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Wild Horses
Scientific Name:
Equus ferus
Type:
Mammal
Habitat:
Open spaces with forage
Range:
Western United States
Status:
No listed status
This species is
INVASIVE
to the Truckee Meadows.
Identification:
The wild horses in Nevada are feral descendents of released and escaped horses. They vary in color and pattern. Most wild horses are 52 to 60 inches tall and weigh between 700 and 1,000 pounds.
Fast Facts:
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages and protects wild horses under the Wild-Free Roaming Horses and Bureau Act of 1971.
To control overpopulation, the BLM has implemented an adoption program.
As of March 1, 2024, the BLM estimates there are approximately 73,520 federally-protected wild horses and burros on BLM-managed public lands.
Wild horses are descendants of domestic horses, and have adapted to the American West over hundreds of years.
Nevada is home to over half of the wild horses protected by the BLM.
It is illegal to feed horses. Please keep your distance; these horses are wild, and thus, untrained, and can be dangerous.
Wild horses can be found in the western and southern areas of the Truckee Meadows.
Sources:
Bureau of Land Management, Press Release 2024 https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-2024-wild-horse-and-burro-estimates-show-reduced-overpopulation
World Animal Foundation, "How Many Horses Are There in the World?" 2023 https://worldanimalfoundation.org/advocate/how-many-horses-are-there/
Image: Rcgtrrz, https://www.flickr.com/photos/rcgtrrz/11033778405, license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped from original.
Contributor(s):
Micah Beck (research & content)
Alex Shahbazi (edits & page design)