Eight Saddle-Trained Wild Horses Available for Adoption From BLM During Competitive-Bid Event
Press release from BLM:
Eight saddle-trained wild horses will be available for adoption, Thursday, Nov. 19, in a virtual competitive-bid event starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Time via Zoom. The animals are offered by the Bureau of Land Management in coordination with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.
The wild horses available for adoption were trained by inmates in the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center wild horse training program in Elk Grove. The training program, established in 2013, provides opportunities for participating inmates to gain valuable professional and life skills while training wild horses for placement into good, private homes. The wild horses were gathered from overpopulated herds on western ranges as part of BLM’s mission to manage healthy horses on healthy public lands.
“This is a great opportunity to bring home a saddle-trained wild horse with a solid training foundation, thanks to our important partnership with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department,” said Karen Mouritsen, state director for the BLM in California. “These horses are ready to continue their training and to become valued members of horse-loving families.”
Prospective adopters must complete a BLM adoption application and have a BLM-issued bidder number to participate. To receive a bidder number, prospective adopters should download an application from BLM’s website, complete it electronically, and send by email to BLM California Wild Horse and Burro Program Manager Amy Dumas at [email protected]. The deadline to apply for a bidder number is Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 4 p.m. Adopters must meet the BLM’s adopter qualifications and provide facilities that meet BLM requirements. Details can be found at BLM.gov/whb.
Anyone interested can view the horses and get more information about each animal and the training program at www.blm.gov/cawildhorseadoption. Adopted wild horses must be picked up from the R3C training facility in Elk Grove on Dec. 12.
For more information, contact Dumas at 916-978-4678…
THE HORSES
Now for what you came here to see, the horses! They are presented below in alphabetical order with photos and videos. Enjoy!
Breeze
View all photos and videos of Breeze.
Breeze likes attention and loves to be petted. He will ask for it, too! He is a willing horse and needs an intermediate rider. He prefers the trail to the arena. He would excel at “out of arena” disciplines. He has been used to open gates, check mail, and general ranch work. If you are looking for a trail pal, he might be the one for you. Check out this handsome love bug!
Freezemark: 16187601
Color: Chestnut/sorrel
Height: 14.2
Age: 4
Gender: Gelding
Herd Management Area: Nevada Wild Horse Range, NevadaChallenger
View all photos and videos of Challenger.
Challenger has a great personality. Challenger has wonderful ground manners and is a calm guy. He is a nice mover. He rides well in the arena or on the trail. In a herd, he is low in the hierarchy, which is why he has some scratch marks on him. He will do everything well for you, but do not ask him to back out of the trailer. He prefers to walk out forward. He backs fine on the ground or under saddle. All the trainers have ridden him, even the new guys. He could make a nice first horse for an advanced beginner or intermediate rider. Check out this sweet little horse! (Please watch this guy’s videos. These photographs do not do him justice. We are photographically challenged–which is not his fault!)
Freezemark: 13990019
Color: Chestnut
Height: 14
Age: 7
Gender: Gelding
Herd Management Area: Spring Mountain Wild Horse Territory (USFS), NevadaColorado
View all photos and videos of Colorado.
Colorado is a wonderful guy and is a favorite around the ranch. He has been used to teach beginner riders. He is soft, supple, and aims to please. He is used for chores around the ranch. For example, they use him to check water tanks. He has also been in a 2-horse straight load trailer. He is easy to catch and is in the middle of the pack in the pasture. However, while he is fine with other geldings, do not put him out with mares. The guys are going to miss him. Their loss will be your gain!
Freezemark: 16187595
Color: Red Roan
Height: 14.1
Age: 4
Gender: Gelding
Herd Management Area: Nevada Wild Horse Range, NevadaDenali
View all photos and videos of Denali.
Denali is a wonderful, kind, loving, willing horse. He is quiet. He only has five months of ground and saddle training. He had lots of handling prior to his training due to an abscess on his belly that needed treatment. He is fully recovered with no issues from it. He has been good on the trail and in the arena. He is very smart and learns quickly. He is very responsive to soft cues and kindness. He would be good for an advanced beginner or intermediate rider. Check out this nice, sweet horse.
Freezemark: 15731290
Color: Bay
Height: 14.1
Age: 5
Gender: Gelding
Herd Management Area: Sulphur, UtahHunter
View all photos and videos of Hunter.
Hunter is a calm, level-headed horse. He needs an intermediate rider. He has a lovely lope and smooth transitions. They have not done much rope work (as in swinging a rope off him) with this horse and he has not yet sorted cows. He is a nice all-around horse. The trainers say he learns quickly and is a favorite on the ranch. He is ready to go to the next level of training. His lateral work under saddle is coming along nicely. Check out this handsome horse!
Freezemark: 16187551
Color: Dark bay
Height: 14.3
Age: 4
Gender: Gelding
Herd Management Area: Nevada Wild Horse Range, NevadaLegend
View all photos and videos of Legend.
Legend is a sensitive horse. He will look at things and may shy a little bit under saddle especially in the arena but he gets over it quickly once he sees whatever it is. He much prefers to be out of the arena. He also enjoys sorting. He is very supple and moves well off the leg. He is smooth with nice lead departures. He has been riding in a shanked snaffle or a Billy Allen with a roller. He is beginning to neck rein. He is an easy keeper. Legend is JP’s go-to horse at the moment. If you are an intermediate to experienced rider with a good seat, Legend will flourish with you.
Freezemark: 13187651
Color: Buckskin
Height: 14.3
Age: 7
Gender: Gelding
Herd Management Area: Nevada Wild Horse Range, NevadaLobo
View all photos and videos of Lobo.
