Pryor Mountain Wild Horses: Why BLM Is Trapping Up to 37 in 2026

Pryor Mountain wild horses: what's happening now

Update (2026-10-21): A federal judge has refused to stop the gather. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is going ahead with removing 37 Pryor Mountain wild horses by bait trapping, after U.S. District Judge William Mercer denied The Cloud Foundation's request to halt it on Oct. 17, 2026.

The herd is estimated at about 185 horses, and BLM wants to bring it down toward 107-120. About 100 horses will be lured into baited corrals. The 37 removed horses will be offered for adoption, and any not adopted will be sold.

Mares that are gathered but not removed get fertility control before release. BLM's August notice said up to 43 mares could be treated. The gather runs into mid-November. Reporting from the Billings Gazette, republished by Montana Outdoor, says BLM is mainly targeting horses with signs of inbreeding, such as club foot.

The closure, in plain terms

A BLM Billings Field Office notice dated Oct. 19 sets these temporary rules:

• When: Oct. 19 at 12:00 p.m. through Nov. 16 at 6:00 p.m., unless BLM lifts it earlier.
• Closed to everyone: BLM land within 0.5 mile of the Pond and Trough trap sites and the Britton Springs administrative site.
• Closed to vehicles only: Marked parts of Burnt Timber Road and Sykes Road. You may still walk or ride these sections outside the fully closed zones.
• Still open: Crooked Creek Road beside Britton Springs, and a public viewing area at the Trough trap site, reached only by a designated route.
• Penalty: Violations can bring a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to 12 months in jail.

BLM says the closure protects the public, gather crews and the horses, and limits disturbance that could interfere with trapping. The U.S. Forest Service has issued its own closure order for parts of Pryor Mountain Road.

The court case

The Cloud Foundation, a Colorado-based advocacy group, asked Judge Mercer for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. He heard arguments in Billings on Oct. 13. On Saturday, Oct. 17, he denied both requests.

In his order, as reported by the Billings Gazette, Mercer wrote that the plaintiffs "have not demonstrated an actual imminent harm is likely to occur from a small removal" of horses. His main points:

• Herd health: Concerns about the horses' health "weigh heavily."
• Genetics: The foundation argued removals could harm the herd's bloodlines. Mercer disagreed, writing that BLM had considered the environmental and genetic impacts of its herd target under the plan.
• Range condition: The foundation said the range and horses were in better shape than BLM claimed. Mercer declined to act "as a scientific referee" on that dispute.
• The new plan: The foundation had not shown that BLM's new management plan was less informed than the earlier decisions it replaced.

The ruling only settles the emergency requests. If the case proceeds, each side must file motions by court-set deadlines, and a further hearing is set for Jan. 28, 2027, at 1:30 p.m.

What each side argues

Both sides agree the herd matters. They disagree about the timing, the numbers and the risk. The judge's ruling settles only whether the gather can go ahead while the case continues.

BLM says:

• Herd numbers exceed what the range can feed and water. Poor forage this year could mean winter malnutrition, which is why the gather moved up from next summer to this fall.
• Overpopulation is damaging upland plants, streamside areas and wildlife habitat. The range has had no livestock grazing since 2015.
• Genetic diversity is above BLM's minimum warning level. U.S. Geological Survey modeling found the herd is very likely to keep acceptable diversity under the current plan.
• The gather is modest, and courts have repeatedly found that removing some horses is not irreparable harm.

The Cloud Foundation says:

• The herd is small and genetically unique. Repeated removals could permanently change its bloodlines, colors and family structure.
• Several years of low foal survival mean few young horses are coming up. BLM's removal preferences favor horses aged 1-4, and an August review by the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center counted 29 horses in that age group.
• BLM overstated the forage emergency, and the group's attorney said BLM's forage claims conflict with observations from the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center.
• Keeping captured horses in corrals gets them used to people.

Why the Pryor herd is famous

The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range covers nearly 40,000 acres on the Montana-Wyoming border, next to Bighorn Canyon. Interior Secretary Stewart Udall set it aside in 1968. Today BLM manages it together with the Custer Gallatin National Forest and the National Park Service.

