Ni't To'o'Kisi (One Ear)Ni' To'o' Kisi

The Fighter

There is never a dull moment when riding in the foothills West of Sundre tracking the wildies. This past weekend was a prime example. It was nearing the end of a perfect day, the sun was shining and a few wild herds were found and photographed with their new offspring.  Down a steep hill Bob and I descended after a long eight hour ride, when out from no where appeared a stunning dapple grey stud.  He was roaring his head off and galloping straight towards us,  the interlopers on his turf.  My mare Gypsy, loves the boys, and she whinned a greeting to him in response, he roared again and came at us at an alarmingly rate of speed.   I told Gypsy to be quiet, as she was getting us in trouble once again.   With that, I quickly dismounted, my heart was pounding in my ears as I dug for my camera in the saddle bag.  Gypsy was being none too cooperative either and she danced about excitedly and then stood on her one rein.   I pushed back on her chest and told her to back up, instead she gave me a shove with her nose  so I grabbed her lead shank and told her to quit showing off to the stud.

By this time the dashing dapple grey boy had gotten shockingly nearby.  He was about 75 feet away when Badger and Lee-Loo’, my Akitas went after him.  The dogs figured he was getting way too close for comfort so they managed to move him off to the side, but now only 25 feet away.  When the stud no longer moved toward us, the dogs came back and stood guard over their humans.  We photographed this brazen fellow as he eye balled the dogs,sizing them up.   

He was quite impressive, a mature horse probably at least six years of age,  all muscle, with a spectacular coat, but with the face of a fighter. He was all chewed up by another stud, with even a chunk of his ear bitten off. Stallions have a very rough life, once they are old enough, they will take on a band stallion in an effort to steal his harem. Such battles can result in one of the studs being mortally wounded. However, I am confident that Ni’t To’o'kisi, with all his fighting prowess, will have a new girl friend or two and maybe even sired a foal by next summer. However, he won’t be having  my Gypsy though, whether she thinks so or not, she is not mustang material.    I quietly lead my diva Morgan mare down the hill and mounted up at the bottom and we rode off.  Ni’t To’o’ Kisi snuck down the hill slowly and watched us leave, with one last whinny that echoed off the hills, telling us good riddance I am sure.

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mare&unbornfoal marker

June 10, 2009

Today I went back to the mustang kill site of April 28^th, 2009.  This is where

the latest and most brutal slayings to date occurred.  The bodies were gone, long since hauled away by the RCMP for forensic testing.   Maybe this time I prayed, they will match up bullets from other horse slaughter scenes, which are all too familiar in the Foothills West of Sundre Alberta. 

 I brought along three large wreaths and one tiny one to mark the spots where they fell.  My faithful Akita’s accompanied me on my trek, giving me the much-needed courage and strength.    I looked for the blood soaked spots on the ground but found none, the elements had since washed it away.  No evidence remained of the brutality that occurred there. However, I did find areas of grass that were flattened down from a few large animal lying down on it, and curiously these spots of grass were dead but had lush green grass growing around them, creating an outline of sorts.  I believed that this was likely where the mare and colt fell.  It was easier to find where the stallion had perished as he had caught his head between two young trees when he dropped and had slowly and painfully died from a bullet to the stomach.       

It was hard reliving this nightmare but I thought someone should pay tribute to our fallen equine comrades.  Their ancestors had served faithfully in World War 1 and helped open up the West prior to that.  The thanks they received was a death sentence, shot down by a coward. 

 At each of the three horse murder sites, I drove a stake into the ground and attached a wreath.  I had lost a few of the stakes on the hillside on the way up, so the mare and her unborn foal shared one, with the tiny wreath sitting just above the larger one. 

 In each spot, I prayed to them individually, asking their forgiveness for us humans.  I only felt sadness around me, not condemnation.  As I walked away, I felt as though there were four equine spirits quietly walking beside me, approving of my attempts to pay my respects.  

While walking down the steep hill I noticed that across the road in the open meadow was a lone dark coloured horse watching me.  I wondered if that was the same horse weeks earlier, who was shown on the news running back and forth frantically between the equine bodies trying to nudge them onto their feet. The horse, at that time, was whinnying in a high pitched tone that screamed.

I took a picture of the horse, but knowing that because of the distance away it would likely be blurry and sure enough it was, but you could still see that the horse had a back white foot, just like the one on the news.  I am sure it was her, sadly keeping vigil over the place where her family was gunned down.

stallions wreath

yearling colt's wreath

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Rain at Play

       WHOAS,
I recently discovered your web site and thought you might like to hear Rain’s story.I’ve always loved  horses and especially he idea of helping mustangs, but I’ve never had the opportunity untll recently.
         A couple years ago I attended an auction, intending to purchase tack. What I found was a emaciated three year old mustang mare, taken from the foothills around sundre. She was likely kept in a corral all winter, and it was well known horse dealers(with a very poor reputation) that had her. Her feet were the size of dinner plates and she had a foal(about a month old) at her side. The only human contact her and her foal had was extremely negitive, they both had sloppy, infected brands. The only other person bidding was a meat buyer.
          We brought her home, I halter broke her(using gentle methods of course), trimmed and had a vet look at her, and gave her lots of tlc. Since she has become the most wonderful horse, you could not ask for a more wonderful personality. Though it took a long, long time to over come her trust issues she is now extremely easy to catch, has impecable ground manners and is well on her way to becoming a trail horse. She is exremely smart, sound and very trainable. Thank you for your time,
¦lt;br /> Dannielle

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In

Current affairs team in Alberta: right, cameraman Richard Marion, Marie-Claude Guay  in the middle and Brent Roy, cameraman, left.

