Feral Horses in Miller Creek
Missoula County is currently exploring options to address concerns around feral horses that roam between the Miller Creek area of Missoula and south into the Bitterroot Valley. This specific band of horses, believed to be descended from rodeo stock from a former ranch that existed in Miller Creek in the 1970s, have become increasingly present in densely populated residential areas over the last few years.
Residents have raised concerns about these horses related to public safety, spread of disease, their impact on area livestock, and increased habituation to people and human food sources. The County has also heard from residents who enjoy the feral horses' presence in their neighborhoods.
It is not clear under state law which agency, if any, has jurisdiction to manage feral horses in Montana. After discussing the issue with the Montana Department of Livestock, Missoula County convened the following agency representatives with subject matter expertise in land and livestock management, ecology and law enforcement:
- Dan Bugni, Lindsey Simon, Dustin Datisman, Jay Bodner, Tahnee Szymanski – Montana Department of Livestock
- Chuck Casper – MPG Ranch
- Natalie Sullivan – MSU Extension Office
- Randy Arnold – Missoula County Lands, Culture and Recreation
- Chris Lounsbury – Missoula County Commissioners’ Office
- Paul Pfau – Montana Highway Patrol
- Jeremiah Petersen – Missoula County Sheriff’s Office
- Bryce Christians – Missoula County Ecology and Extension
- Chet Crowser – Missoula County Office of Lands and Communities
- Bart Morris – Oxbow Cattle Co.
The group met in December and discussed the following considerations:
Background
Feral horses have been part of the Missoula County landscape for more than a century, with historical accounts dating back to the early 1900s. Private landowners have periodically conducted roundups of feral horses on their properties, The roundups most recently occurred in 1991, 2003, 2012 and 2023 (in the most recent roundup, the horses were sold to buyers interested in their rodeo stock lineage). Horses continue to remain in the area today, and a smaller band has moved closer to residential areas, raising new questions about safety and management.
- Horses require about 35 acres per head for sustainable grazing, based on the Animal Unit Month (AUM) standard.
- Development pressures are reducing available range.
- Populations can double every 4 to 5 years, and gestation lasts about 11 months.
- Several bands exist in the Miller Creek and surrounding areas, with some groups consistently in residential subdivisions.
Health Concerns
- Feral horses pose limited risk to other species, but domestic horses can be affected.
- Diseases of concern include equine herpes, influenza, equine infectious anemia, salmonella, pigeon fever and equine piroplasmosis (which can remain undetected for long periods).
- The spread of disease can impact the livelihood of landowners in the area who depend on domestic horses to conduct business.
- Vaccines exist for some diseases but are not fully preventative. There are also logistical considerations around how to contain and vaccinate the feral horses.
Public Safety
- A documented vehicle collision occurred in September 2025, resulting in the death of one of the feral stallions.
- Horses can weigh up to 1,500 lbs., creating significant hazards on roadways.
- Stallions may be aggressive and territorial, especially near homes.
- Horse bites are extremely strong — capable of crushing bone without breaking the skin.
- Dogs and horses do not mix well; protective instincts around foals increase risk to both animals.
Legal and Jurisdiction Considerations
- Horses are considered abandoned livestock, not wildlife. This differs from urban deer and other wildlife, which fall the authority under Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
- Jurisdiction primarily falls to private landowners, county and state entities, not federal. The horses primarily being on private property is the main complicating factor; if they were on public land, government agencies would have clearer jurisdiction.
- Relevant Montana Code Annotated sections:
- Abandoned Horses: MCA § 81-4-5
- Estray Horses: MCA § 81-4-6
- Herd Districts: MCA § 81-4-3
- Additional legal framework: Title 81, Livestock
Community Perspectives
- Many residents value the horses and want to see them documented and monitored.
- Others express concerns about safety, property damage, and disease transmission.
- Local agricultural producers worry about the spread of disease and other impacts on domestic horses and business operations.
This group will continue to explore potential options for managing the feral horses and provide staff with their recommendations.
The County will engage the public on any potential recommendations sometime in the next few months, which will include a public event highlighting the recommendations and providing residents with a chance to bring any questions or concerns to staff.
The county commissioners would then consider adopting the recommendations at one of their public meetings, which take place most Thursdays at 2 p.m. Information on future meetings will also be posted on this page.
Click the subscribe button to the right to receive updates on next steps when they are determined.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are the people in the advisory group being paid?
A: No, they are volunteering their time and expertise or are participating as part of their regular job duties.
Q: Are county staff meeting with individual residents for their input outside of the group with subject matter expertise?
A: No, staff have not met with individuals who are not part of the advisory group. Some individuals have provided public comment to the commissioners at public meetings, which take place regularly and are open to anyone.
