Wild horses gathered from the Owyhee Mountains now awaiting adoption or rangeland placement

ADA COUNTY, Idaho — The Bureau of Land Management’s gathering of wild horses in the Owyhee Mountains finished up Monday morning. With a goal of gathering 220 wild horses, when all was said and done, the team wrangled 229.

Now those horses are adjusting to life at the Boise Wild Horse Off-Range Corrals.

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Heather Tiel-Nelson, BLM Public Affairs Specialist, says the horses are adjusting well to the corrals.

“As you can see, they settle very quickly,” says Tiel-Nelson.

The Idaho Wild Horse Alliance has been following the round-up efforts since they were proposed months ago.

“Initially, of course, we were hoping we could slow down or stop the round-up. But once it happened, now our goal is to work closely with the BLM to help them find homes for these horses,” says Idaho Wild Horse Alliance president Tami Jones.

As Idaho News 6 reported on the BLM’s first day gathering, a foal was trampled and died during operations. The agency was then able to adjust their strategy and horse advocates say the following days went smoother.

RELATED | First day of BLM's efforts to gather wild horses from the Owyhee Mountains leaves one foal dead

“The first day was really rough, and it was rough on us, and it was rough on BLM. After that, the round-up was so smooth, and it really appeased a lot of our fears about how the round-up would go. They handled it well, the helicopter pilot stayed up high and way back. They didn't run those horses in, they walked and trotted them in. I am really proud of the BLM for the good job they did with this,” says Jones.

During the next few weeks while in the corrals, an estimated 38 mares will be treated with the fertility vaccine, known as GonaCon, and then released back into the rangeland.

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“[GonaCon] is a fertility control vaccine, and it helps to extend the time frame of infertility. It is not a sterilant by any stretch of the imagination. It is just going to give us more time between when they start to foal,” explains Tiel-Nelson.

For the horses that won’t be reintroduced to the wild, an adoption event being held by the BLM will take place.

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“People actually have to qualify [to participate]. They have to show they are actually capable of showing care to a wild horse. So it means their facilities need to meet certain specifications. The other reason why we call it an adoption is because the BLM retains title to that animal for a year. We want to ensure that those animals are going to a good home,” says Tiel-Nelson.

The adoption is set for November 10-12.

We will continue to follow this story through that process.