A wild horse appears to have been ruthlessly kicked in the head repeatedly by a worker at a wild horse roundup in Nevada, according to a video captured by an observer with American Wild Horse Conservation. 

The video appears to show a small horse surrounded by two people in cowboy hats riding larger horses. There is a lasso around the small horse’s neck. One of the people on horseback appears to pull on the rope, causing the smaller horse to crash to the ground. The other man dismounts and leans over the small horse who is lying helpless on the ground. He appears to pull the horse’s tail and then kick and hit the horse in the head. He later appears to kick the horse’s rear while the horse is on the ground.

The video, which was reportedly taken on July 26, documents a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup of wild horses from the Blue Wing Complex in Nevada. The act of apparent cruelty highlights the brutal nature of BLM’s wild horse and burro gather program, which treats wild horses as pests and aims to remove them from public land. 

Two other horses died on July 26, seemingly as a result of this roundup: a 9-year-old mare who tragically suffered a broken neck and an 11-year-old stallion who was blind in one eye and euthanized by the BLM, according to BLM gather notes.

The deceased horses’ last moments were likely filled with fear and pain as they ran for their lives in sweltering heat. Photos of wide-eyed horses in obvious distress, running from low-flying helicopters and crammed into corrals and trucks after being stolen from their natural home, are heartbreaking to see — but this is the reality thousands of wild horses across the west face each summer during BLM roundups.

Lady Freethinker has sent observers to document the brutality at previous gathers in different states and has captured photos and videos of the cruelty. Horses have died from stress and injury during previous gathers as well, yet the suffering is completely avoidable. Humane fertility control options exist and were implemented by BLM in a 2023 southern Nevada gather, among other previous gathers.

However, log notes make no mention of fertility control being used at the 2024 Blue Wing Complex gather. The notes do show that there were 42 deaths by the time the roundup was complete.

These roundups impact burros as well. On July 9, the second day of the gather, five burros died — including a 15-year-old female burro whose dead body was discovered on a trailer, according to BLM gather notes. Other injuries in this gather included animals who died from broken necks and animals found deceased on trucks.

These innocent beings do not deserve to be abused, roped by cowboys, terrorized – to death in some cases – by helicopters, or stolen from their homes and families.

Please take a moment to sign our petition for justice for the wild horses injured and killed in roundups like this one.

SIGN: Stop Cruel Helicopter Roundups That Are Killing Wild Horses