Q: Aren't these horses protected under federal law?
A: No, the federal Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 does not apply to these horses. The band of Miller Creek horses, and the larger herd that roams between Upper Miller Creek and Florence, occupy a mix of private and state land. The 1971 Act only protects mustangs and burros on land owned by the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Equines protected under this federal law are relegated to federal herd management areas. Miller Creek and the Bitterroot/Sapphire region are not herd management areas. Free-roaming horses that are not part of these federal herds fall under the jurisdiction of state law.
Q: Can residents petition to have the horses removed?
A: Yes, there is a process to petition the commissioners under a state law first enacted in 1925: MCA 81-4-503. The commissioners have received no such petition. Missoula County’s goal is to avoid this scenario by exploring a proactive management plan.
Q: Why doesn’t the County do something about the urban deer in the area instead?
A: Deer are considered wildlife and fall under the jurisdiction of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Also, much of residential area impacted by urban deer is within Missoula city limits. The City of Missoula is in discussions with FWP about how to address chronic wasting disease and other concerns around urban deer.
Who's Listening
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Phone 406-258-3293
I believe the horses should be left alone. If anything, there should be protections put in place and the herd should be managed so the may do not continue to reproduce. I do not believe that these animals should be euthanized and that is absolutely cruel. If the decision is made to remove the horses, they should be rounded up and allow the public an opportunity to adopt them. I’d way rather see these horses protected than removed and euthanized.
The horses are at home here please leave them be. There is no sign of disease.
Leave them alone! The only thing that the county needs to improve on is having a vet on call if one of the horses gets injured or sick or needs help giving birthl
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I am Montana born and raised on a farm/ranch. Horses are livestock, formidable and sizeable animals that pose a danger to residential areas if untamed and roaming free. While I love to see a horse, and they are beautiful, they do not belong loose, wild, and in our yards and parks. They pose a danger to traffic, to local children, local dogs/pets, and they destroy our landscaping (mandated by our HOA, but indefensible against a grazing herd).
Feral livestock, untamable as adults, are a safety issue. As much as I hate the thought, they should be caught, and by necessity put down. If there are yearlings or foals, they might be domesticated by a dedicated and skilled horseman, if any were willing to take them.
It was a mistake from the beginning for these animals to be abandoned to a feral life. Their lives are harsh and full of danger. People might enjoy seeing them, but that little bit of pleasure overlooks the pitiable lives they are leading in the wild on their own without shelter or care and ignores the basic common sense that any rural community has.
Livestock on the loose is a problem.
To address our concerns about protecting feral horses, let's break down the relevant laws and potential approaches.
Montana law (MCA Title 81, Chapter 4, Part 5) regulates wild buffalo and wild horses, considering them wildlife. However, feral horses, descended from domesticated horses, might not be explicitly protected under current laws.
The federal Wild Horses and Burros Protection Act focuses on managing wild horses and burros on public lands, primarily applying to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service lands.
To strengthen protections for feral horses, consider advocating for legislative changes or clarifications that explicitly include feral horses under wildlife protection laws. This could involve:
- Defining feral horses as protected wildlife
- Establishing management plans for feral horse populations. What we our attempting to do now. Please get on board because there could be 5 landowners requesting a roundup or worse.
- Collaborating with wildlife agencies and advocacy groups
Consulting with local wildlife experts, attorneys, or advocacy groups familiar with Montana laws and feral horse management might provide more tailored guidance. There has got to be a win win solution. I don't want to loose these horses. I love these horses. It's so cold today and they are outside. They are tough no doubt. Everyone needs guidance and management at times in life even the wild/feral horses. I think the deer do far more damage to cars and land than the horses.
To address our concerns about protecting feral horses, let's break down the relevant laws and potential approaches.
Montana law (MCA Title 81, Chapter 4, Part 5) regulates wild buffalo and wild horses, considering them wildlife. However, feral horses, descended from domesticated horses, might not be explicitly protected under current laws.
The federal Wild Horses and Burros Protection Act focuses on managing wild horses and burros on public lands, primarily applying to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service lands.
To strengthen protections for feral horses, consider advocating for legislative changes or clarifications that explicitly include feral horses under wildlife protection laws. This could involve:
- Defining feral horses as protected wildlife
- Establishing management plans for feral horse populations. What we our attempting to do now. Please get on board because there could be 5 landowners requesting a roundup or worse.
- Collaborating with wildlife agencies and advocacy groups
Consulting with local wildlife experts, attorneys, or advocacy groups familiar with Montana laws and feral horse management might provide more tailored guidance. There has got to be a win win solution. I don't want to loose these horses. I love these horses. It's so cold today and they are outside. They are tough no doubt. Everyone needs guidance and management at times in life even the wild/feral horses. I think the deer are more destructive to land and cars than the horses.
