The Wild Horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

As of November 2024, there are 196 wild horses that call the park home. Note: Birth order numbers have been added to each horse to help decipher the park’s roundup reports.

Three important things to know about the wild horse herd in Theodore Roosevelt National Park:

This is an older herd, as you can see by the photos below. There is a mare born in 1999 still living and roaming free in the Park.
TRNP performed a horrific roundup October 13-16, 2024. The initial intent was to hand inject ALL of the mares with GonaCon.
This herd has repeatedly been treated with GonaCon and the answer to the question on how much of a reproductive herd we actually have remains to be seen.

Learn About

The Eldest
of the Herd

The horses listed above that were born between 1998-2006. They are between the ages of 15-23 years of age. The sad reality is that within the next 5 years, we will say some sad goodbyes to most, if not all of these horses.

4 of these horses: Mare Winter, Stallion Cloud, Mare Blondie, and Mare Diamond have NO offspring of their own left in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

An additional 7 of these horses only have offspring because of Mother Nature: Covid, drought, wildfires, etc., that have held off the usual captures of the young horses from this herd. Those horses are: Stallion Brutus, Mare Little Gray, Stallion Coal, Stallion Georgia’s Boy, Mare Mist, Mare River and Mare Ember’s Girl.

1999 Mare Frosty/19909

2000 Mare Busy Blue/200010

2001 Mare Pale Lady/200107
currently in Stallion Xander’s band

2001 Mare Snip’s Gray/200123
currently in Stallion Chance’s band

2001 Mare Bella/200113
currently in Stallion Chance’s band

2003 Mare Pretty Girl/200326
currently in Stallion Applewood’s band

2002 Mare Shale/200221
currently in Stallion Georgia’s Boy’s band

**2004 Stallion Cloud**/**200413**
**former band stallion**

2004 Mare Winter/200406
currently in Stallion Xander’s band

2004 Mare Little Gray/200404
currently in Stallion Illinois band

2004 Stallion Brutus/200411
Former band stallion

2004 Mare Little Brother’s Girl/200409
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band

2005 Stallion Coal/200501
Former band stallion

2004 Mare Freckles/200405
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band

2004 Mare Rosie/200417
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band

2005 Mare Mist/200521
currently in Stallion Chance’s band

2005 Stallion Georgia’s Boy/20518
currently a band stallion

2005 Mare Sundance/200515
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band

2005 Mare Spotted Blue/200510
currently in Stallion Xander’s band

2005 Mare Blondie/200519
currently in Stallion Grady’s band

2006 Mare Betty Blue/200618
currently in Stallion Frontier’s Band

2006 Mare Daisy/200608
currently in Stallion Trooper’s band

2006 Mare Dolly/200620
currently in Stallion Anzar’s band

2006 Mare Domino/200619
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s Band

2006 Mare Diamond/200615
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band

2006 Mare Escape/200603
currently in Stallion Chance’s band

2006 Mare Raven/200606
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band

2006 Mare Ember’s Girl/200614
currently in Stallion Remington’s band

2006 Mare Ruby/200601
currently in Stallion Teton’s band

2006 Mare River/200613
currently in Stallion Chance’s band

Wild Horses of TRNP born between 2007 and 2013

The individuals listed are those remaining in the Park after the 2013 roundup.