Lobo is the horse JP used to teach the guys to ride bareback and the new guys how to ride. He has a lovely lope. He is really calm. He does not like being in large groups in the arena; he prefers to be in smaller groups or by himself when riding. In the pasture, he is in the middle of herd hierarchy. He might do well for an advanced beginner. He is less supple than some of the others in his class so may not do well with a very-beginner rider or a child.
Freezemark: 12187586
Color: Bay
Height: 14.1
Age: 8
Gender: Gelding
Herd Management Area: Nevada Wild Horse Range, NevadaShasta
View all photos and videos of Shasta.
Shasta has a great work ethic and a bit of energy. She is extremely willing and loves to please. She has helped to start other horses in the round pen and has a calm temperament. They use her to pony other horses. You can see she is an easy keeper but do not let that fool you! Walking for hours is not her preference; she would much prefer to trot. She has lovely gaits. She enjoys sorting the cows. Because she has a bit of “get up and go,” she would be a wonderful horse for an intermediate rider.
Freezemark: 15187136
Color: Red roan
Height: 14.1
Age: 5
Gender: Mare
Herd Management Area: Reveille, Nevada
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Ive seen how horses are “broken”. It aint pretty.
None of the wild horse options are.
Why not?? They are mustang. Im sure they would fit into someone’s life, into a better home. Where they are loved.
They had homes and family bands. They are not humanely “gathered” as BLM would like you to believe. These horses deserve to stay free. They all look pretty sad and dejected. There is nothing good about this. They have a different mindset than domestic horses, and when they act according to their nature – most will be sent to slaughter.
I do not disagree with you, however it is better and my way of thinking that at least take it a chance to live than just exterminated by the BLM which happens more often than not. If we want to stop things like the BLM gathering up the wild horses we need to think about how the ranchers petition the government to use all the land to feed the cattle that they are slaughtering to feed us. If we don’t eat red meat and steak and etc. we could cut down on with the BLM does but it is difficult for people to rearrange their dietary habits. It does make me sad to see these animals kidnapped from their land and taken away from their family bands but at least these horses get a chance hopefully will not end up going to slaughter. But I would like to To see that these horses remain free without intervention from the BLM
You don’t know a thing about how modern trainers work with their horses. [edit]
There was a movie out 18 months ago called “The Mustang” I believe. I saw it twice. Watch it…it’s about how the prisoners in Nevada train the mustangs. It shows how the horses help these guys AND how the guys actually DO help these horses by training them. It’s not bad at all. The prisons don’t let the prisoners BEAT the horses or abuse them. It’s a WIN/WIN situation there.
I was disappoint.. that movie was fiction.
But there are a couple documented on the subject.
It sounds like you’ve seen abusive trainers or didn’t understand the training methods you saw. If done correctly it is a very gentle process building trust and going at the horse’s pace, not some cruel wild bronc ride on a terrified horse. Adoption is a wonderful option for these animals. Our BLM burro is spoiled and totally bonded to our horse.
Yeah that’s the “cowboy” style not many agree with it, i believe in groundwork, teaching tricks, trailer work, property lunging, ect. To make training (aka breaking) a horse as simple with as little bucks and fits thrown as possible.
Really? How are they broken? What would you do different?
Have you personally seen how these horse’s were trained?
Please understand that “intermediate beginner” is not someone who has been on a horse a couple of times. “Good seat” means not falling off if the horse offers his own opinion about where he wants to go. And “sensitive” mean you best know how to communicate without offense. This is a fine opporunity for someone to get a good trail or endurance prospect but these horses only have a start on training and can easily be screwed up by an inexperience rider who knows less than he thinks he does.
What a wonderful program for the inmates.
It REALLY IS!!! We saw a movie called “The Mustang” which was in theaters for a short time maybe April 2019″ish.” Shows a Nevada prison working with the mustangs, how the horse helps the inmate and vice versa. Prisoners aren’t allowed to beat these horses. It was a great movie.
Mustangs are really good horses,I use to have to of them.easy keepers,tough strong hoofs. I miss mine so much. And these are saddle broke all ready wow. That was the hard part.
I agree. I now have one that came from out there. One of the best horses I have ever had. Strong ,tough. Trail ride all day if you want him to. Gentle , and yes a extremely easy keeper.
I had a good rancher friend that bought one and she was a real bitch (not her fault) but she had the best colts ever
Great program for the inmates!
Mustangs can be wonderful riding horses, they have seen a lot in their time out on the range, but that doesn’t mean they are good for beginners, and they are not desensitized to modern equipment and such.
If you understand horse physiology, you will have a great partner!
A protentially life-changing program for the horses and the prisoner-trainers. Very worthwhile.
Well at least someone is trying to make a better life for the horses,than them being crowded into little pens somewhere.
They’ve done a really nice job with these young horses. I’m impressed. It is obvious they have been treated well and gently as there is no evidence of fear.
Thank you to all who are involved. I’ve worked with and trained horses for 30 years. Including starting them to saddle and helping abused horses recover from their behavioral issues.
I hope that whomever does adopt these horses will continue with kind and loving ways to continue to advance them. Remember, these type of horses are very young in a lot of ways until they are 9 to 11 years old. I have 1 here with us.
Thank you again.
We should be allowed to be able to hand pick our horse right off the open range. And not have to have that ugly freeze brand on them but our own. The white freeze brand is an eye sore and it defaces the animal. I want to take pride of my horse. Might as well let us do that. They are the peoples horses and the Bureau of land management is already having a hard time getting people to get these horses.