Spirit Herd Management

Caring for My Herd: A Guide by

My herd is the most important thing...

Follow me to our next feeding spot...

• Navigating to food and water
• Caring for the mares in my charge
• Keeping other studs in line
• Keeping the young foals safe

As the head stallion and stud, I am in charge of:

...but this was a flourishing landscape for my herd to graze on before.

An overgrazed field...

My herd has grown quite big since last year...

Overgrazing can limit the amount of grasses and other plants that can retain water and assist with ecological cycles. This also allows invasive species that we can't eat to out compete the native flora, limiting the resources that we need to survive through harsh winters and hot summers.

And this used to be where I could bring my herd to drink...

Human development also cuts our landscape up and sometimes limits it. Roadways welcome vehicles and make my herd stressed and uncomfortable. There are meadows and water resources we avoid now because of the activity.

A limited space to roam forced us to overgraze, but my herd has still been growing. We have mostly mares, many of whom I personally attend to, and just a few studs to care for the rest.

With so many mares and not enough studs, challenges within the heirarchy have been happening more and more.

There are fewer horses to manage, which means we won't overgraze the areas that we rely on. It also helps to control what horses breed and when, giving our herd hope for the future. Fewer mare breeding keeps the studs from fighting and prevents outsiders from coming and separating horses from the herd.

Birth control has helped to alleviate some issues within the herd.

Indigenous tribes have been catching and training for years, assisting with overpopulation and fulfilling their own needs. Government and non-profit agencies have been working toward the same.

When birth control isn't used, the herd can increase in size which can make it necessary to split the herd.

...being wild and free is only possible if there are people that care enough to keep us that way.

My herd is the most important thing...

BHATTACHARYYA, J., & LARSON, B. M. H. (2014). The Need for Indigenous Voices in Discourse about Introduced Species: Insights from a Controversy over Wild Horses. Environmental Values, 23(6), 663–684. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43695194

Pictures courtesy of Abel Guevara, Google Images, AnimationScreencaps.com

Special thanks to Abel Guevara, Wyoming BLM Horse and Burro Specialist, Cody Field Office