As one of the original members of the Feral Horse Advisory Committee (FHAC) which began in 2013 and,it was established to provide guidelines to the Alberta government for the management of our wild horses. During all this time I would become upset over a lot of the misinformation being put forth by other stakeholders and government officials about the wild horses and their effect on the landscape. It was quite evident to myself and some others that so much of the information was directly misrepresented and was formed by preconceived prejudices against the horses.

Recently just last week the Minister, Todd Loewen, was on local TV stating that the wild horses were “wrecking the landscape.” It is obvious to us and other horse advocates that he has not been out west personally to witness what is truly happening to the environment. The government officials, including the Minister and cattle lease holders are so quick to blame the horses for all the degradation of the landscape.

Now tell me is it the horses that have ruined this area?

This picture shows what clearcut logging can do to these areas which effects all animals that call this area home. It will take a very long time for these areas to heal.

Also in the news report it talks about the number of horses increasing from 10 or so years ago to present day. And the government is saying that it is a concern. It is because of these massive clearcuts happening that the horses are becoming more visible especially when aerial surveys are done by the government. You only have to look at satellite images to witness how much of our Alberta foothills have been cleared. It is truly astounding!

Newspaper reports and other sources have reported that there always has been a large number of horses in certain areas. It is only now that the horses are being forced into these areas.

What the intentions of our society to do is to document and show that the arguments that the government and other stakeholders use against the horses are not based on fact. In the FHAC meetings that have taken place over the years, concerns brought forth by myself and others about the discrepancies and misinformation about the horses doing damage have been completely ignored. They say one thing to your face, and then do nothing because they do not want to hear it.

Truly it is not the horses we should be concerned about. We will continue to document and post facts to outline our points and you can make up your own mind about this whole issue.