Horses from the Beatys Butte Herd on the Beatys Butte HMA.  Photo by Larisa Bogardus

Beaty Butte HMA

The majority of the horses are sorrels, browns, roans and grays. A few horses show characteristics of Spanish mustangs, other bloodlines include draft horses, saddle type, and thoroughbred. Horses are managed for quality and conformation. Horses from this herd generally range from 14-16 hands and 950-1300 pounds.

Location: The area is located 65 miles east of Lakeview, Oregon. It is adjacent to and southeast of the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge, is southeast of Catlow Valley, and bordered on the South by the Charles Sheldon National Antelope Refuge.

Size: 437,120 acres of federal, state and privately owned land.

Topography/Vegetation: Vegetation consists primarily of big sagebrush and bunch grasses. Low sagebrush communities are interspersed throughout the area. Topography varies from gently rolling hills to steep rugged hills and buttes with a number of broad valleys and shallow or dry lake beds. Slopes range from 0 to 60%. Precipitation averages 9 inches annually, mainly from winter snowfall. Summers are short, warm and dry while winters are typically long and cold.

Wildlife: The area has a wide diversity of wildlife habitats and species including resident, migratory and nomadic populations. Large mammals include California bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope and mule deer. Animals typical in the area are coyote, raven, red-tail hawk, American kestrel, prairie falcon, turkey vulture, rough-legged hawk, chukar partridge, valley quail, morning dove, Northern harrier, common crow, magpie, great horned owl, mountain lion, bobcat, Great Basin fence lizard and rattlesnake. Also, there are numerous small mammals and wetland birds.

AML: 100-250

Horses from the Beatys Butte Herd on the Beatys Butte HMA. Photo by Larisa Bogardus

Flickr Album: Oregon Wild Horses Herd Management Area