The horses should be left to roam. They have a huge history there. Place signs for people to recognize them it would take nothing to do so. Why take away another part of Missoula natural history?
I recognize that horses are pretty and people enjoy seeing them. I am also familiar with the major ecological problems that uncontrolled and unmanaged feral horses continue to cause across the West. We don’t want to wait until we reach a tipping point in Missoula County. Feral horses have no natural predators and, if left unchecked, are harmful to native vegetation, native wildlife, and water quality. If their numbers are allowed to continue to escalate in the Miller Creek area, they will become a bigger problem that is even more difficult to address at a later date. I would be fine with removing them entirely, but I doubt that is politically attainable. I encourage you to work with the public and appropriate state and federal agencies to create and implement a management plan to reduce feral horse numbers to appropriate levels and to manage populations at that level. It’d allow local area residents to continue to enjoy seeing them, while keeping their numbers in line with what natural habitats can support. Thanks for your consideration and for your service on behalf of Missoula County.
I hope that the horses are left alone and allowed to wonder like they have since the 1970's. We have more of deer problem then a horse problem. It gives many people great joy to see them. Like any wild animal they should not be approached or fed. The man who totaled his truck hitting the gray horse on Upper Miller Creek had to be driving more than the posted speed limit of 35. Educate your kids on admiring from a distance and hopefully we can continue to enjoy them trotting through the neighborhood.
Please leave the horses alone
They are beautiful and majestic and belong in their native area
Not sure why the sudden up roar
We should be focused on the unhealthy deer in our neighborhood
I think that the feral horses up Miller Creek should be allowed to stay, and I think a concerted effort should be made to educate the public about their presence both through signage and public meetings. It wouldn't hurt to lower the speed on Upper and Lower Miller Creek roads to 30mph given the incredibly increased growth in this area.
Two opinions here:
1-Montana should be left alone. To be the “last best place,” it has to be left alone. People need to be educated that we are not going to change it to fit their needs/wants. The transplants need to change not Montana. Leave the wildlife along and assign someone to assist with the feral horses.
2-Second opinion-Since we have leaders that are dead set on destroying “the last best place” with their overactive money hungry appetites, all that is and was that made Montana a state that others longed to visit will be but a memory. If our towns become cities, we will no longer be special. We will be like everyone else. If that’s the direction we are going then round them up and take them to glue factory. You don’t care anyway.
I live in upper Miller Creek and thoroughly enjoy seeing the horses come through the neighborhood. We never approach them, always give them plenty of space, and do not feed or water them. We understand they are feral animals. If someone has been injured by one of these majestic animals, it is sure due to human ignorance. Yes, having a heard of horses clomp through your yard can do some damage, but it's typically minimal and easily repaired. The tons of deer that run through here leave more waste, do more damage to flower beds and gardens than the horses do. We've watched several colts be born into 2-3 herds of horses, observed them napping on our lawn, visiting tamed horses at the corral - They are beautiful! If anything were to be done, perhaps a well equipped and well trained person could somehow separate the colts from the herd and tame/train them for work or riding .....otherwise LEAVE THEM ALONE! They were here before any of these houses or people. If you want a perfectly manicured lawn and zero wildlife - move to a condo by the mall.
I’d like to see them left alone sure push them back out of your yard. Don’t feed her water them. They aren’t pets. Watch them from the Ridgeline and enjoy them like you would any other wildlife in Montana be respectful of them. So that we may enjoy them in the future. Keep your children a safe distance away as with any wildlife that your responsibility same with your dogs or any other pet. Drive slower so that you don’t encounter an accident with one and that goes for deer or elk or any other wildlife roaming in the area. It’s for your safety as well as theirs that I say that! You move to a state where we enjoy nature of all kinds, whether it be wildlife or land, nature hikes, or just looking at the mountains, sometimes taking a drive in them! It does seem like those new people that are moving here are hell-bent on destroying everything that is good about our area. They just want to develop and grow so that their greed gets fed. They have increased all that is bad in our area from traffic to housing cost to rent pricing application fees so much… But if only the mayor would actually protect the citizens of Missoula, maybe none of this would be even a question or a problem.
We love seeing the horses. They roam quietly through the neighborhoods.
The over population of deer cause a far greater community safety risk than a few horses in Miller Creek. The deer population has exploded over the past 30 years such that mountain lions are actively hunting in Missoula neighborhoods. Anyway, I do support having a volunteer horse management group in the community to fundraise for veterinary care, including neutering mares, and any other 'horse issues' that may arise. I do not support using city funds for their management.