Hello and Happy Tuesday!
First, my apologies for not having an update last week. The disease I am battling gives me good days and not so good days. On the good days I work hard to take advantage of feeling good. When my body says to rest, I rest. You can follow updates on my health journey here: https://gofund.me/f7e77ef6d
Every day there is still something we are doing to be proactive in getting the proper management for the wild horses of TRNP. We hope to have some interesting updates to share soon!
I wanted to take a moment to write to you today to let you know about a current situation in the park with respect to the horses.
Spring is here and that means babies are being born!
On Saturday, a 3rd foal was born this season to Mare Serendipity (Papoose x Half Moon) and Stallion Illinois. This is Serendipity’s first baby.
On Sunday, I got a call from Superintendent Daniels letting me know that the foal was born BUT the baby is with another mare, not her mom. This is not uncommon. It does happen with wild horses and has happened before in this park. Being her first foal, Serendipity obviously is not an experienced mom. This band is also made up of a younger group of mares, so there are not any older, more seasoned mares to help the situation. Mare Starlet (Dolly x Flax) currently has the baby. As of this morning, the baby is still alive and with Mare Starlet instead of her mom Mare Serendipity. Since no one is with the band 24/7, no one knows the details that created this situation.
The park has given me the following statement to share:
Park staff are aware of a situation involving a young foal within the park’s horse herd that has become separated from its dam and appears to have been taken in by another mare. Based on ongoing observations, there is concern that the foal may not be receiving adequate nutrition.
The National Park Service manages animals in a manner that prioritizes natural processes and does not typically intervene in the lives of these animals. However, intervention may be considered in rare and extenuating circumstances, including situations where there are potential impacts to visitor safety and experience.
The park does not intend to take action at this time.
I know that is not what anyone wants to hear and I can tell you that even park personnel are struggling with this.
At the end of the day, these are wild horses. If it weren’t for the visitors that alerted the park to the situation, none of us would know this was happening. Thank you to those people and park staff who have been monitoring this difficult situation.
Also, again, no one is with this band 24/7. We don’t know all the dynamics that have played out over the last 4 days and continue to play out.
I would also like to remind everyone that there have been times that the public has asked for horses, like Stallion Copper, to be euthanized, because they felt they knew his injuries were too bad for him to survive. As stated above in the statement from the park, the park usually allows nature to run its course. Thankfully, they did that with Copper. As we know now, Copper went on to live a very long and healthy life in spite of appearing to be near death to everyone else. These horses have countless survival stories like Copper’s.
Lastly, please remember that we fought for the last few years to have these horses be equal to other wildlife in the park as opposed to being “livestock”. If this were a bison, elk or any other wildlife in the park, the park would do exactly what it is in this situation. As hard as this situation is, it’s part of what we are asking for with regard to the management of the horses. Remember, just like Copper, no one knows how this story will end.
We will continue to update you as we get new information.
For now, I do ask that everyone refrain from giving us suggestions on how to handle this situation. That decision is up to the park, and you have their current statement above. We will let you know if that changes.
Please send warm thoughts, prayers and positive energy to the horses involved and the park staff who continue to deal with this difficult situation.
Thank you again for your continued love and support of these iconic wild horses.
Please help support our advocacy work!
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