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Log in to your Paypal account and Send Money to vrwpa@vrwpa.org 
web site:  www.vrwpa.org

VRWPA is CRITICALLY short of funds this year and, as it looks now, will probably not have the money necessary to initiate and maintain this year's winter feeding program. This means many of the local mustangs will end up going down into the valleys looking for forage. Some will get picked up by the state, and some will end up getting injured and put down. If you want to help Sherry, donate to the VRWPA so it can help the mustangs.

Sherry O'Mahony has given so much of her life to the wild horses of the (Comstock) Virginia Range outside Reno, Nevada. She is the President of the Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association, which works with the Nevada Department of Agriculture to manage and preserve the wild horses who live in the Comstock Range, much of which is rapidly becoming suburban Reno.

Surviving victims of vehicle-horse collisions as well as "nuisance" horses that the Dept of Ag is bound by law to pick up if a homeowner complains of a horse in their yard  - are taken to the VRWPA foster home corrals, to be gentled and readied for adoption into good homes.

In 2005, Sherry and VRWPA participated in our Western States Wild Horse & Burro Expo, sharing the Cutting Arena with us and offering 20 of their halter-trained yearlings for adoption.

Recently, Sherry suffered a massive head injury as a result of a trailer-loading accident. She is in the hospital, recovering slowly. In the meantime, "her" horses in the VRWPA corrals continue to need food, care, and medicines. Sherry's husband, Jim, states that since the hospital room is not set up for displaying cards and flowers, the best "get well wish" we can send her would be a donation to VRWPA, to help the horses get through the winter.

The Comstock horses (Nevada "estrays") are in deep trouble.

They are not BLM horses nor are they protected under the law. Under Nevada Law, when picked up, they are advertised for 5 days as
estray, that is an agricultural animal who's owner is
unknown, if no owner can claim them, they go to sale.

The exception to the Nevada estray law is the Comstock> horses in the Virginia Range outside Reno/Carson City. The Dept of Agriculture and I changed the laws in the early 90's to allow for a 60 claiming and adoption period on the Comstock estrays. Also, we set up laws allowing the Dept
 to "give" the horses to non profit rescue groups who then in turn, adopt them out, do the compliance, hold title, and give title in a year. The groups do this in partnership with Dept of Ag.

 For many many years there was no management, only mustanging, which through many years of fighting, has subsided greatly, at least in mass. There are still some disappearing every year and we fear end up at the slaughter plant. Anyway, the Nevada Dept. of Agriculture is responsible for picking them up when become nuisance animals, that is coming into town, on the highways, on
peoples lawns, etc. Also, the Dept of Ag has been working on fertility control methods up there and also removing excess animals as the range is severely overgrazed. The  horses had grown to a population of 1,400 horses on a range  that typically can handle 225 horses on a good year. Fires  destroying their habitat, drought, etc. have all taken its toll.

But, Mike Holmes, with Dept of Ag is responsible for these horses and cares about them. He is the one out at 2 am in the morning when one gets hit on the highway or a mother gets killed and he brings home the foal. He cares. But, there is the law. His severe problem is trying to get the numbers down to a manageable range, but he can't just go out and do a big gather to get them there

If homes aren't found for the animals they could potentially go to slaughter. So, Mike only gathers 60 or so at a time, depending on the rescue groups to take them from him......the rescue groups can up the price on them to help cover costs of transport, feeding, etc., that's not a problem, but finding groups to take them is a severe problem.
 
As you know, rescue groups are full everywhere, overfull. Problem is, once the horses hit their 60 days, by state law, they go to the sale yard. Mike has tried desperately to get groups to take these horses.

There are horses coming off the mountain in droves, in winter there isn't enough  feed so they come down to the lawns and golf courses. There are horses down everywhere right now and Mike is delaying picking them up because he has so many right now
 that potentially could go to slaughter.
 

Anyway, the favor I need it help getting people for these horses. If a group wanted a good number, Mike could even transport to them.
 

Mike has I think about 60-80
horses right now that are out of time.

-Cathy Barcomb