Mystery Surrounds Deaths of Free-roaming Horses Shot in Utah Desert

Wild horses free to roam the snow-covered desert.
Wild horses free to roam the snow-covered desert. Cloud Foundation

Newsdate: Wednesday January 18, 2023 - 11:00 am
Location: MOAB, Utah

On a remote patch of Utah desert bordering the Navajo Nation in Utah, hundreds of horses roam free on the shrubby desert that stretches across red rock canyons all the way to the forested slopes of Bears Ears National Monument. To some, they're majestic wildlife that symbolize the freedom of wide-open western landscapes. To others, they're an out of control population displacing cattle and damaging the ecosystem.

Herd of wild horses being rounded up by the BLM in winter desert.

Herd of wild horses being rounded up by the BLM in winter desert

The Yanito brothers have worked maintaining dirt roads for San Juan County for years, so they're out on this landscape a lot and about a year ago, they started finding dead horses near the roads..
© 2018 by Nevada BLM New window.

Lately, dozens of horses there are being found dead, apparently from gunshot wounds.

Brothers Wayne and David Yanito are Navajo ranchers and farmers whose families have been here for generations. They love coming across the free roaming horses when they're out on the land.

"When you're out there in the middle of nowhere — nothing — all of a sudden, you see a horse. Whoa! There's actually something out here! It makes your day," Wayne Yanito says. "It just makes your day."

The modern horse wasn't on the continent until the Spanish brought them by boat from Europe in the 15th century. But an ancient breed of horse native to North America is part of the Navajo creation story. David Yanito explains it has held an important place in the tribe's culture.

"These new generations, they don't believe that no more," he says ruefully. He says the horses are all part of a connected natural world.

"While they're running, you'll hear a thunder," he says. "The next day it will start to sprinkle. Lightning comes down and hits the ground and makes that vibration," he says. "Boom, boom, boom."

The Yanito brothers have worked maintaining dirt roads for San Juan County for years, so they're out on this landscape a lot. About a year ago, they started finding dead horses near those roads. They started looking for more.

On a recent day, David Yanito launched a drone with a camera that he bought to monitor the cattle they raise. It doesn't take long for him to pick out the bleaching bones of a dead animal in the morning sun against the mostly bare beige soil.

"You can see it's all white. When the sun hits it, you can really see it," he says. When the brothers walk over to investigate, they quickly see it's not just one dead horse.

"Two more down here. Three right here," Wayne Yanito counts off. "Four up there. Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine ..."

"Oh my goodness that's a lot of horses," his brother exclaims. "Someone went to town."

They've been marking all the carcasses they've found since last January. By the end of the day, the total is up to 23, and they suspect there are more they haven't found. For more on this story including photos, click HERE.


Press release by NPR - Article by Justin Higginbottom

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