Wednesday, September 19, 2007

BLM to put horses up for adoption

30 wild horses to be auctioned at Hailey Rodeo Grounds


By TREVOR SCHUBERT
Express Staff Writer

Horses bound for the Wild Horse Adoption at the Hailey Rodeo Grounds on Friday and Saturday await transport in a corral near Boise. Photo courtesy of Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management will host a wild horse adoption at the Hailey Rodeo Grounds on Friday, Sept. 21 and Saturday, Sept. 22. The horses were gathered by BLM from the Black Mountain and Hardtrigger Herd Management areas in Owyhee County, south of Boise.

"All of the animals available for adoption come from Idaho's range lands," said Chris Robbins, wild horse and burrow specialist for the BLM. "A nice selection of animals in healthy condition is available for adoption to good homes."

The adoption will feature 30 horses, including seven weanlings (3 to 7 months old), 10 stud horses and 13 mares between 1 and 4 years old. Anyone interested in adoption needs to be pre-approved before they can bid on a horse. Applications can be filed and approved onsite.

The minimum bid to adopt a mustang is $125. The BLM also features the Adopt-a-Buddy program, which allows individuals to adopt a second horse for $25.

The featured clinician is Mario Johnson, an experienced trainer from Georgetown, Idaho. Johnson specializes in communicating and gaining respect between horse and owner and often offers free horse gentling demonstrations for the BLM throughout Idaho and Utah.

On Friday bidders will be offered a preview of the horses and view a gentling demonstration between 2 and 7 p.m. On Saturday additional preview and gentling will take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. with silent bidding from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Any animals not taken during the bidding process will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis through the end of Saturday.

"All animals available for adoption have received vaccinations for common equine conditions and diseases," Robbins said. "Adopters will receive complete health care records, as well as heard management and other equine information for their newly adopted animals."

To adopt wild horses, adopters must be 18 years old, have never been convicted of animal cruelty and have the proper facilities and transportation equipment. Animals must be transported the day they are adopted and no animal will be loaded into an unsafe trailer.

Since the passage of the Wild Horses and Burros Act of 1971, the BLM has been responsible for the protection and preservation of wild horses and burrows and for the management of healthy rangelands. When overpopulation of either species is found to exist, excess animals are removed and offered to the public for adoption.

For more information on the Wild Horses and Burro Program and for requirements for adoption, call 1-866-4mustangs or visit wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.




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