|
Wild horses trespass in town park.
|
|
Phantom and his Band
Removed from Dayton Valley
Story date: October 27, 2006
Photos by Bob Retzer
|
Phantom and his band in 2003
Occidental, NV -- He was an icon of the Dayton Valley. Phantom, the white stallion and his band of mares lived for years on the south side of the Virginia Range. Unfortunately he adapted well to the unprecedented development that was taking place and was frequently seen around the neighborhoods and crossing busy US-50.
Traffic slows as the band crosses the highway. Notice the Phantom out on the center line.
Phantom and his band were trapped before. Some of the mares were kept by the Department of Agriculture and placed in the care of approved horse groups for adoption. Phantom was relocated deep into the Virginia Range.
But Phantom and one of the mares that were relocated with him turned up again in their "home territory" of Occidental, this time hanging out in the town park. This new behavior raised some legitimate concerns. What if a young child playing in the park ran up to the horses? The risk was too great and Phantom was again trapped ... for good this time.
A coalition of wild horse advocates coordinated by the Wild Horse Preservation League has raised funds and arranged for Phantom and one of his long time mares to be held in a private sanctuary until a permanent fenced wild horse preserve can be placed into operation by the Let 'Em Run Foundation. In the meanwhile Phantom, the mare and a colt are being held by LRTC in Dayton. The colt will be made available for adoption.
Phantom, mare and colt at the LRTC corrals
Persons wishing to help with Phantom's temporary sanctuary boarding costs can contact Bonnie Matton at the Wild Horse Preservation League at
mattonco@prodigy.net.
Persons interested in Phantom's colt or similar horses needing adoption can contact Shirley Allen at the LRTC Adoption Program at
sallen5954@earthlink.net. (As of this posting the colt, little Raincloud, may be adopted.)
Persons interested in helping with Let 'Em Run's sanctuary project can contact Lacy J. Dalton at
ljd@lacyjdalton.com.
Updates:
Ed Pearce (from KOLO Channel 8) and Terri Farley(author of the "Phantom" fiction book series) will be stopping by the LRTC corrals on Wednesday, Nov. 29th to cover this story.
| 