magazine march 2010

shootin’ from the hip… shootin’ from the hip… shootin’ from the hip… shootin’ from the hip… KKKKiiiirrrrssssttttiiiinnnn MMMMaaaasssstttteeeerrrrssss

Mustanger’s MarchMustanger’s MarchMustanger’s MarchMustanger’s March

Karen’s MustangsKaren’s MustangsKaren’s MustangsKaren’s Mustangs

“THE” Issue“THE” Issue“THE” Issue“THE” Issue

Publisher Equine Angle Marketing Uniquely Equine Marketing & PR Advertising EMK online Call 818 642 4764

Editor & Creative Director Calamity Cate Crismani Cover/Pictorial Photographer Linda Vanoff

Contributing Photographers Carol Walker Laura Leigh Contributing Writers John Christopher Fine Laura Leigh James Kleinert Carol Walker Laura Allen Vicki Tobin

VIVO LOS MUSTANGS! SUBCRIBE TODAY

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Both available at www.truecowboymagazine.com

Heard roun’ the

waterin’ trough

Well, amigos, once again I’d like to take

a minute to thank all of you who help get

each issue of trueCOWBOYmagazine out

the barn door; the

wonderful writers, reporters, fotographers,

Buckle Bunnies, advertisers,

subscribers , iPhone readers and well

wishers.

Another issue done, another issue starts.

Another opportunity to educate the newly

found Cowboys and Cowgirls who now

read tCmag and have the same

question we all once had: “Why can’t the

horses just be left alone?” Good question, good question.

“THE Issue”, the article, (pg. 8) will help

to enlighten you on the matter of the mus-

tang plight and, in an effort to bring you

both sides, do read the “myth

debunking” article by Bob Abbey, the

Director of the Bureau of Land

Management (pg. 24). Then form your

own viewpoint and choose: The hard

working American seeking to save the wild

mustangs or the

politician?

And do remember folks, my personal

side, the mustangs...my position with

tCmagazine, the messenger...sooooooo

don’t shoot me!

Besos & rockets, Calamity

VIVO LOS MUSTANGS!

“Please take a moment now to go to this site and donate “Please take a moment now to go to this site and donate “Please take a moment now to go to this site and donate “Please take a moment now to go to this site and donate to OUR wild mustangs survival! www.ispmb.org to OUR wild mustangs survival! www.ispmb.org to OUR wild mustangs survival! www.ispmb.org to OUR wild mustangs survival! www.ispmb.org Greatfully appreciated, Amigos!” Calamity Cate.Greatfully appreciated, Amigos!” Calamity Cate.Greatfully appreciated, Amigos!” Calamity Cate.Greatfully appreciated, Amigos!” Calamity Cate.

FEATURES

8 “THE” Issue

10 Living Images...Carol Walker

20 “Mustanger’s” March...Calamity Cate

24 Many Myths in Wild Horse Management...R. Abbey

31 Disappointment Valley...James Kleinert

36 Our March Buckle Bunny….Kirstin Masters

46 Karen’s Mustangs...John Christopher Fine

52 Just a Moment...Laura Leigh

Click here www.wildwestexpo.com

In 1971, more letters poured into Congress over the threat to our nation’s wild horses than over any issue in U.S. history, except for the Vietnam War. And so Congress unanimously passed the Wild

Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, declaring that “wild horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene.” The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. For-est Service (USFS) were appointed to implement the Act. Most herd

areas are under BLM jurisdiction.

“THE” ISSUE

Fast-forward thirty years: in 2001, after decades of failed herd management policies, the BLM obtained a 50% increase in annual budget to $29 million for implementation of an aggressive removal campaign; in 2004, the 1971 Act was surreptitiously amended, without so much as a hearing or opportunity for public review, opening the door to the sale of thousands of wild horses to slaughter

for human consumption abroad.

The current situation is the result of a long history of failed poli-cies, land allocation issues, and an intricate money trail. The BLM and the USFS, among others, are responsible for managing the na-tion’s public lands and are foremost the managers of wild horses and burros. Their responsibilities also include issuing public land grazing permits to cattle ranchers. These grazing permits cover lim-ited areas of public land that are available for lease. So, for every wild horse removed from a grazing permit allotment, a fee-paying cow gets to take its place, and a public land rancher gets the benefit of public land forage at bargain rates. This is the number one reason

wild horses are removed from public lands.

