CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — If you ever wished to gaze at a panorama of Western heritage from your living-room window, now could be your chance.
A classic image of the American West — wild horses stampeding across the landscape — has not only endured through the years but has multiplied past the point of range damage.
Through May 3, the U.S. government is seeking more private pastures for an overpopulation of wild horses.
Just keep in mind a few of the dozens of requirements for getting paid by the government to provide wild horses a home.
You need a lot of fenced-in land, enough to sustain anywhere from 200 to 5,000 healthy horses. Exactly how much land depends on pasture quality, but you can safely assume several hundred if not thousands of acres.
The pastured horses typically are left on their own with little human intervention. Still, they require continuous water and basic shelter from the elements, such as trees or a canyon; supplemental forage; and corrals for loading and unloading from trailers.
Participants in the private-pasture system must live in 14 Western and Midwestern states, from eastern Washington to the Texas Panhandle.