Book a Tour
Explore the variety of tours available with Sonny Boys Tours. You’ll find something for every season of the year, and visitors of every age and interest level. All tours are 2 person minimum. Prices subject to change.
FOUR TOURS TO CHOOSE FROM
RANCH/SANCTUARY
Tour One Sanctuary Ranch — Phone reservations required 72 hours in advance.
Price: $Varies
3 Hours
PYRAMID LAKE
Tour Two – Pyramid Lake and the Paiute Reservation
Price: $127.00
4-1/2 Hours
TRUCKEE MEADOWS
Tour Three – Truckee Meadows Trail Price: Price: $82.00
2 Hours
VIRGINIA RANGE
Tour Four – Annie’s Virginia Range Mustangs.
Price: $97.00
3 Hours
TOUR ONE: Ranch/Sanctuary
In 1971, Federal legislation was passed that established the preservation of wild horses: “wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West…” The Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management or BLM became tasked with the job of managing the wild herds. Horses are routinely rounded up from public lands. The subject of managing the Mustangs comes under heated debate. Many horse enthusiasts have adopted Mustangs over the years, and most Mustangs are transformed into sociable, functional equine. Yet, many thousands of horses have not been adopted and are kept in long-term holding facilities.
Wild horse advocates believe the horses should remain on public lands. Other groups argue that horses left on the range would starve from lack of water and food to forage. The argument continues on whether or not to ‘let em run’ or to take them off public lands.
In the state of Nevada, wild horses that are not on public lands are classified as feral. Each year, the state Department of Agriculture removes wild horses when they are deemed a nuisance. Local caring ranch owners have opened their hearts and their land to make sure that the wild horses’ lives are not cut short.
TOUR TWO: Pyramid Lake & Paiute Reservation
Pyramid Lake is home to the Paiute tribe and they have lived on the land surrounding the lake for thousands of years. The Paiute, the Washoe, and the Shoshone tribes in the Great Basin region make up the Three Nations of Native Americans in Northern Nevada. One very special species of fish, the KuUi is only found at Pyramid Lake and is on the endangered species list.Taking in the sights of the lake includes observing the tufa formations, the infamous Pyramid and Stone Mother figure set the Lake apart from the ordinary. The two unique geological creations were formed over millions of years. They protrude from the water’s surface, and they transport one’s senses to somewhere else in time. Anaho Island is a spiritual place where the white pelican migrate to each year.
In 1843, expeditions lead by the French explorer, John C. Freemont and his scout Kit Carson traversed along the northwest region of Nevada with the goal of mapping out trails. They found the indigenous people to be friendly, peaceful and the Paiute extended hospitality to the explorers. By 1860, as more pioneers ventured west, the way of life for the Indians was jeopardized. The Kuyuidokado inhabited the area around the pre-historic lake until the European settlers began to desecrate their sources of food and land.
The U. S. Cavalry was deployed to ease tensions and protect white settlers from the ‘savage wild Indians’. The Paiute fought against the soldiers at the Pyramid Lake War to avenge the injustices done to them by white miners.
TOUR THREE: Truckee Meadows History Trail
The Virginia Range is an area of about 30 square miles located in Northern Nevada just East of Reno Nevada. The mountain range was infamous for the 1960’s Western TV series, Bonanza that featured the Cartwright family. Virginia City located near the center of the range, became famous from the gold and silver mining era known as ‘the Comstock Lode’. Early settlers and miners heading west followed the Truckee Meadows Trail to reach the dream of striking rich!
Life on the range is not easy. Horses rely on each other for emotional and physical support. They need to band together and form small herds, or family bands that are critical in the wild for existence.
You will observe the herd behavior and communication between them. Family bands seen on open ranges may have only two or three horses and some travel in groups of ten to twelve. A mare usually gives birth each year to a foal. The male colt at the age of two or three will be outcast by the lead stallion. Stallions typically fight with each other and compete with one another to protect their mares. The wild horse prevails and maintains the fortitude of their ancestors from centuries ago.
An emerging theory has evolved recently that suggests that wild horses were present in North America long before the Spanish arrived in the 15th and 16th centuries. The theory known as ‘the Pre-Columbian horse’ is in contradiction with the long-standing theory ingrained in our minds that domestic horses were ‘reintroduced’ to America. The established theory contends that native horses disappeared some 10,000 years ago. The notion describes how horses left the continent over the land bridge that existed between Alaska and Russia. And/or that native people, through predation, eradicated the animal.
However, unwritten accounts by indigenous peoples dispute the disappearance of wild horses. In fact, two breeds in particular, the appaloosa and the pinto, were not only prized for their distinctive colors but were selectively bred by Native American people. This radical notion will only be substantiated over time as fossils are unearthed that may reveal a very different history. At Pyramid Lake, fossils were found in 1990 that are estimated to be 25,000 years old. As new discoveries are made, the wild horse – the Mustang, may be formally recognized as an indigenous species to North America.
TOUR FOUR: Annie’s Virginia Range Mustangs
Wild horses have roamed the Virginia Range for an unknown number of years. During the 1860’s as thousands of immigrants converged on the area to search for gold, wild horses, or ‘Mustangs’ were seen along the landscape as they can be seen today. The word Mustang or Mustano’ was coined by the Spanish settlers more than two centuries earlier to describe the horses that escaped from their corrals or from Spanish Galleons that crashed along the coast lines of America.
After the ‘west was won’, many soldier horses that were European breeds of large stature were abandon and set free on the open range. Domesticated breeds mixed with the little Spanish horses and Indian ponies to produce a diverse variety of colors and sizes that you see in the wild horses today.
Velma Johnston of Reno Nevada, also known as “Wild Horse Annie”, lobbied to change what was certain extinction for the horse. Due to her efforts, the first law was passed in 1959 that prohibited the use of aircraft and autos in capturing wild horses and burros. Wild Horse Annie also spearheaded the Federal legislation was passed in 1971 that established the preservation of wild horses on public lands. The act of congress reads: quote “that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people…”