More tools needed in effort to control horse population
A horse looks up from its grazing on Sunday morning near Gallup. (Times photo – Donovan Quintero)
FORT DEFIANCE
The Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife is searching for more tools to address the population of feral horses on the nation.
Is a horse hunt an option? Maybe, according to Director Gloria Tom, but it would only be one option in a greater management plan.
“It’s like a bag of tools, and you have more than one tool in that bag,” she said.
On May 15, staff from several offices heard about more tools that could go into the bag.
“We are in the process of developing a management plan,” Tom said. “That’s what we’re doing this afternoon.”
The staff received information on options to monitor wild horse populations, control fertility of those populations, and where domestic horses and their owners fit in the bigger picture.
First, the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group talked about using an app to log and track individual horses and bands.
Simone Netherlands, president of Salt River group, said once the information is logged in workers could enter distinguishing features to identify the horse and track its social group.
“The app will pull up that band,” said Netherlands.
Once the information is in hand, she said the mares could be identified for shooting with darts. The darts would contain the fertility controlling Porcine Zona Pellucida vaccine, or PZP.
She said controlling the fertility of horses on the Navajo Nation would be more effective than removal.
Another expert spoke about domesticated horses and how owners need to care for their horses so they don’t contribute to the problem.
Leland Grass, owner of Diné for Wildhorses and Seminars, spoke about improving the relationship between owners and their horses. He said training is a key aspect of that but not just for the horses.
He said he started working with owners in 2014 after 1,700 horses were rounded up in 2013 under President Ben Shelly’s administration.
“I went out there training people, teaching them how to treat their horses,” he said.
He said people could learn a lot from their own horses.
“The horse is the medicine man,” he said.
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