Located along the Montana and Wyoming border is the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range. The protected range consists of about 39,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, United States Forest Service, and private lands. The feral, or wild horses, trace their ancestry back to horses brought to North America by Spanish colonizers.  The range can provide habitat for up to 120 wild horses. The area’s high desert climate consists of cold desert shrubs, subalpine fir, and meadows.  In August 2014, 158 adults and 15 foals were in the herd. Before 1963, wild horses often were hunted on federal lands due to concerns over overgrazing and erosion. Today, when the number of horses exceeds the recommend heard size for the range, some are rounded up and adopted out. Fertility management procedures are also in place to help keep the herd within healthy numbers.  Although wild, Pryor horses can be broken and make excellent trail horses.    

Kayde E. Kaiser | University of Monatan | Geography Department