News from Nevada’s Virginia Range: Vol. 18

Highlighting groups working to protect our mustangs: American Wild Horse Campaign * Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund * Least Resistance Training Concepts * LBL Equine Rescue * Let 'em Run * Project Frontier * Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association * Wild Horse Connection * Wild Horse Preservation League

Welcome to the January Pinto Post!

Welcome to the inaugural 2021 edition of the Pinto Post! This has been a difficult year for everyone - from a raging global pandemic, to economic uncertainty, to polarization in our nation. No matter the challenges, the Virginia Range volunteers persisted, united in their love and dedication for the horses living free in the greater Reno area. Volunteers met the challenges of 2020 with passion, tenacity and incredible strength, and worked hard to ensure the Virginia Range horses stayed healthy, safe and secure in their wild homes.

Let’s ring in the New Year in celebration of all the good the dedicated volunteers do and will continue to do!

Thank you for bringing light, love and happiness to the Virginia Range and sharing it with all the Pinto Post readers.

Remember, our next issue will come out February 1, so please submit articles, ideas and feedback by December 20th to ThePintoPost@gmail.com or through this Google Form.

Fertility Control Update

Last month, the Virginia Range fertility control program broke records as it reached the 3,000th treatment administered to the free-roaming horses of the Virginia Range. This milestone cemented the effort’s place as the largest PZP program in the world for wild horses! Read the celebratory press release on the page below and while you’re there, be sure to check out the most updated fertility control numbers!

Special thanks to the all the incredible volunteers who make this program happen. Their dedication and love for the horses shines through their hard work. Thank YOU.

Local Happenings

The holidays are a busy time for everyone, but especially for the Virginia Range volunteers! This month, range improvement projects were finished, surprise adoptions were finalized and many more accomplishments were achieved! Read all about it below.

Monthly Highlights

This month, meet Megan McCoy, a large animal rescue volunteer. She has truly been a horse girl from the very beginning and now even does mounted rescue with her heart horse, Brooklynn the mustang! Her story will make you smile, so be sure to read it below.

Many volunteers get to observe wild horses from birth to when they find their own families and have their own babies! This is the case with the beloved mare Oahu. Read her story below and see pictures of her as a baby and all grown up with her own babies.

Happy Tails Rescues

With winter setting in during a drought year, horses are on the move looking for forage. They are quite good at locating feed. However as development continues to increase around the range, they find an easy meal along roadways and in residential yards and community landscaping. This becomes a safety hazard, but don’t fear, Least Resistance Training Concept’s large animal rescue team is on it! Read about their relocation efforts below!

Please use the above number if you see horses or foals injured, sick, or at risk. Where does your call go? Your call goes to a 24/7 answering service that will connect with an on-call volunteer. From there volunteers, proper agencies and organizations will be dispatched. This includes, but is not limited to, local organizations, a large animal rescue team, and the sheriff's office in the corresponding area.

Want to contribute to the Pinto Post? Contact ThePintoPost@gmail.com

The Pinto Post is a volunteer-run, electronic publication not branded to any one organization but created to shine a light on the incredible work of the many wild horse organizations in the Reno/Carson City area.

Photo credit to Troy Wright, Nancy Florence, Marc Crumpler, Mary Dribble