Center Content: 

Group of wild horses in the field.  Photo by John Wheland

Herd Management

The BLM manages free-roaming wild horses and burros on public lands as part of its multiple-use mission, with the goal of supporting healthy wild horses and burros on healthy public rangelands.  The BLM is responsible for determining and maintaining appropriate management levels (AML) for each herd and works to achieve that population target through a variety of management processes, including limiting reproduction in some herds through the use of birth control and gathers that remove excess animals from the range. 

Read about range and herd health.

View an HMA

Wild horse and burro herd management area. BLM photo.

The BLM manages wild horses and burros in herd management areas across 10 western states.  Learn more about our HMAs.

Gather and Removals

Visit our state gathers and removals pages for:

  • Upcoming gather schedules
  • Regular updates on current gathers
  • Historical information about past gathers and removals