About The Refuge

In 2021 The Bureau of Land Management began to round up thousands of mustangs from one of Colorado's most iconic wild horse herds.  The Sand Wash Basin Herd.

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Of course, no one wanted to see these amazing creatures be disturbed in any way, let alone rounded up and shipped off to Canyon City, Colorado.  There, they would sit waiting for the day when they might have a chance to be free once more. 

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Unfortunately, for the vast majority of the captured horses, they would never again feel the wind in their face as they were destined to be moved from one corral to another - both at the hands of the government - and at the hands of limited space horse facilities or private citizens.

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Yet, for some, there was an opportunity to regain their freedom through the love and support of those who wanted to protect their wild spirit.  

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Thankfully, the 10,000-acre Wild Animal Refuge in southern Colorado had more than 8,000 acres of open space available for many of these horses to regain their freedom.  

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Although the Refuge helps rescued Lions, Tigers, Bears and other large carnivores, those animals live within large secure habitats.  With so many thousands of acres to run free on, the wild horses never see or interact with the carnivores.

The Wild Animal Refuge is an extension property of The Wild Animal Sanctuary. To learn more about this parent organization, please click here.