PLACITAS FREE RANGING HORSES
As we are all aware, there is a situation with free ranging horses in the Placitas area. No one claims ownership of the horses, their exact status has not been officially recognized, and State and County officials have not proposed any plans at this time.
ES-CA is ready to support a viable plan that reflects the position of a consensus of Placitas residents. While a number of plans have been put forward, the only one that seems viable is WHOA’s (Wild Horse Observers Association) proposal to administer contraception to the horses, which addresses only one aspect of the issue. This proposal has not been approved by the controlling governmental agencies.
ES-CA is not a governmental agency. It has no powers to implement any laws, regulations or rules. Its role has been to support community positions that benefit residents, and, to oppose proposed actions that will be harmful to residents. We have called upon our State officials to explain why WHOA’s contraception proposal has not be acted upon: Letter to State Livestock Board.
My name is Mike Neas. I have owned land and lived in Placitas for 36 years. I have a Bachelor of Science and a Business Degree from UNM. I have been a member of ES-CA since its beginning. My research in the ESCAFCA Boondoggle was instrumental in freeing Placitas from that entity.
I have never read any forum comments nor made any. I do not know what prevailing attitudes exist. This is my first comment.
I have received and read the survey questions put out by ES-CA today and the letter written to the New Mexico Livestock Board (NMLB). I must comment on the question regarding administering the contraceptive PZP to the free roaming horses of Placitas.
While I fully endorse the use of PZP on the Placitas horses, the fact is that if it were allowed tomorrow, it could take 5 of more years for a zero population growth to be achieved. With more than 100 horses in the area now and a population growth of 25% per year we cannot rely on this as any viable solution at this time. 10 years ago would have solved our problem. I still think and have written many and more detailed letters than the ES-CA letter to our public officials that PZP should be allowed.
ES-CA says that they are prepared to support a viable plan regarding the horses which achieves a consensus of Placitas residents. Anyone who has received the emails or seen the signs on the road which say “If you don’t like the Placitas Wild horses, Move”, has to realize that a consensus is not possible and ES-CA’s stand is not possible to achieve. ES-CA says that the only viable plan put forward is WHOA’s PZP plan and I have explained why this plan only allows the Placitas Corral Management Plan to continue. I realize that many or most of you who will read this comment really are not aware of the situation of the free ranging horses in the Placitas area. Most of you have not seen the destruction that their presence creates. I am very aware of the situation, but this does not make me a “horse hater” as many have called me. In fact I see too many horses dying because of the actions and inactions of those who claim to be acting on behalf of the horses.
I suggest that many of the Placitas community get out to the north and the east areas of Placitas. Your neighbors and friends who have noticed the devastation caused by overgrazing are not anti horse. They see that the land must come first. And that those who say otherwise are contributing to a situation which allows the land to die and our soil and water to be threatened.
If ES-CA’s real role has been to support community positions that benefit residents, and, to oppose proposed actions that will be harmful to residents then I suggest that you support PZP, but not as a solution, since this might be perceived to condone the unmanaged free roaming growing heard that is destroying yours and my watershed.
In 2002 the drought killed off tens of thousands of Pinon trees in Placitas, bur the Junipers survived. Today there are thousands of the Junipers dead and dying. This would indicate that this drought is much worse than that which caused the 2002 die-off. We must be conscious of this and take every possible precaution to protect our watershed. A few free roaming horses was nice and acceptable, but those that we thought were watching the situation have done irreparable harm to this community and the horses by arguing on behalf of letting them roam and ruin our public and private lands.
Mike Neas
Ranchos de Placitas
Unit 7
Regarding how long it takes for PZP to reduce growth rate to zero: PZP Zona Stat H has a 95% efficacy and with each mare darted in the February – March time frame, the growth rate could be close to zero the next spring. See just one example below for population reduction without round ups. (Keep in mind, that Placitas has had a number of round ups and is down (approximately) over half of the horses.)
From: Jay Kirkpatrick
To: Patience O
Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2014 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: Taffy reaches 33 in good condition
…
Research with PZP immunocontraception began on Assateague Island National Seashore (NPS) in 1988 and continued through 1993. The results demonstrated that the vaccine was safe, effective (95%), didn’t affect pregnancies in progress or the health of foals, didn’t affect behavior or social organization, its contraceptive effects were reversible and that it could be delivered remotely, without handling horses. Based on these results the NAtional Seashore (ASIS) began actual management of the entire herd in 1994, when the population was 175. Twenty years later the population is at 100, the NPS goal, and no horses have been removed. Other effects includes significantly better body condition and health, and significantly longer lives, and the horses retain their evolutionary driven social organization and behavior. From this point on, the goal is to maintain the herd at this number.
Jay F. Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.
The Science and Conservation Center
2100 S. Shiloh Road
Billings, MT 59106
(406) 652-9718
From: Jay Kirkpatrick
Sent: Thursday, March 6, 2014 8:51 AM
Subject: Taffy reaches 33 in good condition
Allison sent this photo to me a few days ago. T5AF (Taffy) is now 33, on an island where prior to fertility control no mare ever reached age 20 and the mean age at death for mares was about 7 years. Yes, our task is to control populations, but beyond that we are bringing longer and healthier lives to wild horses. Taffy is not the first, nor the only horse there (ASIS) to reach 30 and beyond, but the photo more or less put a needed punctuation mark on what we do and the benefits – beyond saving grass for cows.
Taffy was started on PZP fertility control in 1994, as management level contraception began on ASIS. Prior to that time she had 5 foals in her first 13 years of life. SInce that time (1994) she has been treated for 15 years and has not had a single foal since then. She has been a dominant member of her band all that time and displays normal wild horse behavior (although she is wary of us!).
The question this poignant photo raises, at least for me, is why can’t we try to do this for all wild horses?
Jay F. Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.
The Science and Conservation Center
2100 S. Shiloh Road
Billings, MT 59106
(406) 652-9718
Additionally,
Regarding watershed, lets see a study. Lets look at mining. Lets look at development….lets look at drought. Moreover, how would more mining, a highway and more development affect the water shed, water use, water table, etc? It appears that were it not for the community’s overwhelming support of the horses, it’s overwhelming lack of support for more mining and a highway, all serious questions regarding water shed would quickly become irrelevant.
Thanks Much,
Patience O’Dowd for WHOA
Wild Horse Observers Association
a public 501 c3 non-profit corp.
PO Box 932
Placitas, NM 87043