Wild horses in California (Carson, Susanville: houses, dangerous, move)

[WesternPilgrim]

I don't know about you, but I find this story fascinating.

"Herds of American wild horses descended from 15th and 16th century domestic horses brought by Europeans, and burros that are the offspring of abandoned or escaped mining stock, are gathered every two to three years by the Bureau. To maintain herd sizes, animals are wrangled by helicopter and then led to holding pens by formerly wild 'prada,' or guide horses. Once in the pens, they are allowed to rest and then shipped to holding facilities for veterinary care."

Who wouldn't want to own a wild horse desecended from 15th century European stock and imported to California by Spaniards? If I weren't allergic to them, I'd pick up a couple for the pasture out back.


wild horses and windmills in california - YouTube

[ferretkona]

We still have wild camels roaming the desert. Leftover from US Calvery from the 1800's.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by ferretkona

We still have wild camels roaming the desert. Leftover from US Calvery from the 1800's.

No way.

[Curmudgeon]

Or maybe not, but they did.

Weird California - Camels of the American West

[Bulldogdad]

Some of those wild horses can be cantankerous when you run across them out in the wild lands.

I was hunting Mule Deer up by Susanville in the Skedaddle Mountains back in 1991. As I was crossing a saddle at about 7000 ft at dawn I ran right into a herd of feral horses. They were coming up one side of the saddle and I was coming up the other. We met at the top of the ridgeline but couldnt see each other until we were about 20 feet apart. There were about 15 of them and they were not happy to see me so close. The lead stallion stomped the ground and snorted at me. I drew up a bead on him as I wasn't sure if he was gonna break. It seemed like five minutes that we stood there in a mexican standoff. Probably more like ten seconds. I started to walk backwards, he backed off an took his herd back down the side of the saddle they were coming up. I gave them a berth then watched them for about five minutes as they crossed ridge after ridge putting about a mile between us before I lost sight of them.

Then I went a shot a deer.

[Ulysses61]

I'm sorry you find this story fascinating. As someone who has witnessed a horse wrangling from hellicopters, I can tell you it's a heinous and hellish thing to watch. It's inhumane and many of the horses die during the process.

Never mind that the majority of horses "wrangled" by the BLA end up in Mexican slaughterhouses and the meat sold to Asia or France. Please educate yourself about this practice and I would hope you would change your mind.

Finally, I am not a PETA "nut," or someone who owns or even knows much about horses. But I know cruelty when I witness it, and the aftermath for these horses is almost always death, starvation or neglect.

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by Ulysses61

I'm sorry you find this story fascinating. As someone who has witnessed a horse wrangling from hellicopters, I can tell you it's a heinous and hellish thing to watch. It's inhumane and many of the horses die during the process.

Never mind that the majority of horses "wrangled" by the BLA end up in Mexican slaughterhouses and the meat sold to Asia or France. Please educate yourself about this practice and I would hope you would change your mind.

Finally, I am not a PETA "nut," or someone who owns or even knows much about horses. But I know cruelty when I witness it, and the aftermath for these horses is almost always death, starvation or neglect.

Horse meat is good with onions, cabbage and a little paprika but that is for the food thread.

[WesternPilgrim]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

I was hunting Mule Deer up by Susanville in the Skedaddle Mountains back in 1991.

LOL, "Skedaddle Mountains". Love the place names up here in Jefferson. Skedaddle, will ya?

Glad you managed to take a deer in spite of the aggressive wild horses. Great story.

[.highnlite]

We have had three wild horses, My daily ride is a wild horse, captured and put through the Carson Prison Program, then off to a ranch at the foot of the Skedaddle Mountains in the Smoke Creek Desert, where I eventually acquired him.

He is very different than a domestic horse. Extremely sure footed and careful on dangerous terrain.

We had a recent experience where a pack mule panicked on a cliff edge trail above a river, ran up, smacked Jeff with the right side pannier. Jeff should have been knocked off the trail into the river killing us both.

He danced on the edge of the trail kicking dirt 40 feet down to the river, but stayed up.

I have learned to trust him with my life, and he has yet to let me down. He doesn't wear shoes, he won't colic or founder no matter the feed, and he thinks.

If you try to get him to do something he has not bought into, you are out of luck.

Minor rewrite, it is actually

LOL, "Skedaddle Mountains". Love the place names up here in Ecotopia

Jefferson is just some rightwing whacko nonsense.

aggressive wild horses

Humor, The stallion was not going to attack you, he is a prey animal, you are the predator. He was blocking you while the lead mare skedaddled with the herd. He did not take the herd. The stallion is always in the rear.


Although gelded Jeff was with the wild herds long enough to imprint stallion behavior. In any group ride he must be the last horse. If he is not, he gets extremely squirrel, taking him to the back where he can watch all the other horses makes him happy. He will also try to kill any dogs that get in the corral, or near him.

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

We have had three wild horses, My daily ride is a wild horse, captured and put through the Carson Prison Program, then off to a ranch at the foot of the Skedaddle Mountains in the Smoke Creek Desert, where I eventually acquired him.

He is very different than a domestic horse. Extremely sure footed and careful on dangerous terrain.

We had a recent experience where a pack mule panicked on a cliff edge trail above a river, ran up, smacked Jeff with the right side pannier. Jeff should have been knocked off the trail into the river killing us both.

He danced on the edge of the trail kicking dirt 40 feet down to the river, but stayed up.

I have learned to trust him with my life, and he has yet to let me down. He doesn't wear shoes, he won't colic or founder no matter the feed, and he thinks.

If you try to get him to do something he has not bought into, you are out of luck.

Minor rewrite, it is actually Jefferson is just some rightwing whacko nonsense.



Humor, The stallion was not going to attack you, he is a prey animal, you are the predator. He was blocking you while the lead mare skedaddled with the herd. He did not take the herd. The stallion is always in the rear.


Although gelded Jeff was with the wild herds long enough to imprint stallion behavior. In any group ride he must be the last horse. If he is not, he gets extremely squirrel, taking him to the back where he can watch all the other horses makes him happy. He will also try to kill any dogs that get in the corral, or near him.

Interesting that you wern't there at the time. But I will defer to your horsemanship.

The herd didn't move until the lead stallion moved and raced down the way they came. They followed him.