About the 2024 Off-HMA Roundup
The 2024 Swasey roundup involved areas surrounding the Swasey Herd Management Area (HMA). These regions are not designated HMAs or Herd Areas, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) typically removes all horses outside of HMA boundaries.
Why are we posting about Swasey?
The Swasey HMA and Onaqui HMA are close to each other (within 30 miles; see “Herd Management Area Map”) and have no significant barriers between them. As a result, horses from the Onaqui HMA may migrate to the Swasey HMA and vice versa. This movement is natural, especially for young males and females establishing new groups, with males generally traveling further than females.
We track these wandering stallions using onsite observations and trail cameras, and their records are maintained in the “Off-HMA” section of the downloadable Onaqui Catalogue PDF. Legally, their location means they are neither Onaqui nor Swasey horses, despite their origin or inclusion in the catalogue.
Several bands within the Off-HMA catalogue were gathered 25 July 2024 (see “Flight Region Map). These include horses associated with stallions OQ280zS, OQ502bS, OQ284sS, OQ356zS, OQ566zS, and OQ579zS. They were sent directly to Axtell, a goverment contracted private holding facility, for processing.
Wild Horses of America Foundation matched animals to online databases to confirm their identity. This allowed us to produce a 2024 Gathered PDF that allows adopters to view information and high-quality wild photos of the horses.
Groups associated with OQ524sS and OQ527zS were not seen entering the trap and remain wild.
