(Continued from Part One.)

Once the rescue effort got underway the horses were been fed at a rate of 6,000 Lbs of hay per day (six "half ton" bales of grass hay, that actually weighed closer to 800 Lbs. apiece, with about 1,200 Lbs. per day of barley hay added in.) The horses started to pick up weight. In the week following the improved feeding plan there were two more stillborn foals reported but the general health of the herd appeared to be steadily improving.

While none of the groups "campaigned" for financial assistance, this effort quickly became very expensive. Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue has so far committed approximately $50,000.00 of its budget towards rehabilitating and placing these animals. Anyone wishing to contribute to the fund for the Fish Creek horses can contact Lifesavers at 661.727.0049, email Jill Starr at lifesavers@wildhorserescue.org or log onto their web site at www.wildhorserescue.org. Lifesavers also has a number of horses available for adoption.

LRTC handled logistics for this effort including placing the animals that remained in Nevada. Assistance in the form of equipment, supplies, manpower or donations will help cover LRTC's costs involved with this project. Examples of logistic problems included moving sets of LRTC corrals out from Colorado, erecting and operating temporary holding facilities. Anyone wishing to contribute or assist can contact Shirley Allen at 775.246.7636, email her at shirley@whmentors.org or log onto the LRTC rescue project web site at www.whmentors.org/lhp/lhp01.html. LRTC also has a number of horses available for adoption.

Both of these contacts should be able to answer any "rumor control" questions. Lifesavers and LRTC are also posting updates on the animals and the volunteers' efforts on their web sites as this project moves forward. These sites include information on how to adopt these animals as they have become healthy enough to place with adopters.

All of the involved organizations have tried to avoid turning this unfortunate matter into a media spectacle. Priorities involved taking care of the horses, not turning their misery into some kind of fund raising scheme which is why there hasn't been a big splash made about this rescue project. The organizations participating in this effort do have a right for their work to be credited. This has been a "team" project with the assisting groups being duly noted and credited.

These horses have been, and will continue to be a very sensitive issue and carrying out a recovery project is difficult enough as it is. If anyone comes across information that appears to be rumor based, please verify it before passing it on. The facts will speak for themselves. All the groups request everyone to help keep rumor or fiction from clouding the facts.