Horse roundup is taking the heat for deaths, injuries

CEDAR CITY — Outlaw, Naylene Nield's pride and joy, is a real stud.

"He's the ultimate boss," she says, rubbing the horse's broad forehead as he eyes a cluster of mares nearby. "He's the first wild stallion I ever adopted."

Outlaw was born into Utah's wild horse Sulphur Herd that roams the Needle Mountain Range, about 45 miles west of Milford along the Nevada/Utah state line. Outlaw was rounded up, or gathered, during a Bureau of Land Management wild horse roundup several years ago and

eventually found a home with Nield, who purchased the horse during a BLM adoptathon.

The herd's distinctive markings make the Sulphur horse a national favorite. Its tiger-striped legs, dorsal stripes, bi-colored manes and tails, and ears that curve in like a bird's beak, are proof that its bloodlines date back to the original Colonial Spanish horses, first brought to America by Spanish explorers in the late 1500s.

"There is an amazing difference between domestic and wild horses," says Nield, who owns and breeds about 26 wild horses on her 40-acre ranch outside of Cedar City, most of them from the Sulphur Herd. Nield adopted the horses from the BLM, which is mandated by law to manage the wild horse herds and the rangelands they live on.

Roundups, or gathers, are conducted several times a year, and excess horses are taken from the open range. After the horses are given a clean bill of health, they are offered to the public through a BLM-sponsored adoption program.

"These horses are beautiful, mellow and gentle," says Nield, who has bred the horses and sold their offspring for a decade. "Their temperament is amazing. "

Through the years, Nield has spent time out on the wild horse management range, watching the BLM and its contractors conduct the roundups and photographing the animals. She's become friends with the local and state BLM employees that work in Utah's Wild Horse and Burro Program and supported their efforts.

During a roundup of the Sulphur Herd this year, however, Nield said she witnessed a callous disregard for the horses during a roundup conducted by a BLM national contractor.

"It was the first time I've seen a bad gather," she said. "The whole way the contractor did things bothered me."

Nield said two mares and a foal were killed during the roundup, which was conducted in July. One mare suffered neck injuries after being roped and later died, while another mare died after running into a horse panel, breaking its neck. Another horse kicked the foal after it was rounded up with the adult horses, killing it.

Gus Warr, who heads up Utah's Wild Horse and Burro Program for the BLM, said several "unavoidable accidents" occurred during the July roundup.