Hello and Happy Wednesday!

The October 2024 roundup of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park wild horses is over.  The park issued their reports that we have not been able to decipher because we do not know which numbers correlates to which horse.  We were able to put together our own list of numbers based on research and known birth order.  All of the numbers have been added to our list of horses on our website:

PLEASE NOTE: Since Theodore Roosevelt National Park refuses to give us the names that match the numbers, this is only our best guess.  The park SHOULD release the names with the numbers so that the public reads the report the way they intended us to.  CHWHA has asked for this in an email to Superintendent Finley with no response.  Our lawyers sent a request for this information (and more) in our FOIA request that was sent in last week (11/8/2024).  You can read the FOIA report here:

Let’s remember – we now KNOW that this roundup was COMPLETELY unnecessary!  In a report released by Theodore Roosevelt National Park in March of 2024 – written by Blake McCann – we know that in 2022, the park had DNA on 98% of the horses!  We also KNOW that they tracked the horse’s movement so the COLLARS ARE NOT necessary! You can read the report for yourself here:

We are going to spend the next few days talking in detail about GonaCon.  We believe that giving the park the ability to hand inject the mares with GonaCon was the ONLY REASON for this roundup!  We KNOW they had all the DNA they needed and they also observed where the horses travelled because they TOLD US IN THE MARCH 2024 REPORT. 

The combination of treating EVERY MARE IN THE PARK with GonaCon along with removing just about every young horse between the age of 4 months old to 3 years old, has called into question how viable this herd actually is. 

You can read the reports the park gave us yourself on their website: https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/nature/feral-horses.htm

WHAT is GonaCon?  I have found this quick fact sheet from the Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control:

From this fact sheet:

“At the me of this writing, PZP-22 and GonaCon™ can produce five to seven years of infertility in free-roaming wild horses with one initial treatment and a single booster two to three years later. As such, the use of these vaccines could result in a much greater reduction in wild horse population foaling rates if repeat immunizations of the PZP-22 vaccine and/or Gona Con™ vaccine were incorporated into long-term population modeling and management plans for areas where animals are difficult to access and/or thinly dispersed.”

NOTE that these scientific findings show that ONE treatment of GonaCon with revaccination 2-3 years LATER can produce 5-7 years of infertility. 

Please keep this in mind as you look at the reports the park gave us over the next couple of days and as you see the treatment schedule they have come up with for OUR wild horses. 

GonaCon is still relatively new.  There is a lot that is not known and a lot that all of us are still waiting to see. 

I do STRONGLY SUGGEST that to understand GonaCon in the easiest way, please watch our YouTube video where we talked directly to Dr. Dan Baker who was the lead researcher from Colorado State University for the GonaCon experiment on the TRNP wild horses from 2009-2020.  You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/kdLHvgVmIuw?si=pL5hZ0U77v4NDJcc

Next up is the answer to the original mares that were hand injected in 2009 with GonaCon and then treated again by hand injection again in 2013 helicopter roundup and removal.  The park only gave us the list of the mares who are still alive.  We are requesting the full list of all mares that were in the original experiment. 

Important to remember: 79% of the mares that were hand injected with GonaCon in 2009 and again in 2013 did NOT return to fertility when the experiment ended in 2020. 

Please note: the majority of the foals listed were captured and sold over the years.

2000 Mare Flame was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Flame had foals in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Mare Emmylou was her last foal until 2020 when she gave birth to Lil Mo.  Flame was treated with GonaCon in 2020, 2022 and 2024.

2000 Mare Busy Blue was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Busy Blue had foals in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Busy Blue never foaled again after 2014.  She was treated with GonaCon in 2020 and 2024.

2001 Mare Tanker was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  According to the park’s records, Tanker foaled in 2012 and had not foaled since.  We DO know that Tanker also foaled in 2009 when she gave birth to Mare Punkin. The park failed to note this on their report. Tanker was given GonaCon in 2020, and 2024 and was hand injected again during the roundup.  Another question for the park: Why continue to administer GonaCon to a mare you more than likely have permanently sterilized?  And – why was it necessary to hand inject her during this roundup?

2001 Mare Snip’s Gray was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 when she had her final baby, Mare Valentina.  Snips Gray was given GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024.

2002 Mare Shale was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Shale foaled in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Shale was given GonaCon again in 2020 and foaled in 2021.  She was given GonaCon in 2022 and 2023.  She has not foaled since 2021.

