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Post by staceyinoregon on Jul 6, 2011 10:57:59 GMT -5
Anyone have any information on the gather. I have been wondering
Who is over viewing the gathering process? I would imagine someone from this board may be other there.
Who is doing the selection process?
There are alot of rumors about gelding between 11-28 stallions and releasing them again. Any word on that.
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Post by barbhorses on Jul 6, 2011 12:03:09 GMT -5
As far as I know, BLM policy is now to geld stallions before they are adopted. If you want a stallion if you have to let them know which one you want before the adoption. They castrated the Sulphur stallions when they gathered them and they will castrate the Kiger stallions.
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Post by staceyinoregon on Jul 6, 2011 17:48:03 GMT -5
These 11 are actually being released back to the wild again, along with 38 stallions and 38 mares.
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Post by DianneC on Jul 6, 2011 18:11:53 GMT -5
Barbhorses: That is true of other herds, however they do not geld the Kiger stallions that are put up for adoption. I would doubt that they would the ones going back into the wild either as there has been so much demand for them. That could change though.
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Post by rubymountainkigers on Jul 6, 2011 18:29:21 GMT -5
Kiger and Riddle Mountain Wild Horse Gather
More Information Gather Reports Kiger/Riddle Gather About the Kiger/Riddle HMAs Documents and Maps Adopting a Wild Horse Gather Q and A's The Kiger and Riddle Mountain Herd Management Areas (HMAs) lay south of Burns, Oregon, about 50 miles and are bordered by Kiger Gorge on the west and East Steens Road on the east. The "Kiger" horses, as they are commonly known, have had an almost 100 percent adoption rate since 1986. The respective herd sizes are 33 head for Riddle HMA and 51 for the Kiger HMA. Due to the small herd size, popularity, and adoptability, PZP contraceptives will not be considered for these herds.
Details of Gather
Our overall goal is for the range to achieve or maintain a thriving natural ecological balance.
YESTERDAY'S GATHER STATS
Animals Gathered Animal Deaths
0 0
CUMULATIVE STATS SINCE */*/11
Animals Gathered Animal Deaths
0 0 (gather related),
0 (non-gather related)
Kiger Horses.
Photo courtesty of Bob Petit.The Proposed Action is to gather approximately 210 wild horses within and immediately outside both HMAs and remove approximately 120 excess wild horses. Approximately 87 wild horses (38 mares, 38 studs, and 11 geldings) would be returned to the HMAs at completion of the gather, leaving a post gather population of approximately 87 wild horses (53 in Kiger, 34 in Riddle Mountain) which is just above the lower level of the AML.
It is anticipated two capture sites (traps) will be used to capture wild horses from the HMAs. Trap site corrals will typically be approximately 800 square feet. With secondary disturbance areas such as trap wings, total surface disturbance will be approximately 2,400 square feet (0.05-acre) per trap site. Trap wing configuration will vary, depending on terrain and materials. Trap sites will be selected during the gather operations. Traps are built as close to the horses' location as possible.
All capture and handling activities, including capture site selections, will be conducted in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures described in Appendix A of the EA.
Public/Media Gather Viewing Opportunities
Kiger Horse.
Photo courtesty of Bob Petit.The public is welcome to attend the Kiger and Riddle Mountain wild horse gather and must read the Know Before You Go (PDF) information before visiting. Observation will be held daily, on a first come, first served basis, with a maximum number of 10 people attending each day. You must check in, in person, individually, with the BLM official at the meeting site to be considered. You may attend multiple, consecutive observation days as long as you are within the first come, first served maximum.
Gather dates are tentatively scheduled for July 7-16, 2011. The dates are subject to change depending upon weather and gather operations. Some days of the gather may not provide a viewing opportunity at the capture site, due to variable circumstances such as moving the trap location (not gathering), no safe area to view activity or disguise vehicles. Notice on the days where no viewing opportunity exists will likely be given on short notice -- perhaps the day before or the morning of the gather operation.
Observers will be led to and from the gather site by BLM employees. Personal, high clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicles are required. Access to and distance from the capture site location will be determined jointly by the Contractor and the agency's Contracting Officer's Representative prior to gather operations. Safety of the horses, crew and public, is our top priority.
For more information, first email Tara Martinak, Burns District BLM Public Affairs Specialist, at tmartina@blm.gov. Check our Social Media sites to find the progress of the gather and/or whether or not a viewing opportunity exists each day. You may also call 541-573-4519 with any questions.
Facebook
Twitter
Oregon's Wild Horse Corral Facility is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. for viewing and animal observation as well.
Know Before You Go (PDF)
Adoption
Horses removed from the Kiger and Riddle Herd Management Areas will be available for adoption from Oregon's Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines at a competitive bid adoption event on October 6-9, 2011.
No other horse in America is quite like the Kiger Mustang found on Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon. Most wild horses are of mixed influence and characteristics while the Kiger Mustangs possess many characteristics of the original Spanish Mustang. For more detailed information on the uniqueness of Kiger Mustangs, click here.
