Facts About Mustangs

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the primary agency responsible to manage these horses in balance with wildlife and cattle grazing.
Wild horse populations increase 7 – 15 % each year on fixed territories called Herd Management Areas (HMA’s).
The primary means of managing these populations has been through periodically rounding up the excess horses and burros and keeping them in holding pens until they can be adopted.
The thousands of wild horses and burros removed from their home ranges each year await uncertain futures. Some are adopted, some are sent to prison training facilities, and some are “mass adopted” to ill fates. Thousands still wait in holding corrals, sometimes for the rest of their lives.
The existence of wild horses running free on public lands is extremely controversial and the number of HMA’s and horse populations continues to shrink each year.
Many horses adopted as wild animals end up abused and/or neglected because the adopter is unable to gentle the horse or burro. Many potential adopters are intimidated by the “wild” factor and choose a domestic bred horse. The public has a misconception that a wild horse won’t make a safe mount and is not capable of a variety of riding disciplines. The public demand for “wild” horses does not currently meet the number.