BOISE, Idaho — Wild horses have long been in the middle of a heated debate on how they should be managed. The horses were brought here so they don't have any natural predators, they breed quickly and ifthe population gets out of control it impacts the entire rangeland.
The Bureau of Land Management has a new program to treat mares with a fertility control vaccine in an effort to limit gathers on the range and cut down on how much the agency spends to take care of these horses at the corral.
"We are finding that it is simply more effective at extending the time frame of infertility for wild mares, which is a good thing to reduce reporduction on the range," said Heather Tiel-Nelson of the Idaho BLM.
On September 6, the BLM will round up 220 wild horses in the Sands Basin, Hardtrigger and Black Mountain wild herd management areas using a helicopter then they transport the horses the Boise Wild Horse and Burro Off-Range Corral.
The BLM will treat 38 mares with the GonaCon, a contraceptive vaccine and then give them a booster shot after 30 days before releasing the mares and 40 stallions back into the wild.
"We are hoping that everything goes smoothly and that the Idaho Wild Horse Alliance can work with the BLM to get those horses they do keep off the range to good homes, we do believe that is a great program," said Leslie Morris of the Idaho Wild Horse Alliance. "We are a little worried about the genetic diversity at this time."
The Idaho Wild Horse Alliance would like to see the BLM use PZP a different contraceptive vaccine that needs to be given every year, but the BLM will use GonaCon which they say will last four to five years and prevent future gathers, but The Idaho Wild Horse Alliance worries that GonaCon will leave the horses sterile forever.
"We are not applying sterilization methods as the Idaho Wild Horse Alliance has indicated," said Tiel-Nelson. "It is simply birth control to help extend the time between removing excess horses from the range we have not experienced wild horses becoming sterile after a GonaCon application."
GonaCon has only been tested in a band of horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, this report by Colorado State showed promise in 2018. However, questions have been raised on whether this fertility vaccine causes horses to become permanently sterile.
Here is Dr. Dan Baker of Colorado State talking about the issue in May of 2023.
Leslia Morris has grown up around horses and she ventures out into the Owyhee Front to photograph and collect video of the bands. She has some pretty incredible video of the horses coming right up to her.
"It’s just awesome and I’m out there two or three times a week documenting all the wild horses," said Morris. "I'm studying the foals, studying their behavior and just hanging out with them because it is just a wonderful peaceful place to be."
The issue of wild horses on the rangeland dates back for more than a century. In the Owyhees cattle rangers get lease to graze their cattle and agriculture is the biggest industry in Owyhee County.
Morris showed me an article from the Idaho Statesman from 1930 with the headline "Range Rider to Round Up 40,000 Idaho Wild Horses."
"I've researched articles back into the 1800s where they talked about the horses, they used the horses in rodeos," said Morris. "So they have been there for a long time we would like to see them stay there and be genetically diverse and healthy."
The BLM tries to find good homes for the wild mares and stallions that don't get released back into the wild. They have the Mustang Mania Training Incentive Program, 4H kids in Idaho will train these horses before auctioning them off and people can adopt them.
