Because horses make up a large part of our family here at Sacred Winds, we thought
that we would include this page on our web-site; eventually extending it to give
helpful information on caring for your new friend.

The origin of wild horses dates back to the days of Columbus and Hernando Cortez,
Italian and Spanish explorers who brought horses to North America. Burros were
brought by Jesuit missionaries and later used extensively by miners.Many of the
descendants of these horses and burros escaped or were abandoned by settlers,
ranchers, prospectors, Native Americans, and the U.S. Calvary between the late
1800s and 1930s, forming the first wild horse and burro herds.

These feral creatures subsequently were hunted by "mustangers." Considered pests
by many who were trying to settle the West, their population was drastically reduced
A public outcry in the late 1960s influenced Congress to enact the Wild Free-Roaming
Horse and Burro Act in 1971, providing for the protection, management, and control
of wild horses and burros on the public land -- the responsibility of the Department
of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture.

Federal protection and the absence of natural predators contributed to the flourishing
populations. In 1976, BLM began what is now the most visible and popular program
in the agency, the Adopt-A-Horse-or-Burro Program.


This site was created on April 1st 2000 by Storm Wolf
©Copyright 2000, Storm Wolf. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site or any material within this site may be
used without the expressed written permission from the author.