The 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act mandated that wild horses be managed at their then-current population level, officially esti-mated by the BLM at 17,000 (three years later, BLM’s first census found over 42,000 horses). To the horses' detriment, both sides agreed to allow the government to manage wild horse populations at that “official” 1971 level. Eleven years later, a study by the National Academy of Sciences found BLM’s 1971 estimate to have been “undoubtedly low to an unknown, but perhaps substantial, degree,” given subsequent census results and taking into account the horses' growth rate and the number of horses since re-moved. But the damage had already been done; management levels had been etched in stone, and processes for removal of "excess" horses were

well in place.

The fact is that the 1982 National Academy of Sciences report and two General Accounting Office reports have countered key points in BLM's premise for its current herd reduction campaign. These government-sanctioned documents concluded that: (i) horses reproduce at a much slower rate than BLM asserts, (ii) wild horse forage use remains a small fraction of cattle forage use on public ranges, (iii) “despite congressional di-rection, BLM did not base its removal of wild horses from federal range-land on how many horses ranges could support,” and (iv) “BLM was mak-ing its removal decisions on the basis of an interest in reaching perceived historic population levels, or the recommendations of advisor groups

largely composed of livestock permittees.”

From over 2 million in the 1800s, America’s wild horse population has dwindled to less than 25,000. There are now more wild horses in govern-ment holding pens than remain in the wild, with many of the remaining herds managed at population levels that do not guarantee their long-term

survival. Still, the round-ups continue.

Over the past forty years, federal law enacted by the people on behalf of their wild horses has been ignored. No strategic plan to keep viable herds of

wild horses on public lands was ever developed.

The education continures at

www.wildhorsepreservation.org

All rights reserved. Copyright 2004-2010 AWHPC

Living ImagesLiving ImagesLiving ImagesLiving Images Carol Walker

Carol Walker’s passion for photographer began at an early age with animals being her favorite subjects. She studied literature and photography as an undergraduate student at Smith College. After graduating, she continued her education in photography studying portraiture and nature photography. Walker has traveled all over the world photographing wildlife and wild horse for the past twenty eight years. Ten years ago, Walker started her business, Living Images by Carol Walker, specializing in horses at liberty while illuminating their relationships amongst themselves and with “their people”. Seven years ago, as Walker began following the wild horse herds in Wyoming, Colorado and Montana, she became aware of how precarious and fragile their lives had become on public lands, including the wild horse

round ups and continual loss of their freedom. Walker knew she had to do something and since then has dedicated her life’s work raising awareness and educating people about the wild herds through her photographs and stories of them. Walker’s award winning book, Wild Hoofbeats: America’s

Vanishing Wild Horses is in its second print and she is currently working on a new book of wild horse photographs due out this fall. Walker also conducts equine photography workshops to amateur photographers. To view more of Carol Walkers work, purchase her images and her book or learn about her workshops visit her website at www.LivingImagesbyCarolWalker.com .

kick start!

Copyright 2010 Carol Walker. All rights reserved.

The New “Mustangers”The New “Mustangers”The New “Mustangers”The New “Mustangers” Go to WashingtonGo to WashingtonGo to WashingtonGo to Washington

By Calamity Cate Crismani

Once, again, I am redefining the traditional definitions of “words, as we know them”...and in this rant, “Mustangers” is the word. Mustanger, traditionally, is a person, by profession, who rounds up mustangs with the intention to sell to slaughter houses for consumption. You know, the subject of the film “The Misfits”.

Now “Mustangers”, or its endeared nickname, redefined and re-born, ‘tangers, means a person who advocates the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971, and the freedom of our wild mustangs, burros and horses to live and roam on the plains where they are without interference and threat of round ups, penning and slaughter.

And now those ‘tangers are taking the effort to Washington, D.C. to establish a voice of disapproval with our representatives and to gain a moratorium on the 2010 planned BLM round ups until the R.O.A.M. Act is voted and settled in writing, not dust.

And speaking of the R.O.A.M. act, has anyone noticed it’s fallen by the wayside and sits, collecting dust, somewhere in the red tape of bureaucracy, fishing trips and resignations? Which, I fear, may be deliberate. And, apparently, by the numbers heading to D.C., I am not the only one who believes this idea. If you can be in D.C. for this historical Mustanger’s March on March 25th then GO. More information can be found at this site:

www.thecloudfoundation.org

www.americanherds.com

www.wildhorsepreservation.com

Photo courtesy of Kathy Higgins. Copyright 2009 KathyHiggins. All rights reserved.

