Paisley Desert HMA
Genetic analysis determined similarity with the Gaited North American breeds such as Morgan, Saddlebred, and Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse and also the New World Iberian breeds. The Paisley Desert HMA horses possess a wide variety of colors including solid colors of bay, brown and black as well as pinto, palomino and dun. Sizes of the horses range from 14 to 16 hands and between 900 and 1,300 pounds.
Location: Ten miles northeast of Paisley Oregon and fifteen miles southeast of Christmas Valley, Oregon.
Size: 271,667 acres
Topography/Vegetation: Sheeprock (elevation 5700 feet) and St. Patrick’s Mountain (elevation 5950 feet) are prominent topographic landmarks. The topography is best described as rocky, with a series of steep southeast to northwest trending rims. The area between rims is composed of wide swales and closed basin type lakebeds. Vegetation varies within the HMA. The majority of the area is covered with dense stands of shrubs. The most abundant are varieties of sagebrush including Wyoming big sagebrush, Basin big sagebrush and black sagebrush. Large pockets of rabbit brush, spiny hopsage, and greasewood are also found in the HMA. Grasses common to the area are bluebunch wheatgrass, Sandbergs bluegrass, Indian ricegrass and bottlebrush squirreltail.
Wildlife: Wildlife in the area includes bighorns sheep, antelope, mule deer and sage grouse along with a variety of common birds, mammal and reptiles associated with south eastern Oregon.
AML: 60-150
