Jarbidge Field Office

Wild Horses and Burros

Idaho's wild horses are descendants of domestic horses that escaped to or were turned out on the public lands prior to passage of the Horse and Burro Act in 1971.  For example, in the 1930s during the Great Depression, many farmers and ranchers released their animals onto public lands because they couldn't afford to feed them.

Wild horses have few natural predators, and herd populations can double every five to six years. The BLM periodically gathers and removes wild horses to maintain each herd at its Appropriate Management Level (AML).  Excess animals are made available to the public through the National Adopt-A-Horse and Burro Program. BLM Idaho regularly holds horse adoptions across the state to find good homes for animals gathered from Idaho's rangelands.  The BLM also conducts satellite adoptions each year in Idaho to help place wild horses gathered from herd areas in other Western states. 

For more information on the Wild Horse and Burro Program and requirements for adoption, call 1-866-MUSTANGS, click on a link in the box at-right, or visit the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro website.

Saylor Creek Wild Horse Herd
 
The Saylor Creek Wild Horse Herd lives on approximately 83,540 acres in the southern portion of the Jarbidge and Burley Field Offices.  Local history traces the herd's origins back to the early 1960s when mares were captured near Challis, Idaho, and transported to an area south of Glenns Ferry.  Small bands of horses could be found in the vicinity of Dove Springs and the Sailor Creek seep.  A registered stud was purchased and turned out with the mares, and colts were captured in annual roundups. This practice ended when the Saylor Creek Herd was established in accordance with the Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971.


The Saylor Creek wild horse herd
The Saylor Creek Herd in motion.

Jarbidge Field Office  |  2536 Kimberly Road  |  Twin Falls, ID 83301
208-736-2350  |  Fax: 208-736-2375  |  Office hours: 7:45am - 4:30pm, M-F