Feral Horses in Miller Creek

They trampled and killed my dog. These are very large wild animals that are in fact dangerous, and yes majestic and beautiful too. We need a common sense management plan that keeps them, us and our pets safe. Walking out my front door in the dark and having a 1000 lb animal "surprise" me is not safe for anyone. I've lived in my house in Miller Creek for 29 years and have been dealing with the horses this whole time. The gene pool is very small, I've seen dead horse carcasses in the mountains behind my house. Some of them die young, maybe due to genetic problems. These horses do suffer.

Please leave those beautiful horses alone! They aren’t hurting anyone. Everyone loves having them around.

I think we've been blessed with an incredibly unique gift. Yes, we need to find a way to manage them safely for all involved, but what a wonderful picture of life in Montana to have wild horses in the neighborhood. There aren't many kids in the US who have the oppportunity to grow up with wild horses visiting their homes. Street signs to remind everyone to watch out for them and other 'wildlife friendly' suggestions from wild horse management experts should be employed to allow us to keep this very special experience

I believe we should let the wild horses remain free. I have walked among them in the streets and park trail in the Maloney Ranch area and they are not the least bit aggressive. They go about eating or watching without much reaction to people. They are beautiful, majestic animals and we should appreciate their presence in our neighborhood.

Leave the horses be. Do not intervene. My daughter loved watching them roam and anyone that approaches them accepts the risk of approaching a large animal.

The great thing about living in Montana is that we have wildlife. Most Montanan's are raised to respect it from a reasonable distance. We look at the deer, fox, elk, and sometimes bears, from our front porches or through the window of our cars, but we have the sense not to walk up to them and try and pet them. Even our neighbors have horses, but we don't walk up to a strange horse without a fence between us and try to touch it. We also know, even if you own a horse and feed it everyday, there's a chance you could get kicked, so you don't hang out behind it. You respect that it's an animal.

Managing this small population of wild horses should be similar to how we manage deer. They seem to be happy to be around us and the majority of us are happy to see them whether we are driving to work, or see them eating our grass in the front yard.

It makes more sense to educate our out of state transplants not to try and touch the wildlife. We shouldn't try to set wildlife policy for the dumbest people in our population. Nor should we try to protect the wildlife like they are our pets. I read that a person was worried about a horse getting hit by a car, but that could happen to any person or animal at anytime. We don't remove the deer, or the people, so why remove the horses?

I'm in favor of a wait and see approach. Stick up a few wildlife crossing signs and wait until the herd is bigger. See if they move on, on their own. I've lived in the Miller Creek area for 20 years, and this is the first year they have been around this much. In prior years we only saw them a handful of times in the summer.

It wouldn't hurt to have the teachers take 10 minutes at the school to talk to the children about not walking up to wildlife, or any animal they don't know for that matter. I know they did that when we were kids. Maybe send a flyer home for the parents as well.

Please use a little common sense. Don't let the concerns from a few ruin it for everyone else.

We have owned our home in the Upper Miller Creek area for 18 years and never saw the wild horses until three years ago. The group of eight horses (five adults and three colts born this spring) walk through our yard about every two to three weeks.

Sometimes they just walk through, and other times they may munch on grass or lay down for a short while. When a colt laid down to rest, its momma always followed suit and laid down right next to her baby.

Three years ago, when they first appeared, the sound of us opening the door onto the deck would spook them and they’d run off. They are less skittish now, but we appreciate the fact that they are wild animals and don’t try to approach them. Rather, we just leave them alone, knowing that they’ll move on shortly.

The horses have done no damage to our property. I use their manure to fertilize my garden and share it with friends for the same purpose.
In my opinion, the deer pose a much larger problem than do the horses. They are over-populated and do destroy our plants, downspouts, and shrubs. In addition, they cross the streets so frequently as to pose a traffic concern. I haven’t counted the number of deer fatalities due to colliding with a motor vehicle on Upper Miller Creek Road, but in my opinion it is a significant issue.

I’m curious as to the size of the range in which the wild horses roam. It must spread to the Bitterroot River and/or Miller Creek, as they need a source of water. Two sources have told me that this small group of horses broke off from a larger herd of wild horses near the MPG Ranch. If that is the case, I imagine that they may roam away from our neighborhood in the near future, especially as the housing development continues to grow beyond the Linda Vista area.

My hope is that the horses are left alone and we all simply monitor their movement for the next year or two.

As a resident living on Miller Creek, I regularly drive the stretch of road where these horses can be found, often in low-light. I can say with confidence that these animals present no more risk to drivers than our local population of whitetail and mule deer, which I expect receive far fewer complaints. In fact, I find that the horses are much less dangerous than the deer, since they are generally calm and not prone to jumping into the road unexpectedly. The same is true for encounters on foot - leave wildlife be, and they'll leave you be. All told, I find the horses to be delightful neighbors.

