Feral Horses in Miller Creek

I have a domestic horse, which is a mare (female) down in Miller Creek. I have a deep love for horses, but wild horses cause a huge threat. The stallion(s) have jumped my fence to get to my mare, as well as my mare jumping the fence to get to them. Stallions and mares are difficult to be around each other, not just for mating purposes. Stallions are very aggressive untrained, resulting in kicking, biting, and ultimately fighting which can lead to serious injury and sometimes death. In the interactions with my mare, she has been kicked and bit resulting in vet visits. Not even to mention the illness that these wild horses may carry due to them being unvaccinated to various diseases. The public that simply gets to enjoy the view of the horses, simply does not understand the true risk these horses hold to the community devoting their lives to their own horses. Although I don’t think these horses should be euthanized, it is very hard to accommodate horses and put the burden onto someone else. Ultimately, these horses should be removed and either taken to a trainer, a rescue, or somewhere they can be safely away from domesticated horses if left untouched.

I am strongly in favor of leaving the horses alone! Having grown up in Missoula, riding my own horse to many a Zumwalt rodeo and supporting mustang sanctuaries, these animals are wild and deserve to remoan wild. If population control is an issue, i remember BLM darting mares w birth control medications. Objections to the horses presence is typically driven by cattle interests. I recognize encroaching development starts to restrict the horses to residential lawns for grazing. But please leave wild alone!

I love the horses in Miller Creek where I live. The truck that got totaled was speeding. The horses are docile. They meander around. People are fools to approach any animal unless it's yours. Common sense. IF you want to address any "wildlife" or "feral" animals DO something about the deer population in Miller Creek!! One crash with a horse and hundreds if not thousands with deer! They kill small pets, destroy landscaping and the young bucks are territorial to say the least. Leave the horses alone....if there are too many horses then remove a few to keep the population stable. I see the deck is stacked with "agency representatives", hopefully some community members from the actual area show up...as usual the meetings are scheduled when regular working people can't show....

These horses, as beautiful as they are, are causing so much damage to properties. Breaking trees due to rubbing up against them, breaking sprinkler lines, putting large holes in yards, which can cause people to become injured, etc. I have also been informed that at least one, if not more of them, have what appears to be warts, and we do not know if those can be transferred to domestic animals/live stock. Since these horses cannot be monitored for health, who knows what can be going on with them and then transferred.
Coming around corners and not being able to see them in the road until you are right up on them is more dangerous than coming up on a deer. These horses can not only total a vehicle, but could cause death to humans. Adults and kids riding their bikes through the neighborhood and also not seeing them in time due to coming around a blind corner could cause death to humans.
People need to not put their own selfish wants (being able to see them and some, pet them) ahead of reality. Some people think this is just the cost of living where we live and it is just like the deer in the area. But in reality, these are much more of a risk to not only humans, but to other animals. I really hope something can be figured out and I wish I had the answer, but keeping them feral is not the answer.

Stop all this nonsense. We've all been over this before. There was over 2400 signatures on the petition about this that wanted the horses left alone. Why are you still bringing this up?

To the Missoula County Commissioners:

I live in Lower Miller Creek. The horses live in my backyard. They trample the trees and shrubs I just put in. They walk up onto my porch and knock my chairs around. They poop on my driveway. My daughter, my wife, and I love them anyway. Our families look forward to the photos and videos we share with them (which your online portal should support - media file uploads - it’s 2026 guys, get with the times).

That’s the comment. That’s the whole thing. The people in this neighborhood who actually live with these horses every day know exactly what they are and what they cost us, and most of us still want them here. So before this hearing turns into a referendum run by people who don’t live in the drainage, I want my voice on the record.

I’m not a casual observer on this. In 2017, I wrote my master’s thesis at the University of Montana, through the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, on how to assess the character of place in Montana communities. The work came directly out of the state’s 2007 Tourism and Recreation Charter, which committed Montana to sustaining and enhancing the character of the places its people call home. That commitment has never been seriously operationalized.

The core finding: the character of a place is made up of its built environment, its natural landscape, and its social fabric, and residents are remarkably clear about which specific features, if lost, would change who they are. Those features are what you monitor. Those features are what you protect.

The Miller Creek horses are one of those features. Your own background document confirms they have been part of this landscape since the early 1900s, with roundups in 1991, 2003, 2012, and 2023. That is not a nuisance population. That is a continuous, living piece of the our character that distinguishes this part of the county. Residents value them. Visitors notice them. They are part of why Miller Creek feels like Miller Creek and not a subdivision off an interstate exit.

Now - about the management concerns. I’m not going to pretend these horses are easy neighbors. They’re not. I have the receipts, in plant damage and porch furniture. The collision in September 2025 was serious. Disease risk to domestic horses is real. None of that is in dispute. What I think you already know, these are management problems with management answers: You can refine them over time. You cannot un-remove a herd.

What is in dispute is whether this county is willing to apply its own stated values consistently. We approved a church complex going up along the river in this same drainage. We approve subdivision after subdivision, pushing into the range that used to be open. Development pressure is shrinking the horses’ habitat - your own materials say so - and now we’re going to hold a hearing about whether the horses are the problem? The horses are not encroaching on the community. The community is encroaching on the horses. Be honest about which direction the pressure is actually running.

If the county is serious about the character-of-place language in the state’s own charter, the path forward is not removal. It is:

1. Formal documentation and monitoring of the existing bands — population, range, health.
2. Targeted public-safety mitigation in the corridors where collisions have occurred.
3. Voluntary coordination with private landowners on disease and damage concerns, with real resources behind it.
4. A clear, public commitment that removal is a last resort with defined criteria, not the default option whenever someone files a complaint.

The loudest voices against the horses are not the people whose driveways they actually walk across. I’m one of the people whose driveway they actually walk across, and I’m telling you: keep them. Manage the real problems. Don’t trade a century of this drainage’s character for a tidier neighborhood.

Thank you for opening this to comment. I am available to talk to any commissioner or staff member directly.

Evan T
Lower Miller Creek landowner

We've been over this already!!! Over 2200 people signed the petition to leave the horses alone. I think some people on this board are tone deaf. No need for any action on the horses.

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Good morning,
I live in upper Miller Creek and absolutely love the horses in our neighborhood.
Some thoughts regarding the management of the horses
1. Reduce the speed limit in the Miller Creek area
2. Come up with a management plan from the county.
Keep in mind the horses have been in our neighborhood long before the homes.
I personally have had the horses in my yard with no problems of any kind.
Again, I am in favor of managing them but keep them in our neighborhood
John G

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The horses deserve their own management initiative that allows them to stay where they are. We need basic management. We need disposal if one gets hit by a car. We need mercy euthanization if one gets its leg broken. We need trained intervention if a horse becomes territorial in an area where there are people or children. It's not that complicated. Almost everyone wants the horses to stay in Miller Creek.

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PLEASE.... Leave the horses alone. Residents should be greatful there horses and not the occasional grizzly we deal with in Clinton

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