Wild horse roundup under way in southwest Idaho

BOISE, Idaho — A wild horse roundup has begun with the help of a "Judas horse" trained to run straight into a trap.

Crews with the Bureau of Land Management and private contractors used a helicopter to capture 41 wild horses Wednesday in the Owyhee Mountains of southwest Idaho to put up for adoption.

The horses are from the Black Mountain and Hardtrigger herd management areas, and managers say removing some of them will prevent the herds from growing too large and overgrazing the rangelands.

"There aren't many predators, not much death loss," BLM spokesman Tom Miles said. "These populations get pretty big pretty fast. You'll double in four years."

A helicopter was used to direct the horses out of the mountains, keeping them together and preventing them from heading up side canyons until they entered a funnel formed by fences and the Judas horse led them through the gate and into a corral.

"You hate to see these beautiful horses come in, but they are way over their numbers," said Sabrina Amidon of Friends of Mustangs, which independently observes the roundups. "The Owyhee herds have some of the nicest mustangs."

BLM plans to capture 296 wild horses from the area by Aug. 3.

Horses brought by Spanish conquistadors began roaming the West in the 1500s. Ranchers in the 1800s started releasing Morgan and quarterhorse stallions to boost the genetics of the herds.

Ranchers captured wild horses themselves until 1971, after President Nixon signed the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, making it illegal for anyone but federal employees to capture and remove the animals.

Idaho has six wild horse herds with about 500 horses. Nevada has more than 20,000 wild horses, and nationally about 44,000 wild horses roam on public rangeland.

Before the roundup the Black Mountain had an estimated 89 wild horses, compared with what officials said was a reasonable population of 30 to 60, and Hardtrigger had 258 with a management objective of 66 to 130.

Miles said the wild horse populations grow about 20 percent each year. Previous roundups took place in 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2003.

After being captured, the horses are taken by truck to the Boise District Corrals in Boise to be sorted, examined and immunized, said the Chris Robbins, Wild Horse and Burro Program lead with the BLM. Some horses are returned to the wild, he added.

Horses ages 1 to 5 are scheduled for viewing on Aug. 24 at the corrals, followed by adoption over the next two days. Minimum bids are $125 for one horse and $250 for a mare with a foal.

"They can be a lifetime friend," said Amidon, who has raised 38 mustangs in 32 years. "I've had nothing but joy with these horses."

Older horses and those not adopted are sent to pastures in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas to live out their days.