2007 Mare Blue/200713
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band

2007 Mare Cedar/200715
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band

2007 Mare Crow/200706
currently in Stallion Flash’s band

2007 Mare Firefly/200714
currently in Stallion Frontier’s band

2007 Mare Maddie/200710
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

2007 Mare Maggie/200701
currently in Stallion Amantes’s band

2007 Mare Sapphire/200709
currently in Arrowhead’s band

2007 Mare Smokey/200719
currently in Stallion Frontier’s band

2007 Mare Autumn/200718
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band

2007 Mare Angel/200707
currently in Stallion Xander’s band

2009 Mare Goblin/200941
currently in Stallion Teton’s band

2009 Mare Punkin/200940
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band

2010 Mare Cowgirl/201021
Currently in Stallion Chance’s band

2010 Stallion Half Moon/201014
currently a band stallion

2010 Mare Lakota/201033
currently in Stallion Remington’s band

2010 Mare Maiden/201001
currently in Stallion Chance’s band

2010 Stallion Ollie Jr./201037
currently a band stallion

2010 Mare Papoose/201015
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band

2010 Mare Teepee/201013
currently in Stallion Teton’s band

2010 Stallion Teton/201034
currently a band stallion

2010 Mare Whiskey/201036
currently in Stallion Georgia’s Boy’s band

2010 Mare Cassie/201035
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

2010 Stallion Arrowhead/201008
currently a band stallion

2011 Mare Indian Paint Brush/201105
currently in Stallion Teton’s band

2011 Mare Juniper/201117
currently in Stallion Trooper’s band

2011 Mare Sumac/201106
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band

2011 Stallion Wild Rye/201125
Former band stallion

2011 Stallion Flax/201108
currently a band stallion

2011 Mare Esprit/201101
currently in Stallion Trooper’s Band

2012 Stallion Frontier/201232
currently a band stallion

2013 Mare Eagle/201349
currently in Stallion Remington’s band

2013 Mare Dawn/201341
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

2013 Stallion Trooper /201344
Current a band stallion

2013 Mare Mischief/201345
currently in Stallion Flax’s band

2013 Mare Justice/201310
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band

2013 Mare Democracy/201343
currently in Stallion Remington’s band

2013 Mare Faith/201342
currently in Stallion Trooper’s band

Meet the Biggest Group:
The Wild Horses of TRNP Born in 2014

What you should know about this time period in The Park.

The last big round up in TRNP happened in 2013. Around that time, TRNP also got a new wildlife biologist (Blake McCann) who has since incorporated the low stress captures and the irresponsible use of GonaCon being used today as well as targeting all the young horses for removal.

2014 Mare Penny/201409
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

2014 Mare Grace/201407
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band

2014 Mare Velvet/201418
currently in Stallion Arrowhead’s band

2014 Stallion Xander/201424
currently a band stallion

2014 Mare Skipper/201432
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

2014 Stallion Flash/201421
currently a band stallion

2014 Mare Dixie/201404
currently in Stallion Amantes’s band

2014 Mare Emmylou/201405
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band

2014 Mare Eclipse/201411
currently in Stallion Half Moon’s band

2014 Mare Quinn/201417
currently in Stallion Grady’s band

2014 Stallion Yoakum/201425
currently a bachelor stallion

2014 Stallion Maverick/201413
currently a band stallion

2014 Stallion Remington/201431
currently a band stallion

2014 Mare Opal/201415
currently in Stallion Remington’s band

2014 Mare Lorena/201412
currently in Stallion Wild Rye’s band

2014 Mare Kat/201437
currently in Stallion Anzar’s band

2014 Stallion Gunner/201419
currently a band stallion

2014 Mare Paige/201427
currently in Stallion Grady’s band

2014 Stallion Nicols/201414
currently a band stallion

2014 Mare Valentina/201423
currently in Stallion Chance’s band

2014 Mare Taylor/201420
currently in Stallion Xander’s band

2014 Mare Paisley/201416
currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

2014 Mare June/201410
currently in Stallion Teton’s band

2014 Mare Holly/201408
currently in Stallion Georgia’s Boy’s band

Grady

The only horse born in 2015 still roaming free in TRNP.

In 2014, there were no horses captured in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. That changed in 2015. Every horse born in 2015 was eventually captured and sold, with the exception of one horse – Stallion Grady. Grady was able to avoid capture because his band’s territory was deep in the center of TRNP. The terrain of the badlands tends to get more rugged as you venture off the main road. This makes it hard for the capture team to maneuver through that terrain to capture horses.

2015 Stallion Grady/201522
currently a band stallion

Wild Horses Born in TRNP in 2016

A sad year of capture, removal, and sale.

What you need to know about 2016

In 2016, there were 46 live births in TRNP.
Sadly, 4 of those babies did not survive.
Of the 42 horses that thrived that year, only the following 3 were not captured and sold and remain in TRNP today. The 3 that were left, the same as Grady, remained because the terrain in the area where their bands were in was too rough to attempt their capture.

