Several dozen wild horse advocates gathered in front of the Nevada State Capital building January 6, 2018 for a candlelight vigil.

The vigil called on Governor Brian Sandoval to reverse the Department of Agriculture's plan to hand the Virginia Range wild horses over to private ownership.

"We are here, we are ready. We want to come back to the table as quickly as possible and get this back on track," said Maureen Daane, wild horse advocate.

The decision was made last month by the Department of Agriculture board after the department terminated an agreement with a volunteer group that oversaw the horses. Horse advocates say they were surprised.

"It was a total shock to the whole community and to every advocate," said Louise Martin, wild horse advocate.

Advocates have concerns about what the private owners might do to the horses and that is why they want to start a dialogue with everyone involved so that doesn't happen.

"Sit down with us, we can work this out. It can be a positive thing for everybody and for the horses," said Martin.

This was the sixth rally the advocates have held. We contacted Governor Sandoval's office for a comment to this story, but haven’t heard back.