High Plains Mustang Project
Giving Wild Mustangs a Second Chance at Forever Homes
About High Plains Mustang Project
High Plains Mustang Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing, training, and rehoming wild mustangs directly from Bureau of Land Management holding facilities. Our mission focuses on horses that have been in BLM holding for more than three years or are sale authority horses under five years old. We prioritize sorrels, chestnuts, and bays—the horses least likely to find homes through traditional adoption channels. With approximately 63,000 wild horses currently in BLM holding facilities and only 1,800 adopted or sold annually, our work addresses a critical gap in wild horse welfare.
Our experienced board of directors brings expertise in environmental law and policy, business management, horse welfare and training, and non-profit operations. We partner with select trainers and service providers to ensure each horse receives proper care and training. Our adoption process is rigorous, requiring approved applications before viewing, and our adoption agreements include protections to ensure horses remain safe for their lifetimes. By working directly with the BLM, we help reduce the burden on taxpayers while giving deserving mustangs a second chance at life.
Sponsorships, Leases, and Education: If you are not ready to bring a horse home, you can sponsor one of our project horses to help defray the costs of training and care. We do offer on-site short-term leases to qualified adopters who want to get to know one of our available horses first. We also offer education and experiential opportunities to spend a few hours on the ground with our horses and to learn more about them. Scheduled events will be posted here and on our social media platforms.
Wild Mustang Adoption: We facilitate the adoption of wild mustangs directly from BLM holding facilities, prioritizing horses that are sorrels, chestnuts, and bays. Our rigorous adoption process includes application approval and ensures horses are placed in caring, permanent homes with adoption agreements that protect their welfare.
Professionally Trained: Our network of select trainers provides professional training for unhandled wild mustangs. Our goal is to have each project horse started under saddle before they are adopted out. We work with experienced equine professionals to prepare our project horses for successful integration into their new homes. Although the horses will need continued training and consistent handling with an experienced adopter, they receive a good foundation and have learned emotional regulation to accept handling and a rider without resorting to bolting, bucking, or rearing. Because they are horses, however, we do not make any guarantees.
Please contact us for an adoption application, our current schedule of events, and for volunteer and sponsorship opportunities. Thank you in advance for your support, and your interest in our mission!
Project Horses Available for On-site Lease or Adoption
Sand Springs Grit & Grace (Grace)
Grace is a buckskin mustang mare standing approximately 14.3 hands high from the Sand Springs Herd Management Area (HMA) in Oregon. The BLM lists her birthdate as January 1, 2018, although she was likely foaled in the spring of that year. Grace was removed from the range in September 2021 and held at the Bruneau Off-Range Corrals in Idaho, one of the Bureau of Land Management’s privately operated holding facilities, until her adoption in March 2025. She was transferred to Wheatland, Wyoming, and picked up with Scarlett and Maverick on May 22, 2025. We have submitted the forms to obtain her title and expect to have her title in hand by July 2026. Grace is generally easy to catch and halter, stands tied, accepts handling and grooming, stands still to be blanketed, wears a fly sheet,understands and cooperates with basic groundwork including lunging and backing up, has worn saddle and saddle pad but has not been backed or started under saddle yet. Grace had a lot of stuck trauma that kept her in flight, fight, or freeze mode and generally unwilling to participate in domestic life, which has recently been worked through and released. Her progress for the first several months was very slow. Grace is now relaxed, calm, intelligent, willing, friendly, and curious. She does not resort to bolting or rearing on the ground. Grace has a sweet demeanor and calls out to her handlers when she sees them approaching. She gets along well with Scarlett, and they share a large paddock. Grace is sound and healthy (and beautiful, especially with her summertime dapples). As a fully mature mare, there are no physical limitations on her training pace. She is up to date on vaccines, dental, deworming, and farrier. We think she will make an excellent trail or endurance partner, especially since she has the experience of about 3 or 4 years on the range before she was captured. Grace is well suited for a patient, methodical training approach that prioritizes trust and consistency.
Scarlett O’Hara of Antelope Valley (Scarlett)
Scarlett is a 3-year-old sorrel mustang mare standing approximately 14.2 hands high from the Antelope Valley Herd Management Area (HMA) in Nevada. The string test suggests a mature height of about 15 hh. The BLM lists her birthdate as January 1, 2023, although this is unlikely to reflect her true foaling date, as mustangs are typically born in the spring. She was removed from the range in July 2023. Records obtained from the BLM without a FOIA request do not identify her dam or whether she was gathered with her mother; based on available information, it is estimated that Scarlett was separated from her dam at approximately three to five months of age. Following removal, Scarlett was processed and held at the Palomino Valley Off-Range Corrals and the Winnemucca Preparation Facility, and later transferred to the Carson City Correctional Facility for training prior to the March 2025 online auction. She was offered for sale (not adoption) as an unhandled mustang and purchased for $125, with title transferring immediately. Scarlett was transported to Wheatland, Wyoming, and picked up on May 22, 2025. Scarlett has demonstrated a sweet, thoughtful, calm, curious, and willing disposition, with an exceptional ability to remain regulated in new environments. She is easy to catch and halter, comes when called, leads well, lifts her feet, stands tied, loads, accepts blanketing, and is comfortable with saddle, bridle, and a rider. Due to her young age, she has only been lightly ridden, to allow her bones to continue to develop to prioritize soundness for her lifetime. Her training emphasizes emotional safety, positive exposure, and long-term soundness rather than speed. She has not offered to buck, bolt, or rear on the ground or with a rider. We think she will make a great hunter for a junior rider who wants to develop with her, and a great trail companion. She has a natural sliding stop, is fast, and naturally turns on a dime, so she may be a good barrel or reining prospect also.
Divide Basin’s Maverick
Maverick is a chestnut mustang gelding standing approximately 14.2 hands high from the Divide Basin Herd Management Area (HMA) in Wyoming. The BLM lists his birthdate as July 1, 2021. We expect he will continue to grow for another year or two, but he has not been string-tested. Maverick was gathered in October 2021 and transferred to the Wheatland, Wyoming holding facility, where he remained until pickup on May 22, 2025. Available BLM records do not identify his dam or whether he was gathered with her; it is therefore likely that he was separated from his dam at approximately three months of age. Maverick was adopted as an unhandled mustang with no prior training for $125 through the March 2025 BLM Online Corral auction. We have applied for his title, and expect to receive that in July 2026. Maverick has a few rides on him since he received additional training to build confidence and teach him to self regulate. He has gotten past his fear based bolting under saddle, and is currently being ridden by an experienced rider. Maverick greets his handler at the gate, is easy to catch and halter, leads well, lifts his feet, stands tied, loads, accepts blanketing, saddle, bridle, and a rider. He is intelligent, engaged, and highly affectionate. He is very sturdy and big-boned especially for his size. We think he will excel at endurance, trail, ranch riding, and most of the western or english disciplines.