2016 Mare Minnie/201610
Currently in Stallion Flash’s band

2016 Mare Patches/201644

currently in Stallion Cagney’s band

2016 Stallion Illinois/201623
currently a band stallion

A History-Changing Discovery

2017 Foals Prove Ancient North American Ancestry

Of the 30 foals born in 2017, only 2 were not captured and sold. This is why.

Learn More Here

In 2017, because of the results of mitochondrial DNA research, two fillies born in 2017 were spared from being captured and auctioned off like the rest of their 2017 counterparts : 2017 Filly Perdita (Pretty Girl x Red Face) and 2017 Filly Aurora (Dawn x Brutus).

The mitochondrial DNA research on these TRNP horses show that they share female ancestry with Asian, middle East, and Italian horse DNA. That sequence follows the migration patterns of humans and animals.

This proves that the starting point for horses is and will always be the North American continent and that proof is right here within the DNA of these two beautiful mares that currently still call TRNP home.

2017 Mare Perdita/201702
currently in Stallion Gunner’s band

2017 Mare Aurora/201713
Currently in Stallion Maverick’s band

2018 Foals

TRNP welcomed 28 new foals in 2018. Sadly 8 foals “failed to thrive”. Of the 20 foals that did thrive, only 2 remain in the park today: Mare Patience and Stallion Cagney. Patience and Cagney were part of the same band as Grady was in 2015. The rugged terrain and the location of the band is the only reason that these two were not captured and sold like the rest of the 2018 babies.

2018 Mare Patience/201807
currently in Stallion Flax’s band

2018 Stallion Cagney/201813
currently a band stallion

2019 Foals

36 babies were born in 2019. Sadly 10 “failed to thrive”. In the fall of 2019, 9 babies, age 4 months to 6 months old, were captured and sold. Because of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and the extreme drought conditions in 2021, no other 2019 babies have been removed – YET. There are still 16 “babies” from 2019 currently living in TRNP.

2019 Mare Antice/201925

2019 Stallion Applewood/201929

2019 Filly Ardena/201933
currently in Stallion Ollie Jr’s band

2019 Stallion Arey/201935

2020

The Foals Born During COVID

Get the Details

In 2020, there were 42 new foals born into the TRNP herd. Sadly 7 of those foals “failed to thrive”. There were no round ups in 2020 due to COVID but in the spring of 2021, 4 horses between the ages of 8 months and 1 year old were captured and sold. Because of the extreme drought conditions in 2021, no other 2020 babies have been removed – YET. There are still 29 2020 “babies” currently living in TRNP.

2020 Mare Bayou/202012

2020 Mare Bea/202014

2020 Mare Berkleigh/202023

2020 Mare Bluegrass/202033

2020 Colt Blazo/202030

2020 Mare Bluff/202034

2020 Mare Jewel/202035

2020 Mare Lil Mo/202042

2020 Mare Misty Blue/202007

The “Babies” of 2021

2021 has brought 26 new foals to the TRNP herd. Sadly, 4 of those 26 “failed to thrive”. In March of 2022 TRNP announced their plans to start a new management planning process. No captures happened during the 2 years they worked on planning process.

2021 Mare Satine202112

2021 Colt Cadet/202114

2021 Filly Dominique/202115

2021 Colt Cody/202116

2021 Mare Poppy/202117

2021 Colt Flyer/202118

2021 Colt Sterling/202119

2021 Colt Winchester/202121

2021 Mare Starlet/202123

2021Mare Tess/202122

2021 Mare Blossom/202124

2021 Mare Gidget/202125

2021 Stallion Ryely/202126

Fifteen Foals Born to TRNP in 2022

Sadly, 5 of those 15 “failed to thrive”.

2022 Colt Titan/202201

2022 Filly Sienna/202202

2022 Stallion Creed/202203

2022 Filly Phoenix/202204

2022 Filly Serendipity/202205

2022 Colt Moon Shadow/202208

2022 Colt Kodiak/220209

2022 Colt Noble/220210

2022 Filly Dreamer/202214

2022 Filly Summer/202215

The Foals of 2023

2023 17 foals were born to the TRNP herd. 3 “failed to thrive”, Aspen died after the October 2024 rounup, Filly Piper has been missing since early October and was not brought in during the roundup. – 12 remain in the park.