How many wild horses can the range support to ensure a thriving ecological balance?
The herd areas are continually monitored to accurately determine how many horses an area can accommodate. Information such as climate data, precipitation, vegetation, grazing utilization by horses, cattle, sheep and big game are all combined to come up with a manageable horse herd number. Wild horses are hardy animals, stronger than livestock or big game. If their numbers were left unchecked, they could easily dominate the winter range and other animals would suffer before the horses would. There are few natural predators or diseases to limit the horses, so the number of horses has to be controlled.
