“A horse does not ask for permission to be wild—its soul is born free.” 
~ Unknown

Hello and Happy Tuesday to everyone!

I was with a client this morning enjoying the scene of some of the TRNP wild horses enjoying the morning as the day began.  They were lying in the grass; some were grazing and others were just looking at those people who were looking at them.

All of a sudden, they all started running. 

Why?

There was a helicopter flying outside of the park.  I do not believe this had anything to do with the park at all.  Simply someone maybe maintaining their fields outside of the park or just enjoying a helicopter ride around the perimeter of the park. 

Why did the horses run?

Because for DAYS last October, these horses were chased by helicopters and brought to the handling facility at the park’s east boundary. 

Horses don’t forget.

This was the first time in 12 years that helicopters chased the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  That means that before last October, we had older horses in TRNP that KNEW what the sound of helicopters meant and they might alert the rest of their band.  Now, they ALL know what that sound means.  It is a sound that triggers fear in them and ignites their flight defenses.  They will live with this fear for the rest of their lives. 

It would be different if there was ANY rhyme or reason to the October 2024 helicopter round up. We now know from the document the park released in March of 2024 that they already had DNA on the majority of this herd.  You can read that document here:

That round up also cost little 1 year old Aspen her life.

We added a video from today of the horses running on our YouTube channel.  You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/zVfpRJZH2z8

I also recommend that you watch Jon Eagle Sr.’s video from our summit.  Jon was also invited, as we at CHWHA were, by Theodore Roosevelt National Park to be a part of the round up.  Neither of us wanted to bear witness to what happened in those pens during that round up to the wild horses that have captured our hearts. You can watch Jon’s video here: https://youtu.be/39wtUakXUns

This is just a reminder of what we at Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is fighting so hard for – the proper management of this amazing herd of wild horses.  We still have a lot of work left to do! 

Our monthly bills are coming due along with a $500 legal bill for consultations about the federal legislation.  We hope that you can help us continue our critical advocacy work.  You can make your tax-deductible donation to CHWHA here: https://secure.everyaction.com/wnK6YjHlTkCC2Aq57_7srQ2

Thank you for your continued support!

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