Horses have had a long, complex history with humans, ranging from the use of horses in battle, transport, and food, to the use of horses as pets. According to Amber Dance, an award-winning science journalist for Smithsonian, the horse was first widely used back in 2000 BCE Eurasia, wherein they were bred for strong backs, for long range riding, and pulling the newly-invented spoked-wheel carts (Dance).

Throughout all of the time that human and horse have been in close relation, very little research has been compiled concerning the social intellect of horses. Riccarda Wolter, a biology graduate from the University of Mainz in Regensburg, is one of the prevalent researchers in the field of social connections formed between horses. As Wolter discusses in her team’s paper, Parameters for the Analysis of Social Bonds in Horses (2018), equine groups form social webs and hierarchies that take into account sex, age, perceived status, and health.

Through the continued study of the social bonds in horse groups, much can be learned about the quality of equine social connections formed in the wild and in domesticated settings, which can provide key insights into ensuring they receive ethical treatment, possibly in the form of vaccination.

Introduction (cont.)

The study of equine species’ social interactions is important and necessary today. Though human society has grown past the need for labor horses that was crucial during its development, the prevalence of their social functions in a modern setting has been overlooked.

Equine species still roam the wild plains and ranches of all across the United States—yet still they are denied the understanding and care needed to foster their complex and special social relationships. An instance of this denial can be found in the Bureau of Land Management's repeated mistreatment of horses.

As shown in a report by senior news reporter Scott Streater of E&E news, the BLM is knowingly rounding up and giving out horses to adopters who sell the horses overseas to meat markets (Streater). Instead of taking this rash, deadly approach, we should examine the possibility of more humane, cost-effective approaches, in the form of contraceptive vaccines.

Two wild horses in a loving embrace (photo taken by Michael Ash)

Horse comfortably grazing in a grassy pen (System Equine)

Parameters for the Analysis of Social Bonds in Horses

The existence and quality of social bonds of equines is apparent in Riccarda Wolter’s Parameters for the Analysis of Social Bonds in Horses (2018), which is written with the help of a team of researchers in the Department of Zoology at the University of Regensburg, Germany.

As summarized by the abstract, the team undergoes the process of determining the most important social interactions between horses that signal a strong social bond. As these researchers studied the groups from afar, a clear pattern emerged in the frequency of mutual grooming and friendly approaches between horses that displayed the least amount of aggression towards one another.

Spatial proximity (horses standing close to one another), on the other hand, showed a weak correlation with social bonding. Ultimately, Wolter and her team expect that for the majority of horse groups, friendly approaches and mutual grooming, or strictly spatial proximity will be a robust set of social analysis parameters (Wolter 9).

The methodology of the experiment is thorough and precise, without leaving any conceivable fault or bias in the execution of the experiment. The data is sound and spans a wide range of known types of pairings in horses, in both feral and domesticated groupings. As such, practical applications for this research are abundant, such as the application of social bond analysis in the housing groups of domesticated horses.

Social Interaction of unfamiliar horses during paired encounters

As the converse to Wolter’s research, Elke Hartmann and a team of researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences investigate the presence of equid aggression in their paper, Social interactions of unfamiliar horses during paired encounters: Effect of pre-exposure on aggression level and so risk of injury (2009), which lends more validity to their social sapience.

The team investigates the notion that pre-exposing young horses by placing them in neighboring boxes reduces the frequency of aggressive interactions when the yearlings are placed in the same paddock. After placing the two yearlings in the same paddock, the researchers noted the amount of aggressive behaviors (bite threat, contact aggression) and the amount of non-aggressive behaviors.

The team found that pre-exposure of yearlings reduced the amount of contact aggression, or any kind of physical aggression that may result in injury. The reduction of such physical injury is important for the health of wild horses, wherein a lot of physical injury stems from the dominant, aggressive stallion of the harem.

As per the recommendation of the Swedish research team, a viable strategy to reduce potential for physical injury of horses from one another is to observe biting behavior under safe conditions, to gauge the likelihood of aggression when mixing horses, and to pre-expose unsavory equines in safe conditions (Hartmann 220).

The research provided by Hartmann and team has great implications for the social perspective of horses. One could come to the conclusion that young equines are wary of the unknown, including one of their own species. Without the unfamiliar, or domineering presence of another horse or threat, aggression has little evolutionary use to the horse. The only other feasible use of aggression is in climbing the social hierarchy.

A yearling running around in the wild (The Spruce Pets)

An instance of equid aggression, in the form of bite threat (Front Ranch)

An adult stallion out in the wild
(Stable Management)

Social relationships in a group of horses without a mature stallion

The social importance of every single member in a horse harem, is explored in Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir’s paper, Social relationships in a group of horses without a mature stallion (2003), which is written with the help of a team of researchers from the University of Iceland. Their research focuses on the social dynamics between the teammates of a harem, namely the mares, stallion, and yearlings, and how the dynamic differs from a team that is missing a stallion.

In order to perform the study, the research group gathered a herd of 34 horses of mixed age and sex (save for a mature, male stallion) on a farm in Iceland. The research team observed the harem, looking for key social interaction behaviors. The team came to the conclusion that each horse was grooming more frequently with others, playing more, and being significantly less aggressive with one another than they would normally be in the presence of a stallion.

As the study explains, their results lead to a possible conclusion that stallions stifle the sociability of adult mares by preventing them from allogrooming between horse bands (800). Given that this study provides insight into the dysfunction of horse social groups in a wild, controlled setting, a plausible conclusion is that each horse has a large part to play in the social hierarchy.

To such a large degree, removing one part of the group can vastly change the dynamics of the group without any alteration to other environmental factors. In that sense, the social hierarchy of any team of equines in the wild or in captivity is complex; each action of one horse to another, aggressive or not, plays a part in determining their social standing.

Discussion of Philosophical / Ethical Questions

In the nearly three centuries since English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, in consideration of the feelings of animals, made the conjecture, “Even if that were not so, what difference would that make? The question is not Can they reason? or Can they talk? but Can they suffer?” (Bentham 144), only now have the animals finally been taken into legislative consideration.

Psychology Doctorate and animal rights activist Richard Ryder, in an interview about the animal-human hierarchy, reasoned that “It doesn’t matter what species you’re from, anymore than it matters what race or gender you’re from. The pain is the same so we shall all have the same sort of respect morally speaking.” (The Superior Human?). Given this insight, the pain inflicted by humans, as a species, upon the equus caballus species, is unjust.

Equines in pain as a direct result of the actions of humans is a violation of the due respect that Ryder outlines in his interview. Not only are horses due respect from us humans as animals, but also as icons of American freedom. By torturing, violating, and exploiting horses for profit in foreign meat markets, Americans are directly harming the very image of freedom that has been iconized since the beginning of the nation.

Therefore, these actions are not only harming the very horses that Americans owe a great debt for their help in transportation, but the image of America as a free, upstanding nation that believes in “liberty and justice for all.”

Horses stuck behind bars at a run-down BLM stable (E&E News)

A group of wild equines grazing in the Sand Wash Basin (Denver7)

A roundup by the Bureau of Land Management using helicopters (American Wild Horse Campaign)

Definition of the Problem

The American federal agency managing the wilderness and wild equine population, the Bureau of Land Management, is not putting the interest of equines first. This organization imposes unrealistic limits for the habitation of wild horses, by using a measurement that it calls an HMA, or a Herd Management Area.

As shown in a study by a non-profit, private research organization known as the National Academies, the gathering of information to determine the parameters of HMAs has “substantial methodological flaws,” and “cannot consider the national statistics scientifically rigorous” (National Academies 53-54).

As such, the Bureau of Land Management is significantly under-appropriating the number of horses that a given body of land can safely handle (National Academies 5). This faulty data is the justification for the BLM’s roundup and storage policy.

The Bureau of Land Management performs frequent roundups of wild equines, which results in horses being killed, stored in overpopulated stables, and leaves them terrified throughout the entire process. Over the course of two months, from January to February 2023, the BLM reports that they have gathered or removed 773 wild equines, and used fertility control methods on none of them (Programs: Wild Horse and Burro).

The common tactic used to round these wild horses up for capture by the BLM is helicopter chasing, wherein the helicopter generates so much wind and noise, that the horses are startled into running into temporary stables, where they are transported out later. While this seems like a humane way to round up the herd, in reality, many of the horses die on their way to the stables.

Common causes of death are excessive anxiety and heat exhaustion, or by breaking their necks in their attempts to escape, according to a roundup report by the AWHC (Roundup Report). When the horses finally make it to their forever destination–the federal corrals–they are either euthanized because of their birth defects and injuries or crammed into small pens where they await their fate of either incarceration or private ownership.

So, what happens to them?

These battered wild horses have few options for their future out of the wild–none of which are humane and worthy of any animal. The BLM’s decision to house as many of the wild horses as space allows is at best a temporary solution; the space to house these horses such that their health and happiness can be maintained is simply not cost-effective.

According to Bruce Finley, an editor at the Denver Post, a Colorado-based newsletter, the overall cost from the BLM to the taxpayer has increased from $73 million to $137 million dollars–which is more than an 87% increase (Finley). In the 1980s–over forty years ago–the BLM announced that it no longer had the necessary resources to properly house the increasing number of wild horses, according to freelance writer Hannah Jolman for Tri-State Livestock News (Johlman).

Since the horses cannot be housed, the BLM uses the surplus of horses in auctions to private buyers, many of which have been reported as coming from dubious origins. While the government outlawed the slaughter and sale of horse meat with the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011, a loophole was left open such that horses are legally allowed to be trafficked across international lines, where they can then be slaughtered and sold for meat.

As such, many of the dubious buyers mentioned previously are from these exotic meat corporations. Therefore, the only happy ending for these horses, one that doesn’t involve them rotting away in a federal horse prison or on a plate, is to private owners that can properly tame and take care of these animals. Unfortunately, the horses being sold to these shady buyers are being sold by the truckload–leaving many of the horses unable to be adopted by proper caretakers.

Horses loaded into the back of a van, where they will be taken to slaughterhouses (Animal Aid)

A large group of wild horses crammed into a tiny pen (ABC News)

Why is this a big problem?

A logical conclusion to come to, given this information, would be that the Bureau of Land Management simply does not have any regard for the health and wellbeing of the nation’s wild equine population. Since the organization refuses to use fertility control on the rapidly growing wild horse population and instead opt for roundups, their moral standing on the issue can be questioned. Instead of using a humane form of treatment that would effectively solve their overpopulation, the BLM opts to roundup the horses for profit–to justify the necessity of their existence, their consumption of taxpayer dollars, and to keep these shady buyers happy with the influx of freshly caught wild horses.

By simply letting the horses roam free, or using cheap, humane, sterilization procedures, the cost to the taxpayer would be significantly less, but the existence of the Bureau of Land Management would be less justified. However, being a government organization, the taxpayers have very little say on what the BLM can do with their money–especially since this issue has gone largely unnoticed by the public for over forty years, since the beginning of the BLM’s sale of wild horses.

Therefore, this problem not only affects the wild horses being inhumanely rounded up day by day, but also the taxpayer, the governmental agency BLM, and the foreign horse meat markets. Balancing economics with ethics has always been a difficult situation in the United States, but the animal right to a free, wild, life is at stake for these underrepresented animals. Reinforced and funded by lobbyists, government money, and foreign meat market businessmen, the current system in place to handle the equid overpopulation issue holds steadfast.

Solutions - Previous Failures

A multitude of solutions to the overpopulation of wild equines have all been proposed, implemented, and documented–all to result in massive failure. For instance, one such solution is implemented by the Bureau of Land Management, wherein they gather and remove wild horses from the natural lands.

While the BLM may claim that their “gather and removal” of horses from wild lands are to “to protect the health of the animals,” often their execution of their intentions are at odds with their intentions themselves (Programs: Wild Horse and Burro). If the chase and gather method that the BLM uses doesn’t kill the horse, odds are that the horse will die from disease in the federal pens, starvation from lack of care, or stress from overcrowding.

As per Finley’s article in the Denver Post, 142 horses died from the equine flu in May of 2022 due to improper vaccination and the subsequent spread of the disease due to overcrowding, and a couple of horses were spotted with their “ribs protruding” from underneath their skin (Finley). As such, the only conclusion to draw from this startling lack of care for this protected species of animal is that the solution is ineffective due to governmental malpractice.

A sickly horse, infected with equine flu (The Guardian)

A horse being vaccinated (The Horse)

Global Solutions

Though the overpopulation of wild equines has remained a persistent issue since the 1980’s, the wide application of decades-old chemical sterilization, a chemical known as PZP, is still the most effective solution. PZP, or porcine zona pellucida, is a contraceptive vaccine that, upon application to a fertile mare, will effectively make her infertile for approximately two years with an 86% success rate, according to The Science and Conservation Center in Montana, a non-profit research organization dedicated to PZP research (Science and Conservation).

PZP is the best, most applicable solution to the issue of overpopulation with the least amount of non-natural equid casualties. Considering the alternative solutions discussed earlier and the wide variety of possibilities for injury that they introduce, a chemical sterilization technique is relatively humane.

Of course, stripping a mare of her ability to produce offspring and the ability to continue her genetic lineage is not necessarily the most humane action, but in the context of all possible applicable solutions, sterilization maximizes potential for natural life.

No one solution to the complex, multifaceted issue that is equine overpopulation could perfectly walk the line between morality, effectiveness, and cost, but fertility control techniques get as close as physically possible.

Diving Deeper into PZP

The PZP vaccine solution to equid overpopulation is one of the most cost-effective solutions proposed and the BLM is more than capable of affording it. At just $30 per dose per mare, the Bureau of Land Management could save the American taxpayer an estimated $8 million over a twelve year run on one Herd Management Area alone, according to founder of American Economics Group Charles W. de Seve (de Seve 2).

Despite the overwhelming benefits that the PZP vaccine provides to human economy and horse health alike, some opponents to the vaccine believe that the vaccine is not economically feasible. However, as shown in Figure 1, the BLM has been giving special breaks to private ranchers since 1980, that have severely eaten into its budget while the Bureau skimps on equine care.

If the Bureau of Land Management were to charge the standard fee per AUM, then the Bureau would not only be able to afford to vaccinate its animals, but also deter private ranchers from using precious land to farm that could be used to habitate wild equines, and consequently reduce carbon emissions due to less farming.

Fig. 1, the BLM's extensive breaks on private ranchers
(American Wild Horse Campaign)

A sign crafted for a protest against horse slaughtering (Straight From the Horse's Heart)

Local, Grassroots Solutions

Few people are actually able to go out and apply PZP to wild horses out in overpopulated areas, but steps towards solution exist for the other people–through personal and legislative activism. One such way to spread the word and act beneficially on behalf of the underprivileged horses is to sign a petition.

The American Wild Horse Campaign has several petitions that can be signed in a matter of minutes–all that is required is a one-time signup, then with just a few clicks, all of the petitions can be signed. One such petition asks that the BLM install cameras on their roundup vehicles, in the hopes that the taxpayers can keep the BLM accountable for their actions during these roundups (Act Now: Tell the BLM).

Additionally, the AWHC recommends that state senators get involved, as they are the vessels of the American public for legislation. Something as simple as a mailed letter or even a phone call would do wonders for progress towards a unified, humane solution for the horses. In the decades prior to the upstart of numerous wild horse advocacy groups, progress in saving horses from slaughter has been made with the assistance of petitioners.

For instance, the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) act of 2022 and American Horse Slaughter Prevention act of 2011 made it to Capitol Hill, with the help of congress people petitioned by the American public. As such, petitioning is a valid, helpful form of advocacy that has few requirements.

Conclusion

For as long as America has been called the “new frontier,” and American tradition has existed, so too has the horse existed as a symbol of freedom and the untamed wilderness. As such, the cruelty of private ranchers and American governmental institutions towards these beacons of freedom are a direct opposition for American beliefs.

Even more so, the unjust cost to the taxpayer, the circumvention of the law in exporting live horses across borders, and the corruption of government agencies serve as justification for the abolition of these terrible overpopulation counteractive tactics.

The eradication of wild equine species is drawing nearer and nearer, while being perpetrated as a good, environmentally-friendly event. As such, I urge all concerned parties to seek volunteer opportunities to assist equine-preservation groups and to petition legislators to put an end to this equid genocide once and for all.

Read the Google Doc Version

A herd of running horses

(ABC News)

Academic Writing

TIP:

A Proposal for Advocacy on Behalf of Wild Horses as Opposed to the Bureau of Land Management

Table of Contents

Introduction