The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) 2026 wild horse gather schedule is shifting as several gathers across the West are being completed ahead of schedule. Although the Bureau has not published an updated national gather schedule since May 15, current gather announcements and daily reports are posted on the BLM's website.
Because of these changes, the Moriah herd gather in eastern Nevada is being moved up almost an entire week. The BLM’s tentative national gather schedule has the Moriah gather listed as running from July 27 through Aug. 13. However, they recently announced that the gather will start on July 20 instead. This is possibly due to the Saylor Creek gather being completed early.
The Moriah gather will remove up to 500 wild horses from the herd area and nearby public lands. Located about 48 miles northeast of Ely, the Moriah Herd Management Area (HMA) has an Appropriate Management Level (AML) of zero wild horses under the BLM's 2008 Ely Resource Management Plan. The agency says the area is no longer designated for long-term wild horse management because it does not meet the criteria for maintaining a thriving ecological balance alongside other public land uses. Temporary public land closures will be in effect during this time.
Although the Saylor Creek roundup was scheduled to run from July 10 through 17, the BLM completed the entire gather in a single day, on July 15. The BLM’s original plan for Saylor Creek was to gather roughly 150 wild horses, permanently remove about 105, and treat 22 mares with fertility control before releasing them back to the range. After conducting a survey in May that estimated the herd's postfoaling population at only 118 horses, the BLM revised its plan to gather approximately 100 horses, remove about 68 and treat 16 mares. The roundup concluded with 103 horses captured, all of which were then transported to the Boise Off-Range Wild Horse Corrals.
Meanwhile, the northern Nevada Callaghan Complex gather remains in progress. As of July 17, the BLM had gathered a cumulative total of 1,240 wild horses, including 516 stallions, 501 mares and 223 foals. The Callaghan Complex gather is one of the largest planned wild horse gathers in the country this year, with up to 2,000 horses scheduled for removal over approximately 1,145,515 acres. This gather is intended to reduce the herd to its established AML of 323- 552 horses. Additionally, wild horses have been reported moving frequently along State Route 305, creating public safety issues.
The Bureau of Land Management conducts horse gathers and removals to protect the health of horses and well as rangelands. Large-scale gathers such as the Callaghan Complex are intended to reduce wild horse populations to appropriate management levels, or levels public rangelands can sustain. According to the BLM, “By balancing herd size with what the land can support and avoiding an overpopulation of wild horses on the range, the BLM aims to protect the habitat for other wildlife species such as sage-grouse, pronghorn antelope, mule deer and elk.”
During some gathers, mares are treated with fertility control vaccines, including porcine zona pellucida (PZP) or GonaCon-Equine, before being released back to the range. Fertility control has been used since 1978, and is intended to slow herd growth between gathers and reduce the number of horses that need be removed in future years. According to research funded by BLM and the National Park Service, two doses of GonaCon-Equine can provide four years or more of contraception. The BLM says it plans to increase use of GonaCon-Equine because of this.
During gathers, helicopters are used to drive horses into temporary holding facilities, where information is collected on herd characteristics and herd health can be determined. Photo Courtesy Bureau of Land Management - Idaho Facebook
Following capture, horses are transported to off-range holding facilities for veterinary examinations and processing before becoming eligible for adoption through the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program. Horses gathered from the Moriah Herd Area will be taken to the Winnemucca Off-Range Corrals in Paradise, Nevada.
Several additional Nevada wild horse gathers remain on the BLM's tentative schedule this year. The Callaghan Complex gather is expected to continue through Aug. 31, the Lake Lahontan Herd Management Area gather is scheduled for July 20-30 with up to 700 horses planned for removal, and the Jackson Mountains Herd Management Area gather is scheduled for Sept. 20-30 with up to 500 horses planned for removal.
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