America's Wild Horses: The Missing Outcome
A Systems Review of Federal Management, Training, Placement and Accountability
The questions this report addresses
The Bureau of Land Management states that the goal of its Wild Horse and Burro Program is to “manage healthy wild horses and burros on healthy public rangelands.”
This report asks a simple systems question:
Does the program, as it operates today, adequately support that goal?
The evidence suggests it does not. Critical systems connecting policy, management, placement and accountability are antiquated, broken or missing.
The program records removals, holding, adoptions, sales and transfers. What it cannot consistently demonstrate is what happens to horses after they leave federal custody.
These questions are at the center of America’s Wild Horses: The Missing Outcome.
Why this report?
My interest in America’s wild horses began long before this report.
As a child in Angels Camp, California, I spent nearly every free moment around horses. One year, friends who participated in Nevada wild horse roundups offered me a young black-and-white mustang. My family could not take him, but I never forgot that horse—or what I came to think of as a debt to America’s wild horses.
The recent New York Times investigation into the slaughter of wild horses was painful to read. I was deeply disturbed and wanted to understand what was happening. As I worked through the data, policies, and reports, patterns began to emerge. I could see where systems were broken, where controls ended too soon, and where incentives worked against the intended purpose.
At that point, the research became more than an inquiry into the treatment of wild horses. It became a systems study and a call to action.
About the author
Maryle Malloy’s professional background spans both management and marketing, with experience in organizational systems, business and brand strategy, veterinary practice management, creative direction, and servant leadership.
Her lifelong involvement with horses includes breeding and owning American Quarter Horses, exhibiting Quarter Horses, Morgans and Thoroughbreds, decades of experience within the equine and veterinary communities, and a stint as the Interim Executive Director of a national horse registry.
That combination of management, marketing, systems thinking and firsthand equine experience informs the perspective brought to her research and report, America’s Wild Horses: The Missing Outcome.
Help move this conversation forward
If you believe the questions raised in this report deserve attention, please share it with your local, state and federal representatives and with others who may be able to help strengthen the systems responsible for America’s wild horses.