As 2026 dawns — the Year of the Fire Horse and the 55th Anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act — Wild Horse Education stands at a turning point where history, law, and active court battles converge. This is not just another year on the calendar; it is a year to confront decades of systemic failure and to forge a different future for wild horses and burros on their home ranges. The beginning of the lunar Year of the Fire Horse will also correspond with our founder’s birthday adding fuel to our resolve.

​A Fire Horse Year

The Fire Horse is a symbol of fierce resolve, independence, and uncompromising courage — traits that have defined every chapter of the fight to protect America’s wild herds. In 1971, that same spirit helped win passage of the Act declaring wild horses and burros “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West,” meant to be protected from capture, harassment, or death on the lands where they roam.​

Fifty-five years later, the promise of that law remains unfulfilled as agencies manage for convenience and industry, not for living, viable herds and healthy, shared public lands. The Fire Horse calls this out for what it is: historic injustice — and demands that it end.

​Our Resolution and Our Promise

In this anniversary year, our resolution is clear: turn legal precedent into lasting reform and undo patterns of mismanagement that have harmed wild horses and burros for generations. But this year, we are making more than a resolution; we are making a promise to be resolute — to hold our ground, to refuse to be worn down by delay or denial, and to keep pushing until the intent of the law is honored on the range.​

In 2026, Wild Horse Education resolves — and promises — to:

• Drive systemic change through active litigation at Stone Cabin/Saulsbury, the Pancake Complex, Carter Reservoir, Buckhorn, and Coppersmith — cases that can force the Bureau of Land Management to stop “managing by removal” and finally engage in real, science-based planning for viable, genetically sound herds.​

• End the era of empty paperwork and withheld Herd Management Area Plans (HMAPs) by using hard-won court orders to require transparent analysis of population numbers, boundaries, forage, water, and cumulative impacts before a single horse is taken from the range.​

• Expose the roots of historic injustice where wild horse habitat was cut to suit convenience and demand that agencies reckon with those decisions in law, not just in rhetoric. Historic injustice and prejudice also impacts how our wild ones are treated during and after capture… and real enforceable welfare rules created through a transparent and public process is long overdue. ​

• Defend genetically unique and vulnerable herds like Carter, Buckhorn, and Coppersmith from plans that would drive them toward “genetic bankruptcy” by crashing numbers to non-viable levels and layering on long-lasting fertility control.​

• Empower the public with access and truth, so the people who own these lands — and cherish these horses — can see what is happening, understand the stakes, and stand as full participants in every decision that shapes the range.​

Lawsuits That Can Rewrite the Future

These are not isolated cases; they are pressure points in a system that has sidelined wild horses and burros for decades. Our active cases in 2026 have the power to change how every herd is managed.​

• At Stone Cabin/Saulsbury, where the first roundup under the 1971 Act took place, ongoing litigation challenges the agency’s failures around planning and implementation, pressing for meaningful adherence to existing protections for this historic herd.​

• At the Pancake Complex, earlier legal wins exposed the consequences of delaying HMAPs and relying on outdated plans, and new filings demand clarity on population targets, management tools, and the true impacts of repeated removals.​

• In California’s Carter, Buckhorn, and Coppersmith herds, federal court action confronts plans that would shrink herds to non-viable numbers while ignoring questions about lost habitat, boundaries, and the legal requirement for truly viable herds.​

Each of these cases asks the courts to do what agencies have not done on their own: enforce the law as written, require real analysis, and put wild horses and burros back at the center of decisions about their own ranges.

​Answer The Call

Change does not come quietly. It comes when people refuse to accept that “this is just how it’s always been done” — when they demand that promises made in 1971 are finally honored on the ground.​

In 2026, Wild Horse Education’s resolution is to carry every spark — every court win, every document uncovered, every voice raised — into a sustained, unrelenting push for justice. And the promise is this: we will be resolute — unshaken by setbacks, unwavering in purpose, and unwilling to stop until wild horses and burros are truly protected where they live and belong.

With you by our side standing firm to protect and preserve our treasured herds… everything is possible.

Happy New Year.

There is still time to sign the letter to the Secretary of Interior to address the failures in the agency regarding welfare rules for wild horses and burros. Our investigation (and litigation) clearly demonstrates that for the last ten years the public, media and Congress have been lied to. No welfare standards were reviewed and formalized. Learn more HERE.

You can sign onto our letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum by clicking HERE.

Every mile we travel to cover roundups or assess a herd, every court case we bring, every win, every action we take is only possible because of you. Thank you for standing with us as we strive for justice, mercy and freedom.