2010 BLM GATHER SCHEDULE This gather schedule is subject to change State, Agency, Herd Management Area Complex, Start

Date End Date # Planned Gathered,

# Planned Removed species

NV BLM Calico Mt Complex 1/28/09 2/28/09 3186 2806 Horses

CONCLUDED...1,922 CAPTURED…39 DEAD

UT BLM Confusion 1/15/10 1/21/10 200 185 Horses POSTPONED

CA FS McGavin Peak 1/24/10 1/29/10 20 20 Horses

NV BLM Eagle (WC/DLC) 2/7/10 2/20/10 727 643 Horses POSTPONED

CO BLM West Douglas HA 2/21/10 2/28/10 60 60 Horses

AZ BLM Cibola-Trigo 3/4/10 3/10/10 90 90 Burros

NV BLM Hickison 3/2/10 3/15/10 92 75 Burros

AZ BLM Alamo 3/11/10 3/14/10 35 35 Burros

AZ BLM Black Mountain 3/15/10 3/20/10 100 100 Burros

NM BLM Bordo 6/1/10 6/10/10 147 147 Horses

NV BLM Owyhee 7/1/10 7/18/10 620 520 Horses

OR BLM Stinking Water 7/1/10 7/6/10 100 60 Horses

OR BLM Cold Springs 7/11/10 7/16/10 156 81 Horses

NV BLM Moria 7/20/10 7/22/10 72 72 Horses

UT BLM Winter Ridge HA 7/18/10 7/24/10 200 200 Horses

UT BLM Hill Creek HA 7/25/10 7/31/10 250 250 Horses

NV BLM Lahontan 8/1/10 9/30/10 68 58 Horses

NM FS Jicarilla 200 200 Horses

CO BLM Piceance/East Douglas HMA 8/6/10 8/16/10 280 240 Horses

CA FS Devils Garden 8/18/10 8/24/10 200 200 Horses

UT BLM Frisco 9/1/10 9/3/10 100 70 Horses

UT BLM Conger 9/4/10 9/8/10 110 80 Horses

CA BLM Twin Peaks 8/3/10 9/14/10 156 135 Burros

CA BLM Twin Peaks 8/3/10 9/14/10 1000 649 Horses

CA BLM Buckhorn 8/3/10 9/14/10 596 536 Horses

NV BLM Antelope 8/20/10 9/20/10 932 746 Horses

NV BLM Rock Creek 9/22/10 9/30/10 527 427 Horses

OR FS Murders Creek 9/22/10 9/28/10 100 100 Horses

Winter 8387 6972 Summer 6131 5071

TOTAL: 14,518 12,043

The subject of wild horses prompts understandably emotional re-

sponses and, unfortunately, misinformation from some wild horse ad-

vocates who are critical of the Bureau of Land Management's man-

agement of these "living legends" of the American West.

These errors and false allegations serve neither the 37,000 wild

horses and burros roaming Western public rangelands, nor the

American taxpayer who underwrites the management of these iconic

animals. Let me address a few of the more egregious claims

that have shown up on the Internet in one form or another.

Myth 1: The BLM is selling or sending wild horses to slaughter.

Fact: This allegation is false. The BLM has not and does not sell or

send wild horses to slaughter. That is why the Government

Accountability Office, in a report issued in October 2008, found the

BLM to be out of compliance with a provision in the 1971

Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act that directs the bureau to

sell excess horses or burros "without limitation" to any interested

parties.

Myth 2: Everything would be fine if the BLM left wild horses and

burros alone.

Fact: This is an untenable assertion, given that wild horse herds grow

at an average annual rate of 20 percent a year, meaning herd sizes

can double every four years. Western public rangelands simply can-

not withstand the environmental impacts resulting from overpopu-

lated herds.

Myth 3: The BLM removes wild horses to make room for more cattle

grazing on public rangelands.

Many Myths in Wild Horse Management Debate

By Robert V. Abbey, Director of the BLM

Fact: This claim is false. The BLM removes excess horses from

overpopulated herds to ensure rangeland health. Authorized

livestock grazing on BLM-managed land has declined by nearly 50

percent since the 1940s.

Myth 4: Since 1971, the BLM has illegally taken away more than 19

million acres set aside for wild horses and burros.

Fact: This claim is false. No specific amount of acreage was "set aside"

for the exclusive use of wild horses and burros under

the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Among the

reasons why horses are no longer managed in certain areas

where they were found roaming in 1971 is that much of the roaming

land was private or state land not controlled by the BLM,

and other areas -- because of drought or wildfire -- lacked sufficient

forage and/or water to sustain horses and burros year-round.

Myth 5: The BLM is managing wild horse herds to extinction.

Fact: This charge is demonstrably false. The BLM is seeking to

achieve the appropriate management level of 26,600 wild horses and

burros on Western public rangelands, or 10,000 fewer than roam

today. In 1971, when the BLM was given legal authority to

protect and manage wild horses and burros, the number of wild horses

was 17,300 mustangs (plus 8,045 burros), compared to today's

on-the-range population of 33,100 wild horses (plus 3,800 burros).

