Wild Horses

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Soaring over the Snake River Birds of Prey NCA

Teepees at Idaho's Sacajawea Interpretive Center in Salmon

Idaho



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Jarbidge Field Office

Wild Horses and Burros

Idaho's wild horses are descendants of domestic horses that escaped to or were turned out on the public lands prior to passage of the Horse and Burro Act in 1971. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, many farmers and ranchers released their animals onto public lands because they couldn't afford to feed them.

Wild horses have few natural predators and herd populations can double every five to six years. BLM periodically gathers and removes excess wild horses to maintain each herd at its Appropriate Management Level. Excess animals are made available to the public through the National Adopt-A-Horse and Burro Program. Idaho BLM regularly holds horse adoptions across the state to find good homes for animals gathered from Idaho's rangelands. BLM also conducts satellite adoptions each year in Idaho to help place wild horses gathered from herd areas in other western states.

Jarbidge Field Office

Saylor Creek Wild Horse Herd

The Saylor Creek Wild Horse Herd lives on approximately 83,540 acres in the southern portion of the Jarbidge and Burley Field Offices. According to local history, the foundations of the Saylor Creek Horse Herd date back to the early 1960s when mares were captured near Challis, Idaho, and transported to an area south of Glenns Ferry, Idaho. Small bands of horses could be found in the vicinity of Dove Springs and the Sailor Creek seep. A registered stud was purchased and turned out with the mares, and colts were captured in annual roundups. This practice ended when the Saylor Creek Herd was established in accordance with the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burros Act of 1971.

For more information on the Wild Horse and Burro Program and requirements for adoption, call 1-866-MUSTANGS, or visit www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.

Sailor Creek Herd

The Saylor Creek Herd in motion.

Jarbidge Field Office | 2536 Kimberly Road | Twin Falls, ID 83301
208-736-2350 | Fax: 208-736-2375 | Office hours: 7:45am - 4:30pm, M-F