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Keep Her Wild

@keepherwild_us

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For people who recognize themselves in wild things.
Wild horses. Public lands. The fight to stay free.
Our herd is growing. 🐎 Join us.

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16,000 of you. Wild. 🐎

Whether you found us through a mustang video, a public lands headline, or a story about a woman history forgot, you’re here now. And we wanted to take a second to properly introduce ourselves, and ask: what brought you here? What do you want to see more of? More mustang stories, more civic actions, more horsegirl content, more stories of wild women?

Tell us in the comments, or better yet, take our quick survey (link in bio) and help us build what’s next. You can also comment ‘survey’ and we’ll send a link to your DMs.

This is your herd too. Thanks for being here. 🖤

#keepherwild #wildhorses #publiclands #horsegirl #rewilding Bold yellow "KEEP HER WILD" text over a dark, wind-whipped silhouette of a horse's mane and head against a dusky sky, with a small running-horse icon and the subhead "A Quick Introduction" beneath. by @keepherwild_us

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2 months ago

Yesterday, The New York Times published an investigation into how the Bureau of Land Management quietly strips mustangs of their protections and clears their path to slaughter.

The government spends upwards of $3,000 to capture and process a single mustang, then sells that same horse for as little as $25. A slaughter plant will pay up to $750 for it, which is exactly the kind of markup that keeps buyers coming back. But the bigger incentive isn’t on the buyer’s side. Long-term care adds up fast, and the government estimated it saved roughly $56 million by not having to keep caring for the 3,700 horses it sold last year. Cheap and convenient for the bureau. Devastating for the horses who’ve become the collateral in a broken system.

A heartfelt thank you to Clare Staples at @skydogsanctuary and the team at @freewildhorses, who’ve been working tirelessly alongside the NYT to gather evidence and shed light on this shady process unfolding on our public lands.

Humane, cost-effective management options exist. Fertility control, better range management, actual investment in adoption, all of it is on the table and none of it requires a single horse to end up on a truck bound for slaughter. Instead, the system built to protect these horses is profiting off their suffering.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Go to the link in our bio and sign a letter demanding that your representative push the House Agriculture Committee to bring the SAFE Act to the floor, and end this cruel pipeline to slaughter.

#keepherwild #wildhorses #safeact #publiclands #horsegirl Four wild mustangs move across a dusky, golden hillside at dusk, one dark mane blowing sideways in the wind. Bold cream serif headline reads 'Under Trump, Protected Wild Horses Are Going to Slaughter,' credited to The New York Times in amber type above. Subhead explains a legal loophole lets the government sell mustangs cheap, stripping their protections. A small amber running-horse icon sits below the text, framed by a thick amber border. by @keepherwild_us

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2 months ago

One of the best horsemen in the Wild West was a Black Seminole woman, and history almost let us forget her name.

Meet Johanna July. Born around 1860 into a community that resisted enslavement before escaping to Mexico, she later settled in the borderlands of Texas near Eagle Pass.

Historically, horse training was brutal. Rope it, throw hobble it, force the saddle on. It worked, but it left the horse controlled through fear, not willing through trust.

Johanna invented a better way. She’d lead a horse straight into the Rio Grande and swim alongside it. Just the two of them, equally vulnerable. By the time they reached the shore again, they were partners.

When her father died, she took over his horse-training work and made it her own. Word spread, and she became known throughout the borderlands for her unique way with horses.

Her story barely survived. She was interviewed in 1937 as part of the Federal Writers’ Project, and her story was recorded in her own words. It’s one of the only records we have of her.

History left a lot of teachers out of the textbook. Let’s not make the same mistake. Black voices are still underrepresented in the equestrian world. In honor of Juneteenth, go follow these accounts and learn from some living legacies:

@nanakakyiri
@urbancowgirl510
@iamzoienoelle
@theunpopularblack
@blkinthesaddle
@theconcretecowgirl
@comptoncowboys

Correction: The cover photograph used appears to be Alice Willie Osceola, photographed in 1917. It’s frequently mislabeled online to represent Johanna July. The only verified historical photo of Johanna July is the 1937 WPA portrait of her later in life, which is housed in the Library of Congress. We appreciate those who pointed out this historical accuracy!

Who are we missing? Add them in the comments 👇

Follow for more stories of wildness, freedom, and the women who fight to protect both.

📸 Library of Congress, University of Southern California Vintage colorized portrait of a young Black Seminole woman with dark hair swept back and bangs framing her face, wearing a beaded shell earring and a striped woven collar, gazing directly at the camera with quiet, untamed confidence against a muted olive backdrop. Bold gold text reads "One of the best horsemen in the Wild West was a Black Seminole woman. Meet Johanna July." by @keepherwild_us

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4 months ago

Long before modern boundaries were drawn, this land was already loved, nurtured, and protected.

This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and every day, we honor living sovereignty and the inherent right of Tribal Nations to govern their lands, waters, and futures.

📍Know Whose Land You’re On: Head over to native-land.ca to learn about the Indigenous territories you live on.

🎙️ Amplify Indigenous Voices: Follow, support, and learn directly from Native creators, activists, authors, and artists:

@indigenouswildhorse
@indigenous_justice
@earth_daughters
@Indigenousintentions
@britkoch
@Bmorinstories
@sacredlandfilmproject
@robinwallkimmerer
@rebeccanagle
@quannah.rose
@autumn.peltier
@byellowtail

Together, let’s honor history, respect Tribal sovereignty, and protect the wild for future generations to come.

#IndigenousPeoplesDay #NativeLand #keepherwild #publiclands #indigenouspeoplesday2026 by @keepherwild_us

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a day ago

Big Bend National Park just got a big win, and public pressure made it happen!!

