Advocates for Salt River horses fear round-up of herd
Salt River horses
Horses at the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest near Mesa.
Salt River horses
Horses at the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest near Mesa.
Salt River horses
A horse in the Tonto National Forest near Mesa.
Salt River horses
Horses and tubers at the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest near Mesa.
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17 comments:
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Tuesday 6/18/2013
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shrinkingviolet posted at 2:13 pm on Tue, Jun 19, 2012.
Do you yahoos just sit here on this site kvetching all day, or do you ever do anything about any of society's ills? Thought so.
suej1962 posted at 9:42 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
For your information bill phx I was NOT speeding nor was I on a cell phone when I hit the horse. I was just driving my in laws around showing them the beauty of the salt river area. The horse jumped out onto the road and I had NO TIME to even think about stopping. I was going 45 miles an hour which is the speed limit there. So before you keep talking sh*t about me you should get the facts straight. I've owned horses all of my life and yes I wish they could stay out there and share the land with humans but its not going to work anymore because there are to many people visiting that area now. I'm not saying to KILL them I just think that they need there own area. Yes, we took over their area as you say but there is nothing that we can do about that now, its 2012.
rusty posted at 5:33 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
I've been hiking alongside these very horses for maybe close to 9 years now. I have many pictures of them. I've watched the tiny newborns mature into proud adults. They are a sight to behold. Some I have named. Two of the bands I frequently see have become quite accustomed to myself & my dogs presence. They are curious animals, certainly never threatening. These horses, I believe, are "wild" whose existence on these lands predate any of us or our forest stations!
On the dark side, for those uninformed, if they are mislabeled as "feral", these horses will mostly (or all) end up at a "kill buyer" auction and be beaten into trailers for shipment to Mexico and brutally slaughtered.
Are we so short-sighted and greedy that we cannot share the land with these magnificent creatures who do no harm? A land that rightfully belongs to them to begin with? Please, I ask everyone, help save these horses. Thank you.
Engaged Voter posted at 2:13 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
"I said we should treat this invasive species like we should treat illegals"
I agree that an invasive species should be treated in this fashion...HOWEVER...if it can be proven that these are indeed WILD horses (as opposed to feral, recently escaped), then that distinction no longer applies.
Would you agree?
Juggernaut8000 posted at 2:04 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
You all should know, my comment was also removed despite it being no more harsh than some others here. Yes, I said we should treat this invasive species like we should treat illegals. Both are detrimental to our environment and should be removed with great prejudice.
All of you liberal, illegal loving fools should be relieved of your first amendement right to speak freely and shut up for the rest of your natural life.
bfera posted at 12:08 pm on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
Mr. Ceniceros, thank you for your comments, but just to clarify: neither Tribune editors, nor the reporter, removed your comments. First, reporters do not have access to that function in any way.
Second, if a reader finds a comment to be inappropriate, they can report the comment as such, and our editors receive an alert. During this process, the comments are automatically removed from the site. If the comments do not meet the standards set forth in the Tribune's user agreement (http://evtnow.com/evtuseragreement), the comment will likely stay removed. If they do abide by the agreement, our editors have the ability to "approve" the comment to show up again.
We do our best to keep up with alerts, but please bear with us as, on occasion, it takes longer than we'd like to reset comments that were erroneously reported. Again, it is readers, like yourself, who "report" comments.
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East Valley Tribune
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Engaged Voter posted at 9:48 am on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
WylieDog, just to clarify - "Well if you want to get technical, no one here - besides Native Americans - are native to this country or this state" <---The Amerind Tribes, the so-called "Native Americans", migrated here too. You are on point with your horse facts.
Poor, poor Leon...it takes a "special" kind of person to Godwin a thread on horses.
What a doofus.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 7:56 am on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
Sorry Folks that you can't read my "original" comment. The Reporter or the Editor chose to "remove" my comment for what ever reason. But then the people in control of the East Valley Tribune don't really need a reason do they?
By the way, I seem to remember seeing Nazi soldiers throwing thousands and thousands of books on a bonfire on the History Channel. It seems that the Nazi's didn't like what the authors had written. "Things change....things remain the same".
Horsewoman posted at 3:14 am on Mon, Jun 11, 2012.
Horses originated in America and crossed the Bering Strait and then were re-introduced. They are a native, wildlife species as DNA and paleontological tests have shown.
The 1990-91 Government Accounting Office study proved the millions of cattle on public lands destroy the range and riparian areas and not the few thousand wild horses.
