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This appaloosa was abandoned on BLM land near where the wild mustangs live on the Book Cliffs.
The Friends of the Mustangs rescued a domestic appaloosa this month, and the BLM is now searching for the man who dumped the horse at the Little Book Cliffs wild horse range.
Friends of the Mustangs charter member Marty Felix was monitoring the wild horses in Main Canyon in the Little Book Cliffs on April 11 at 2 p.m. when she and a friend saw the man abandon the gelding.
They watched while a shirtless brown-haired man, wearing jeans, a red ball cap and riding a buckskin or dun-colored horse rode up ponying the appaloosa behind them.
They found the man’s actions odd.
Soon, they saw the man, whom she described as in his 20s or 30s, riding ferociously back toward the parking lot, without the appaloosa.
It alarmed Felix not only that the man abandoned a domestic animal among wild horses, but that the appaloosa was running away from the man.
“That man just dumped him,” Felix said. “I was furious.”
The appaloosa ran past one band of wild horses and stopped at the second band.
That’s when the abuse began.
One of the mustangs “just ran up and kicked him so hard,” Felix said. “This appaloosa is a tall horse, and this mustang isn’t very big, and he’s just wailing on him.”
Palisade resident and Friends member Roni Hale “could see this horse was in big trouble,” so she offered to help. Hale was riding her horse, while Felix and her friend were afoot. Hale bridled the horse and led it back to the parking lot.
The horse is now being held by Beckie Diehl.
If a domestic horse is abandoned among wild horses, it’s likely the domestic horse would die a “slow and painful death,” from starvation, said BLM Wild Horse Specialist Jim Dollerschell. Domestic animals are ill-equipped to forage for food in the desert, he added.
Or it could die after being attacked by the wild horses, Felix said.
Wild horses will ostracize and fight off horses that are unfamiliar to their band, increasing the odds for injury, said BLM spokeswoman Mel Lloyd.
Also, domestic horses can introduce disease to the wild horses, which often have no immunity, and that could “wipe out” the entire herd, Lloyd said.
It doesn’t happen frequently, that people abandon animals at the Little Book Cliffs, Lloyd said. Last year, a horse and a mule were dumped there, said Lloyd.
When it happens, animals are typically abandoned in the Cameo area “because it’s close and convenient,” Lloyd said. The wild horse range is beyond the Cameo Power Plant off Interstate 70 just east of Grand Junction.
Not only is it inhumane to dump an animal, but it’s illegal as well, Lloyd said.
BLM called attention to this case, not so much to find the owner, but to educate people, to encourage people to be responsible, she said.
“Little Joey wants a horse ... it’s not like a dog or cat. They’re stuck with this horse until their child is an adult,” because horses can live to be 30, Lloyd said.
“It’s such a shame. The horse you’re abandoning may not know how to find water and food. It’s going to die a slow and painful death,” she said. “It’s a shame they’re being abandoned.”
The law says anyone who finds a stray animal in the wild must advertise it for 10 days, then it belongs to that person, Felix said.
Some people have expressed interest in the horse, which she described as “huge,” at 17 hands. He’s also sweet, gentle, old, beautiful, “and has a bad front leg. I don’t think the back legs are very good either,” but it’s a nice horse and would probably be good with kids, Felix said.
Anyone who knows about this horse or who wants more information can call Dollerschell at 244-3016.
Reach Marija B. Vader at mvader@gjfreepress.com.
Friends of the Mustangs charter member Marty Felix was monitoring the wild horses in Main Canyon in the Little Book Cliffs on April 11 at 2 p.m. when she and a friend saw the man abandon the gelding.
They watched while a shirtless brown-haired man, wearing jeans, a red ball cap and riding a buckskin or dun-colored horse rode up ponying the appaloosa behind them.
They found the man’s actions odd.
Soon, they saw the man, whom she described as in his 20s or 30s, riding ferociously back toward the parking lot, without the appaloosa.
It alarmed Felix not only that the man abandoned a domestic animal among wild horses, but that the appaloosa was running away from the man.
“That man just dumped him,” Felix said. “I was furious.”
The appaloosa ran past one band of wild horses and stopped at the second band.
That’s when the abuse began.
One of the mustangs “just ran up and kicked him so hard,” Felix said. “This appaloosa is a tall horse, and this mustang isn’t very big, and he’s just wailing on him.”
Palisade resident and Friends member Roni Hale “could see this horse was in big trouble,” so she offered to help. Hale was riding her horse, while Felix and her friend were afoot. Hale bridled the horse and led it back to the parking lot.
The horse is now being held by Beckie Diehl.
If a domestic horse is abandoned among wild horses, it’s likely the domestic horse would die a “slow and painful death,” from starvation, said BLM Wild Horse Specialist Jim Dollerschell. Domestic animals are ill-equipped to forage for food in the desert, he added.
Or it could die after being attacked by the wild horses, Felix said.
Wild horses will ostracize and fight off horses that are unfamiliar to their band, increasing the odds for injury, said BLM spokeswoman Mel Lloyd.
Also, domestic horses can introduce disease to the wild horses, which often have no immunity, and that could “wipe out” the entire herd, Lloyd said.
It doesn’t happen frequently, that people abandon animals at the Little Book Cliffs, Lloyd said. Last year, a horse and a mule were dumped there, said Lloyd.
When it happens, animals are typically abandoned in the Cameo area “because it’s close and convenient,” Lloyd said. The wild horse range is beyond the Cameo Power Plant off Interstate 70 just east of Grand Junction.
Not only is it inhumane to dump an animal, but it’s illegal as well, Lloyd said.
BLM called attention to this case, not so much to find the owner, but to educate people, to encourage people to be responsible, she said.
“Little Joey wants a horse ... it’s not like a dog or cat. They’re stuck with this horse until their child is an adult,” because horses can live to be 30, Lloyd said.
“It’s such a shame. The horse you’re abandoning may not know how to find water and food. It’s going to die a slow and painful death,” she said. “It’s a shame they’re being abandoned.”
The law says anyone who finds a stray animal in the wild must advertise it for 10 days, then it belongs to that person, Felix said.
Some people have expressed interest in the horse, which she described as “huge,” at 17 hands. He’s also sweet, gentle, old, beautiful, “and has a bad front leg. I don’t think the back legs are very good either,” but it’s a nice horse and would probably be good with kids, Felix said.
Anyone who knows about this horse or who wants more information can call Dollerschell at 244-3016.
Reach Marija B. Vader at mvader@gjfreepress.com.
