Whether a herd of rare curly-haired mustangs will continue to run free in the vast expanses of southwest Wyoming is being decided within the confines of a federal courtroom in Denver.
Attorneys this week presented their arguments to a three-judge panel in the 10th Circuit Court, regarding whether the Bureau of Land Management can proceed with plans to round up the entire Salt Wells Creek mustang herd.
That herd is thought to include several hundred horses, about 100 of which are of the unusual curly-haired variety.
That’s the largest known population of “curlies” in the country, mustang advocate Carol Walker told Cowboy State Daily.
The BLM also plans to round up mustangs from the Divide Basin herd. And about half of the mustangs are slated to be removed from a herd near Adobe Town, one of Wyoming’s most remote and picturesque areas.
Walker is among the plaintiffs that filed a lawsuit against the BLM in 10th Circuit Court, calling for the cancelation of the roundups.
BLM Says Mustangs Are Invading Private Land
In the desert regions near Rock Springs, there are thought to be about 4,800 mustangs, BLM spokesman Micky Fisher told Cowboy State Daily during an interview in December 2024.
The BLM plans to whittle the herds down through roundups over the next three years, he said. There’s concern over the mustangs becoming overpopulated and degrading the desert habitat.
Particular herds, such as the Salt Wells Creek mustangs, will be zeroed out — or entirely rounded up — because they inhabit “checkerboard” areas, he said.
Those are areas where square BLM parcels are intermixed in a checkerboard pattern with private parcels, he said. There’s concern about the mustangs spending too much time on private land.
Fisher declined to give further comment on Wednesday because the matter was still pending in court.
A federal court will decide whether a herd of rare curly-haired mustangs will be rounded up and removed from southwest Wyoming. (Courtesy Carol Walker) 
Stallions Bubba and Scarface have curly manes, a rare characteristic found among the Salt Wells Creek mustang herd near Rock Springs. (Courtesy Carol Walker) 
A rare horse with a curly coat and mane. (Getty Images) 
Bubba was a legendary curly-maned stallion that was part of the Salt Wells Creek herd near Rock Springs. (Courtesy Carol Walker) 
The Salt Wells Creek mustang herd near Rock Springs is only one of two herds in Wyoming known to have horses with curly coats. (Courtesy Buller) 
A mustang called Julian, part of the Salt Wells Creek herd near Rock Springs, grows a rare curly coat during the winter. (Courtesy Carol Walker) 
Two of a herd of horses with curly coats and manes. (Mark J. Barrett via Alamy)
Attorneys Argue For Roundups
A Justice Department attorney representing the BLM argued on Tuesday that the agency has latitude to determine if habitat is suitable for mustangs, according to court records.
Leaving the horses in the areas in question would require staff to go out and push them off private land almost constantly, attorney Ezekiel Peterson argued to the panel of judges.
Danielle Bettencourt, attorney for the Rock Springs Grazing Association, also sided with the BLM, according to court records.
Landowners may ask for mustangs to be removed from their property under a provision of Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, Bettencourt argued.
If the roundups go forward, the horses will be taken to BLM holding facilities in Rock Springs and Wheatland, where many of them will be put up for adoption.
‘Inconvenient’ Mustangs
Walker said the plaintiffs are arguing that the BLM’s claims don’t hold up.
The agency was put in charge of managing mustang herds under the 1971 act. And rounding up an entire herd just because some stray on to private land isn’t sound management, the plaintiffs argue.
“You can’t just decide that because it’s inconvenient to manage them, you then just remove all of them,” Walker said.
She added that she couldn’t guess which way the judges might rule. But she and other mustang advocates hope the court rules in their favor, before the roundups start in July.
Curly Hair Remains A Mystery
The Salt Wells Creek mustangs and nearby White Mountain mustangs are the only Wyoming herds known to have curly-haired horses.
It’s not known for certain why these two remote Wyoming mustang herds include curly-haired horses, Walker said.
There are some domestic horse breeds in Europe that have that feature. But a genetic link between the European horses and the Wyoming mustangs remains disputed, she said.
Removing the Salt Wells Creek mustangs would mean the loss of a rare and hugely popular attraction, Walker said.
“Salt Wells Creek is one of the most beloved horse herds in Wyoming. People come from all over the world to see them,” she said.
She also questioned the need to thin the herd near Adobe Town, because it already suffered heavy losses during the brutal winter of 2022-2023.
Tens of thousands of deer, antelope and elk starved or froze to death that winter in central and southwest Wyoming, as well as in northwest Colorado.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
