Wild Mustangs
The majestic beauty of the wild mustangs.
My dream has always been to move to Montana, buy a ranch and catch wild Mustangs. I don’t know if my dream will ever become a reality but through this article I have delved more into the story behind these beautiful creatures.
Mustangs are wild horses but truly they are classified as feral. Back in the day they originated from horses that were sold or escaped from their owners. They came from domesticated horses and they flourished in the wild. Their numbers grew and the herds got larger.
In the 1900’s there was an estimated two million wild mustangs. Since then the numbers have drastically gone down due to hunting them for pet food, or from being caught and sold. They used to be hunted with airplanes or poisoned and some of the capturing process was questioned, thus the sharp drop in their numbers.
In 1951 the wild free roaming horse act came in to play. Protecting these animals and saving them from extinction.
Today all of these horses are protected by law. Most of them have disappeared from most states but Nevada has more than 1/2 the population that is left. Montana and Oregon also still have a few. British Columbia and Alberta Canada have a few hundred wild mustangs too. There is said to also be some 33,000 of these horses left in the wild and another 30,000 captured and in holding facilities.
These mustangs that live in captivity were captured by the Bureau of Land Management to control the numbers of the horses running free today. Ranchers are upset by wild mustangs being able to come onto their property and graze. This competes with their own cattle and the battle begins. That is where the Bureau and Land Management came into affect. To keep the ranchers happy and also to try and protect the horses.
You can adopt these captured beauties for the fee of $25.-$50. but you cannot sell them for at least a year after purchasing them. This clause is you cannot resell them for at least one year. This is to protect them from being resold for pet food or such.
To me that does not seem to be very much money for such a treasure but I imagine with the numbers that are in captivity they have to see them that cheap or be stuck with them themselves.
My dream is still to move to Big Sky Country in Montana and have my working mustang ranch.
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13 Responses to “Wild Mustangs”
On July 23, 2009 at 10:50 am
Awesome Linda. I hope you can fulfill your dream!
On July 23, 2009 at 11:34 am
nice pictures, I know people can adopt wild donkeys too – great link I will share it with my wife, the horse lover.
On July 23, 2009 at 12:52 pm
excellent article complimented with great pictures.
On July 23, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Beautiful article, wishing you every success in achieving your dream Linda.
On July 23, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Great article. I have to admit I thought wild mustangs were just something in cowboy movies. Thanks for enlightening me.
On July 23, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Interesting article.
Thanks,
Inna
On July 23, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Excellent pic,I can not give you a mustang horse ,but do you want a Mustang car?
On July 23, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Awesome article, with interesting read. Thanks Linda, and have my liked it.
On July 25, 2009 at 5:19 am
The Pics are mind blowing! Great work!
On July 25, 2009 at 9:42 am
To Juancav…of course Ill take a mustang car, what year? lol…
On July 28, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Well Mom! Maybe Dino will give you that dream! lol…
On July 30, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Very good information, i dropped by to check out your work, and it is very good.
On August 2, 2009 at 9:51 am
This was an interesting read. I was surprised to learn that someone who desires to own one can now do so–and at a reasonable cost. Bookmarked.
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