Wild Horse and Burro 2026

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

You asked—we listened. By popular demand, we’re extending our special Year of the Horse partnership with Apolis through March 15!

This limited-time collection features hand-painted, customizable bags created for horse lovers—each one crafted by artists and made to carry meaning, not just your everyday essentials. With every bag purchased, $100 is donated to American Wild Horse Conservation to support the protection of wild horses and burros on public lands.

Wild horses continue to face removals from their homes and confinement in government holding facilities. Your purchase helps power our on-the-ground observers, legal advocacy, and public accountability work to protect wild horses where they belong—on the range.

If you’ve been waiting to customize your bag, this is your moment. The extension runs through March 15, and these hand-painted designs are only available for a limited time!

With gratitude,
American Wild Horse Conservation

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

I wish I were writing to you with better news.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has just approved plans for a massive roundup in Nevada’s Callaghan Complex — one of the last great strongholds for wild horses in the West.

If carried out, this operation would remove nearly 5,000 wild horses from more than a million acres of public lands — pushing thousands of animals into government holding facilities and leaving only a fraction of the herds behind.

Families will be broken apart. Entire bands will disappear from landscapes they’ve lived on for generations. But this is not a fight we can take on alone. To stop this plan, we need a united community behind us — and we urgently need to fuel our Legal Fund with whatever you’re able to give today.

The BLM claims this plan is about “balance.” But when you look closely, the story changes:

This decision is built on outdated population targets that were set decades ago — before climate change, before modern ecological science, and without meaningful updates to reflect current conditions on the range. Their own monitoring fails to distinguish between the impacts of livestock grazing and wild horses on fragile habitat, yet wild horses are once again being singled out for removal while commercial livestock grazing continues.

Even more troubling: the BLM is proposing to remove thousands of horses before meaningfully deploying humane fertility control at scale — despite clear evidence that fertility control works when implemented seriously. This is not a last resort. It is a default to mass removal — a costly pipeline to overcrowded holding facilities where these innocent animals will live out their lives in captivity or be sent to slaughter.

I refuse to accept that as “management.” And I know you won’t either, Meredith.

American Wild Horse Conservation is preparing to challenge this decision and escalate pressure on the agency — in the courts, in Washington, and in the public eye. But we can only move as fast and as forcefully as our supporters make possible.

Your support powers our legal work, on-the-ground advocacy, and the fight to replace mass removals with humane, science-based solutions that actually keep wild horses wild. A gift to our Legal Fund today will help power the next phase of this fight as we work to halt this devastating plan.

This is the moment we either draw the line for wild horses — or allow their disappearance from these lands to become permanent. If we stand together now, we can still change what happens next.

With determination,

Patricia Miller
Board Chair
American Wild Horse Conservation

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

The Year of the Fire Horse has begun — a period of strength, resilience, and forward motion. For those of us who care about wild horses and burros, it’s a powerful way to welcome the year ahead.

As we shared earlier this week, wild horses are at a decade-defining inflection point. But this moment isn’t only about policy or numbers — it’s about why wild horses matter to people, to culture, and to our shared sense of freedom.

Across the American West and around the world, wild horses symbolize endurance, family, and the untamed spirit of the natural world. For many, seeing wild horses for the first time is unforgettable — a reminder that something truly wild still exists.

To mark the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse, we’re lifting up the voices of supporters and volunteers who stand with wild horses every day:

These stories remind us that this movement is personal — and that visibility creates momentum for change.

Thank you for being part of a community that keeps wild horses in the public consciousness — not as a memory of the past, but as a living presence we are responsible for protecting today.

With gratitude,

American Wild Horse Conservation

P.S. The year ahead is going to be nothing short of transformational. If you would like to support AWHC’s efforts in 2026, please consider making a donation today.

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

As the Year of the Fire Horse begins today, I’ve been reflecting on what that symbol represents: strength, endurance, and the courage to keep moving forward — even when the terrain is difficult.

That feels especially fitting for this moment in American Wild Horse Conservation’s journey.

2025 was not just a year of activity, it was a year of measurable progress.

Together, we expanded humane fertility control, documented roundups across the West, strengthened legal accountability, and helped bring the reality facing wild horses and burros into the national conversation. Because of supporters like you, millions more people now understand what’s at stake.

And yet, the bigger picture is sobering.

Nearly a decade ago, approximately 20,000 wild horses were trapped in long-term government holding. Today, that number has more than tripled — with over 62,000 horses confined, now outnumbering those still living free on our public lands.

