Monthly Highlights
December Volunteer Highlight - Meet Karen Martz!
We asked Karen some questions about how she got involved with the Virginia Range wild horses and all that she’s been doing. Here’s what she had to say:
My husband and I moved to Reno from Southern Utah just about two years ago and that is when we became acquainted with the wild horses. They were wandering around our new neighborhood and it was such a joy. I have always liked horses but had no real experience until I was in my 50’s. I wanted to learn something new and challenging upon moving from California to southern Utah, so I took riding lessons and completed several courses on horsemanship at the local university.
I then got my first and only horse, Tanner, a beautiful 18 hand cross draft Percheron Paint. I had him for 15 wonderful years but left him with a friend upon moving here. To help fill the emptiness of leaving him behind, Ron and I joined the Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association where we met others who joined in the care and well being of the horses on the Virginia Range. I did some volunteer work taking care of rescued foals and other horses for Wild Horse Connection at LBL Equine Rescue and another location.
We then started helping with diversionary feeding out at USA Parkway and with the help of some of our new neighbors in south Reno that became a weekly endeavor for us, which we all continue to do. Diversionary Feeding helps divert the horses from neighborhoods and roadways and is done in cooperation with Wild Horse Connection and the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA).
From the get go I very much wanted to complete the dart training program and fortunately was able to do so this past October. These are a wonderful group of people and I feel very privileged to be a part of the program. I am just finishing up my dart field training and it is my hope to help care for the horses for many years to come. The combination of being out on the range amongst the wild horses, observing them and tending to their needs is a dream come true. Growing up, my parents always taught us a great love and respect for the outdoors and nature and we spent all our summers out in some fairly remote areas in the western United States. Joining the fertility control program and doing the diversionary feeding has brought me full circle.
I have been fully retired for the past eight years after working as both a juvenile and adult probation officer in both California and Utah. It was an interesting career which I enjoyed. Being retired after working nearly 30 years is great, and I find plenty to keep me busy.
I have two wonderful kids who in turn have two wonderful spouses and they have blessed us with three wonderful grandsons. They are the loves of my life and I try to spend as much time as possible with them. They all live in California and as a result of the pandemic we relocated to Reno to be as close as possible. The bonus to that move was that we found the wild horses.
At home we have two beagles, Belle and Benji, and they bring us much joy. I love baking and working outside in the yard. Additionally, My husband and I try to help wherever we can as there is something to be said for doing volunteer work and the rewards it brings. The horses are part of the culture here. Many of the areas they once lived in are now being taken up by the growth Reno is experiencing, so in turn we should take care to look out for them ensuring their safety.
On a personal note, my favorite food is Mexican which I could eat every day and I like all kinds of music but listen primarily to country. Listening to Willie Nelson got me through the pandemic.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to these magnificent horses, Karen!
Karen and Ron Martz delivering approved Diversionary Feeding on the range for Public Safety.
TRident! december Horse highlight
Trident was born one hot summer day in 2015 in the foothills of the Virginia Range just a few months before his sire Bodie Braveheart died. The first time I saw him he was a tiny foal only a few hours old and was close to his dam Pinkie while his sire Bodie stood watch where they rested. He was a cute little colt with a small crooked triangle star on his forehead and a right hind sock.
He grew up in Bodie Braveheart’s band surrounded by his loving family, which included his older sister Spats and younger sister Sandra, along with his half siblings, Rapunzel and Steener. Trident had already become a bachelor by the time his half brothers PJ, Sherwin and Paulo were born but now they share the range near each other.
After Trident became a bachelor I would see him run around the range alone most of the time but then I lost track of him and wondered where he went. While I was documenting Two Socks’ band last year I discovered Trident was the Lieutenant for Two Socks, he was his “bodyguard”! Trident’s job was to do the fighting to protect the band and his body displayed the fight marks. Then I realized that Two Socks was getting old and couldn’t handle much fighting. I thought this was kind of amusing because Trident’s sire Bodie Braveheart and Two Socks were the rival stallions a decade ago and were always fighting with each other.
A few weeks ago I witnessed how powerful Trident has become when I watched him fight Stockton! Stockton had recently lost his band to Black Hawk and was stalking Two Socks’ band trying to take it over. Trident finally got tired of him and the two fought while Two Socks shuffled his band away from the dueling duo. Trident won that round and Stockton ran off.
During a recent snow storm I observed Two Socks wandering around the snow covered range alone crying out for his band, they were gone! I have never seen Two Socks without his band in over a decade. I soon found his band that Stockton had managed to take over, but not for long! Trident tracked down Stockton and again they fought and Trident claimed Two Socks’ band for himself. Time will tell if Trident will allow Two Socks to rejoin the band and share the responsibilities like it has been in the past several years, or if Trident will remain their new band stallion. Who knows, maybe Stockton will give it another try but I doubt it. It’s been amazing to watch Trident grow from a tiny foal into such a powerful band stallion.