Of the 190 horses in the Pryor Mountain wild horse range, approximately 140 were captured by Tuesday, and a U.S. Bureau of Land Management official said she believes the gather could be completed by mid-week.“We may be done tomorrow,” said Mary Apple, bureau spokesperson Tuesday afternoon.No horses or humans have suffered any serious injuries, Apple said.

The bureau intends to capture all the horses under its supervision in the Pryors. Seventy will be held for adoption, and the rest will be released from the Britton Springs corrals and staging area north of Lovell once the roundup is finished.

The liberation will be staggered, with family bands cut loose together, Apple said.

Matt Dillon of the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center in Lovell, with his close connection with the herd, is assisting with horse identification and acting as one of the six humane observers.

Within the chutes where the horses are detained in corrals for later adoption or release, there is the potential for agitated horses, Dillon said.

On Monday, a few young stallions attempted to climb out of the chute. Fortunately, the only injuries to horses were a few bloody lips, Dillon said.

On Tuesday, webbing was placed over the chutes to discourage horses from exiting.

“Stressed,” Dillon said, “but they're fine, I think. As fine as they can possibly be.”

Most of the horses are in good shape physically. As reported in the Tribune Tuesday, the thin dun with the gray foal was the exception, Dillon said.

The 3-year-old dun and her foal are being held, but will be released.

“She is being fed a lot to get her fattened up,” Dillon said.

The general consensus is the horses are in good condition, Apple said.

The count of 190 is adult horses, but the general estimate is that there are an additional 24 foals. The 140 caught includes foals, Apple said.

With the exception of older mares and very young females, the animals slated for release will be treated with contraceptives, Apple said.

The equines are also undergoing genetic testing to determine their blood lines and how closely they are related, Apple said.

An adoption will take place Sept. 26 at Britton Springs. It will be an open-bid auction, starting at $125 per horse. On Sept. 25, the public will have the chance to inspect the horses and observe training demonstrations. The viewing hours will be announced at a later date, Apple said.

The 39 mustangs outside the horse management area within Custer National Forest have been captured. Dillon said he does not believe the mustangs will return to Commissary Ridge.

Ginger Kathrens, who heads up the Cloud Foundation, opposes the roundup, which she says is “unnecessarily massive” and is occurring in the heat of the summer.

Kathrens is expressing her thoughts and observations about the roundup in a blog at http://thecloudfoundation.wordpress.com.

Dillon's blog is at http://www.pryormustangs.org/mustang_blog.shtml.