Speaking for the Horses

PHOTO BY ANDREA MAKI

Wild horses find hope in Challis

BY MIKE MCKENNA

There are moments in life when it seems like fate whispers to us. For Andrea Maki, fate didn’t so much whisper as whinny.

In 2009, Andrea—an artist and photographer from Seattle—found herself in the mountains of Idaho, not too far from the Salmon River. She had a chance to encounter horses from the Challis Herd Management Area (HMA) during a round-up.

PHOTO BY ANDREA MAKI

Wild horses thrive around Challis, one of a half-dozen HMAs in the state. To keep populations at bay, every few years helicopters are usually used to round up the horses and remove them from the wild. While some of the horses will go on to be adopted, others won’t be so lucky, and none of them will ever be wild and free again— at least that used to be the case.

When Andrea witnessed the round-up she could feel the pain and fear the horses were going through.

“I made a promise to those horses that I would try to help, “ Andrea says, and she has been keeping that promise ever since.

PHOTO BY ANDREA MAKI

Over 460 wild horses were roaming around Challis that year, in terrain that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says can only maintain healthy populations in the 185-250 range. The 167,848-acre HMA is also home to other wildlife as well as grazing allotments for cattle ranchers.

Miners and ranchers who first brought livestock to the region in the 1870s are said to be much of the original source of the Challis herd, but there are beliefs that wild horses’ history in the area runs much longer than that. The genetics of the Challis herd include New World Spanish, Heavy Draft, and even True Pony. The wild breeds of Challis are considered large horses for such rugged, mountainous terrain. The black, gray, and reddish-brown colored horses can be 14 to 16 hands and weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

PHOTO BY ANDREA MAKI

Wild horses are clearly thriving around Challis, but sometimes they are doing so to the detriment of others’ needs for the land. A solution besides the costly, controversial round-ups and slaughter had to be found. So Andrea helped lead a team from diverse backgrounds to come up with a plan to save more wild horses. The stakeholders included ranchers, land managers, scientists, and at least one artist/wild horse advocate.

“There has to be a balance on public lands,” Andrea says. “Horses have a right to be here and who is going to speak for them?”

The group came up with some safe and effective solutions. First, wild horses would be given fertility vaccines that can be administered, or darted, from a distance. Next, hay bale traps would be used to cut down on helicopter round-ups. Finally, the nonprofit Wild Love Preserve was founded to support the wild horses and find homes for those captured that the BLM couldn’t adopt out.

The program has been a success and a model for other HMAs throughout the Western states. The Challis herd numbers have stayed roughly the same and within the prescribed healthy population range. Meanwhile, millions of dollars in taxpayer funds have been saved with these less expensive management practices, and those culled from the herd have found homes.

PHOTO BY ANDREA MAKI

“It wouldn’t have worked if we didn’t have all the stakeholders come together,” Andrea says. “Wild horses can thrive and co-exist in the ecosystem. This is a really special situation; it’s a microcosm of the West.”

Since its inspired beginnings in 2010, Wild Love Preserve has now added 185 horses to their leased 400 acres in Challis. When the horses are released back into the familiar land, Andrea is reminded of why she first decided to speak for the horses.

“The horses are like kids in a candy store, quite happy,” she says. “We’re just trying to give horses an opportunity to be who they are.”

Andrea and Wild Love Preserve will continue to work hard and keep speaking up for the Challis herd despite any obstacles that tumble their way. As Andrea says, there are always ways to find solutions to any problems and, “Truth is often found in those quiet places.”