05 Jan A Refuge Preserving the “Wild” of Colorado’s Wild Mustangs
For hundreds of years, the wild mustangs of Colorado have thundered across the western plains. A prominent presence of not only the state’s history, but of the country as a whole.
Majestic, wild, and free – until they weren’t.
As the population of free-roaming horses grew in Colorado’s Sand Wash Basin (SWB) to almost 1,000, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) intervened in 2020, rounding up a collective 700 horses and transporting them to a holding facility in Canyon City, Colorado. Soon after, they could be adopted by the public through a series of auctions hosted by the BLM. In response to this news, several supporters of Colorado’s Wild Animal Sanctuary generously offered to donate toward ensuring the organization rehomed the mustangs. Dozens were rescued initially and brought to the ample space of the 10,000-acre, Wild Animal Refuge in southern Colorado (one of the Sanctuary’s four facilities).
Among the supporters fighting for the horses’ freedom were Colorado’s Governor Jared Polis and First Gentleman, Marlon Reis, who also reached out with a request to assist the horses. Though The Wild Animal Sanctuary is the world’s oldest and largest carnivore sanctuary, the organization has also rescued horses for all 44 years of its operation. The southern Refuge’s wide-expanse of rolling hills provided the first horses a bountiful home for three years, but soon it was time to look farther afield for a space entirely devoted to the mustangs – as nearly 100 had been rescued!
This search concluded in securing a large historical ranch near Craig, Colorado in January 2023, just 35 miles from the Sand Wash Basin. A whopping 22,500 acres of the same terrain both the current mustangs, and the hooves of their ancestors once called “home” for centuries. Once again, they are now free to run on lush, natural earth under open sky.
This new facility, now christened, “The Wild Horse Refuge”, is devoid of stock pens or fenced pastures – instead, the horses may run to their hearts’ content across the many thousands of acres. There are staff present 24/7 to monitor the site while veterinarians and behavior specialists visit regularly. The goal is to restore the freedom of Colorado’s magnificent, historic horses – not just for the 100 already rescued, but of those to come as well. This endeavor became a reality in response to a call to help save a symbol of the American Wild West – to keep that generations-old “Wild” exactly that – wild.
The Wild Horse Refuge is asking those who care about these majestic creatures or happen to be interested in protecting an important part of Colorado history, to visit https://www.WildHorseRefuge.org to learn more. Additionally, for those who would like to tour of the Refuge, the website offers a way for individuals and groups to schedule visits.
Please join in ensuring Colorado’s wild horses thrive in their new forever home!
This is a paid sponsored content article from The Wild Animal Sanctuary.