Preliminary results for wild horse deaths at BLM corrals

Organization

Bureau of Land Management, California

BLM Office:

Northern California District Office

Media Contact:

SUSANVILLE, Calif. – Preliminary veterinarian results indicate that 25 wild horse foals held at the BLM’s Litchfield Corrals may have died from colitis, or inflammation of the colon.  Additional tests are ongoing and the BLM is waiting for results from additional blood and tissue samples that could point to the cause of the colitis.

The foals, all under six months old, were awaiting adoption, when on Oct. 2 BLM wranglers noticed signs of a flu-like illness in some animals, all of which were housed in a single pen.  The wranglers consulted with a veterinarian and treated symptoms, but the condition of the foals gradually worsened over the week of Oct. 2.

The foals affected by the illness were kept in an isolated pen.  There have been no signs of illness in the other 300 mustangs in the main pastures of the corrals.

The foals were born at the corrals to mares that had been gathered last September from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory on the Modoc National Forest.


The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.