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Wild horses released in Owyhee County

Several hundred people came out to watch the release which occurred just south of Marsing.

MARSING, Idaho — The Bureau of Land Management released 14 wild horses into the Hardtrigger Herd Management Area just south of Marsing Wednesday.

The event was open to the public. About 300 people, some who traveled from Montana, Oregon and Washington, attended the release.

Video of the release shows the horses taking off into the hills as they are freed from the horse trailer into their former home range in the Owyhees.

"We were pleased to offer people this unique and special opportunity to watch this first group of wild horses return to the Hardtrigger this morning," said Boise District Manager Lara Douglas. "We recognize how important it is to manage healthy wild horses on healthy rangelands." 

These were some of the 279 horses that were rounded up after the Soda Fire scorched 436 square miles of grassland and rangeland in 2015. More than 80 horses were placed into private care through adoption.

The horses destined to return to the range were cared for at both the Boise Wild Horse Corrals and Bruneau Off-Range Corrals while the rangeland recovered from the burn.

By the end of the month, the BLM plans to release a total of 45 horses back into the wild.

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