More myths and the BLM's response to them can be found on our

agency's Web site at www.blm.gov, as can details about Interior

Secretary Ken Salazar's initiative to put the national wild horse and

burro program on a sustainable track. The bottom lineis that the BLM

is committed to ensuring the health of the public rangelands so that

the species that depend on them -- including wild horses and burros --

can thrive. By reaching appropriate management levels in currently

overpopulated herds, the BLM will be able to preserve healthy wild

horse herds on healthy Western rangelands as a legacy for the

American people.

Robert V. Abbey (Bob Abbey) is the Director of the Bureau of

Land Management.

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune and the Bureau of Land Management’s website.

www.ahdf.org

www.equinewelfarealliance.org

The Let Em Run Foundation is a non-profit

organization in partnership with government,

businesses and the community committed to the

protection and preservation of the wild mustang

and the heritage of the American West.

Call 775~847~4777 www.letemrun.org 501(c)3

Say No to Federal Funding for

Wild Horse “Salazoos”! By Laura Allen & Vicki Tobin

The funding testimony for the planned sanctuaries dubbed by wild horse supporters as “Salazoos” outlined last October by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, will be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Energy and Natural resources on March 9. The outcome of the testimony will decide if our wild horses belong on their western public lands or in “zoos” in the East and Midwest and whether the BLM will commit millions upon millions of future dollars to warehouse wild horses and burros that would otherwise live without cost to the taxpayers in their natural habitat where they have lived for centuries. The requested funding would increase the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) budget by $42M to purchase one of the seven planned “Salazoos.” The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) and its over 100 member organiza-tions, Animal Law Coalition, The Cloud Foundation and numerous Mus-tang advocate and welfare organizations are vehemently opposed to in-creased funding for the BLM for this incredible financial sinkhole. America already has a management program in place for our wild equines. It’s called the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act. It was in-spired by a heroic Nevada woman, Velma Johnston, who as “Wild Horse Annie” gave these horses a sanctuary BLM has been trying to destroy ever since it was passed. A management program for wild horses and burros on public land has yet to be proposed by the BLM or DOI that is compatible with current law. Their answer is to remove wild horses from the land, permit grazing by millions of cattle at below market rates and move our horses to a zoo like setting far from their home. In fact, the BLM was given appropriations to care for the wild horses in holding pens but has appeared to use the funding to round-up more horses. When citizens complained, they were denied ac-cess as armed guards prevented them from even viewing horses in captiv-ity. With no viable management plan in place, it is a disgrace and waste of critical tax payer dollars to increase funding to yet another mismanaged program. The 1971 law calls for wild horses and burros to be managed on their public lands - not in holding pens and not in zoos.

The BLM spent approximately $2M gathering a mere 2,000 animals at its Calico wildlife management area, a cost of $1,000 per horse. Once in holding, the animals will each cost the government approximately $500 per year to warehouse. Worse, the government charges ranchers only about 20 cents of every dollar that program costs taxpayers. “The Salazoo plan is yet another raid on the public funds by special interests”, says EWA’s John Holland. BLM has spent more than $2 million in 2009 on a firm that stampedes wild horses with a roaring helicopter. At the Calico Nevada round-up, more than 98 have died as a result, including unborn foals and two babies who lost their hooves after a multi-mile run of terror. The wild horses and burros represent a mere .05% of animals grazing on public lands. When the 1971 law was passed, wild horses were present on 54 million acres. Since then, over 200,000 horses have been removed along with 22 million acres of public land. Many herds have been zeroed out leaving public land available to return wild horses to their land. Con-gress should replace the lost acres with good grazing land for the animals BLM wants to place in its Salazoos. The livestock grazing on public lands alone outnumber the wild horses and burros by over 200 to 1 and are subsidized by taxpayers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Neither the BLM nor DOI has yet to ex-plain how millions of privately owned livestock are sustainable or how neither agency can find room on the 262 million acres of public land it manages for less than 50,000 wild horses and burros. Neither has ex-plained why the wild horses and burros are being blamed and removed for range degradation when the government GAO studies reflect the live-stock are ruining the ranges. The EWA and ALC call on Congress to deny additional funding and specifically “de-fund” wild horse and burro round-ups until the DOI and BLM can provide independent current range population counts, current range assessments and a viable management plan that upholds the 1971 law. Both Sen. Mary Landrieu and Sen. Barbara Boxer have posed seri-ous questions to the BLM on its management practices. Those questions should be answered immediately with facts, not spin. Additional details on de-funding the BLM for “Salazoos” can be found at Animal Law Coalition, article number 1188. www.equinewelfarealliance.org www.animallawcoalition.com

Disappointment Valley

A Modern Day Western By James Kleinert

The Directors Statement

It was a fateful day when I documented my first wild horse round-up in November of 2003 in the high desert of Wyoming. I was finishing a feature documentary film (Spirit Riders) about the Lakota Nations efforts to recover spiritually and culturally from the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee. I thought some shots of wild horses would work well in showing how free and untamed the West once was. Little did I know that I was walking into a modern day massacre of these incredible creatures. The violence I documented that day would change the course of my life and begin a 7-year journey into the making of Disappointment Valley, A Modern Day Western.

