Utah had 24 wild horse herd management areas and an additional seven Herd Areas that are no longer managed for horses and burros. They are being managed for Utah's one billion dollar cattle industry. The BLM and the Utah state and local government are planning to capture, sell, adopt out our beautiful, Wild Horses, taking them away from their home rangelands, the only place they have ever known. 

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FYI the beautiful Native Horses that have lived in the mountains and deserts of Utah for years. Horses are native to the Americas. Wild Horses were living in Utah 349 years BEFORE Brigham Young entered Utah, with his real estate claim of "This is the Place".  In 1847 when Brigham Young  finally came, there were atleast, five (5) known Wild Horse herds living nearby to what is now SLC.  Follow the BLUE links to see Utah's Native Horse Herd areas and get travel information and more.

 

(as of 2017 the amount of native utah horses are now - some have come back to their homerange)

#1 - Big Creek Herd: (30 miles to SLC): Ranging across BLM, National Forest, and privately owned land, it supports a tiny and diminishing herd population guestimated at 10 horses in 2011  (down from 25 in 2004). As of 2015, grasses and shrubbery blanket these hills, this area remains a designated fire (2009), rehabilitation zone. (Forest Service herd area - 10 horses)
#2 - Oquirrh Mountains Herd  (30 miles to SLC ) (O-Ker): A 2004 BLM population survey guesstimated 15 Native Horses in this herd area.  That estimate was reduced to ONLY five Wild Horses in 2011.  This herd is no longer listed on the BLM page.  (HA) - 5 horses) 
#3 - Onaqui Mountain Herd:  (45 miles to SLC) (oh-NAH-kee). The HMA contains 43,880 acres of Federal, State, and privately owned land. The herd has only 450 horses. A band can almost always be spotted along the historic Pony Express Road, small family bands and individuals also frequent the areas east of Simpson Springs.   (HMA) - 457 horses)

# 4 - Confusion Mountains Herd: (65 miles to SLC). Size was 293,665 acres with herd size between 180 and 375 head. When the BLM captured the Wild Horses, the BLM took 58,665 acres of the horse's HMA land.  They now have 235,000 acres of federal and state land and ONLY 70-115 Wild Horses. The herd colors are gray and light colored horses. These horses are taller and heavier than other West Desert horses.  A person can usually find horses anywhere on this HMA.    (HMA) - 465 horses)

#5 - Cedar Mountains Herd: (50 miles to SLC ). There are two Cedar Mountains in Utah, on is located in Emery County. The other one is near Salt Lake City, this HMA has 179,584 acres of Federal, State, privately owned land. Wild horses have occupied the Cedar Mountains before the late 1800s. Colors are bay, black, sorrel, red and blue roan, dun, palomino and gray pinto. The Mares weight 750 to 800 pounds and stallions weigh 850 to 1000 pounds. (HMA) 654 horses)

 

​The starred (*) herds live (lived) near Cubel Ranch:

*The other Cedar Mountain is in Emery County located in Central Utah in the San Rafael Swell  Wild Horses can be found throughout the San Rafael Swell and have occupied the area before the Old Spanish Trail was being used in the 1800s. San Rafael Swell Photo-Gallery

Bible Springs HMA: The BLM "best guess" is the herd's 30-60 horses is based in ranching and  mining stock. Their size and colors vary from pintos to palominos and duns. West of Cedar City, Utah with 61,862 acres.  (HMA) - 188 horses)

Blawn-wash / ZEROED OUT,  this herd is no longer listed on the BLM page.   (HMA) - 25 horses)
Bonanza / ZEROED OUT, this herd is no longer listed on the BLM page.  (HA) - 45 horses)
Canyonland Lands HMA: has 89,392 acres and no Wild Horses.   (HMA) - 183 burros)
* Muddy Creek Herd: has a total of 137,110 BLM acres for ONLY 50 Horses: 72,150 year long usage acres, 64,960 critical usage acres. There is state land scattered throughout the HMA. There is no private land within the HMA. Wild horses and Burros have occupied the San Rafael Swell area since the beginning of the Old Spanish Trail in the early 1800s. Many of these animals were headed for California to be traded or sold and were of good stock.  The Herd is dominated by bay and brown horses. Average size ranges from 700 to 1000 pounds each.  (HMA) - 161 horses)

North Hills Herd is managed in cooperation with the United States Forest Service (USFS) – Dixie National Forest, Pine Valley Ranger District’s North Hills Wild Horse Territory. Together, the combined area is referred to as the North Hills Wild Horse Management Plan Area (WHMPA). The 12 to 36 Wild Horses the run of 60,646 acres.   (HMA) - 194 horses)

* Range Creek Herd: Wild Horses have been a part of the range environment in the Range Creek area at least since contemporary livestock use began. The origin of the wild horse herd is believed to be ranch horses  owned by the Preston Nutter Ranch. Branded horses were allowed to run free in a semi wild state and captured to herd cattle. The semi tame herds were last officially gathered in the early 1930’s. Colors are black, bay,  brown, sorrels, chestnuts, pintos and palominos. The horses weigh 700 to 1000 pounds. The HMA is located 28 miles east of Price, Utah.  ONLY 75-125 horses, live on  83,410 acres.    (HMA) - 315 horses)

