Six horses rounded up in Fish Springs

A half-dozen wild horses were rounded up in Fish Springs on Wednesday after the Bureau of Land Management received several complaints.

Wednesday, BLM Wildlife Biologist John Axtell loaded six nuisance horses comprised of mares and three yearlings, into a trailer at the end of Horsebush Court for transport to another location.

The catch-pen, still baited with feed, proved to be no temptation for a seventh mare.

"These horses will either be adopted out, as is the case of the young ones, or they will go to a horse sanctuary," Axtell said. "I want to assure everyone that they are not going to be slaughtered or harmed in any way."

No sooner had Axtell left the area to transport the captured horses to a new location, the one vagrant mare was joined by eight more horses including the stallion.

BLM Public Relations Officer Mark Struble expressed frustration over the situation and stressed the need for public awareness.

"People insist on feeding and watering these horses and they learn to become dependent on that instead of forage," Struble said. "We need to make the public understand, just like the bears, they associate food with humans and soon they become a nuisance."