Feral wild horse roundup to be held at Northern Cheyenne

LAME DEER, MT – There are an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 wild or ‘feral’ horses running around the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, said Gene Small, Chairperson of the Northern Cheyenne Grazing Board.

Some people believe that the wild/feral horses on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation are descendants of the original Spanish Barbs. However, the loose horses on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation were largely at one time domesticated, having either escaped or been turned onto the range. Running in isolated mare bands, there has been much in-breeding over the years. While some people believe that these are indeed descendants of the original wild horses in America, at Northern Cheyenne it is a different matter..

This count is based upon reports from tribal operators (ranchers and farmers) who lease tribal grazing lands; estimates from tribal range riders and a rough aerial survey. 

“These animals are not claimed or taken care of by anyone, which affects the range resource,” he explained, “a big problem for the operators who pay for tribal grass.”

For example, one local operator, Sterling Small who runs cattle in the Black Eagle area, reports about 400-500 wild/feral horses in his range unit in the Birney District area. Reservation-wide, other ranchers have similar problems, but with fewer feral horses.

“The problem with horses is that they eat 24/7, about one and a half as much as a cow.” Sterling explained. “They rip out the grass from the roots. While we can only keep cattle in a range unit for certain months each year, the horses are always there. They eat the fall grass, the spring grass and generally degrade the resource. The ranchers pay for that grass, including that used by feral horses.”

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe, like many in the Great Plains region, has precious few natural resources. Northern Cheyenne does have millions of tons of high-quality underground coal; however, due to political, religious, and tribal views that will likely never be developed.

What the Northern Cheyenne do have is many stands of Ponderosa pine trees, good for firewood and rough lumber, clean air; clean water, pasture lands suitable for hay, and grass. Revenue from grass sales is extremely significant to the Tribe; supporting Council and administration salaries, providing charity and scholarship funds, just to list a few items.

Grass is sold by the Animal Unit Month (AUM). At Northern Cheyenne, that rate is $26.75 per cow/calf pair. The rate for a horse is 1.5 times that as they consume more grass. In addition, operators are responsible for maintaining fences and water.

Of course, nobody pays for the grass consumed by the wild/feral horses.

To address the problem of wild/feral horse grazing, the tribal Grazing Board developed and advertised a Request for Feral Horse Roundup Services on Northern Cheyenne range units within the Reservation. The services required include providing five riders with horses, four wheelers, and snow mobiles to locate and gather feral horses within designated areas. The Grazing Board will provide a helicopter to assist with the gathering process, a technique also used by the Bureau of Land Management during annual horse roundups to reduce those wild horses and burro herds to a manageable level. “Those horses know this country and the horseback riders will have a pretty western job, keeping up with them,” Gene Small noted.

From time to time, enterprising cowboys on the Reservation chase and occasionally capture some of the wild horses, a small entrepreneurial adventure. “There are some good horses out there,” said Cleve LaFranier, a local rider who has often participated in that. “But they can be pretty hard to catch.”

Thus, the contractor will also provide five laborers to transport and set up portable corrals and necessary wings to capture the feral horses. A general manager representing the contractor will be responsible for coordinating with the Grazing Board to ensure the tribal Livestock Ordinance is properly implemented.

After feral horses are successfully gathered, the contractor will be responsible for transporting them to the tribal rodeo grounds for an impoundment process of at least five days as well as providing feed and water.

When questioned about people’s right to claim or adopt such wild horses, some which might have brands, perhaps have escaped, and joined the wild bunch, Small indicated that would be possible. “This is only the second time we’ve done this,” he explained, “so some details still must be worked out. If so, the owners or claimers would be responsible for a feed/water bill of $50.00 per day.”

Finally, under the roundup plan, unclaimed feral horses will be shipped to Billings Livestock Commission for sale.

At this date, two tribal members submitted bids by the deadline, confirmed by the Tribal Procurement Department. The Grazing Board will meet soon to consider the bids and hopefully award a contract. “This will require a unique skill set,” Small noted, “and we want to get underway as soon as possible. We have a very light snow year, so conditions are good for a roundup right now,” he remarked.

The views about wild horses on the reservation are not unanimous. While the livestock operators view the wild horses as competitors for the grass they buy; others such as Delores Yellow Eyes Morgan, also a member of the Grazing Board from the Birney District have a different point of view. “I don’t think the wild horses are the major problem on the grazing units,” she told NSNT. “We have too many cows, who are damaging the creeks and waterways. We are horse people, and these horses have a right to be here, just like we do.”

As Small remarked; “Many of these horses are not feral or wild. Some years ago, the market dropped out of the “canner” (slaughter) business. Then a lot of people from off-reservation dropped off horses they no longer needed or could care for, on the Reservation. Wild horses do not wear shoes, have brands, or have saddle marks. That contributed to the problem.”

The controversy about wild horses, the management or lack of management of these herds, extends well beyond the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. The Bureau of Land Management, for example, annually conducts wild horse roundups to find a balance between the number of wild horses and the land resource. According to government reports, the BLM spends fifty million a year to manage wild horses and burros, a very sensitive and controversial subject among Americans and indeed the world.

Although the Northern Cheyenne Grazing Board hopes that the wild/feral horse situation can be brought into a manageable state, no doubt there will always be some wild horses on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. As there probably should be.

The trick seems to be reaching agreement upon what numbers the resource can withstand. NSNT will continue coverage of the feral/wild horse roundup as it comes to fruition on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The problem of wild or feral horses is one which affects many reservations in the Great Plains area, thus the wild horse roundup at Northern Cheyenne may be of interest to many NSNT readers.

(Contact Clara Caufield at 2ndcheyennevoice@gmail.com.)

The post Feral wild horse roundup to be held at Northern Cheyenne first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

Visit Original Source