(Sept. 29) -- Horse lovers will soon get a chance to own a living piece of western history. Thirty-five wild horses will be put up for auction and adoption in about two weeks. It will be the only event of its kind to be held in Nevada this year. This is unfortunate considering the thousands of healthy horses that are being held in government pens.
The 35 horses up for adoption aren't typical for such events. They were rounded up almost two years ago and have been living the easy life in government pens ever since, which means they are fatter, healthier, and tamer than most of the rough customers who come in off the range.
Billie Young, with the National Wild Horse Association, says, "They are extremely curious, very quiet minded, a really good bunch of horses. They are less flighty than a horse coming in off the range. They are looking for friends, looking for a bond."
The Oct. 10 adoption event will be the only live adoption in Nevada this year. And it's not because there's a shortage of horses -- far from it. The problem is money. Nevada is home to more than 60-percent of the nation's wild horses, but it gets less than 20-percent of the BLM's wild horse budget.
This means fewer gathers of horses and a tougher life for those left in the wild, where thousands starve, because of decimated ranges torched by the drought. Those horses that are gathered end up living in government pens for years.
Mark Morse, Nevada BLM horse coordinator, said, "We've got a lot of horses standing. We've got a lot of horses in the pipeline, and we're not doing a lot of adoptions, not to the level that we need. We can only gather so many horses if we have horses standing."
Despite their tough lives on the range, this bunch seems remarkably friendly. The animals are ready to go to good homes. It's the people who need to be pre-approved.
"It's really important to get out ahead of time and get them pre-approved so we will know how many are looking for a good horse," Billy Young said.
Mark Morse adds, "They're good looking horses with a good attitude and I think they're gonna go. But we're dealing with 33 horses when you've got 10,000 horses standing."
The national BLM knows the overall program isn't working. It's not good for horses, for people, or for the health of the range. A major overhaul may be in the works. In the meantime, horse lovers here at home can make a difference now.
The auction and adoption events are slated for Oct.9 & 10 in Henderson, but anyone interested in one of the horses needs to get started now. Even those who don't want to adopt a horse are invited to come out to see the animals. For more information, call the National Wild Horse Association at 515-5000.
Wild Horse Adotion Event: Sunday, Oct. 10
Where: Henderson Saddle Association, Boulder Highway at Sunset Road.
See photos of the wild horses up for adoption
