Pryor Mountain National Wild Horse Range

The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range was established after a two-year grassroots effort by citizens concerned about the longterm welfare of the Pryor Mountain horses. In 1968, interested individuals and groups convinced Interior Secretary Stewart Udall to set aside 31,000 acres in the Pryor Mountains as a public range for the wild horses. This was the first of its kind in the nation.

Unique Horses
For more than a century, the Pryor Mountains have been home to free-roaming bands of wild horses. This herd of horses is a genetically unique population. Blood typing by the Genetics Department of the University of Kentucky has indicated that these horses are closely related to the old type European Spanish
horse.

As you explore the range, look for horses with unusual coloring which may correspond to their Spanish lineage, such as dun, grulla, blue roan and the rare sabino. Also watch for primitive markings such as a dorsal stripe down their back, wither stripes, and zebra stripes on their legs. These unusual features are considered typical of Spanish characteristics.

So, where did the horses come from? The origins are unclear, but a common belief is that the horses escaped from local Native American Indian herds and eventually found a safe haven in the Pryors. Like many wild horse populations, the Pryor horses live within family groups. As you travel throughout the Range, you may find over 25 family groups and assorted “bachelor” stallions. Most families (or harems) average 5-6 animals, with a dominant stallion, a lead mare, and a variety of other mares and young animals. Horses love to follow a good leader and the Pryor horses are no different. The Pryor stallions seem to make the daily decisions for the rest of the family group, but in other populations mares.


Click here to read more!