The Army announced Tuesday that it's moving toward a future without ceremonial horses and will put most of them up for adoption.

BLM to conduct Muddy Creek wild horse gather in Emery County

Continued drought conditions including a lack of forage, available water, and an overpopulation of wild horses is prompting the Bureau of Land Management to initiate an emergency removal of excess horses.

BLM is offering a public tour of the closed to the public off-range wild horse corrals and wild burro pastures July 7, 9am to noon. Attendees will have the chance to tour the facility and ask questions about the animals being held there and about the Wild Horse and Burro program.

Inconsistencies in decision-making and documentation, particularly concerning wild horse Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs), and notes that reductions in wild horse populations are often actual, while livestock reductions are frequently "paper" adjustments from permit preferences.

Despite growing public outcry, Congress is taking no meaningful action to protect America’s wild horses and burros

The BLM plans to take emergency actions to gather wild horses impacted by drought-stricken areas located within the Muddy Creek Herd Management Area on or around Jun. 24.  Gather operations will utilize temporary bait and water traps consisting of a series of corral panels enticed with water and/or forage; no helicopter will be used.   

The gather will help balance the number of horses to what the rangeland can sustainably support, due to severe drought conditions. The Muddy Creek HMA is located in Emery County, approximately 20 miles south of Ferron, Utah, in the San Rafael Swell region.  It consists of approximately 283,400 acres of public and state lands.

What does this mean for the Wild Horses on these HMA’s?

The Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act, would create a land health management program on federal lands in Malheur County, Oregon.

Herd Management Area Plans (HMAPs) do not constitute instruments of resource allocation.

They do not possess the legal authority to alter existing allocations of resources, including but not limited to authorized livestock grazing levels.

Rather, HMAPs function to ratify, endorse, or give administrative sanction to resource allocations already established through prior land use planning decisions or permits.

Accordingly, modifications to livestock grazing authorizations cannot be effectuated through a decision related to a wild horse or burro gather.

The horse-drawn caissons of the 3rd Infantry Regiment that have carried the caskets of deceased service members to gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery since 1948 are scheduled to formally resume service on June 2 after a two-year suspension over concerns for the herd's health and welfare

The proposed 2026 budget for the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program is significantly reduced, potentially impacting the program's ability to provide care and management for the horses and burros in its custody.

Even more alarming is the possibility that the budget proposal removes long-standing appropriations language that prohibits the destruction or sale of healthy wild horses and burros for slaughter. If this protection is stripped away, it could pave the way for the mass killing or export of captive wild horses for slaughter, in direct contradiction to the intent of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, which recognizes these animals as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”

The Environmental Assessment (EA) cites 16 U.S.C. § 1333(b)(1) of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA) on page 169 as direct authorization for using PZP and GonaCon-Equine for contraception. This interpretation is flawed because the cited statute solely permits sterilization for management purposes. The EA lacks explicit legal support for employing these substances merely to decelerate population growth, which is the primary goal stated for most PZP and GonaCon applications.

The Silver King HMA, covering 575,460 acres, allocates an estimated 30,356 Animal Unit Months (AUMs) annually to livestock across its grazing allotments, significantly outpacing resources for wild horses.

30 DAY PUBLIC COMMENT STARTED MAY 23,2025

The NYPD Mounted Unit, also known as the "Ten Foot Cops," is a significant part of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and has been around since 1858. Read about Lightening’s journey. (photo courtesy of BLM)

The WFO is proposing to conduct a gather of excess wild horses in the Fifteenmile HMA and surrounding areas in the fall of 2025. Approximately 310 wild horses would be gathered by helicopter drive trapping in the Fifteenmile HMA. Approximately 210 wild horses would be removed, with approximately 100 wild horses returned to the HMA. Additionally, an estimated 12 wild horses residing outside the HMA, particularly in the area immediately SW of Worland, would be gathered and removed. Action was previously analyzed in the Fifteenmile Herd Management Area Plan.

Overgrazing is only one facet of the damage ranching inflicts on wildlife. A wide range of practices associated with or intended to support livestock grazing have also played a major role in the widespread decline of wildlife on federally managed lands. Chief among these is the systematic and ongoing eradication of animals perceived as threats or competitors to livestock.

Environmental assessments have been copied to project folders in ePlanning for public review, with comments due on May 7.

PARTIAL LIST

32 YEARLINGS $125  ADOPTABLE

19 GELDINGS $125 ADOPTABLE

1 MARE  $125  ADOPTABLE

18 MARES $25 SALE AUTHORITY

8 BURROS $25 SALE AUTHORITY

Since the BLM CAWP team was formed, have they FAILED any holding facility, Roundup or adoption events due to compliance issues? The answer is NO- The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program (CAWP) team is responsible for assessing compliance with animal welfare standards during wild horse and burro management activities. While the CAWP team has identified areas of non-compliance in various assessments, there is limited public information indicating that the BLM has officially failed an assessment due to compliance issues.​