Wild horse advocates gather at Capitol as part of 50-state rally

Nearly two-thirds of the wild horses in the United States live in Nevada, according to figures released by the Bureau of Land Management.

Wild horse advocates will gather 1-4 p.m. Saturday in front of the state capitol in Carson City as part of the Wild Horse Freedom Rally planned for all 50 states. 

Minden resident Craig Downs, Dr. Don Molde, and wild horse rescuer Elaina Deva Proffitt are expected to speak. Singer Jim Eaglesmith will perform and actress Fia Perera will serve as MC. 

The Silver State is home to 46,570 wild horses despite one of the biggest round-up efforts in recent history.

Of those, 305 live in the Pine Nut Herd Management Area and about a fifth of those are in the herd that frequents the mountains around Fish Springs.

According to the agency, 13,666 wild horses and burros were removed from the range in 2021.

An alternative to rounding up the horses that was pioneered in Fish Springs is darting horses with a contraceptive which will slow down their breeding.

During 2021, the BLM reported 1,160 horses were treated to reduce their fertility. Volunteers darted 50 Pine Nut horses as of Oct. 6, 2021.

Most of those horses were in the Pine Nuts above Carson Valley.

Horses that are rounded up are kept in off-range corrals or pastures, which costs about $50 million a year, according to the BLM.

 The total off-range populations of wild horses and burros is 60,611.

The 50th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was last year.

For more information about horses in Douglas County, visit wild
horseadvocates.org