Todd Loewen

Feral horses are part of Alberta's heritage. They share the landscape with wildlife, livestock, recreation, forestry, and other land uses.

That shared use matters. As horse populations grow, so does the pressure they place on grasslands, forage, and habitat. Thoughtful management isn't about removing horses from the landscape. It's about keeping horse populations healthy and in balance with the land they depend on.

Every person who lives in Alberta has an effect on the landscape. Your existence displaces wildlife and alters habitat. Because of that effect, we, as stewards of the land are responsible for managing those effects to the best of our knowledge and abilities.

Alberta's science-based approach uses population monitoring, research, fertility control, and responsible adoption programs, developed with input from Indigenous communities, horse advocates, conservation organizations, and academic experts.

When feral horse populations are well managed, the horses themselves benefit. The same as the other species that are on the landscape. Sustainable numbers on a landscape that can actually support them long-term.

Good management isn't a threat to feral horses. It's what makes their future on Alberta's public lands possible.

Check out this group I saw near Four Mile Creek!

The pronghorn is one of Alberta's most iconic prairie animals, built for speed and survival across the sweeping grasslands of the south. Capable of reaching speeds up to 90km/h, it holds the title of fastest land animal in North America, a fitting crown for a creature shaped by the wide open spaces of the Canadian prairies.

What makes the pronghorn truly remarkable is not speed alone but the combination of raw agility and exceptional eyesight, allowing it to spot predators from kilometers away long before danger gets close.

Recognizable by its tan coat, white belly, throat, and jaw, the pronghorn is a natural fit for the rolling foothills and open range country that exist in southern Alberta. Out on the prairie, with nothing but big sky and short grass in every direction, the pronghorn thrives, trusting its senses and speed over cover and concealment.

For anyone lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one bolting across a back road south of Calgary, it is one of those unmistakably Alberta moments.