Shade Structures for Wild Horses: A Call for Humane Conditions

September 2, 2015

AWHC Contributor

They were once wild and free, roaming the vast, open spaces of the American West. Now they stand by the thousands in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding pens, deprived of their freedom and their families, facing endless days and years with no shelter to protect them from the sweltering summer sun or harsh winter winds and storms.

In the wild, horses and burros can and do seek cover and shelter from the elements. Captured mustangs and burros, however, are not given a choice and are denied access to shelter. They stand for years in holding pens, continuously and constantly exposed to punishing sun and heat in summer and bitterly cold winds and storms in winter.

Although the BLM requires adopters of wild horses and burros to provide shelter for the animals, the agency's own holding facilities do not meet these basic standards for humane care. The BLM has already wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars collecting and analyzing over 600 hours of data from a shade research study to determine whether horses "prefer shade in hot sunny weather." Any horse owner could provide the BLM with the answer to that question for free!

Once the BLM removes horses from their homes on the range, the agency has a responsibility to ensure humane and adequate care for these animals. Currently, the BLM is failing woefully to meet this standard at its short-term holding facilities.

Studies: Horses and Burros Need Shade

Dr. Carolyn L. Stull and Dr. Kathryn Holcomb of University of Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, California headed the "shade study" for captive horses at the Palomino Valley Complex outside of Reno, Nevada. They concluded:

In addition, in 2009 Dr. Stull and Dr. Gregory Farraro created guidelines for Equine Sanctuaries and Rescue Facilities which stated:

In all but the most temperate of climates, horses housed outdoors in corrals, paddocks, dry lots, and pastures will need to be provided with shelters from inclement weather and/or shade structures during the summer months.
Those areas with harsh winter conditions will likely require three-sided enclosed shelters. In areas of temperate winters and more days of heat and sunshine, simple pole and roof constructed shelters which protect from moderate rain and intensive heat may be preferable.