Wyomings WYld Horses
By Steph Weed | Photos by Kathy Singer Photography
Photo by Kathy Singer Photography
What better way to celebrate national horse day than to get outside and take a WYld outdoor adventure!
What is the difference between domesticated horses and Wild horses or mustangs you ask? The answer is simple. A mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated horses, they are actually feral horses.
You will sometimes hear the word “brumby” associated with wild horses or mustangs. Don’t let it confuse you like it did me. A brumby is simply what one calls a feral horse in Australia.
Photo by Kathy Singer Photography
Wyoming is home to the nation’s second-largest wild horse population (behind Nevada). The Pryor Mountain herd, arguably the nation’s most famous wild horses, can be viewed in parts of Wyoming and Montana. Huge thanks to Cody Photographer, Kathy Singer for her amazing Pryor Mountain horse photos that really capture the horse’s soulful joy in living.
Wyoming has some of the most breathtaking wild horses and habitat. Check out Wyoming's wild horse herd management (WMA) areas and even learn about their horse and burro adoption program.
Wild horses differ from domestic ones mainly because they are bred for survival in the wild countryside, with thicker, sturdier limbs and a more compact build, says Don Glenn, wild horse specialist at the Wyoming State Bureau of Land Management. The wild horse visitors will see here “part of the mystique of the Old West,” he says.
Glenn estimates Wyoming’s wild horse population to number about 6,000 animals, but says the appropriate management level is 3,100. As a result, horses are rounded up between mid-July and mid-November annually and shipped to various places in the country to be adopted.
Glenn says the Wyoming horse population grows by about 20 percent a year. “We have to round up about 1,200 head every year just to stay even,” he says.
McCullough Peaks Wild Horses
Cody/Powell, WY
East of Cody, the McCullough Peaks area is home to wild mustangs believed to be descendants of Buffalo Bill’s horses from his Wild West Show. Daily guided tours are available in summer.
If you want to go on your own Peaks adventure, make sure you have food and drinks (you end up out truly in the middle of nowhere and you will want to stay until sunset as it is fantastically beautiful!), and most importantly, 4-wheel or all wheel drive (high clearance helps) as the road up there is on dirt/gravel and gets pretty steep in spots.
To reach the McCullough Peaks WSA from Cody, take U.S. Highway 14/16/20 east toward Greybull for about 5 miles. Turn north (left) onto the McCullough Peaks Road #1212. This well-graded road is marked by a large kiosk and is also directly across the highway from the Cody Archery Range. You will reach the southern border of the McCullough Peaks about 8 miles up Road 1212. Road 1212 follows the southern WSA boundary for about 2 miles before it turns south and travels another 11 miles back to U.S. Highway 14/16/20.
Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary
Lander, WY
Head to Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary in Lander, Wyo., the only wild horse sanctuary on a Native American reservation. Opened in June 2016 by the Oldham family, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, it's home to 130 mustangs. The sanctuary offers tours and has a visitor center. Learn about the history of wild horses in North America and then ride on a large ATV that seats six, including the driver, to see the mustangs in the sanctuary. To get there, take U.S. Highway 287 north from Lander 7.5 miles toward Ft. Washakie. The Visitor Center driveway is the first entrance on your right after Plunkett Road.
In summer 2019, which goes from Memorial Day through Labor Day, the sanctuary is open to the public Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walk-ins are welcomed at the visitor center.
Call 307-438-3838 for additional information or for an appointment if you would like to visit outside of the summer season.
The details:
The cost is $35 per adult
$15 for children ages 13-18
Kids 12 and under are free.
Photo by Kathy Singer Photography
Pilot Butte Wild Horses
Rock Springs, WY, Sweetwater County
They do have guided tours by Lovell, WY locals Steve and Nancy Cerroni. Their company, Pryor Wild, takes clients up Burnt Timber Ridge Road, which climbs 4,400 feet over 12 bumpy miles. At the top, expect to see wildflowers in addition to horses. If you want to horse-watch on your own, first stop at the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center. They’ll have reports on where horses have most recently been spotted. They’ve also adopted some horses from the herd over the years.
If you would like to create your own WYld adventure, head two miles east from Lovell, Wyoming, on Highway 14A and turn left onto Highway 37. Go 17 miles to Devils Canyon Overlook. Or, if you have a 4-wheel-drive vehicle, go 13 miles on Highway 37 to a road marked with a sign that says “Tillets Fish- Rearing Station.” Take that road to the Bad Pass Highway to try to view these horses. The best spot to see bands of these horses is along Highway 37 in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.