A federal judge paused border wall construction across the entire Big Bend region, the national park included. The fight was led by locals and backed by months of loud, bipartisan opposition. Turns out this corner of Texas does not tame easily.

It’s temporary for now, but tonight we celebrate a win. Happy Friday y’all. by @keepherwild_us

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11 days ago

This past Saturday was National Public Lands Day. A time to appreciate the wild, open spaces that belong to all of us. But this year has proved that preservation is never guaranteed, and keeping public lands in public hands requires our active participation.
Swipe through to see what is happening across some of our most iconic public lands. 🌲🏜️🌊

Big Bend is home to dramatic desert canyons, ancient cultural sites, and unmatched stargazing skies along the Rio Grande.

On August 6, heavy machinery broke ground near Santa Elena Canyon to begin border barrier construction. 11 days later, construction inside the park was paused following public outcry, and it remains on hold through September 30. That moment proved how much our collective voice matters, but border wall construction is already moving forward just outside the park. Public pressure held them off once, and keeping up the fight is critical to keeping our wild places protected.

Follow @nobigbendwall for updates and more info on how you can help.

Spanning millions of acres of old-growth temperate rainforest, the Tongass is one of North America’s greatest natural carbon sinks and a haven for coastal wildlife.

For more than two decades, National Forests have been at the center of ongoing battles over logging protections. Right now, the USDA has formally proposed rescinding the Roadless Rule, which would open roughly 9 million acres of the Tongass’s intact, roadless forest to industrial logging and roadbuilding. The U.S. Forest Service is accepting public comments on this proposed change through October 6.

Head to the link in our bio to speak out before the window closes because public feedback can change the course of these decisions.

The Sand Wash Basin HMA is home to one of America’s most beloved wild horse herds. It was home of Picasso, the pinto stallion who lived and died wild and became one of the most famous mustangs in America.

This month, the BLM began a scheduled “gather,” rounding up these iconic horses by helicopter despite Colorado’s governor asking for a pause.

Go to our bio to sign a letter urging your representative to support the SAFE act ensuring these horses are protected from sla by @keepherwild_us

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15 days ago

The Roadless Rule has protected 44.7 million acres of our National Forests for 25 years. Now the Forest Service wants to scrap it, arguing that fewer roads means more fire risk.

Cute theory, but the facts say otherwise. The rule already allows fuel-reduction projects, thinning, and emergency access for fire safety. Millions of acres of fuel treatments have happened under this rule. And wildfires are actually 4x more likely to start near roads, not in roadless land.

Swipe through for the facts, the myths, the numbers, and who’s quietly bankrolling the opposition. (Spoiler: it’s not the hikers.) We even wrote up tips on how to draft an effective public comment so that your voice is taken into account.

You have until October 6 to tell the Forest Service to leave it alone. Link in bio, or comment “Roadless” and we’ll DM you the link.

📸 Daniel Dancer/Hard Rain Picture Library

#keepherwild #publiclands #roadlessrule #nationalforest #nationalforests by @keepherwild_us

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20 days ago

Reintegrating. Do not disturb.

#keepherwild #publicland #horseofinstagram #horsegirl #equestrianlifestyle by @keepherwild_us

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25 days ago

Wild horses in America have been federally protected since 1959. They technically still are, but loopholes in the law are sending them to slaughterhouses abroad. To make matters worse, there’s a far more nefarious plan for their future, and it’s laid out in Chapter 16 of Project 2025. 🚨

The Interior Department has been steadily moving federal land management away from conservation and toward profit by way of energy production and livestock grazing. We’re watching that happen in real time by the push to repeal the Roadless Rule, and the downsizing of National Monuments like Grand Staircase and Bear’s Ears by 90%.

This push also impacts the way the department will manage wild horse populations. Within that chapter, Project 2025 discusses various ways of managing herd populations. But there is one sentence that should cause alarm. “Congress must make a law permitting the BLM to dispose humanely of these animals.”

Disposal can only mean one thing, slaughter.

So what can we do about this?

The midterm election is less than 2 months away. Let your congressperson know that if they want your vote, they have to support legislation that protect wild horses well into the future.

Start by sending a letter that demands that we put an end to these loopholes once and for all. Go to the link in our bio or comment “LETTER” and we’ll DM you the link. 📩 by @keepherwild_us

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a month ago

As author and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams wrote, defending what you love is an act of devotion.

If you care about wild horses, open landscapes, and preserving public lands for future generations, take one critical step today: make sure you are registered to vote.

As many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans are not registered, and turnout for midterm elections often hovers around 40%. We can change those numbers.

Our wild horses and public lands cannot speak at the ballot box, but you can. Celebrate National Voter Registration Day by spending two minutes to check your status by visiting vote.gov 🗳️✨

#nationalvoterregistrationday #keepherwild #wildhorses #publiclands #vote by @keepherwild_us

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a month ago

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a month ago

Gloria Steinem’s legacy proved that a woman doesn’t have to choose between roots and wings.

It’s been a week of losing people who built the ground we stand on. Gloria Steinem’s death also deserves pause.

In My Life on the Road, she wrote: “Living things have evolved as travelers. Even migrating birds know that nature doesn’t demand a choice between nesting and flight.”

She’s calling our pull toward freedom instinctual. Steinem’s whole point was that the “settle down or stay wild” choice women are handed was a myth we were told to believe.

Ninety-two years of nesting and flying, on her own terms, on her own timeline.

So if you’ve ever felt guilty for wanting both, home and horizon, don’t. It’s just what living things do.

Thank you, Gloria. Fly on.

#keepherwild #wildwomen #gloriasteinem #feminist by @keepherwild_us

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a month ago