Neigh, You Say? Understanding the U.S. Horse Population

The U.S. horse population, encompassing both domesticated and wild horses, presents unique management challenges. Federal agencies, including the Government Accountability Office (GAO), have highlighted the complexities involved in estimating and managing these populations. This article delves into the current state of the U.S. horse population and the strategies being considered to address these challenges.

Current Estimates and Challenges

Federal agencies do not have a recent estimate of the total U.S. horse population, according to the GAO. While available data suggest that the domesticated population may range from 5 million to 9 million, these estimates have limitations.

Data also indicate that the number of wild horses on public lands and in holding facilities has more than doubled in the past 16 years, reaching over 110,000 in 2016. Additionally, more than 90,000 feral horses reside on certain tribal lands.

Management Options

Managing the horse population in the United States could involve relocation to new homes, euthanasia or slaughter, or steps to prevent breeding. However, there are differences in the options available for managing domesticated, wild, and feral horses:

• The capacity to find new homes through rescue organizations and adoption is uncertain due to limited available information, according to stakeholders.
• Domesticated and feral horses may be exported to Mexico and Canada for commercial slaughter. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has placed conditions on sales and adoptions of wild horses to prevent their slaughter.

Federal agencies and stakeholders have programs to control population growth, but these efforts are not currently affordable or practical on a large scale, according to BLM officials.

Environmental Impacts

Stakeholders have identified various environmental impacts of free-roaming horse populations, particularly in western states. These impacts may include harming native vegetation, altering the landscape, and dispersing seeds. Federal agencies support research to better understand these impacts.

Stakeholder Concerns

The GAO conducted this study because federal and state agencies and nongovernmental stakeholders have raised concerns about the availability of options for managing horse populations. These concerns include challenges in finding homes for adoption, limited capacity at rescue sites, the cost of caring for wild horses, and the effectiveness of efforts to limit population growth and environmental impacts.

Stakeholders have also raised concerns about the welfare of horses sold for export to Mexico or Canada, where commercial slaughter for human consumption is permitted. In the United States, such slaughter has been effectively prohibited by language Congress included in annual appropriations acts for fiscal years 2006 to 2011 and beginning again in fiscal year 2014. Specifically, these acts have prohibited the use of federal funds to inspect horses that are to be slaughtered for human consumption.

Originally posted by Central Valley Business Times