This is how change moves with wild horses, Meredith: in cycles and over decades. There are moments of progress, followed by periods of pressure.

What we are living through now is not just another cycle — it is an inflection point. The choices made in the next few years will shape the future of wild horses for a generation.

Today, I’m sharing our 2025 Impact Report with you. But I want to be clear: this is not a look back. It is a launch point for what we are building in 2026.

Download the full report to see your impact: 

As we enter the Year of the Fire Horse, wild horses are experiencing something rare: a cultural renaissance. Across media, art, advocacy, and public dialogue, these animals are reemerging as what they truly are — the lifeblood of the American West and a living symbol of freedom.

This renewed visibility matters. It creates an opening to move wild horses back into the mainstream of our national conscience — not as an afterthought, but as a priority.

We are aligning our 2026 organizational priorities with this moment.

AWHC is evolving — strengthening our field presence, sharpening our legal strategy, expanding public engagement, and demanding higher standards of accountability from federal agencies. The foundation you helped lay in 2025 is what allows us to step into this year with clarity, resolve, and momentum.

The stakes remain high. Roundups continue. Horses are still being removed from their families and pushed into a holding system never designed to operate at this scale. Protections passed by Congress are still being tested in practice.

But moments like this — when public awareness, cultural energy, and institutional pressure converge — are rare. The Year of the Fire Horse invites forward motion. With your partnership, we are prepared to meet this decade-defining moment with the urgency wild horses deserve.

Thank you for standing with us — not just for what we’ve achieved, but for what we are building next.

With gratitude and resolve,

Patricia Miller
Board Chair
American Wild Horse Conservation

P.S. Our limited-time Apolis brand partnership turns what you carry everyday into real protection for wild horses—$100 from each bag supports AWHC. Customize your bag here.

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

This week, we welcome the Year of the Horse—a symbol of strength and freedom—with a special partnership designed to protect what’s wild. We’re teaming up with Apolis to support wild horses through an exciting, limited-edition promotion:

For one week only, Apolis is offering select personalized bags created in celebration of the Year of the Horse.With each bag purchased, $100 will be donated to AWHC to help protect America’s wild horses and burros on public lands.

Across the West, wild horses continue to face removals from their homes on public lands and confinement in holding facilities. Your support fuels our frontline work—deploying observers, challenging harmful policies, and fighting for humane, science-based management that keeps horses on the land where they belong.

When you personalize an Apolis bag through this promotion, you’re not just choosing something beautiful and functional. You’re choosing to stand for freedom on the range, family bands left intact, and a future where wild horses remain wild.

This collaboration brings together two values-driven organizations committed to protecting what’s precious. Apolis builds thoughtfully made products that create a positive impact around the world—and now, your everyday bag can directly support the protection of wild horses here at home.

Join us in bringing the values of the Fire Horse with us—by turning symbolism into protection for our cherished wild horses.

With gratitude,
American Wild Horse Conservation

The following is from the American Wild Horse Conservation:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is a celebration of love — but love in the wild doesn’t look like roses and chocolates. It looks like standing watch while your partner rests. It looks like staying close through storms, rivals, and years of survival.

Meet Blue and Lady of Nevada’s Fish Springs Range.

Blue and Lady are the king and queen of Nevada’s Fish Springs Range. Blue is everything you’d imagine a wild stallion to be: fiercely protective of his family, a resilient fighter, and a leader shaped by desert wind and sun. Lady is a stunning mare who has raised generations of wild horses — her intuition and quiet strength helping keep her family wild and free.

Photo credit: JT Humphrey

They’ve stood by each other for years, rarely straying far apart. When Blue rests, Lady keeps watch. When people spot Lady, they know the mighty Blue is nearby.

Through brutal winters and the steady passage of time, their bond has endured. This is wild love.

Blue and Lady are lucky — their family bond has endured rival stallions, brutal winters, and the steady passage of time. So many others aren’t given that chance. 

But this Valentine’s Day, you have the power to help keep wild horse families together:

When you become a monthly supporter, you help create steady, year-round protection for wild horses and burros — the kind of support that allows us to respond to emergencies, document roundups, fight removals, and keep families in the wild where they belong.

As a thank-you, anyone who starts a monthly gift will receive a free Valentine’s Day–themed wild horse phone background — a small reminder of the love you’re helping protect, every time you unlock your phone.

Thank you for standing with wild families.

With gratitude,

American Wild Horse Conservation

P.S. Valentine’s Day may only come once a year, but wild horse families need protection every day. Monthly support helps make that possible. Please consider making a recurring monthly donation to AWHC today!