Wild horses are supposed to be protected and preserved under the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act . These beautiful, historic horses must be allowed to stay free for posterity. So few are left now. See http://tinyurl.com/4evvefn for the estimated population chart.
bill phx posted at 11:45 pm on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
I have Peruvian Paso horses. The Peruvian is a close relative of some of the American Mustangs. They were brought to Peru by Pissaro when he explored Peru centuries ago. Pissaro brought Andalusians, Spanish Barbs and Spanish Jennets. The Peruvian is a Spanish horse that comes from those bloodlines. There is a strong history that ancestors of at least some of the horses on the Tonto National Forest were brought by Eusebio Kino to the region. Father Kino also brought Andalusians and Spanish Barbs to Arizona as he traveled from Mission Dolores north all the way to the Mogollon Rim. My wife did the research.. If you look at the conformation of some of the Salt River wild horses ( and if you really know anything about Spanish horses) you can see that some of them are about the same size of the Spanish horses, they are the prototypical Spanish colors. Anyone who knows Spanish horses would see it. That they have the short back and low set tail of the Spanish horses. Others go back to the mounts of the US Cavalry. That said, a wild horse is an unbranded, unclaimed free roaming horse on public lands and the 1971 wild horse and burro act mandates that these horses be protected under the Act whether they are or are not Spanish. Read a book called the "Hashknife Cowboy: Memoirs of Mack Hughes by his wife Stella Hughes and educate yourself on the rich history these horses carry.
With respect to Native to Arizona. The horse gores back to prehistoric times in this country and the vestigial toe on every horse is a testimony to their prehistoric ancestors.
WylieDog posted at 10:57 pm on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
Why would you need to buy hay for those horses? There's PLENTY to eat out there for all of the animals. They are all well fed by nature.
downtownresident posted at 4:59 pm on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
Leon,
Well put!
So, now, are we supposed to buy hay for all these horses?
WylieDog posted at 4:56 pm on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
Leon, you obviously don't know what you're talking about. These animals, wild horses and burros, do nothing to destroy desert habitat or other species. CATTLE on the other hand, do MUCH damage. You want to protect the desert ecosystem, that is where your attention should be directed.
WylieDog posted at 4:51 pm on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
Well if you want to get technical, no one here - besides Native Americans - are native to this country or this state. But we, the almighty human species, sit as judge and jury and play God on who/what can live here and who/what can't. And that "native" bighorn sheep is actually native to Eurasia, not America. But because "trophy hunters" pay the big bucks for permits, you'll never see them classified as an invasive species. Elk = European Red Deer. And accidents happen, ask anyone who lives in deer/elk country, especially eastern states like PA, etc. As far as government management of wild horses - and burros - the only management they implement is removal. The Forest Service should be required to work with the BLM and put all removed forest horses into the BLM adoption program at the very least - not sell as "strays" at auction where killer buyers for slaughter are the usual customers. As far as "invasive species" go - look in the mirror.
mlimberg posted at 3:46 pm on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
Maybe we can round up politicians ( they're all feral) and send them to the glue factory with the horses and illegals....
Leon Ceniceros posted at 10:10 am on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
Stray horses like stray cats and stray dogs should be rounded up and either adopted or euthanized.
These are not ...MUSTANGS...just look at them. Do they appear to have Spanish Barb or Arabian characteristics or body color ? The answer is = NO.
The have gotten loose over the years from the Reservation, local Ranches or been dumped by their owners.
They are eating scarce food from our Drought-ravaged desert vegetation that should be going to our ...ENDANGERED DESERT BIG HORN SHEEP and DESERT MULE DEER POPULATIONS.
These ...FERAL HORSES....take over water holes, springs, seeps and will attack these...........ENDANGERED SPECIES....when they are thirsty and looking for water.
IF THE "TREE-HUGGERS", "ECO-FREAKS", "BAMBI-LOVERS" AND THEIR ILK LOVE THESE FERAL HORSES SO MUCH............THEN ADOPT ONE......BUT LEAVE THE SALT RIVER/TONTO NATIONAL FOREST TO THE INDIGENOUS "WILD, NATIVE ANIMALS".
suej1962 posted at 6:43 am on Sun, Jun 10, 2012.
I was almost killed by one of these horses when it ran into the road in front of me. I still have problems from the accident. I slammed into the horse and chopped it in half killing it and it crushed me in my van. I love horses and I'm very sad about what happened that day but I do wish that there were more fencing around them somehow or move them to more open ground for everyone's safety. There are to many people living in AZ now that use the river for recreation and to have such big animals roaming is NOT a good idea. I will never forget that day as I am haunted from it.