BRUNEAU, Idaho — Wild horses are often seen as a symbol of the American West, but as herd sizes grow, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says managing those populations becomes a balancing act between horse numbers and the resources available on public lands.
At the Bruneau Wild Horse Off-Range Corrals, visitors got a behind-the-scenes look at how that process works.
WATCH: Why Idaho's wild horse corrals are home to more than 1,200 mustangs
Heather Tiel-Nelson, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management, said wild horses received federal protection in 1971. Since then, the agency has been responsible for maintaining healthy horse populations on healthy rangelands.
“Since wild horse herds don't really have any natural predators, a herd size can double every 4 years, which can often lead to them eating themselves out of house and home,” explained Tiel-Nelson.
The BLM monitors what it calls appropriate management levels, balancing horse populations with available forage, water, wildlife habitat, and other uses of public lands.
When populations exceed what the range can support, horses are gathered and moved to facilities like the Bruneau corrals.
“So at that point, the BLM has to come in and gather off the excess wild horses or burros from overpopulated rangelands, and then we offer them for adoption,” Tiel-Nelson said.
The Bruneau facility spans about 80 acres and currently houses more than 1,200 horses.
Nationwide, the agency is caring for roughly 58,000 horses and burros off the range, making adoption an important part of the program.
“I mean, for every animal that's adopted, it's a savings of about $15,000 a head to the American taxpayer,” Tiel-Nelson said.
One visitor on Tuesday's tour came to see a horse she purchased through the program for $125. She said the appeal of mustangs is the opportunity to start fresh with a horse that has not already been trained by previous owners.
Some horses begin at just over $100 in online auctions, while especially sought-after animals can draw much higher bids.
Tiel-Nelson said the attraction goes beyond cost.
“There's a romance that's involved in the idea of owning a piece of the American West, wild horses that roamed our federal public rangelands, and that holds an allure for a lot of people,” she said.
The BLM's online wild horse auctions are typically held every other month, with the next auction scheduled for July.
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