Wyoming Wild Horse and Mustang Center

Although The Hideout limits the number of riders to approx. 25 weekly, we have a herd of 130 horses. While mostly quarter horses and paints, each year more and more Mustangs are entering the guest string of horses.

Reading about the many challenges facing this icon of the West, we started to adopt Mustangs working closely with the Wyoming BLM Department in charge of wild horses. Over the years our herd of Mustangs has grown to around 30 horses. Each year we adopt more Mustangs and our plans are to continue to do so. Most of Mustangs are for Intermediate and Advanced Riders. We gentle them using respectful, relationship based natural horsemanship methods consistent with how we handle, gentle and train all our horses at The Hideout.

Some of our Mustangs have participated in The Extreme and Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover, some came through the Inmate Program where prisoners work with Mustangs as therapy or through the BLM program of Nick and Steve Mantle. June Wendlandt the Director or the Wyoming BLM Wild Horse and Burrough program and Tricia Hattle in charge of the McCullough Peaks Mustang herd are great resources and people to work with.

Mustangs to Europe

Over the years a growing number of Mustangs passed through The Hideout on their way to Europe. Several of our European guests loved their Mustang ride so much that they wanted to adopt Mustangs themselves. We assist them in this process and keep the horses at The Hideout for a year to start, gentle and train them. This make sure they travel well on the plane to Europe and that they are nice horses to continue to enjoy once arriving overseas.

Your Mustang and Wild Horse Guest Ranch

Over the years we have learned a lot about how to handle and work with these beautiful animals and every year we fine-tune how we handle them and work with them. During Spring and Fall we ride on a regular basis in the McCullough Peaks area where the McCullough Peak Mustangs roam. During this ride for Intermediate and Experienced riders, it is always a treat when these curious beautiful equines come circling us to check out who we and our mounts are.

Following BLM rules we always stay at least 500 feet away from the wild horse herd.

More to read on Mustangs

A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the American west, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated horses, they are defined as feral horses. The original mustangs were Colonial Spanish horses, but many other breeds and types of horses contributed to the modern mustang, now resulting in varying phenotypes. Some free-roaming horses are relatively unchanged from the original Spanish stock, most strongly represented in the most isolated populations.

In 1971, the United States Congress recognized that “wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, which continue to contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.”[1] The free-roaming horse population is managed and protected by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Controversy surrounds the sharing of land and resources by mustangs with the livestock of the ranching industry, and also with the methods by which the BLM manages their population numbers. The most common method of population management used is rounding up excess population and offering them to adoption by private individuals. There are inadequate numbers of adopters, so many once free-roaming horses now live in temporary and long-term holding areas with concerns that the animals may be sold for horse meat. Additional debate centers on the question of whether mustangs—and horses in general—are a native species or an introduced invasive species in the lands they occupy.

Horses in the United States. There are about 9.2 million horses in the country and 4.6 million citizens are involved in the horse business. In addition, there are about 82,000 feral horses that roam freely in a wild state in certain parts of the country. The horse evolved in the Americas, but became extinct between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago.

Where are wild mustangs found in America?

Wild mustangs in the United States live in ten Western states: Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, California, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota and New Mexico, as well as on islands off of the Atlantic coast. The habitat of wild mustangs include Western deserts, mountains and Eastern islands

How many Mustangs are living in the US?

Around 43,813 Mustangs are living in short- and long-term captivity
Around 33,000 Mustangs are living in the wild