Who is “Wild Horses Lives Matter”
Knowledge must be shared, not siloed.
Law. Range science. On-the-ground experience.
We win when strategy replaces ego.
Why has BLM kept winning?
Because an under-informed public is easier to manage.If advocates truly understood how narrow legal protections are and how much discretion BLM has, the fight would shift from “save these horses” to “change the system.”
That’s where real power begins.
The appropriations rider is the annual safeguard that blocks federal funds from being used to send healthy, unadopted animals down that pathway.
The FY2027 President’s budget proposal reportedly omits the longstanding bipartisan rider that prevents federal funds from being used to kill healthy, unadopted wild horses and burros or sell them into slaughter. This annual protection was included in FY2026 and enacted in Public Law 119-74, but it must be renewed every year. As of May 15, 2026, Congress has not yet publicly confirmed the rider in FY2027 House or Senate Interior-Environment appropriations text. Please urge appropriators to include the full anti-slaughter and no-commercial-sale rider in the FY2027 Interior-Environment appropriations bill.
From Blue Wing to Windwalker Ridge: The Ongoing Battle for Primrose, the "Mystery Mare"
This is the story of Primrose, a small, brave mare who became known as the "Mystery Mare" of the Blue Wing Complex roundup. Her journey from the Nevada desert to the Windwalker Ridge Mustang Sanctuary is a harrowing tale of survival, a damning indictment of the BLM’s lack of accountability, and a testament to the power of advocacy and love.
The Math of Mismanagement: How Public Lands Policy Fails Wild Horses
Wild horses are an enduring symbol of the American West, yet their survival on public lands is increasingly threatened by policies that prioritize commercial livestock over protected wildlife. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is tasked with managing these herds under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. However, a closer examination of the math behind the BLM's Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) reveals a stark disparity in land and forage allocation, raising serious concerns about the genetic viability of wild horse populations
Triple B Complex Roundup (Nov–Dec 2024) after the gates shut
On November 2, 2024, the BLM began a roundup at the Triple B Complex. The roundup lasted 32 days, resulting in 2,196 wild horses removed from the range. Only 39 were released, and 27 horses died during the roundup. I was there. I witnessed it firsthand. (Now, I am seeing many of these same mustangs ending up in kill pensdumped into the very pipeline they were supposed to be protected from).
What was the real death total at this roundup to date? (This would not include a count of any that have been shipped to Mexico only roundup stats).
Holding the BLM Accountable: The 2023 Advisory Board Admission on Kill Pen "Flipping"
When 15 wild Nevada mustangs are purchased at a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) event and found in a kill pen on the exact same day, the BLM often defaults to the legal defense that "title has transferred" and they have no jurisdiction.
However, official transcripts from the June 28-30, 2023, National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting prove that the BLM is acutely aware of this specific "flipping" loophole, acknowledged that it violates the fundamental intent of the adoption and sales program, and publicly committed to addressing it.