In Search of the Wild Horses of the Bookcliffs

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Every day, most residents in the Grand Valley glance up at the Bookcliffs, but many don’t think about the American living legends that reside on the other side of its edges.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) watches over about 30,000 acres of land just north of Grand Junction, where about 150 wild horses call home.

The horses are free to roam where they please but are confined to the Little Bookcliffs Wild Horse Range through natural, geological barriers. Although the public is welcome to visit the horses, it’s really at the animal’s discretion. There are no cages or saddles to rein them in, and they respond to the call of no man or woman.

“If you’re fortunate enough to just see them, they’re quite beautiful to just marvel at,” said Chris Joyner, public information officer for the BLM.

The Little Bookcliffs Wild Horse Range is just one of two wild horse areas managed by the BLM in America. Officials with the federal agency partner with the local organization Friends of the Mustangs to keep track of the growth and decline of the herds, mainly through the birth control drug PZP.

This year, the BLM announced they won’t have to do a round-up of the horses to control population numbers because the herds are deemed healthy in number and appearance.

“These horses are extremely well fed,” said Joyner. “I mean they’re doing very well.”

Originally Posted By News Channel 5, Grand Junction