As our community expands, and expand it will, we will encounter many challenges like these. Rather than sweeping wildlife aside, I advocate for our community's education and adaptation around this issue and other like it. For example, signage along the roadway, perhaps paired with more detailed signage at key foot-traffic spots like The Den, could help inform drivers and pedestrians of the collision risk. There is ample research on the benefits of various signage types, from bare-bones postings to light up warnings. Rumble strips at blind corners could help as well. What's more, finding ways to slow or increase caution amongst Miller Creek drivers would have the dual benefit of reducing dangerous collisions with other species like deer.

Finally, I raise the caveat that feral horses are not in fact native to this area, and their presence can in some circumstances present a problem for the ecosystem. I sincerely doubt that this is the case in Miller Creek, given the area's heavily disturbed nature and the fact that other ungulates are clearly thriving there. However, if they ever spread into places like MPG ranch and presented a threat to native grazers, then I might be in favor of a more drastic approach to population control. As it stands, I emphatically am not.

I’ve heard folks say that these horses could bring a disease to their horses, but that’s not a fact. If it was, these horses would not be in as good of health as they are.
Also, the article says children have been kicked, that’s exaggerated as it was only one. Although, one is too many, but let’s keep the facts straight as we’re not out fishing!

The horses are not the problem. The city and town were well aware of them before they began expanding the towns and city. When it comes to people being bitten or kicked, common sense should be applied to horses just like any other wild animals, DO NOT APPROACH DO NOT TOUCH. Parents need to be held responsible for the injuries to their kids should they be kicked or bitten for parental neglect due to not stopping their child from approaching a wild horse. As for car accidents, how many deer or other animals in the county have been struck by cars? This is a problem CREATED by humans that these and other wild animals are suffering for and from. 46 years horse experience, Equine Osteopath and Equine Therapist.

Leave them alone they’re beautiful animals and they’re not hurting no one. How can you put those poor animals through this? I’ll tell you what one thing for sure you’re not gonna have a very nice time if you hurt them animals like this you guys are all not telling the truth about what’s gonna happen to them. Horses are the most beautiful majestic animals in the world. They don’t need you to take care of them. They do a good job of taking care of themselves leave their families alone. Don’t separate the babies from the mamas. It’s murder. It’s just plain murder. What you’re doing to these poor animals they’ll get sold to auction for dog food or something who knows what!!!!

The horses are cherished part of our neighborhood. Would love “Watch for Wildlife” or “Watch for Horses” when entering miller creek, but otherwise please don’t disturb them.

Honestly, everyone I know wants something done about the deer population, not the horses.

Reach out to rescues. They have experience in rehoming lots of animals.

I'm a Missoula resident but not a Miller Creek resident. I sincerely believe the horses should either be rounded up and sold (to qualified buyer, not for slaughter) or relocated to BLM lands that already contain wild herds. They were abandoned by irresponsible people decades ago and as lovely as it might be to see horses grazing free in the fields, the area isn't an appropriate place for feral horses. They cause property damage and are hazardous to both themselves (traffic) and the residents of the area.

This seriously can’t be what our tax dollars are being used for!?!?!? Missoula has WAY bigger fish to fry than the wild horses. It’s extremely frustrating that this is even a thing. Go catch a glance at all the deer that look sick and litterally will hijack your groceries out your trunk before you can get them inside. It’s not like they are downtown one day and blocking traffic in reserve the next. They stay in the area that belongs to them.

Wild horses are much more pleasant than the mountain lions, bears, or transients. How about we focus on the real problems in this county such as the transients, traffic, alcohol, drugs, and lack of mental health.

I think you should leave the horses or find a way to create a preserve in which to raise a herd of them.

These horses have been here in Miller creek for as long as I can remember. The herd number has remained small and it has always been a treat to see them. This has NEVER been addressed before as they are not and were not bothering anyone. It seems as though the influx of wealthy disgruntled people has caused a small but loud uproar. The people who have had them around for years have not minded them at all. Instead of moving a harmless staple to the Miller creek neighborhood, Put some money into teaching the people to drive the speed limit and keep their eyes out of their phones. Stay away from wild animals, they do not wan’t you near them for a photo op and certainly don’t want you or your children touching them. Leave the horses alone.

Considering they are scared of vehicles and most people in general , maybe they came closer to civilization to have those 3 babies born this year !?! The other heard of boys stays far out miller creek by the river and acts the same. Either way they should be left alone. Don’t let your kids get close to enough to get kicked by a wild animal . Be smart!

Please leave them alone. I take pictures of wild horses when I am in Arizona. Here are a few things they do. They have signs posted that let people know they are in the area and to slow down. From what I can see and what I have heard there are people petting and feeding the horses which is not good. Post signs to not feed or pet the horses. You could do an education sessions to let people know what to do and not to do. Also, people should keep at least 50 feet away from them. Dogs need to be on a leash. You could create a volunteer group to be there when the horses are present to educate others on them. If you need more information please feel free to contact me at mtbluebird27@yahoo.com.