Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary

I had one of those happy accidents. As I was driving to The Mammoth Site, I saw a sign for a wild horse sanctuary. Most of you are aware of my love for wild horses. I believe that they belong in the wild not in holding facilities run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Millions of tax dollars each year are spent rounding up and removing wild horses from their native lands. They are then held in holding facilities at more cost to the tax payer. Those that don’t get adopted, often end up in the slaughter pipeline even though it is illegal to export horses for slaughter.

I of course made the turn and followed the signs to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. Located just south of Hot Springs, the sanctuary was founded in 1988 by Dayton O. Hyde to provide a permanent refuge for America's wild mustangs. the sanctuary is over 10,000 acres and home to over 600 wild horses

Hyde became concerned about the growing number of wild horses being removed from public lands during Bureau of Land Management roundups. His vision was to create a place where unwanted or displaced mustangs could live out their lives with minimal human interference. The sanctuary is operated by the Institute of Range and the American Mustang and relies largely on donations and tourism. The sanctuary is funded completely by donations.

Dayton Hyde may be the brains behind the Wild Horse Sanctuary, but he is quick to clarify just exactly who it is that pumps energy into the place on a daily basis. “This place couldn’t survive without her,” Dayton Hyde says of Susan Watt, his friend, companion and dynamo that keeps the Sanctuary going. Mr. Hyde passed away in 2018 and Susan continues their shared mission today.

To learn more about the sanctuary, visit their website at wildmustangs.com

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