I traveled the western U.S. documenting eyewitness stories of people who had experienced the Bureau of Land Managements (BLM) savage attack on our wild free roaming horses. I spend a great deal of time in the Spring Creek Herd Management Area in Disappointment Valley Colorado getting to know the wild horses and the beautiful wilderness they inhabited. I had the honor to befriend a wild horse named Traveler and his beautiful Family. The experience was profound.

Unfortunately, I also documented the aggressive removal of 2/3’erds of the wild horses of Disappointment Valley and the de-struction of Travel’s family unit. Eight months later, Disappoint-ment Valley was staked out with over 120 Uranium mining claims by foreign investors. The BLM had no sound scientific evidence to support their claim of removing the wild horses.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: I had intended to include an interview with James Kleinert in this issue. That was prior to receiving his statement and after we had spoken. The interview went well but Kleinert’s statement says it all and then there is nothing else to say. I include it here for you. I did see the film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and it was overwhelming and heartfelt. After it was over, everyone started to commingle and converse about it to the point whereby we were asked to vacate the theatre for the next film screening. We did, and then caucused outside the theater for an-other 45 minutes. Point being, Kleinert’s film was that provocative that noone wanted to leave! Get it, watch, saddle up!

This is characteristic of the massive exploitation of our last western public lands by greedy corrupt corporations. As Michael Blake (writer of Dances With Wolves said about Disappointment Valley “This is not just a film about wild horses this is a film about what is happening to America”.

This corruption also runs through the BLM and through the Department of the Interior – which is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for taking bribes and gifts from oil and mining companies.

Thanks to the BLM, over 33,000 wild horses are now in long-term holding facilities -- more then remain in the wild. Many of these sentient beings now face the possibility going to slaughter.

The federal attack on the American Wild Horse is a powerful metaphor for what is happening today in our country. The current assault on our civil liberties is a the human equivalent of the disregard with which the Federal Government treats these incredible creatures.

If we are going to redeem ourselves as a people, we must first com-mit to embracing and protecting the animal who has been our great-est companion in the long course of our national history. We must save the American Wild Horse!

www.theamericanwildhorse.com

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Enjoying the magazine? Subscribe!

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www.thecloudfoundation.org

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Shootin’ from the hip…

Kirstin Masters Born in the “corn belt” state of Iowa, one can easily think of “corn silk” when looking at our March Buckle Bunny, Kirstin Masters, as her corn silk spun hair gentle caresses her face and softly lands on her shoulders.

Then at an early age, her family trekked off to the Sunshine State of Florida where Masters was on horses by the sixth grade excelling in hunter/jumper competitions there and, later, in Virginia.

“At the end of my show career, I found the love of retraining ex-racehorses into hunter/jumpers. My own, and favorite horse is my ex-racehorse/hunter/jumper, Ringo,” smiles Masters, “Ringo Star”. These days I work hard at my passions; acting & art, with a college degree as my stand-in! And trail ride as often as I can”.

One of her lesser known passions is her love of guns. “I love shooting and am an expert “marksman”. I shoot a .22 caliber single action, a .357 magnum, a .9mm and “The Judge”...if you know guns, you know The Judge,” suggests Masters. “I definitely have to take up mounted shooting this year!”

“ I wanted to be a part of tCmagazine as my love of horses, and all animals, compels me to speak out for the wild mustangs. My fear is they will soon be gone, extinct. But its not to late, we are making an impact of awareness to preserve them in the wild, and that is the first key step to taking action.”

We at tCmagazine would like to thank you, Ms. Kirstin Masters, our March Buckle Bunny, for making your impact with us!

To sleep, perchance to dream...about horses!To sleep, perchance to dream...about horses!To sleep, perchance to dream...about horses!To sleep, perchance to dream...about horses!