2004 Mare Little Gray was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Little Gray foaled in 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017, and 2018.  She was given GonaCon again in 2019 and also foaled in 2019. She was given GonaCon again in 2020 and she foaled that year too.  She foaled in 2021.  She was given GonaCon again in 2022.  She foaled again in 2023 and was given her last dose of GonaCon in 2024.  She is an obvious “non-responder” to GonaCon and probably one of the mares the park considered removing.  When the park stated that they would not be removing mares, they said they would be hand injecting the non-responders to see if they responded to that method of treatment. Little Gray was NOT hand injected with GonaCon during this roundup.  We would love to add the question of why to our growing list of questions for the park.

2004 Mare Freckles was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Freckles foaled in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019.  She was given GonaCon again in 2019 & 2020. She foaled one last time in 2020.  She was given GonaCon in 2021 and 2024.  She is an obvious non-responder and yet she also was NOT hand injected with GonaCon as the park stated they would do with non-responders. 

2004 Mare Winter was hand injected in 2009 and 2013. Winter foaled in 2010 and 2012.  She has not foaled since 2012 and has no offspring in the park.  She received GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024.

2004  Mare Little Brother’s Girl was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She had foals in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014.  Stallion Remington was her last foal and is her only offspring in the park.  She was given GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024. 

2005 Mare Spotted Blue was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Mare Taylor was her last baby in 2014 and the only offspring she has in the park.  Spotted Blue was given GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024.

2005 Mare Sundance was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  Sundance was given GonaCon in 2020 and 2024.  Her only offspring still remaining in the park is 2007 Mare Firefly.

2005 Mare Blondie was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2011, 2012, and 2013.  She has not foaled since and does not have any offspring in the park.  She was given GonaCon in 2020 and 2024.

2005 Mare Mist was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014.  According to advocates, her foal in 2014 did not survive due to extreme weather.  Mist foaled again in 2020 and was also given GonaCon in 2020 and 2024.  Mist’s 2020 baby, Misty Blue, is her only offspring still in the park. 

2006 Mare Escape was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2010, 2011, and 2012.  She has never foaled since 2012 and 2010 Stallion Ollie Jr. is her ONLY offspring still in the park.  Escape was given GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024. 

2006 Mare Daisy was hand injected in 2009 and 2013. Daisy foaled in 2009, 2010, and 2013.  2010 Mare Lakota and 2013 Mare Eagle are Daisy’s only offspring left in the park.  Lakota has not foaled since 2013 and the park has stated that Mare Eagle is 1 of 5 mares that was taken off GonaCon.  Daisy was given GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024. 

2006 Mare Diamond was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She has NEVER foaled.  As we are seeing as a usual trend by now, Diamond was given GonaCon in 2020 and 2024,

2006 Mare Betty Blue was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.  None of those foals are still in the park.  Betty Blue foaled again in 2019 to Stallion Amantes.  She was also given GonaCon again in 2019, 2021 and 2024.

2007 Mare Maggie was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  She foaled in 2009, 2011, and 2013.  Her last foal, 2013 Mare Mischief, is her only offspring still in the park.  Maggie has not foaled since 2013.  She too has been given GonaCon in 2020 and 2024.  Maggie is the full sister to the late Stallion Circus, who has no offspring in the park.

2007 Mare Angel was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Angel foaled in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2019.  She was given GonaCon again in 2019.  Angel foaled again in 2020 and was given GonaCon in 2021 and 2024.  She is apparently one of the non-responders that the park talked about and was NOT hand injected during the roundup.  Angel has 2 offspring still in the park – 2014 Mare Penny, who has no offspring and has not foaled since 2019, and 2020 Mare Blue Angel who has never foaled.

2007 Mare Maddie was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Maddie foaled in 2010 and 2011.  She has not foaled since and has no offspring in the park.  By what we can now say is a regular routine, Maddie was given GonCon in 2020 and 2024. 

2007 Mare Blue was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Blue foaled in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  She has not foaled since.  2014 Mare Velvet is the only offspring Blue has in the park.  Blue was given GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024. 

2007 Mare Cedar was hand injected in 2009 and 2013.  Cedars only foal was born in 2013.  That foal was captured and sold.  Cedar has not foaled since and has no offspring in the park.  She was given GonaCon again in 2020 and 2024. 

This information is important for a number of reasons that we will discuss in the coming weeks, months and probably even years.  What happened to these mares, how they were treated like, as the editors at the Fargo Forum so eloquently stated, “GonaCon Guinea pigs” and the loss of some of these unique genetics to this herd are tragic.   

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