[ october 2019 | horseillustrated.com 61 ]Wild horse
etiquette
You can enjoy time with these living
legends and symbols of our western
heritage firsthand on our public lands.
Think of yourself as a special guest of wild
horses and burros, and do your part not
to intrude on them or their habitat by being
mindful of these guidelines.
n When making plan to visit a herd
management area (HMA), check with the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field
office for rules, maps and information on
where herds have been seen recently.
n Stay at least 100 feet from any
wild horse.
n Don’t harass the horses or alter their
behaviors by, for example, chasing them
to make them run or clucking to get their
heads up for a photo.
n Never feed or try to pet the horses.
n Stay on designated roads and trails.
n Turn off your vehicle when you stop
to watch the horses. Engines can spark
grassland fire and emissions can be harm-
ful to the horses.
n Practice waterhole etiquette. Some-
times wild horses and burros have only
one chance a day to drink, and you don’t
want to interfere with that.
n Horses and burros always have the
right of way. If they come close to you,
move away.
n Young horses and burros can be
very curious. No matter how cute, don’t
encourage them to approach you. If they
begin to come near you, walk away and
don’t engage with them.
n PhotograPhers: Never leave
tripods, chairs, or other equipment unat-
tended. Foals can easily get tangled up
in them.
n Keep dogs leashed. Better yet, don’t
bring them.
n Please don’t fly drones on HMAs.
They can frighten the horses and cause
them to stampede, perhaps causing foals
to get trampled.
n Leave no trace of yourself. Carry out
any food, papers, and other trash.
— Adapted from American Wild Horse
Campaign’s “Guide to Viewing Wild Horses and
As we drove closer, we could see he was a handsome, Burros” (americanwildhorsecampaign.org)
calm-eyed stallion, covered in battle scars.