Shot on location at Sapphire Arabians www.sapphirearabians.com Photographer: Linda Vanoff www.lindavanoff.com Direction Style: Calamity Cate Crismani Make-up: Charlene del Gaudio Hair: Almie Hair Salon almiehairsalon@yahoo.com Digital Imaging: Sunset Plaza Photo Lab sunsetfd@pacbell.net

KAREN’S MUSTANGS ONE WOMAN SAVING

AMERICA’S HERITAGE

By John Christopher Fine

Last October Karen Sussman traveled to Reno, Nevada to visit the grave of “Wild Horse Annie”, Velma Johnson who died in 1977. Johnson was responsible, along with school children around the world, for saving wild horses on government lands in the West and became known asWild Horse An-nie, a mild but denigrating term given to her by her foes. She turned it into a rallying cry, adopted the moniker when she testified before the U.S. Congress and got the first Wild Horse protection law passed. No longer could profiteers, with the collusion of corrupt government officials, round up wild horses on federal land with helicopters to sell them for slaughter. The law had more loopholes than enforcement options. More chil-dren wrote letters to their elected officials and progressively addi-tional laws were passed. Some thirty years ago, another strong woman, Karen Sussman, an emergency room trauma nurse from Pennsylvania, with her two daughters, settled in Scottsdale, Ari-zona. She loved horses, grew up with them, and sought to help. She took up the challenge in difficult times, when slaughtering horses was common practice. At first, it was by helping the fledgling non-profit organization that Velma had formed. Increasingly, Sussman took on more and more responsibility.

Karen Sussman with her mustang baby….brrrr

She became President of the International Society for the Protec-tion of Mustangs and Burros in 1989, and took over the whole op-eration in 1993.

The massive undertaking saw her working with the military to save the entire herd of mustangs that had to be gathered from the White Sands, New Mexico atomic bomb proving grounds. She saved the Gila Bend herd of Spanish mustangs in Gila, Arizona, then saved the Viginia Range Herd that Velma saw from her farm-house window in Virginia City. They saved the Catnips, a disorgan-ized herd that the government had meddled with, rounded up and mixed with other horses that had been located in northern Nevada on the Sheldon Range. “I can’t tell anybody around here that I have 500 horses. Bad enough they think I have 400,” smiles Suss-man. But in n the small rural community where she lives nothing is a secret for very long.

Being in charge means doing everything. She doctors sick, ailing and aging horses, rescues foals that are orphaned or rejected, feeds in different pastures on the ranch where the four distinct herds are kept, tends to the office work and tries to raise funds to keep the horses in hay. Karen uses a tractor to feed one ton round bales, two at a time, to the herds and does it skillfully. “I figure that a horse eats one round bale of hay a month. I have hay for 10 more days. It’s running out. We are in such debt that no rancher will deliver hay unless we pay cash. I have a $200,000 lien on my house. Inter-est is due this November and if I can’t pay the interest along with the principal next November I’ll lose the ranch.” Karen’s despera-tion never clouds her generosity and positive attitude about life in general. “I figure that a horse eats one round bale of hay a month. I have hay for 10 more days. It’s running out. We are in such debt that no rancher will deliver hay unless we pay cash. I have a $200,000 lien on my house. Interest is due this November and if I can’t pay the interest along with the principal next November I’ll lose the ranch.” Sussman’s desperation never clouds her generosity and positive attitude about life in general. go to page 62

KRISTA FRAZIER… KRISTA FRAZIER… KRISTA FRAZIER… KRISTA FRAZIER… ONE CLASSY LADYONE CLASSY LADYONE CLASSY LADYONE CLASSY LADY

Krista Frazier is known throughout the modeling and acting industry not only for her jaw dropping looks, but also her active role in helping charities worldwide.

After receiving the title of Miss Hawaiian Tropic International, Ms. Frazier traveled the globe extensively to promote and build the brand. During her travels she became compassionate to what she saw and experienced. Krista now focuses much of her time

bringing awareness to the poverty stricken, hungry, disease ridden and abused human beings and animals that affected her and gave her no choice but to take a stand. She has worked with charities ranging from the WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Ani-mals), ASPCA, Avon Breast Cancer Awareness, Save the Whales, St. Judes, Make a Wish Foundation, Special Olympics, Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and many more.

Krista provides a voice to many who go unheard. She encourages those less fortunate to utilize their skills and build a better life for themselves and their loved ones. She is also a staple in bringing awareness to animals that have been brutalized, tortured for financial gain and abandoned.

CLASSY Ladies by DT is honored to have her involved in our efforts and support her wholeheartedly on her accomplishments. May she continue to flourish. Visit www.classyladiesbydt.com

www.classyladiesbydt.com

Available at www.rtfitch.com

By Laura Leigh

The old truck groaned as we climbed the bumpy dirt road through the Pine Nut range managed by the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada. As we slid in the melting snow I looked apologetically over at my dog as he bumped and swayed on his bed. The bucket seat was removed to make room for him in the cab area; he is my constant companion on the road.

