North America has been scientifically shown to be the original home of the horse species. They evolved here and thrived for over 57 million years, however, the horses of those days did not resemble anything like the horse of today. About 10,000-15,000 years ago, for reasons yet unexplained and not fully understood, horses are believed to have become non-existent in North America. Fortunately by that time, they had already migrated to Russia and into Asia over the Beringia land bridge that once connected North America with Russia at the Bearing Strait. Truly, when the Spanish explorers brought horses back to the continent, the horses were simply returning home.

As the horses freely roamed across the Great Plains and desert Southwest, they received the name “Mustang”, which originated with the old Spanish word “Mostenco”, which means “Ownerless” or “Wild”, reflecting their freedom to roam and live with virtually no predators, except humans and the occasional mountain lion. By the 1800’s, there were approximately 2-5 million mustangs in our country, mostly in the West and Southwest. Unfortunately, with the settling of the country so quickly completed, thanks in a large part on the back of these magnificent horses and the advancement of technology, such as railroads, cars and trucks, and the United States military’s entrance into World War I, in which up to 1 million horses were shipped to Europe for use in the war, mustangs were no longer needed as much, causing hundreds of thousands to be abandoned and thousands upon thousands being slaughtered for pet food. Unfortunately, many people considered the mustang a nuisance that was always grazing, sometimes on the lands designated for other animals such as beef and sheep, and shot them, poisoned them or several other despicable methods of killing them due to non-existent laws protecting them. This occurred well into the 1960’s! In the late 1950’s, a woman named Velma Johnson, AKA “Wild Horse Annie” observed the atrocities being committed upon our mustangs and began a grass roots campaign to have the wild horses and burros that usually accompany them, protected by the federal government, believing they should be regarded as true symbols of our pioneering spirit and should be recognized as national icon of our country.

Through her unbelievable efforts and the following she garnered leading this campaign of public awareness, Congress, in 1971, passed the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act (WFRHBA), which requires the protection, management and control of wild free roaming horses and burros on public lands. In fact, part of the Act itself states “wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West…they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the nation and enrich the lives of the American people…” (Congress, WFRHBA, 1971). However, in 1978, the WFRHBA was amended by another act called the Public Rangelands Improvement Act (PRIA), which gives the Secretary of the Interior broad discretion to determine what and where excess horses and burros are located and to remove them, in order to prevent deterioration of the range and over population.

In order to keep the numbers of horses and burros manageable, the Bureau of Land Management, the governing agency responsible for the Wild Horse and Burro Program, conducts several planned “gathers” or round ups to cull or thin the herds. These horses and, in some cases, burros, are then placed into short term holding facilities, where they are provided vaccinations, hoof care if needed, feed and water. Adoptions are permitted from these facilities, to the public, for a government adoption fee of $125.00; however, stringent qualifications are needed especially for the location in which the mustang will be kept. The horses and burros are usually kept at these short term facilities for 1-3 years, and if not adopted in that time, will be sent to large long term private contract facilities, for the duration of their life. The BLM publishes monthly and yearly reports that denote the amount of horses each facility can hold and how many are presently being housed.

As of 2016 the total number of horses being held in short and long term holding facilities was approximately +49,000 in short-term holding corrals; on the range there are approximately 61,749 horses, 13,083 burros – for a total of 74,832.  The issue is the range across the 10 Western states can only support 26,677 horses and burros per the Appropriate Management Level (AML) as set by the BLM.  Please note these numbers are only provided by the BLM and are approximate and subject to change per gathers by the BLM. Unfortunately, only about 39,000 wild horses and burros are left roaming on BLM managed rangelands in the 10 Western states which constitute Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon and Montana. There are far more in captivity than there are in the wild! Regionally, several of the free roaming bands and herds of mustangs bear unmistakable marks of both their original Spanish ancestry and the several domestic breeds that have been added to the herds. Some herds carry genes of carriage horses, trotting and pacing horses, heavy Percheron’s, Shires, Belgian draft horses, the American Standardbred, Thoroughbreds, Morgan’s and Quarter Horses. This is a result of many unrestrained domestic horses leaving their farms and ranches to integrate with the mustangs and in many instances, people just releasing them into the wild. There are several great books, especially in regards to the Nevada mustangs, that had such good conformation, intelligence and endurance, many ranchers in Northern Nevada often releases their stud horses into wild mustang herds to improve the horses.

Today’s wild mustangs are a true American Melting Pot of horses, and with the help of Natural Selection, they are extremely intelligent, possess an uncanny “common sense”, are sound-minded, sure footed and incredibly strong, both in body and spirit. Mustangs normally have excellent feet/hooves and rarely require shoeing, and their constitution is strong and hardy. Having had the benefit of life within a functional natural social unit, they are well socialized and savvy. Funny Farm Mustangs recognizes the importance of a strong, committed working relationship with the BLM, the Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) and other American Mustang organizations to facilitate the gentling, training and adoption of a true American Icon, the wild Mustang.