Bureau of Land Management
Wild Horse and Burro Program

The Bureau of Land Management, an agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, is responsible for managing over 260 million acres of public land in the United States. These lands are located primarily in the 12 Western states, including Alaska, though the agency does have significant holdings east of the Mississippi River.

As caretaker of these lands and their resources, the BLM's multiple-use mission focuses on sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

One of the programs managed by the BLM under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, is the Wild Horse and Burro Program. The BLM's primary responsibilities are to preserve and protect wild horses and burros and to manage for healthy rangelands. When an over-population of wild horses and burros exists on the range, the excess animals are removed and offered to the general public for adoption.

Why does the BLM offer wild horses and burros for adoption?

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 gave the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service the authority to manage, protect, and control wild horses and burros on the nation's public lands in order to ensure healthy herds and healthy rangelands.

Federal protection and a lack of natural predators have resulted in thriving wild horse and burro populations that increase each year. The BLM monitors rangelands and wild horse and burro herds to determine the number of animals, including livestock and wildlife, the land can support. Each year, the BLM gathers the excess wild horses and burros from areas where vegetation and water could become scarce if too many animals used the area.

These excess animals are offered for adoption to qualified people through the BLM's Adopt-a-Wild Horse or Burro Program. As an indication of how popular the program has been, from 1973 through 2002, the BLM placed more than 191,000 wild horses and burros into private care.

Why adopt a wild horse or burro?

With kindness and patience, a wild horse or burro can be trained for many uses. Wild horses have become champions in dressage, jumping, barrel racing, endurance riding, and pleasure riding. Wild burros excel in driving, packing, riding, guarding, and as companion animals. Both wild horses and burros are known for their sure-footedness, strength, intelligence, and endurance.