Why Wild Horses, Why Now?

Why wild horses, and why now?

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way
its animals are treated." -Mahatma Gandhi

In 1972, shortly after passage of the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, over 6,000 wild horses lived in New Mexico. Today, fewer than 600 live in protected areas. We once had eight designated territories for wild horses and burros in New Mexico—the populations of five of these territories have been completely eliminated through round-up and removal. There may now be more wild horses in long-term holding corrals with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management than there are running free in the wild. Approximately 30,000 mustangs rounded up and removed from wild horse territories live in holding facilities.

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." -Immanuel Kant

Due to the eradication of their natural predators such as mountain lions, as well as reduced public lands available for horses, the perception exists that there is a wild horse "overpopulation" problem. In fact, private livestock grazing on public lands contributes most to the displacement of wild horses, as these lands are not effectively managed to provide adequate habitat for wildlife and support private agricultural uses. One long-standing argument against having wild horses on public lands is that they are a non-native species that competes for forage with other wildlife and privately-owned livestock. Science has advanced, and now tells us that the mustangs of today are native to America (Kirkpatrick & Fazio, 2009). The passage of the Free-Roaming Wild Horse & Burro Act of 1971 made illegal many former “management practices;” intended to remedy those including killing horses on public land, and designated wild horse territories where mustangs are protected. Despite the passage of this legislation, the primary method for managing wild horses on public lands has been continued round-up and removal. These wild horses are offered for adoption and most are then sent to long-term holding, with some going to slaughter. The round-ups themselves are also very stressful on the horses, with injury and even death not uncommon occurances.

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." -Albert Einstein

Sky Mountain Wild Horse Sanctuary views these challenges as an opportunity for education and change. We employ a multifaceted approach by providing no-kill, non-breeding sanctuary for as many horses as we can responsibly manage, keeping them free and wild, while also addressing future population issues through our involvement with PZP (equine birth control). We at Sky Mountain believe that this moment holds true opportunity to revolutionize the treatment of wild horses in the West. We are continuing to explore new technology and innovative partnership opportunities to keep wild horses free and healthy in numbers that are sustainable on the land they share with other species. Partnerships with private landowners such as the one we have for the sanctuary, and learning more about grazing lease retirement to benefit animals, the land, and the humans involved are paths we continue to explore.

Please Join Sky Mountain Wild today and help us to give these iconic symbols of the American West a voice.