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Post by rubymountainkigers on Jul 6, 2011 18:31:00 GMT -5
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Post by staceyinoregon on Jul 6, 2011 18:34:02 GMT -5
Okay that says 81 horses are going back out. 11 of those will be gelded. That leaves 70 horses. Don't most farmers/scientist think that you need a minimum of 100-150 to avoid genetic depression and inbreeding problems. I am not quite understanding this? I love our BLM, but this does not seem scientifically sound.
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Post by rubymountainkigers on Jul 6, 2011 18:34:55 GMT -5
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Post by barbhorses on Jul 6, 2011 22:56:07 GMT -5
That is strange! They did not turn geldings loose on the Sulphur HMA.
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Post by sbutter on Jul 7, 2011 12:06:40 GMT -5
How accurate is the test to see genetic diversity in a population of horses? Can it show a gradual decline or is it just a matter of three options: great, ok, bad? I don’t know what the numbers are in the past but the genetic diversity remains at the lowest point of the population. So say you have 300 horses, but 20 years ago the number was down to 10 horses, that leads to a bottleneck effect. Sure the current amount of 300 horses may make you to believe that there is enough gene flow amongst the herds, but they are all closely related to each other. If the BLM plans to have the kigers for the next 100 or so years, I would imagine that they would want to keep tabs on who is related to who and release horses that are not closely related. Their idea of management (if the test shows low or decreasing genetic diversity) may be to introduce outside horses in the long haul to correct decreasing diversity.
I don’t know what the herd dynamics are, but horses are certainly not monogamous. On paper it may seem fair at first to have an even ratio of males to females, but you are locking up a lot of genes that way. If the average herd is 1 stallion per 10 mares and they are releasing 70ish horses that would be looking at 7 stallions breeding all those mares. I don’t know how often herds have new stallions and in Mesteno’s case a stallion can be around for a long time. If there was some kind of stallion rotation, that may be one thing, but all those offspring will come from 7 stallions. If those stallions produce quality foals and the BLM likes them, then the chances are that the horses returned will come from those particular stallions. Each time you “reshuffle” the deck with a gather that really cuts back on numbers, you may wind up with horses that are closer and closer related because of similar type.
I don’t know how the BLM picks the horses to be returned, but if they just go off of “looks” and not genetic diversity between individuals (as opposed to population), I would say kigers are in trouble. If stallions naturally rotate themselves and all 38 of those stallions have access to a mare of their own, that would also be another factor.
I was throwing out random numbers throughout this post and I really don’t have much experience with inbreeding and those kinds of genetic areas, so if something sounds off or inaccurate, feel free to correct me. There are too many variables of management in the kiger herd that I am not familiar with, so this may not be a “reasonable” post. If Kiger and Riddle horses are unrelated to each other and they introduce some kind of gene flow between the two every so often, that may also correct the problem for a while. I don’t know how fast genetic diversity deteriorates amongst a population with little or no gene flow from an outside source and what the critical point of inbreeding is.
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Post by barbhorses on Jul 7, 2011 12:16:53 GMT -5
Dianne: The gelding of male stock is a very new policy that the BLM is implementing. The very small gather that they did on the Sulphur HMA in December was the very first time that they had gelded the male horses that were being sent up for adoption. The last gather that they did on the Kiger was during a time that this policy was not in effect. So, it wouldn't surprise me if they did geld Kiger stallions to before they put them up for adoption being that they did the same for the popular Sulphur herd in December.
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Post by DianneC on Jul 7, 2011 14:39:11 GMT -5
Barbhorses: If you read the the EA it doesn't say any stallions brought in for processing will be gelded. Its expensive to geld and stallions bring more money. Since the goal of the BLM is to make budget we may not see it.
Sarah: It used to be that they would move some stallions from Riddle to Kiger and viceversa. I hope they will be doing that this time as well. Their first criteria for removal is all under age four.
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Jul 7, 2011 16:11:39 GMT -5
Barbhorses...you are missing the point that the Kigers bring in more $$ for the BLM than any other herd. As Dianne said, the boys bring more money - whether the adopter wants to breed or have a nice riding gelding, they make the decision and have no problem paying for it. Other herds are actually worth more already gelded for obvious reasons.
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Post by MustangsInNC on Jul 8, 2011 11:42:49 GMT -5
This was posted on facebook by Madeleine Pickins Wild Horse Sanctuary: Update from Laura Leigh from Day 1 of the Kiger Mustang Roundup in Burns, Oregon: 30 Rounded up - 50% studs & 4 foals Was anyone there to observe? There was a pic posted too of the helicopters bringing them in. Here is a blog from someone that was there, with a few pics too! wildhorseeducation.org/2011/07/07/kiger-roundup-day-1/ |
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Jul 8, 2011 11:56:11 GMT -5
Thanks for posting the blog...the horses look good and do not look real stressed. Even the picture with the copters bringing them in they are not racing and a lot are trotting.
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