Humane Society of the United States to develop new practices in group management and incorporation, and increase its emphasis on adoption and use of medicines as fertility controls to better manage wild animals.. The results of the study by NAS were released in June 2013, and cover a wide range of issues, including the carrying capacity of wild horses and burro ranges, the growth of wild horse populations and burro, and best practices in fertility control. Overall, the NAS is very critical of the BLM, saying that the herd populations are increasing at "unsustainable levels" and that "BLMs fail to effectively use contraceptives", criticize the methods used to estimate population and food availability, and suggest that agents fail communicate with the public appropriately. This report applies to all horse populations managed by BLM, and is not specific to PMWHR.
Tourism
The Pryor Mountains of wild horse herds is one of the most accessible wild horse animals in the United States. Tourism to the range increased steadily in the mid to late 2000s. This range can be easily accessed via an asphalt pathway parallel to the Bighorn Canyon, and that gives the look of excellent horses. The range is also accessible from Laurel, Montana, by traveling south on Route 310 US and then taking the Forest Service gravel road to Dryhead Overlook. Some range can be accessed via Crow Indian Reservation. A violation permit from the Crow Nation is required to traverse the tribal lands or exit the vehicle while in the tribal lands. Hiking in the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse mountain range is good, but no traces are maintained or flagged and (in 2000) there is no guidebook to the area.
See also
- Wild horse preservation
References
Source
- Billings Field Office. Environmental Assessment MT-10-08-24 and Herd Regional Management Plan. Bureau of Land Management. US Department of State. May 2009.
- Cothran, E. Gus. Pryor HMA Mountain Genetic Analysis, MT. Bureau of Land Management. US Department of State. 2 September 2010.
- Cruise, David and Griffiths, Alison. Wild Horse Annie and Last of the Mustangs: The life of Velma Johnston. New York: Scribner, 2010.
- Dutson, Judith. Illustrated Storey Guide for 96 North American Race Horsemen. North Adams, Mass.: Storey Publishing, 2005.
- Fischer, Carol and Fischer, Hank. Montana Wildlife Viewing Guide. Helena, Mont.: Falcon, 1995.
- Government Accountability Office. Land Management Bureau: An Effective Long-Term Choice Needed to Manage Illegal Wildfields. GAO-09-77. Washington, D.C.: Government Accountability Office, October 2008.
- Hill, Cherry and Klimesh, Richard. Horse Nail Care. North Adams, Mass.: Storey Publishing, 2009.
- Lynghaug, Fran. Standard Horse Breeds Standard Guide. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press, 2009.
- Pomeranz, Lynn, and Massingham, Rhonda. Among the Wild Horse: The Prawor Mountain Mustang Portrait. Storey Publishing, 2006
- Rowles, Genevieve. Adventure Guide to Montana. Edison, N.J.: Hunter Publishing, 2000.
- Ryden, Hope. America's Last Wild Horse. New York, NY: Lyons Press, 1999.
- Singers, Francis J. and Schoenecker, Kathryn A. Manager Summary - Ecological Studies from Wild Horse Range Pryor Mountain, 1992-1997. Fort Collins, Colo.: US Dept. of Interior, US Geological Survey, 1997.
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