Spanish colonial roots and primitive markings

Many Pryor horses are dun or grulla, often with a dorsal stripe down the back, stripes across the withers and zebra stripes on the legs. These "primitive" markings are linked to old Spanish horse types. Explore the colors at coat colors and markings.

Genetic studies have pointed to Colonial Spanish ancestry mixed with other lines. Advocates say this makes the herd a rare living link to horses brought to the Americas. BLM's attorney countered in court that the genetics are not unique, citing a description of the horses as a mix of many domestic breeds.

Cloud the stallion

Cloud was a pale palomino stallion born in the Pryors on May 29, 1995. Filmmaker Ginger Kathrens found him shortly after birth and followed his life for more than two decades. That work produced three PBS Nature films, starting with Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies.

Cloud's story led Kathrens to start The Cloud Foundation, the group now in court. Cloud has not been seen since late 2016, but many of today's Pryor horses are his descendants.

Bait trapping vs. helicopter roundups

Bait trapping wild horses means setting up a temporary corral with hay or water inside. Horses walk in on their own, and staff close the gate once the right animals are inside. It is slow, and it lets crews choose which horses to keep and which to release.

Helicopter gathers are the method most people picture. A helicopter pushes bands across open country toward a trap, often with a trained "Judas" horse leading them in.

Bait trapping is often called lower-stress, but it isn't stress-free. Horses are still confined, sorted and handled. For the bigger national picture, see our BLM wild horse roundup 2026 explainer.

Inbreeding, genetic diversity and AML

Why small, isolated herds struggle

A herd surrounded by mountains, canyons and fences rarely gets new blood. Over generations, more horses share the same ancestors, so harmful hidden genes are more likely to pair up. Possible results include lower fertility, weaker foals and inherited conformation problems.

Crews can't sort horses by DNA in the field, so reporting says BLM is mainly targeting horses with visible signs such as club foot. BLM also collects hair samples during gathers to track genetic diversity over time.

The Cloud Foundation notes the herd lives mainly in two areas, the mountain top and the lower Dryhead. Removals could weigh more heavily on each smaller group.

What an appropriate management level (AML) is

An appropriate management level is the number of wild horses BLM decides a range can support alongside wildlife and plants, based on forage, water and habitat. For the Pryors it was recently updated to 107-120 horses, based on what BLM calls updated scientific analysis.

The tension is simple. A lower AML protects the range, but a smaller herd has less genetic room. That's why fertility control, careful selection of which horses leave and genetic monitoring are central to the debate.

How to watch or adopt Pryor horses

Watching them in the wild

• Start at the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustang Center in Lovell, Wyoming. Staff know where bands have been seen. Its website says it is open daily, but hours can change, so call (307) 548-9453 before you go.
• Easiest route: Paved Wyoming Highway 37 runs through Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area along the range.
• Rough roads: Sykes Ridge and Burnt Timber Ridge roads are rough backcountry routes, and parts are closed to vehicles until Nov. 16.
• During the gather: Use only the designated route to the Trough viewing area.
• Give space: Never feed wild horses, and keep well back, especially from mares with foals.

Adopting a Pryor horse

BLM says removed horses get health checks, vaccinations and care at BLM facilities before they're offered for adoption or sale. Reporting on the ruling says the 37 will be offered for adoption, with any not adopted to be sold. As of Oct. 21, no Pryor adoption date or location had been announced in the sources we checked.

Typical BLM adoption requirements include:

1. Be at least 18, with no record of animal abuse.
2. Have at least 400 square feet of corral per horse, with food, water and shelter.
3. Have 6-foot fences for adult horses (5 feet for yearlings).
4. Haul in a covered stock trailer with swing gates and a solid floor.

A freshly gathered mustang needs patient groundwork and an experienced handler. Read how to adopt a horse for real costs and safety basics first.

What to watch next

• BLM's daily gather updates: Numbers trapped, removed and released, posted on its 2026 Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Gather page. No counts had been reported as of Oct. 21.
• Adoption plans: When and where the 37 removed Pryor horses will be offered, and whether any end up being sold.
• The Jan. 28, 2027 hearing: The underlying case can proceed after the gather and could shape future Pryor gathers.
• Herd growth: Whether fertility control slows growth enough to keep the herd near 107-120 without large gathers later.
• Closure end date: Nov. 16 at 6 p.m., or earlier if BLM lifts it.

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