As we cleared the rise the spring came into view. There they were, wild horses. The reason I came to Nevada. I turn off the engine and the rumble is replaced by the soft sounds of nickering car-ried on the cool breeze. The sight fills me up and empties me in the same mo-ment. The language of hu-mans with all the “would,

should” of our world melts away… replaced simply with now. Horses re-spond to an incident now. The moment it is recognized simply for what it is and dealt with in that moment, and then it’s gone. Then the herd grazes once more. No story written about the event to build a sense of self. No story written to justify one’s behavior. It just “is” and then “we” move on, to-gether. So much we could learn. The sound of a helicopter in the distance pulls me from the “moment” into a place of sadness. We are faced with the very real possibility that wild horses in the wild will disappear from our public lands. The 1971 Wild Horse and Burro’s act states horses and burros are “fast disappearing from the American scene,” and “they are to be considered in the area where pres-ently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.” Yet management practices that are entrenched in outdated protocol have cre-ated a crisis where more wild horses exist in warehousing than in the wild.

Many times the language used by the agencies that manage wild equid populations would suggest there is an opportunity for dialogue. Public proc-ess, meeting, public comments, conference that would lead one to believe that somewhere a dialogue exists; the sad truth is that it does not. What does exist is an obstinate adherence to a justification machine that perpetuates not only the “good ol’ boy” network of contracts on the taxpayer dole, but one that has pushed us further into a very real state of crisis. A cri-sis where more of our “wild horses” are forced into a system of warehouses than exist in the wild. A state where our wild herds are so destabilized that if

this program does not change soon, truly wild herds in the wild will vanish into western myth. The semantics game is not only played by policy mak-ers in DC, it is often prac-ticed “on the ground” where the horses very lives depend on it’s outcome. We are told that operations are safe and the public is welcome. But then access to gathers and observations of horses in

holding are severely restricted. On the few occasions where observers are allowed to attend we witness obvious discrepancy and outright fallacies. On our way to gather sites truck-loads of heavily lathered horses pass us on their way to holding. The horses we watch gathered don’t come in nearly as wet. This implies the horses are run further and harder when the public has no eyes. We read in Environmental Assessment after assessment that helicopter gathers are safe. But even with the small window we can watch through we witness events such as the helicopter pushing an obviously fatigued foal. Many foals are injured during round-ups and two (that we know of) have been euthanized in the Calico Complex gather because their feet literally began to slough off. Go to page 66

WILD HORSE ANNIE

AND THE LAST

OF THE MUSTANGS

The Life of Velma Johnston By David Cruise and Alison Griffiths

In one of the year’s most stirring biographies, David Cruise and Alison Griffiths paint a vivid portrait of Velma Johnston, an intrepid Nevada sec-retary whose dedication to wild mustangs captured the heart of the country and led to legislation that would preserve the animals who embody the wild spirit of the American West. WILD HORSE ANNIE AND THE LAST OF THE MUSTANGS: THE LIFE OF VELMA JOHNSTON is the first to tell Velma’s remarkable story. WILD HORSE ANNIE follows Velma from her youth through the three-decade campaign in which she took on herders, ranchers, legislators, and the Bureau of Land Management in a David vs. Goliath fight. As a child, Velma was stricken with polio, which fostered a resolve that she channeled into her lifelong battle as an advocate for the mustangs. In 1950, her life changed when, on her way to work, she encountered a truck of battered mustangs that had been rounded up to be slaughtered for pet food. Velma vowed to stop the cruel treatment of mustangs and launched a highly or-ganized one-woman campaign to raise public awareness of their plight. To Velma, mustangs represented the freedom and beauty that she, with a body crippled and disfigured by polio, did not have. In WILD HORSE ANNIE, veteran writers Cruise and Griffiths depict the ups and downs of an extraordinary woman’s life and mission and reveal her lasting legacy. About the Authors: David Cruise and Alison Griffiths began writing to-gether in 1983 and are the authors of seven bestselling books, including Fleecing the Lamb, Lords of the Line, Net Worth, On South Mountain, and The Great Adventure. Griffiths is the host of the financial television show “Maxed Out,” and she and Cruise coauthor the popular Portfolio Doctor column in the Toronto Star. They live on a small farm in southwestern On-tario with their horses. Available in bookstores March 2010.

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Linda Vanoff Our Buckle Bunny

Photographer

Linda Vanoff has worked as a professional portrait photographer for over fifteen years. Her photo-graphs have appeared on book covers, CD’s and greeting cards for a broad range of clients including Simon & Schuster, Avanti Press, Amnesty International and the late Ray Charles.

