Wild horses in North America live on islands off the Atlantic coast as well as in some U.S. states. Small populations of horses live on Sable Island (off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada), Assateague Island (off the coast of Maryland and Virginia), Shakleford Island (off the coast of North Carolina) and Cumberland Islands (off the coast of Georgia).

Wild horses also roam on 11 western states that include Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, California, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota and New Mexico.

For the most part, wild horses in the United States live on public lands. Those are lands that are owned by U.S. citizens and paid for by Americans’ tax dollars. Most public lands are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.