Thousands of wild horses lose their freedom annually in the U.S. because the Bureau of Land Management rounds them up to placate the meat industry.

Primarily Primates rescued three wild horses from BLM’s life of imprisonment. Moxie was just a three-month-old filly when she was orphaned during a BLM roundup in the West Douglas Herd Management area in Colorado. Bindi, a mare, and Comanche, a gelding, were torn from tribal lands in Antelope Valley, Nevada—land that BLM pimped out to gold mining companies.

Today the trio is thriving, having formed their own band after a slow introduction. Our approach to their care is different than that given to the primates. We want the primates to create social bonds with each other rather than their human caretakers.  

We must be a bit more hands-on with the horses now that they are in a domestic setting. Like primates they will mutually groom each other to bond, maintain hygiene, regulate body temperature, calm each other, etc. But we provide additional coat, mane and tail care; administer vaccinations and make sure their hooves are in good shape. A farrier provides hoof care every six weeks.

Unlike domestic horses, they were not used to human touch when they arrived, so we brought in a trainer to get them halter trained so that we can safely provide any care they need. 

Of course we love interacting with the horses, but our hearts soar the most when we see them galloping around the pasture, just being wild horses like they were on the range out west.