These 4 photos were printed with the Albuquerque Journal article below on 8/9/14. • 9 Aug 2014 • Albuquerque Journal • BY ROSALIE RAYBURN JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Man on a mission works to save free-roaming horses Community efforts, donations help to care for 49 of the animals Gary Miles is a man with a mission to save the unclaimed horses that wander freely in Placitas. Some of the supporters who have helped Gary Miles’ effort to care for horses. They are upset that some Placitas residents have asked the state Livestock Board to take the horses off their private property. He’s been the go-to guy when folks report horses in danger from vehicles on the highway. He’s also intervened to reclaim dozens of the free roaming animals picked up by the state Livestock Board from private property where the owners believe there are too many horses for the land to support. Miles is now caring for 49 of the animals — down from about 70 at one time — with the help of volunteers who lend a hand with daily chores, let horses stay on their land, and donate money to cover feed and veterinary costs. “This is not just a Gary thing; this is a big community effort. People come out of the woodwork when you least expect them,” Miles said in a recent interview. He devotes himself to the work full time while his wife, Hattie Miles, works at the The Merc community grocery store. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to do half of what I am doing,” Miles said. The immensity of the task, and the support he has, became clear recently when Miles gave the Journal a tour of one of the four sites where he is keeping the horses. A convoy of a dozen vehicles carrying around 30 supporters accompanied Miles and the Journal contingent out to the site a few miles north of the Placitas Post Office. The horses, several mares and a few foals, looked contented and well-fed as they munched on wedges of alfalfa hay in a fenced area. While roaming, they had to make do with whatever sparse vegetation the land afforded or food provided by well-wishers. Miles said he started feeding the horses he took in grass hay but it was expensive — up to $22 for a 100-pound bale — and the animals lost weight. He switched to cheaper alfalfa hay, which he buys from a source near Socorro. At present, he’s feeding 32 animals and it costs nearly $3,000 a month. Miles said he buys 120 bales every 10 days at a cost of $940, including gas. The rest are sponsored by some of his supporters. He’s also spent thousands of dollars on veterinary care, for things like gelding some of the younger stallions, treating horses injuries and a rattlesnake bite. He currently owes $600 in vet bills. Donations have covered most of the expenses and supporters have been generous so far. Miles said one man gave his Placitas Animal Rescue nonprofit $12,000 to buy hay. Miles has a long history of working with animals. He’s run the Placitas Animal Rescue since 1988, caring primarily for dogs and cats. He’s also dealt with bobcats, raccoon and birds, turning them over to wildlife rescue organizations. Since he began taking in the horses last year, he’s found homes for about 25 of the animals. “They’re all available for adoption,” Miles said during the tour. Polarizing presence Their presence has become a polarizing facet of life in the unincorporated rural community. Some residents argue the horse population has grown too large. They claim the horses damage property. Several residents have corralled groups of the horses on their land and asked the state Livestock Board to remove them, under a law governing estray animals. Their viewpoint and tactics deeply upset Miles and his supporters. Some of the supporters who accompanied Miles during the Journal visit carried placards with the message “Stop the roundups.” Supporters, like Mo Sposato, who moved to Placitas in October from the San Francisco Bay area, said they chose the community because they were enthralled by seeing the horses roam through the neighborhoods. “I could have got more house in Rio Rancho,” Sposato said. Katrina Kruse, who moved to Placitas from Puerto Rico three months ago, had the same motivation. “The first few times I was visited by the horses, it was magical,” Kruse said. Unfortunately, she said, she has found the fierce emotions surrounding the horse issue unpleasant. “It can be quite horrible. You don’t know who you can be friendly with or not,” Kruse said. The Wild Horse Observers Association advocates for the horses’ right to roam freely. The organization has tried unsuccessfully to get permission to use the female contraceptive Porcine zona pellucida (PZP) to control the Placitas horse population. The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the use of PZP, but has designated it a pesticide. As such, the state Agriculture Department says it can be used only with the written permission of the horse’s owner. Miles technically owns the horses under his care. He said he is licensed and trained to use PZP on the animals, and has done so. He believes it would be a valuable population control tool for the horses that are still roaming. “Gelding doesn’t help in the wild, PZP is only thing that works in the wild,” Miles said, “It would be very good to be able to use it on the ones we have left (roaming). It would be better for their health too, not having foals every year.”
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 04:04:57 +0000
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