Here is what is happening here at ISPMB. Two herds that received PZP, one for five years and one for four years are still for the most part not giving birth to foals. This is after stopping the drug now for five years. The four year course of PZP, nine mares out of 36 mares have conceived with seven losing their foals shortly after they were born. We have five PZP mares that we must watch constantly as they steal foals from mares that are having their first born foals. We have had one Catnip mare that was bitten and had very little hair left that didn't show a bite wound.
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Dunbar's mother with bite wounds
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Although we didn't witness the takeover of her foal, she was standing near the foal with the "kidnapper." The mare with bite wounds had a milk bag on her while the kidnapper had none. The foal was already three days old according to staff who were monitoring births. The foal was thin and weak. We also noted that he had burns on his mouth and lips from trying to nurse a dry mare.
Out of seven foals in our foster care, four were the result of kidnappers. For the most part, mares love caring for their foals even into old age. Those that become very old often don't have foals. We hear the mantra from those who support birth control that the mares in their older years look in good condition because they are not having foals. However, the most important question to ask is, "Are they happy?"
So what is happening on public lands where the mares are not observed on a daily basis? Could they be stealing first time mother's foals? Certainly the dying foals on the ranges would go unnoticed? They would become coyote bait with a day or two.
With 75% of the herds on public lands having less than viable populations, why would we advocate for birth control? Are we not agreeing with the BLM and opposition that there are too many wild horses on public lands? Has this led to BLM's push for permanent sterilization?
Why are we not pushing for "natural management" as ISPMB has done for the last 16 years? When the family structures are intact and not disrupted through roundups, there is stability within the herds and populations grow at a very slow rate! We have proven that!
Now we have these wonderful foals to care for who have had repeated visits to the vet for their immune globulin. They consume a lot of Foal Lac milk and will remain on it until they reach six months of age. They are so loved by our volunteers and staff here at ISPMB. They are growing up in a human world and will never be part of their herds again. We hope to find beautiful homes for these wonders.
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These two are Dunbar and Aspen - both stolen from their first time mothers by the Catnip Kidnapper!
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As ISPMB continues its studies on population growth and the effects of birth control on horses, we hope you will support our efforts. What we find here will be so important in the future of all wild horses. It is not too late to begin a new model for management based on behavior and keeping the families intact. Understanding our wild horses is the key to their future survival.
