A man from the Siksika First Nation says that his horses are suffering from a lack of food after last year’s wildfire burned his pastures to a crisp, annihilating every bit of food the animals use to sustain themselves.

Bob Crow Chief says that he has raised horses since the 1990s and has never lost more than one or two a year.

“My dad had horses. It’s always been in our family, my grandfathers, everyone. Right before Treaty time, it’s been a part of us. This is part of our culture. Siksika are horse people. This is our family, this is part of us. This is what makes us Siksika.”

Now, he says that after the October wildfires he’s lost at least half of the horses he owns.

“I had 60 head of horses five months ago. Now, at the last count, I had less than 30.”

In October 2017, wildfires fueled by extremely high winds tore through several sections of land near Strathmore and Gleichen, forcing the evacuation of the township.

The flames ended up sweeping all the way through Crow Chief’s land.

“Trees, brush, shrubs; every single thing. I have a pasture on this side and that completely burned down. Everything on the north side of these tracks up to my house, everything burned.”

He says that he has been asking for answers about what caused the fire that so severely impacted his livelihood but hasn’t gotten any response.

Crow Chief says he’s been doing all he can to provide for his animals, but the cost to buy bales of hay isn’t cheap.

“It’s $125 to $160 for one round bale. I had five round bales two weeks ago in here and in four days my horses ate it up,” he says.

The winter conditions haven’t made anything better, but he says he’s managed in tough weather before.

“You can’t tell me it’s not because of the wildfire. There’s false assessments done that say the wildfire didn’t damage the pastures. It didn’t damage or affect any winter grazing. These horses know how to survive and I’ve always fed them, took care of them, raised them, doctored them, everything.”

He says the situation is also traumatizing for him as he goes around, finding dead horses everywhere on his property.

“It’s all the young ones that aren’t as strong as the big ones that are dying. That’s my future, my children’s future. I always thought I’d leave something for my kids.”

Crow Chief knows that people think he is not taking proper care of his animals but he says that isn’t the case.

“I didn’t do this. It’s not my horses’ fault that somebody started a fire and it destroyed everything. It destroyed how they survive. This is so hard for me and my family. I am putting a strain on my kids and immediate family to assist me on this. I have a hard time asking anyone, but I’m literally begging.”

He says he needs help to pay for hay or oats to help feed his animals and carry them through until the spring.

The Alberta Fire Commission has not yet released the cause of the fire.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to gather funds to pay for feed and you can find the details here.

(With files from Stephanie Wiebe)