BLM Starts Cedar Mountain Wild Horse Gather to Protect Herd and Rangeland Health
Reported by Bureau of Land Management · November 9 at 5:00 AM · Summary by Hoofdeck
The Bureau of Land Management has begun a gather of wild horses in the Cedar Mountain Herd Management Area near Skull Valley, Utah. The agency says the estimated population is nearly double what the rangeland can support. Helicopters will guide horses into temporary corrals, and certain public lands around the site will be closed, including to drones.
Background
Gathers are the BLM's standard method for reducing herds that exceed what their range can sustain, and horses removed are normally given health checks and vaccinations before adoption or sale. Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, the agency is barred from sending these animals to slaughter, and buyers are bound by adoption and sale requirements.
Why it matters
Owners of adopted or purchased mustangs, and anyone interested in adopting, may see these horses come into the program through BLM facilities in the coming months.
What you can do
If you are considering adopting or buying a gathered horse, check the BLM adoption and sale listings and ask your vet to review any health records that come with the animal.
Check what your pet can and cannot eat
Written by Hoofdeck from the report by Bureau of Land Management. Background is general information, not advice about your horse; if you are worried, call your vet.