Welcome to Travel Tuesday! We’re headed to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary today! Jaclyn and I seriously packed in a lotttt of adventures while we were in South Dakota…
Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary
Address: 12163 Highland Road, Hot Springs SD 57747
Hours: 9am – 5pm (Monday-Saturday)
The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary is a non-profit solely run by donations, sponsors and tours, and has been around since 1988 + is home to ~500 wild mustangs on 14k(!) acres of land.
Can you guess how much it costs just to buy enough hay to feed em’ all for a year? (500k-$1 billion. :O!!!)
The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary’s mission is to provide a safe place for unadoptable/unwanted wild horses to live. It also serves as a research area where they work on solving wild horse herd management!
Reservations are required for all tours! Self-guided tours are not permitted, so please be sure to book one before you go there! Overnight stays and photography tour packages are available as well!
We opted for the morning 2-hour tour (~$59 each)! They took us on a school bus all over the lands where we got to observe and come super close to several of their herds.
Other than wild horses, there are also a bunch of other wildlife, including…deer, elk, coyotes, mountain lions, hawks, turtles, bull snakes, garter snakes, rattlesnakes, mud swallows, prairie dogs, burrowing owls, and badgers! 
Back in the day, the US government was trying to lease out BLM lands to cattle ranchers. Each year, they had ~24 roundups to auction off horses in an effort to get rid of them. If they weren’t taken through an auction, they were sent to corrals where they were pretty much imprisoned for the rest of their lives. :[ 
The sanctuary has herds of American, Spanish, Curly + Choctaw Mustangs! You can choose a horse to sponsor. $100 covers basic needs for the year. If you choose to sponsor as a “Four Season Friend” ($400), you can get a free 2 hour tour and can name one of the horses.
(If you’ve ever watched Hidalgo, the first 15 minutes of the movie was filmed here in this sanctuary!)
Find out more about the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary!
- Have you ever been to an animal sanctuary?
- What was your favorite animal when you were growing up? Is it still the same now?
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Oh wow! What a beautiful place. I came across wild horses in Switzerland this year and I just found watching them to be so magical
Agreed! <3 I'd love to see the wild horses in Switzerland!! *-*
So pretty, the horses are mesmerizing!
They really are! <3
What beautiful creatures. I’ve definitely got to put this on my South Dakota bucket list. I’ve been fascinated by horses since I was a kid. I’m glad for the work these people do! 😊
Stephanie recently posted…Southern USA Road Trip : One Week Itinerary
I’m so glad for them too! Horses are such amazing animals! :]
That looks like awesome-I love horses! Such beautiful creatures. That is a lot of money on food- I couldn’t believe it!
I had no idea food was that expensive either! <3 animal sanctuaries and all that they do!!
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: February 2020
What an awesome initiative, its so cool that you got to visit these beautiful horses! I love the picture of the baby horse, so cute. I haven’t had alot of interaction with horses but I did visit an elephant sanctuary in northern Cambodia which was an amazing and educational experience. Anyways, thanks for sharing!
I haven’t had a chance to go to Cambodia yet but I’m definitely adding the elephant sanctuary to my list! <3
SO interesting! I visited Black hills in last fall and had no idea about the wild horse sanctuary there. Thanks for sharing! Will visit next time we visit South Dakota.
Totally understandable–they have so much to explore there! I’d love to go back someday! It’s so pretty there.
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: June 2022
I’ve been to the Black Hills many times, but I don’t think I knew about this place!
It was definitely an awesome find — there’s so much to do there though, it can be easy to miss!
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: June 2022
This looks like such an amazing place! I loveeee horses!!
Me too! Definitely one of my favorite animals! :]
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: June 2022
Horses are so majestic. I didn’t know they had tours like this. What a great place and what they are doing to keep these amazing wild creatures safe.
Agreed! It’s a wonderful cause! <3
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: June 2022
your pictures are beautiful! I can’t believe the pricetag of food and hay for these animals!
Thank you! It hurts to think about how expensive it is!! x_x
I love the sponsor a horse option, what a neat idea!
Agreed! :]
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: June 2022
I must add this place to my South Dakota list! Such a beautiful place doing incredibly important work!
Agreed! I hope you get to go sometime! :]
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: June 2022
These horses are so cute! I’ve only ever tried horse riding once and that’s probably 15 years ago! Horses are so cute but they also kind of terrify me haha!
Aww, I love them and really wish I could ride more, but so expensive, haha.
Farrah recently posted…Ultimate Coffee Date: June 2022
Blooming ‘eck that is a lot of money to feed these gorgeous horses! I guess they must munch on grass in the spring/summer, so do those costs most cover the wintertime when there is less to eat? Were you tempted to sponsor one of them?
It looks like a gorgeous area to explore anyway!
Josy A recently posted…Mount Fromme – Hikes Near Vancouver
haha, isn’t it?! :O I was absolutely tempted to sponsor them but sadly was kinda poor and between jobs at the time. I’d love to go back to hang out with them again. <3 I think spring/summer with the grass definitely help out kindasorta with the cost!