Our Horses

ISPMB’s goal is to prevent the elimination of unique herds and to find a solution that would help to raise the public’s awareness of the need to protect wild horses and burros on public lands. At present, ISPMB is creating a model management program for wild horses in our country and currently manages three unique wild horse herds – the White Sands herd, the Gila herd, and the Catnip herd.

The Gila Herd

It began in 1996, when ISPMB was notified about a proposed removal of approximately 75 wild horses that were located near Gila Bend, Arizona. These wild horses were not protected by the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act and therefore were going to be gathered and sold at auction. In simple terms, this means being sold to the highest bidder for meat consumption in Europe.
Read more about the Gila Horses.

The White Sands Herd

A total of 70 wild horses were transported from the harsh sands of the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in New Mexico to the lush, green pastures of South Dakota. In 1999, this transfer culminated a ten year effort by ISPMB to protect the wild horses of White Sands Missile Range.
Read more about the White Sands Horses.

The Catnip Herd

Eighty-two wild horses arrived at the ISPMB in South Dakota from the Sheldon Wildlife Range (SWR) in northern Nevada. The SWR is not mandated by Congress to protect wild horses and proposes to reduce herds to 125 animals with the eventual possibility of eliminating wild horses altogether on the range.
Read more about the Catnip Horses.

The West Douglas Herd

The West Douglas Herd for decades has been fighting for their survival after BLM decided to zero out the herd. The herd consists of fewer than 300 horses in a canyon-filled area in northwest Colorado south of Rangely. These horses were separated from a larger herd when a highway expansion cut them off in 1983.
Read more about the West Douglas Horses.

ISPMB

PO Box 55
Lantry, SD 57636-0055
Phone: 605-964-6866
Mobile: 605-430-2088
ispmb@lakotanetwork.com

Herd Management Philosophy

Currently, ISPMB is continuing its observation and study of the herds so that a model management program can be derived. Fertility and recruitment rates are observed along with behaviors of bands and their interaction with each other. Each herd is blood typed and DNA tested. Right now the herds are far more genetically diverse compared to any breed of domestic horse in our country.

The Virginia Range Herd

These horses are from the area near Virginia City, Nevada where Wild Horse Annie’s ranch was once located and are often referred to as “Annie’s Horses.” They were the first wild horses to be protected when Annie was able to push through the 1952 Storey County law that prohibited the poisoning of water holes and the use of aircraft to capture wild horses. Ironically when the 1971 federal law passed to protect wild horses and burros, these horses were not protected because they were not on federal land..
Read more about the West Douglas Horses.