Vanoff is currently working on a exhibition of New Orleans photographs that look at every day life in that city before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

She took time from her busy schedule to contribute to trueCOWBOY-magazine and shoot our March Buckle Bunny, Kirstin Masters. We greatly appreciate her contribution to help raise awareness of the plight of the mustangs. Vanoff is available for head shots, print and commercial shoots.

Feel free to contact at Linda@Vanoff .com and visit www.LindaVanofff.com

Ranch Manager needed on

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Cont. from page 47

When her physical energy seems to have been tested to the very limits of her strength, Sussman comes home to her double wide modular house on a knoll. There are no mountains in this rugged part of South Dakota’s prairie. She snuggles with the eight cats she’s rescued and two dogs someone left on her porch. (If everyone wore fur the way Sussman does to stay warm, little objection would be raised to the practice). When it comes to horses, Sussman has seen and done it all. When a newborn colt was left alone after its mother died giving birth in the White Sands herd, Karen milked the mare’s still warm body to obtain precious colostrom the foal needed to survive. From then on it was a task to catch the little colt running among its band in the middle of a snow storm, bring it in her house and keep it warm. “The plastic sheeting I bought leaked. When we eventually took it up my rugs were ruined.” The colt, Nagi Wachi, Spirit Dancing in Lakota, did survive and is full of himself and life. What is different about this mustang sanctuary, the ISPMB, is that they have rescued whole herds. Three of the herds had not been rounded up or interfered with by humans for the last 40 to 50 years and the band leaders, the old mares and stallions, retain the knowl-edge of their ancestors. “They don’t breed young mares. The discipline in the herd is evi-dent. In the Catnips, a herd that had been continually interfered with, rounded up, horses removed by the Bureau of Land Manage-ment, the birth rate is 20%, with the Spanish herd it is 12%. That’s what it is in the wild. The band stallion protects his young mares and doesn’t breed them until they are three or older. The disrupted herds are comparable to human six year olds trying to teach 3 year olds. In the Spanish Gila Herd we have wise elders that impart dis-cipline and knowledge to the young ones.

Some of these wild horses are the few remaining legacies of Spanish conquest, descendants, from the first horses brought to America by Columbus in 1493, then by Cortez in his conquest of Mexico in 1519. Horses evolved on the North American continent, disappeared in the wink of an eye in geological time about 8,000 years ago, and were re-introduced by the Spaniards. Horses had be-come extinct in the Americas before Europeans brought them. Na-tive peoples were a nomadic dog culture. Spanish horses that es-caped or were stolen from colonists transformed their way of life. Survival of the fittest has resulted in horses that are intelligent, strong and well suited for the land and the environment, albeit harsh, where they live. Most recently, Sussman was asked to provide an affidavit to the federal district court in Washington, DC, in the case to enjoin the BLM from rounding up wild horses in Nevada. Her affidavit was based on her research among the four herds. To date, Sussman's research offers the only insight available about herd behavior in disrupted herds along with birth rate figures and statistics.

Being a non-profit organization, ISPMB depends upon the generousity and compassion of people and donations. Money comes in sporadically. “People that have the least are always the most generous. This woman lives in a nursing home,” Sussman says when a donation of $15 (in cash) came with a Christmas card and wonderfully supportive note. It is very likely that human over population and greed will destroy the habitats of wild animals everywhere on the planet. It may be that very soon the only wild horse herds that retain the character and vir-tues of real mustangs will be found on Karen Sussman’s ISPMB wild horse conservancy. That is if she can keep the sanctuary from foreclosure.

To learn how you can help, make a donation or visit the ISPMB

and the mustangs log onto www.ISPMB.org or

call 605-964-6866. Karen Sussman will answer!

W

ww.skintradethemovie.com

Cont. from page 53

The “horse experts” that work for the BLM often times have no knowl-edge of horses at all. Many can’t tell a buckskin from a palomino, let alone comprehend complex physiological processes such as stress foun-der and diet change. The façade of cooperative effort falls away even when faced with an opportunity to release a dying foal, at no expense to BLM, into private veterinary care. The semantics dance continues all the way through to the vet report on that foal. A report with no treatment dates, no identification of the spe-cific foal, nothing. Yet the report is considered complete. The light is already fading. I look down at the sketchbook at a page barely filled. It doesn’t matter. For a brief moment I was here with them. Wild horses in the wild… will this be a moment that vanishes into American mythos? Or will we as a nation take on the task of protecting a species that was so inherent to the creation of our American history?

Laura Leigh’s portfolio: http://www.barndoorstudio.com Laura Leigh’s blog: http://artandhorseslauraleigh.wordpress.com