Tony Lesperance, head of the state Agriculture Department, said Thursday the accident that killed a horse Sept. 19 on Highway 50 East is nothing new and, unfortunately, nothing rare.
"We've had about 100 horse-vehicle accidents in the last two or three years," he said, adding that two of his close friends have been involved in accidents with a horse.
He said the highway should be properly fenced by the Nevada Department of Transportation to keep the horses from crossing.
"What I'm advocating is that whole Highway 50 from the golf course to Silver Springs be fenced," Lesperance said.
In the meantime, he said volunteers have helped put some fencing up through the area near the accident site.
The attraction in that case, he said, was land owned by Lynn Hettrick, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Jim Gibbons. He said the range is dry and Hettrick's property was "a real green patch" which attracted a band of about 26 hungry horses.
He said, however, the problem has been there for years and, with increasing traffic, keeps getting worse.
"If you routinely drive between Carson City and Silver Springs, you routinely see horses on both sides of the road all the time," he said. "If you come off that hill at 65 to 70 miles an hour and there are 24 horses in front of you, you're in trouble."
He said they cross to get to water at the Carson River and are attracted by any available green grass such as Hettrick's property or the golf course.
With the area "pretty well fenced," NDOT signs warning of horses on the road and an artificial cattle guard painted on the road, the problem is now reduced.
"If we can just get them out of there for a while, it'll calm down," he said. "I think at this point in time it is under control but it's not a good fix."
He said there are too many horses on the Virginia Range right now, and a permanent highway fence is the best solution to keeping them off the road.
"Having the population reduced by periodic strikes by vehicles is probably not a politically correct solution," Lesperance said.