2025 Pancake Emergency Wild Horse Gather
Purpose of Gather:
The purpose of the gather is to humanely and safely gather drought impacted and compromised wild horses within the Pancake HMA. Monitoring of the Pancake HMA during spring and summer 2025 revealed limited availability to water and forage. Due to the exceptional drought, little to no forage grew this year in Big Sands Springs Valley. The gather is critical to ensuring the future health of the HMA lands as well as the wild horses in the area, both of which are in jeopardy due to herd overpopulation, limited water and extremely limited forage.
The HMA encompasses an area approximately 824,000 acres in size.
Details of Gather:
The BLM plans to gather and remove approximately 100 wild horses. The area of work will be in Big Sand Springs Valley within the Pancake HMA. The gather operations will utilize temporary bait and water traps consisting of a series of corral panels stocked with water and hay; no helicopters will be used. Gather operations will be conducted by Uhalde Livestock, Inc. Located in Ely, Nevada.
Public Observation:
Due to the nature of the bait and water trap method, wild horses are reluctant to approach the trap site when there is too much activity; therefore, only essential gather operations personnel will be allowed at the trap site during gather operations.
Adoption Information:
Information for wild horse adoptions can be found on the BLM Wildhorse and Burro Adoption page.
Background:
The Pancake HMA is within the Great Basin physiographic region, characterized by a high, rolling plateau underlain by basalt flows covered with a thin loess and alluvial mantle. On many of the low hills and ridges that are scattered throughout the area, the soils are underlain by bedrock. Elevations within the Complex range from approximately 5,000 feet to 11,000 feet.
Vegetation in the HMA consists primarily of brush, fir and mountain mahogany in the higher elevations, pinion-juniper and sagebrush on the lower mountain slopes and white sage, black sage, saltbush and other “salt desert shrub” type communities on the valley floors.
- Daily Gather Reports
Saturday July 26
Summary: Temperatures : 45-90 degrees
Animals Gathered: 0 (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 68 (22 Stallions, 32 Mares, and 14 Foals)
Deaths: 0
- Sudden / Acute: 0
- Pre-existing / Chronic: 0
Friday July 25
Summary: Temperatures : 45-90 degrees
Animals Gathered: 69 (28 Stallions, 30 Mares, and 11 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 36 (18 Stallions, 18 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Deaths: 1
- Sudden / Acute: 0
- Pre-existing: 1
Four year old sorrel was euthanized due to blindness.
Thursday July 24
Summary: Temperatures : 45-90 degrees
Animals Gathered: 36 (13 Stallions, 20 Mares, and 3 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 0 (0 Stallions, 0 Mares, and 0 Foals)
Deaths: 0
- Sudden / Acute: 0
- Pre-existing / Chronic: 0
News
Gather Status
As of July 27, 2025
Animals Gathered: 105
(41 Stallions, 50 Mares, and 14 Foals)
Animals Shipped: 104
(40 Stallions, 50 Mares, and 14 Foals)
Deaths: 0
-Sudden / Acute: 0
-Pre-existing: 1
Scroll to the bottom of this gather page for detailed “Daily Gather Reports"