Four mares released on Wild Horse Island
<p>Three in the group of four wild mares make their way onto Wild Horse Island Wednesday. State Senator Brad Hamlett, of Cascade, and Lyle Heavy Runner, of Great Falls, donated the horses to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Robert Lee of Cromwell Island donated the use of a barge to transport them. These mares joined the two geldings currently living on the island, which calls for a herd of five wild horses to roam the 2,164-acre site. According to Flathead Lake Parks Manager Jerry Sawyer, roughly 1,500 people typically visit the island from mid-June to mid-September. "The horses …
Flathead Lake’s Wild Horse Island got four more namesake animals Wednesday, wild horses delivered from the Ulm area.
The four wild mares were transported on a barge from the Cromwell Island launch on the west shore of the lake in the afternoon, joining two other horses on the island.
The horses came from a herd that was established several years ago by Brad Hamlett of Cascade and Lyle Heavy Runner of Great Falls on leased Department of Natural Resources and Conservation lands adjacent to the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. The two started with a stallion from the Pryor Mountain wild horse herd, which was genetically determined to be descended from the Spanish Barbs breed that arrived with the conquistadors in the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Hamlett and Heavy Runner acquired wild mares from Bureau of Land Management lands in Nevada and built their own herd. The resulting offspring has included several colts and fillies, including the four black mares that have been donated by Hamlett, a state senator, and Heavy Runner to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
A management plan for Wild Horse Island calls for a herd of five wild horses to run free on the island, a limit imposed in order to avoid overgrazing. The herd’s purpose is to honor the name of the island, which also has populations of bighorn sheep and mule deer.
Robert Lee, of Cromwell Island, donated a barge to ferry the truck and trailer from the main land. Cromwell Island Manager Scott Smith helped round up a team of horse specialists, six FWP staff members and a veterinarian to facilitate an easy transfer. Only a small crowd of about 15 people came to watch the rare event.
The last time horses were released on Wild Horse Island was more than 18 years ago. The state sent three wild horses to the island in April 1992, but only one gelding from that group remains today. Flathead Lakes Park Manager Jerry Sawyer said the horse, which is 25 to 30 years old, didn’t look as healthy this winter as in the past.
“He’s still moving around OK, but even though there’s plenty of forage, his ribs are starting to show,” he said. “I was surprised he survived last winter, so I don’t expect he’ll make it through one more.”
While not often home to predatory species, there is competition for forage with the bighorn sheep and mule deer.
“It’s a confined area and resources are limited,” Sawyer said. “We have to find that balance between species and diversity.”
The largest island on Flathead Lake, Wild Horse has been a landmark rich with history since the Salish-Kootenai Indians were reported to have used it to pasture horses to keep them from being stolen by other tribes, FWP said in a press release.
According to Sawyer, roughly 15,500 people typically visit the island from mid-May to mid-September. “The horses are really popular,” he said. “Tourists come out, do some hiking and they want to see some wild horses.”
Lake County Leader photographer/reporter Ali Bronsdon contributed to this story.