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Two years after the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to open a wild horse adoption facility in Central Oregon, early-stage work on the facility has begun and is expected to ramp up in the spring, although a timeline for the adoptions to occur remains uncertain.
The $3 million facility northwest of Prineville will serve as a weigh station for wild horses removed from the Big Summit herd in the Ochoco National Forest. Up to 35 horses can be kept at the facility at a time. Wild horse populations are found across the West but rarely in a national forest.
The Big Summit Wild Horse Territory , located 25 miles east of Prineville, contains the only wild horse population in the Pacific Northwest entirely managed by the Forest Service. The Forest Service says the size of the Big Summit herd is unsustainable and grazing damages sensitive riparian areas in the Ochoco National Forest. The heavily forested Big Summit area where they range includes numerous springs and creeks south of Walton Lake.
The herd numbers around 140 horses, according to the last official count conducted in 2018. The Forest Service has determined that 47 to 57 horses represents a more sustainable number for the local ecosystem. Once corralled, the horses will be taken to the adoption facility at Rimrock Springs, at the former field headquarters of the Crooked River National Grasslands, 18 miles northwest of Prineville.
HistoriCorps volunteers worked on the roof and siding of the former field headquarters of the Crooked River National Grasslands near Prineville so it can be used as a wild horse adoption center. Construction costs for the facility are estimated at $2.4 million.
Operational costs for care include $7 per day per horse for feed and $812 per horse for veterinary care and adoption preparation. A formal National Environmental Policy Act review process has been completed for the project. First stage, boots-on-the-ground work involves restoring the historic buildings at the site, some of them dating back to the 1930s.
HistoriCorps, a nonprofit organization that allows volunteers hands-on experience preserving historic structures on public lands, is facilitating the restoration work. The nonprofit conducted several work sessions this past summer and has more planned for spring. Isabella Isaksen, a spokesperson for the Ochoco National Forest, said HistoriCorps volunteers put up new siding and a new roof on the buildings.
The work has a dual purpose of restoring for historic preservation as well as for use as a wild horse adoption facility, she said. Isaksen said current plans are for the restoration work and other facilities to be finished in 2025. The corralling of horses and care for them at the facility will be ongoing until the herd size drops to 57 or less.
Plans include using fertility control on the herd to slow reproduction. HistoriCorps volunteers are helping restore the former field headquarters of the Crooked River National Grasslands near Prineville so it can be used as a wild horse adoption center. The facility will have pens, pastures, a well, security fencing and RV hookups for custodians living on-site.
It was determined that the site was appropriate for development because of its access to water and power, distance to the Big Summit area, and ease of access for the public. It will have space for 35 wild horses. Due to its relatively small size, Isaksen said the facility will likely only accommodate horses from the Big Summit herd, but there may be times when horses are sent from Murderer’s Creek Wild Horse Territory southwest of John Day.
This would only occur after the Big Summit herd population falls to the 47-57 range, she said. While the Forest Service works on getting the site ready for adoptions, there is no clear plan for gathering the horses . “One of the reasons the implementation of the gathering plan is temporarily paused is due to a lack of facility space in current adoption centers,” Isaksen said.
“There is no set date for moving forward with the wild horse management plan.” While their exact origin remains murky, horses in the Big Summit herd descended from horses let loose by their Central Oregon owners in the 1920s, the Forest Service. Thoroughbred stock may have been released in the area as well, according to the agency.
Members of a herd of wild horses graze in the Ochoco National Forest near Prineville in 2018. DNA research on the Big Summit herd suggests the horses have varied ancestry, with a discernible contribution from Iberian horses, especially Andalusian and Lusitano breeds. Significant inbreeding has been detected due to their isolation.
Having grown up in forests and under tough climatic conditions, the wild horses of the Ochoco National Forest are known for their stamina and rugged appearance. Tourists often travel to the area to catch a glimpse of these horses. The horse management plan, approved in 2021, has not been without controversy.
Groups advocating for the protection of wild horses say limiting their numbers will worsen their genetic makeup and will result in birth defects. In 2021, the Prineville-based Central Oregon Wild Horse Coalition took the Forest Service to court over the plans. The courts ultimately ruled in favor of the Forest Service.
Gayle Hunt, head of the coalition, said her group generally supports the concept of an adoption facility but is concerned not all viewpoints about wild horses will be represented to the public. “They may have a wild horse information center. But it’s going to be a wild horse disinformation center because we parted ways a long time ago on what is the truth about the wild horse situation,” she said.
“So of course we are opposed to that.” The Forest Service contends that its priorities are managing forest and grassland health, and uses science-based research to maintain balance in the ecosystems it manages. Hunt is also wary of the Forest Service’s ability to care for horses, especially in the wake of recent reports of abuse committed during Bureau of Land Management wild horse roundups.
“If you are not an absolute expert in horse care, you are not going to be able to recognize their essential needs,” said Hunt. “We are also really concerned about the welfare of the horses.” Isaksen said the new facility aligns with the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, which mandates humane treatment and responsible management of wild horses.
Water and feed will be provided on-site and veterinary services will be contracted out, she said. “The facility is designed with the welfare of horses in mind,” said Isaksen. “It will offer shelter, spacious enclosures and access to veterinary care to ensure each animal’s health.
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