* Robbers Roost Herd / ZEROED OUT, this herd is no longer listed on the BLM page.  (HA) - 33 horses)

* Sinbad Sinbad Herd:  There are still some Wild Horses out there and they are dunfactor.   Average size is 14.5hh.  The HMA is used for Burros. The Sinbad HMA is located 30 miles west of Green River, UT. It extends up to 18 miles on both sides of I-70 from the San Rafael Reef to Eagle Canyon. This HMA contains 234,000 acres of Federal and state lands. Wild horses and Burros have occupied the San Rafael Swell (Occupation of the San Rafael region dates back thousands of years to include people of the Desert Archaic Culture who were followed by those of the Fremont culture who inhabited present-day Emery County from about A.D. 500 to about A.D. 1300.) and 1776 to the mid-1850s and area since the beginnings of Old Spanish Trail in the early 1800's. The Burros are all black.  (HMA) - 130 burros)

Chloride Canyon Herd: 65,408 acres and ONLY 15-30 Wild Horses.  (HMA) - 136 horses)

Choke Cherry Herd: The HMA has 48,139 acres and ONLY 24-30 Wild Horses .  (HMA) - 180 horses​)
Conger Mountain Herd :  The HMA contains 170,993 acres of federal and state lands. The 40-80 Wild Horses are being managed to maintain the black, roan, palomino, and dun colors. The Wild Horses on the Congers average 13 to 14 hands tall and 700/1000 pounds. The Wild Horses can be viewed from any of the main roads within the HMA.    (HMA) - 167 horses)
Four Mile Herd:  61,273 acres and ONLY 30-60 Wild Horses.   (HMA) - 210 horses​)
Frisco Herd: Located in Beaver County, about 15 miles northwest of Milford, Utah.  60,367 acres in the HMA approximately 48,852 of these are public land acres, 5,745 of these acres are state and 5,770 acres are private land acres and ONLY 30-60 Wild Horses .  (HMA) - 168 horses​)
Hill Creek Herd: / ZEROED OUT, this herd is no longer listed on the BLM page.   (HA) - 240 horses)

Bonanza Herd: / ZEROED OUT, this herd is no longer listed on the BLM page.  (HA) - 45 horses)

The King Top Mountains Herd:  Native Wild Horses usually range along the foothills in the southwest portion of the HMA's 149,567 acres of federal and state lands. The herd is dominated by black, bay, and brown colors. Light colors are uncommon. The Wild Horses on this HMA average 13 to 14 hands tall and weigh 700 to 900 pounds. The BLM wants this herd to be ONLY 40 to 60 Wild Horses.  (HMA) - 10 horses)

Mt. Elinore Herd: is 42,640 acres and ONLY 15-25 Wild Horses.  (HMA) - 96 horses)

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Sulphur Springs Herd: - The Sulphur Herd roams a vast, unpopulated region of alternating high desert basins and expansive mountain ranges on 267,208 acres and the BLM wants ONLY 165-250 Wild Horses. In 2017, the BLM, guesstimated the Wild Sulphur Horse population was 957 head on the 265,675-acre HMA.. That averages out to be 257 acres per horse! Their home, the Needle Range, is a beautiful mountain area that lies about 45 miles west of Milford, Utah, along the Nevada State line. In Jan. 2017, the BLM planned to roundup about 700 horses and remove approximately 300 adoptable aged Native Horses and return approximately 400 horses, including 100-150 mares treated with birth-control porcine zona pellucida -22 (aka PZP-22), known pesticide.  (HMA) - 812 horses)

This is what happened:

A total of 604 Native Sulphur Horses were captured, at least 13 have died since the Jan. 18 start of the helicopter roundup at the Sulphur Horse Management Area in Utah. Of the Wild Horses that have died, 12 were euthanized. A 13th broke its neck while trying to escape.  Earlier in the roundup, another Wild Horse  collided with a contractor’s truck away from the trap site. On Saturday, trapping began in freezing cold temperatures of about 10 degrees. The Wild Horses would be sorted in pens by sex and age, separated forever. BLM's plan to reduce the Sulphur HMA’s population to ONLY 165 Native Wild Horses over a six- to 10-years.

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​Swasey Herd:  The Swasey Mountains Herd Management Area (HMA) is located in Millard County and the HMA has 134,965 acres of federal, state, and privately-owned lands. The Swasey Herd colors are gray, black, brown, bays, buckskins and pintos. The average size of herd adults is 14 to 14 1/2 hands. with a herd limit to ONLY 60 to 100 Wild Horses. During the late 1800's and early 1900's, a man named Joe Swasey was the owner and operator of the Temple Mountain uranium mine, what is now the Sinbad HMA. The  Swasey family was known for their sheep herds and horse operations. In the early 1900's Swasey ran 800 head of Thoroughbreds from Kentucky in the San Rafael Swell, finally selling them to the Army as remounts.   (HMA) - 310 horses)

Tilly Creek Herd: is 37,006 acres and ONLY 20-50 Wild Horses .    (HMA) - 196 horses)

Winter Ridge Herd / ZEROED OUT, this herd is no longer listed on the BLM page.    (HA) - 60 horses)