February of 2008 I went with CBC French television’s crew, journaliste’ Marie-Claude Guay and cameraman Brent Roy  and we spent a couple of days driving around the foothills filming wild horses and speaking about their plight.  Jack Nichol of Sundre was kind enough to take part in it as well.  He drove us around in the big one tonne dually and provided  invaluable information about the history of the much beleagered wild horses of Sundre.   I was thrilled to be a part of it for those two days, and was on cloud nine for several days afterwards.  Then  one year later I received word that they won a Rosie award which Marie-Claude Guay explains next;

Good evening Doreen and Bob,
I know news are not good these times regarding wild horses but here something that could cheer you up a bit: at the Ampia night on Sathurday, we won the Rosie for the best news feature under 30 minutes with the story Protecting wild horses in Alberta.

Ampia stands for The Alberta Motion Picture Industry Awards and celebrates all facets of the film and television industry in Alberta. Here is their website:
http://www.ampia.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=120
Our team had 2 nominations within the same category, we were ‘competing’ against excellent work from our colleagues from Global Edmonton and CTV Calgary. It was an honor for Brent as well to be nominated ‘best cinematographer’, he was competing against productions with far more financial means and time (more cameras and more production time).

Please say a special thank you to Jack Nicol. It is one of our best filming productions.
thank you very much to you and your group,
please keep us posted,
à bientôt,
Marie-Claude

Marie-Claude Guay, journaliste
affaires publiques/current affairs
Radio-Canada, Télévision
Alberta

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This tv program was recorded today featuring Bob Henderson of WHOAS, Rob Kessler of the SRD and Lead Investigator of the horse killings, Corporal Dave Heaslip
It was a pretty good discussion. However, check it out for yourself, it airs at 11 pm tonight again and 12:00 noon. tomorrow, May 7th. I won’t state my opinions as of yet. First I’d like to hear from those who watched it.

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The killings of 2007 and 2008 were almost behind me – I had almost forgotten. Then two days ago, on April 28 – the killer struck again. Everything came flooding back – the hatred for the coward or cowards committing these acts of violence, the empathy for what their victims’ last moments must have been like, and a devastating sorrow over the loss of these victims. Who are the victims? They are three more of the relatively unique “wild equine” residents of Sundre’s West Country. Four more, when including the death of the unborn foal. I visited the WHOAS (Wild Horses of Alberta Society) web site and looked at the pictures – I cried for the unborn foal whose life was taken before he even had a chance to take his first breath. For his mother, who desperately tried to give birth in her dying moments. For the young colt barely finishing his first year of life, and for the young stallion whose death was one filled with blinding fear and pain. And again – I ask. Why?  Who are these horses hurting so much that “someone” feels justified in going out and simply shooting them randomly, leaving them wounded and dying slow, painful, and senseless deaths?

I honestly don’t know what to think. I am surprised and disappointed that our law enforcement – both Wildlife Services as well as the RCMP have still not located and apprehended anyone responsible, after 4 years of systematic slaughter, and numerous items which could be construed as evidence found at some of the kill sites. I can’t help but wonder if the lack of justice in finding the killer or killers is because it just isn’t that important in the eyes of the law. I honestly believe that if it were important, someone would have been apprehended by now.

I am writing this letter today to say that these deaths and these acts of senseless violence are important to me, and they are important to hundreds if not thousands of others. Through our voices, it will become important enough to those who make the laws and to those who enforce them. This latest slaughter has motivated me to join those who are already actively working at saving and protecting the Wild Horses of Alberta in hopes that one more body, one more voice, might help the WHOA Society to finally get these horses the protected status they deserve and to bring the killer, or killers, to justice. In writing this, I hope that many of the people reading this letter will decide to do the same. If we continue to do nothing, than nothing will change. If we continue to say nothing, then nothing will change. By acting and speaking together – we CAN make a change. Together – we can save these beautiful and intelligent creatures - these Wild Horses of Alberta.

Gillian Charrois

Sundre, Alberta

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See attached links.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Technology/Shooter+kills+wild+horses+near+Calgary/1548890/story.html

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We received a report last night from Doug Doschewnyk that three horses were discovered shot West of Sundre on Coal Camp Road just North of the Rangers Station.  The victims were, a mare heavy in foal, a yearling colt and a 2 to 4 year old stallion.  They all had bullet holes in them.  The stallion was still alive and flopping around, according to the first person on the scene.  The fellow left to get a gun to put it out of its misery, but when he returned the stallion was dead as well.  The mare had her birthing sack hanging out of her and on closer inspection you could see the tiny hooves sticking out.  The yearling colt had taken a bullet to the chest and had ran uphill about 100 yards before collapsing.   Bob and I arrived at the scene at about 9:00 pm and it was getting dark.  I walked to each dead animal and studied it and wept at their senseless, violent deaths.  Each horse still somewhat warm to the touch, I gently touched their faces and said a prayer for them.  I could hear Bob cursing in the background at the spineless, heartless coward that did this, and he promised the little one he would find his killer.Š

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Of our 13 horses that were spared certain death, one has foaled, making it our 14th lucky wild horse.  Judy Becker wrote to us and included a few pictures.  The email goes as follows;

To all my family and friend’s who have supported and trusted my decisions. 

 Ramsey’s baby 24 hrs old. How blessed I am to have experienced the first hours of this little creature’s life. She’s healthy, mom’s healthy - older sister’s a little rejected, but this opens up an opportunity to begin training. Even though this little filly isn’t wild and  free as her species should be she will not be chased and hunted down by cruel humans as her mother and sister have been. We will love and cherish her and her family to the best of our ability for the rest of her life.  Thank you God!  

Š

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