BLM gathers nearly 300 wild horses displaced by Soda Fire

The Soda Fire swept across 280,000 acres of land in southwest Idaho last month, consuming much of the foraging area used by three wild horse herds.

Due to the condition of the horses and the lack of forage to sustain them, the Bureau of Land Management last week gathered 279 wild horses from the Sands Basin, Hardtrigger and Black Mountain wild horse herds.

The BLM took the horses to its corrals south of Boise where a veterinarian assessed their condition and treated many of the horses for mild to moderate burn injuries.

More than 200 visitors stopped to see the horses during special viewing hours held Aug. 31 to Sept. 4.

BLM wild-horse specialists and wranglers are working with the horses to determine which ones will be returned to the range and which ones will be made available for adoption.

Horses designated to be returned to the wild will be cared for in Boise until the range recovers enough to sustain them.

Horses selected to go into the adoption program need to be vaccinated and dewormed, which will take several weeks. Once this work is complete, there will be additional opportunities to visit the horses at the BLM’s wild-horse corrals.

“Gather operations were safe and successful and the horses are settling in and adjusting to hay well at the corrals. We anticipate an upcoming adoption event for a portion of these horses sometime this fall,” said BLM Idaho wild horse program manager Chris Robbins in a news release.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 9:53 AM with the headline "BLM gathers nearly 300 wild horses displaced by Soda Fire."