Ecological Impact of Wild Horses

Wild horses and burros contribute to vegetation management through their grazing habits. They help maintain grassland ecosystems by preventing overgrowth and promoting plant diversity. Additionally, large grazing herbivores can reduce fire spread and intensity by reducing fuel biomass by consuming vegetation. Horses and burros are especially useful as they are hindgut fermenters (as opposed to livestock) so they are more likely to consume dry and low-nutrient vegetation, like cheatgrass, that can be major drivers of wildfires.

The movement of wild horses across the landscape can help aerate the soil and promote nutrient cycling. By consuming slow-to-decompose vegetation, large herbivores can increase ecosystem metabolism and thus increase rates of carbon sequestration.

Wild horses rely on water sources for survival, and their use of these resources can influence water availability and quality. Wild equids have been shown to increase water availability in desert ecosystems, which could increase resistance to aridification.

Wild horses share their habitats with other wildlife species, which can lead to complex interactions. They can create habitats for other species by maintaining open spaces and water sources, and can be a critical component of rewilding. Rewilding (re-establishing functionally diverse populations of large-bodied animals, including both native species and replacements for extinct species or forms) is increasingly considered a central and critical component to global restoration efforts.