06/16/2026
An Open Letter to the Bureau of Land Management in Response to Call for Comments on Wild Horse Management:
First, thank you for caring about our wild horses and our land. For not gunning down Mustangs, as Australia is doing with its Brumbies. They are symbols of freedom in this country, where it is one of our foundational values.
Wild horse management should not be looked at as a problem, but rather as an opportunity. It has significant potential to improve our country, but it will require a multifaceted approach that goes beyond the benefits of wildland management alone.
1. Properly assess Appropriate Management Levels (AML) in Herd Management Areas (HMA). We have new technology to utilize, as well as a better understanding of the environment. A neutral third party should conduct an independent audit of what the land can truly sustain, based on the information we now have and accurate wild horse numbers. This is our starting point.
2. Once numbers are in place, work towards those management levels in humane ways through trapping and contraception, using practices that have been shown to be effective in the HMAs where they have been successfully done. Trapping self-selects for horses most likely to thrive in the human world, as the most feral horses are more likely to evade the traps.
Utilize new technology that can administer contraceptives in areas that are hard for humans to reach. Contraception through darting can also be administered by Veterans, many of whom are suffering in the civilian world and in search of a new purpose, thus providing a natural transition from military life while utilizing their unique skills to continue to better the country.
3. In collaboration with the forest service, release Mustangs into areas with high fire danger that need mitigation, eliminating a great deal of kindling, such as dry grasses. This could be either a permanent relocation or a trained herd (my Mustangs come easily when called) that relocates throughout the country.
4. For the horses that are gathered, we now have a national treasure and a natural resource to help humanity, and they can be managed and utilized in the following ways.
A. Continue adoption into private homes using the many methods now in place. Continue to fund programs that allow experienced horsemen and women to gentle and even saddle train these horses for private homes, making them more widely available to the public. Continue to invest in programs where these horses are valued, such as east of the Mississippi and in countries like Germany, where they are rare and unique and have very good lifelong outcomes. Put policies in place that prevent Mustangs from being sold to kill pens—particularly immediately after adoption and offer rehoming options for placements that find they aren't suited to the unique traits of Mustangs.
B. Continue to build the prison programs, using existing programs as templates, as well as Canon City, which was successful for a long time. These programs have a two-fold benefit—bringing horses into private homes and helping with prisoner reform. Inmates who participate in the program consistently have lower recidivism rates. Researched recidivism rates for those who have participated in the program range from 15%, while it is 35%- 60% for the general population. This saves costs down the line, as fathers return home and former criminals gain skills and become healthy citizens, to name a few benefits. These programs are worth the cost for the benefits they provide to society alone, while also mitigating the challenge posed by excess wild horses in captivity.
C. Utilize similar methods to bring these wild horses into contact with the broader population for the benefit they provide in terms of mental well-being, mindset development, and general life skills. More Veterans leaving active military service can be transferred into positions, phasing them out of military life (a common reason Veterans have significant struggles when leaving service), where they train wild horses to be safe for the general public and run programs utilizing Mustangs. There is substantial evidence that working with Mustangs has helped Veterans escape the su***de epidemic.
D. Integrate Mustangs into mental health and community impact programs across the country. Some areas in which this can be done include:
i. The Veterans Administration (VA), with a focus on Veterans suffering from PTSD, suicidality, and other mental health struggles.
ii. Youth programs, particularly in inner cities and communities where there are high levels of youth delinquency, through foster care organizations and other areas in which youth are most vulnerable. This can be both voluntary and judge-mandated, connecting youth with powerful mentors as they learn essential life skills. Create a Mustang barn in every community possible.
iii. Integrate Mustangs into schools to be utilized to help students who are challenged with autism, ADHD, and other disorders, which often create additional struggles in the learning environment, and which horses have been proven to help in the treatment. Mustang could additionally be utilized in physical therapy programs across the nation.
Community impact programs will likely pay for themselves long-term as we improve outcomes for high-risk individuals, particularly Veterans (who leave a struggling family behind when su***de is successful), prisoners (who can break generational crime and return into homes as a positive influence), and at-risk youth.
The American land has provided the answers for a society that is struggling with high mental health, crime, and su***de rates. There are programs already across the country that utilize horses in this manner, and there is more than enough room for the 60K+ horses now in holding, as well as others that may need to be gathered.
5. Finally, for the horses that are left free, particularly in well-known areas, integrate the incredible experience of viewing wild horses into the landscape of American tourism, benefiting local communities and those privileged to experience horses in the wild.
There is an army of civilians already engaged in each of these activities on a private scale, who could be contracted by the government to expand current programs and develop new ones. We have both the answers and the resources to make this happen and ultimately provide benefit to the horses, the land, and the American people.
Sincerely,
The Touch of a Mustang
Please share if you agree and to raise awareness. What would you add? How can America's wild horses be protected and preserved while benefiting humanity?
Submit your comments to help direct the future of wild horse management in ways that will benefit the horses and humanity: https://eplanning.blm.gov/Participate-Now/?id=5c14510a-cb5d-f111-bec6-001dd8029ed0&ppid=F8129444-CA5D-F111-BEC6-001DD8029ED0
