December Monthly Highlights

LBL Equine Rescue had a Fundraiser on December 11. Several from the community joined LBL and volunteers to a Van Gogh and Vino event at the Dayton Community Center.  $800 was raised and fun had by all!

Diversionary Feeding Update

The diversionary feeding stations are a happenin’ place to be! There are new babies, cute families and healthy horses. Please note:  It is illegal for the public to feed wild horses, punishable with a fine up to $2,0000  and charges of gross misdemeanors. WHPL is able to do diversionary feedings with written approval of the Nevada Department of Agriculture and under the supervision of Wild Horse Connection, the Virginia Range Management Group.

The Doctor Is In

An article by Willis Lamm

Equine professionals from across the globe have come to visit the teams that help manage the free-roaming horses of the Comstock. Until recently, Willy Klaeson from Lidköping, Sweden held the record for the longest distance traveled. That record was broken on December 16 th when Dr. Leonardo Castro, Professor of Equine Surgery at the University of Sorocaba, arrived in Reno from Brazil. As the administrator of the University’s Veterinary Teaching College, Dr. Castro traveled to the U.S. to gain knowledge and experience in the best field practices for technical large animal rescue. He traveled to various universities and training programs in the Eastern U.S., but he wanted to spend a week in the Comstock before returning to Brazil. Our region’s volunteers and Least Resistance Training Concepts’ technical large animal rescue team constitute the most active large animal response network in the country and he wanted to experience actual field work.

 Within minutes after touching ground at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Dr. Castro was whisked to the America Matters radio studio where he joined Lacy J. Dalton, Maureen Daane and others in an episode of Mustang Matters. From there he was off across the Virginia Range to look at a couple of range horses that had previously been brought in due to physical problems. The week evolved into a whirlwind of activity. Dr. Castro took an extensive tour of Washoe Regional Animal Services’ facilities with special interest in their domestic large animal capabilities, then sped off to help construct a field trap and relocate a band of horses that had settled into downtown Lockwood near the railroad main line. The Doctor and his driver were then diverted to recover loose domestic horses in Silver Springs.

 He spent the next day out on the range with the PZP darting team. In addition to more routine activities, he participated in containing a range mare with hoof issues during a trap, treat and release operation, and he investigated a report of a mare that appeared to have been shot with an arrow. The incident with the suspected arrow was the team’s 300th call of the year. Fortunately, the mare had only suffered an ordinary, non-life-threatening injury that from a distance appeared to the person reporting the incident to be an impaled object.

Dr. Castro’s last day was spent with the LRTC rescue crews from Lyon, Douglas and Washoe Counties performing “in-house” rescue scenarios using the group’s full-size technical large animal training mannequin. 

In Brazil, the firefighters typically respond to large animal emergencies. They must adapt their regular rescue skills as best they can to resolve large animal incidents. Dr. Castro spent his vacation in the U.S. in order to help design a pilot program to develop modern standardized practices and protocols so that these emergencies can be resolved more safely and effectively.