As the hot months of summer draw to a close the wild horses are doing exceedingly well. In the foothills the summer storms brought adequate moisture to keep the country green and healthy. The grasses that the horses and other wildlife depend upon was plentiful due to the rains.
This year the foals that were born after the snows of winter melted are thriving. We have also found that the herd sizes in some areas are smaller with maybe a stallion, a mare and a foal.
WHOAS is nearing the end of our 4th year of the Memorandum of Understanding, (MOU), we had with the Alberta government. Our team of professionals ceased applying the contraception vaccine into selected mares last fall. The reason for this is that the effectiveness of the vaccine on any given mare could not be fully and properly documented, in time for the research to be concluded and the final report submitted.
During the four years of work we think it’s important for WHOAS to show what we have found certain difficulties with ground application of PZP, i.e., distance travelled to find mares, following darted mares, difficulty of terrain in the study area, weather considerations, to name a few.
We think the bottom line is that ‘IF’ it is proven scientifically that a population reduction needs to occur, then PZP alone will not be an effective and viable way to achieve this. We will then need to look at other management tools, alone or in combination, to achieve the desired outcomes.
Click on the link below and this paper parallels our practical experience with scientific modelling.
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1071/WR17136
WHOAS will continue to support scientific research to assist in coming up with solutions to wild horse management.
WHOAS has several horses that will be ready for adoption. We invite you to come out for a visit to see them and learn more about our Alberta wild horses. To arrange for a visit, please contact us via our email:
