Champ the Salt River Wild Stallion

 Urgent update  5/08/2015 the Salt River Wild Horses are in extreme danger  please read 

This week 's Horse of the Week is a wild mustang named Champ who came to fame when he rescued a filly from being swept down the river in Arizona. The rescue was photographed by Becky Standridge and can be watched in the video below.

 

Champ is one of the Salt River Wild Horses that live along the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest, an area about the size of the state of Connecticut and five times the size of Rhode Island, it's approximately a one hour drive east of Phoenix, Arizona.

"This rare and beautiful Wild Horse Herd has lived along the banks of the Salt River for over 400
years, long before the area was designated the Tonto National Forest and long before the Phoenix
area was settled. The origin of the Salt River Wild Horses can be found in historical documents
that indicate the Spanish Missionary, Father Eusebio Kino, brought horses to the area in the 17th
century.

In the year 1900 there were over 10,000 wild horses reported roaming the plains of Arizona, some
on the Indian reservations and some in Coconino, Yavapai and Maricopa Counties. Ever since
then, and up until 1971, they have all been shot and killed in yearly roundups by both the US
government and by ranchers who saw them as a nuisance.

These last 80 or so Wild Horses along the Salt River were the ones that survived the shootings
throughout the century because they found refuge in the dense vegetation along the river.

Today the entire state of Arizona has less than 500 Wild Horses remaining in the wild. The BLM
manages approximately 200 of them in the Cerbat Mountains close to Kingman. The Pima Indian
Reservation owns and cares for approximately 100 Wild Horses and the Forest Service has
jurisdiction over another 100 of them close to Heber.

The US Forest Service does not acknowledge that the" Salt River"horses are wild and are labeling them “feral” or “trespass” horses. Therefore the agency does not take responsibility for managing them under the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act and can do what they wish without the public having any knowledge or say about it."

"Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by the Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program (CERAP), indicate that the US Forest Service may remove these horses from the Tonto National Forest without a period for public comment or an environmental study, and sell them at the Pacific Livestock auction where they will likely end up in kill buyers’ hands.

These are the ONLY Wild Horses left in Arizona that are easily accessible for viewing by the public and also the ONLY Wild Horses left anywhere near the Phoenix metropolitan area! Tubers that float down the Salt River often witness these happy horses playing in and around the river." http://www.respect4horses.com

Champ

Several organizations are trying to protect the Salt River Wild Horses including

Respect4Horses -  who are asking people to write a letter reflecting that they want to keep  these horses in their current habitat and that they want to see them preserved for future generations to come.
Letters should be sent to: Respect4Horses, PO Box 6150, Chino Valley, AZ 86323
or emailed to: [email protected]
Respect4Horses need many letters to present to the US Forest Service together with their Salt River Herd Preservation Proposal.

The Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program - who are asking people to immediately telephone their United States Representative, both of their United States Senators, the Forest Supervisor for the Tonto National Forest and the Regional Director for Rangeland Management to tell them they do not want the horses of the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest removed.

Salt River Wild Horses Facebook - people are being asked to like the Salt River Wild Horses Facebook page in an attempt to prove public interest, 10,000 likes are needed.

Champ saves the filly from being washed down stream.

 

Comments

[Patricia Hayden]

Leave them alone

[Lisa Bartlett]

The wild horses belong to the free people of this country, NOT to the government. Leave ALL wild horse herds alone-to run free like this land once was...

[Diane Walgamuth]

It is one of the most exciting honors of my life to see these beautiful horses when I kayak the Salt River. I hope I can see them every year!
I love kayaking down the Salt River!
Diane Walgamuth

[Diane Walgamuth]

This rescue by Champ is very moving. Way to go Champ!