Sun News
New program attracts buyers, sellers to one location
Navajo horses, a three-part series
Horses, some branded, others not, were guided into a corral at the Shiprock Fairgrounds on a recent, chilly November morning. Some horses appeared calm and quiet, absorbed in their horsey thoughts, while others were energetic, making their presence known by trotting in the corral and whinnying loudly.
Throughout the day, vehicles pulled up to the corral gates to offload horses they were looking to sell.
Prospective buyers, sellers and Navajo Nation employees were on hand at the “Voluntary Horse Sale” in Shiprock, N.M. Nov. 13. They chatted outside the corral while horses moved about, munching on what feed they could find on the ground. A couple horses bore what looked like cuts or bright streaks of color on their fur.
One of the potential buyers at the Nov. 13 voluntary sale was Eddie Draper of Bread Springs, N.M.
Draper, who attended the sale with his family, said he owns a ranch with numerous animals. He traveled to the event to speak with the sellers on hand and hoped to acquire about five horses.
Myron Castiano, of Huerfano, N.M., was one such seller. His group was looking to offload about 17 branded horses at the Shiprock sale.
Castiano said he saw a flier for the Voluntary Horse Sale at the chapter house in Huerfano and made the trip to Shiprock to unload the horses and make some cash.
“[It’s for] overstock,” Castiano said when asked why his family was selling the horses. “Not enough food for all of the animals [at our ranch].”
The horse buy program comprises two separate events – the Voluntary Horse Sale – which attracted buyer and seller Draper and Castiano alike – and the Equine Reward Program, which take place simultaneously.
The Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture operates the Equine Reward Program and compensates people who bring in unbranded horses. It’s an incentive to get folks to bring such horses to the event. According to flyers from the department, people who bring in either a mare with a foal or any horse older than a yearling will receive $50 a head.
Roxie June, principal planner for the project, said during the first four sales, nearly 200 feral horses were brought in by residents of the nearby communities where the events were held. A $19,000 grant allows the department to give the $50 reward for each feral horse brought in, once it’s verified the horse is unbranded.
While some ranchers aim to reduce the number of livestock and horses due to the expense of caring for the animal(s) or an assortment of other reasons, other sellers looking to make a quick buck roundup and offload unbranded, roaming horses.
Reports by the BIA estimate there to be about 40,000 wild horses roaming the Navajo Nation, prompting the tribe to look for remedies – remedies sometimes deemed controversial, such as a scheduled horse hunt this past summer that was later canceled.
In all, the horse-buy program has an end goal of reducing the horse population to conserve forage and water resources, a point verified by Sgt. Randall Jim of the Navajo Nation Rangers, who was among the personnel inspecting horses for ownership at the Naschitti and Ganado sales.
“[We] need to get control of the wild horse population, rehabilitate the land,” Jim told the Sun at the Sept. 20 sale in Ganado.
When asked what was done with the horses that are sold, Jim said the aim is to remove them from the Navajo Nation.
“What they do with the horse is the buyer’s business,” he said.
Jim later said in a recent interview that buyers must carry a permit, and go through a screening process before they’re eligible to buy horses. Jim explained that the Navajo Nation Rangers receive buyer applications via the BIA.
The vetting process includes a background check to ensure the potential buyer has no misdemeanors. And the permit must be renewed annually. Jim said, Ranger Chief Leonard G. Butler tells field rangers whether the applicant should be allowed to buy, based on their history.
The practice of buying and selling the horses at these one-day events has sparked criticism from horse lovers living outside the reservation, such as Sherry Kauzlarich of Gallup.
She spoke with the Sun Nov. 16 about her experience with horses, which includes decades of riding and showing horses, English-saddle style.
Kauzlarich, now retired from showing, said she’s disappointed with the horse-buy programs held by the Navajo Nation, deeming such programs as hasty and not good for horses.
“In my discipline, you find someone reputable [to buy horses from],” Kauzlarich said. “You have to have a thorough examination of the horse, even bring it back to your home and see how it adjusts to the surroundings and how it acts.”
Kauzlarich described the program as fast-paced, to the point where it becomes impossible to trace where horses come from, whether they are branded, or how they act in different environments.
To be continued. Part 1 in a 3 part series
By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent
