Wild horse populations in the American West, Australia, and other regions are managed through a range of methods with significant welfare implications and contested ecological effects.
Wild horse management involves genuine welfare and ecological trade-offs with no easy answers. Helicopter roundups cause fractures, exhaustion, respiratory distress, and social disruption among horse bands. Long-term holding in corrals where horses live permanently represents a poor welfare outcome for animals evolved for open-range living. Fertility control through darted vaccine is less disruptive and increasingly supported by welfare advocates, though it requires ongoing effort and funding and does not address existing population surpluses.