Wild Horses

The Bureau of Land Management manages wild horses and burros on public rangelands as mandated by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (PDF), as amended. The BLM protects, manages, and controls wild horses and burros to ensure that healthy herds thrive on healthy rangelands. If an overpopulation of wild horses and burros exists on public lands, the BLM gathers excess animals and offers them to the general public for adoption. The BLM presents these animals at adoption events and at BLM facilities throughout the United States. In addition to placing wild horses and burros into good homes through the adoption program, the BLM has direct sale authority that allows the agency to directly sell animals that are more than 10 years old and those younger that have been passed over for adoption at least three times. These animals are located in the BLM's long- and short-term holding facilities, such as Oregon's Wild Horse Corral Facility in the Burns District. Oregon has arguably the most prized wild horses available on public lands featuring the Kiger mustangs. Oregon's wild horses are known for their quality and color and are popular with adopters throughout the United States.

BLM manages 17 Herd Management Areas (HMA) in southeast Oregon and co-manages one Wild Horse Territory (Murders Creek - 75 percent Forest Service and 25 percent BLM) with the Malheur National Forest. Oregon herd numbers increase annually by twenty percent on the average. Decisions to gather excess animals are based on rangeland monitoring studies, availability of forage and water, and census of wild horse numbers. Normally, three to five of Oregon’s herds are gathered annually to remove excess animals and balance population numbers with the capability of the range to sustain them.