News&Events
Wild Horse & Burro Adoption and Expo
Heading to Belton, Texas, Oct. 22-25
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) will hold a wild horse and burro
adoption in Belton, Texas, Oct. 22-25. The
adoption is the centerpiece of the BLM’s
15th Annual Wild Horse & Burro Expo
being held this year at the Bell County Expo
Center. It’ll be four days of exciting enter-
tainment, competition and education, all
free and open to the public!
Besides the adoption opportunity, other
weekend highlights will include:
• A horse show featuring trained mus-
tangs and burros – along with their proud
adopters! A full slate of professionally
judged show classes is scheduled for Friday
and Saturday, Oct. 23-24;
• Gentling demonstrations by noted
horse trainer and mustang competitor Bill
Lopez of Norman, Okla. Lopez will pull
adoption-eligible wild horses out of the pens
and show what can be done with them in a
short period of time.
The adoption event will feature over 80
spectacular wild animals, including some
horses that have been saddle trained by in-
mates in a prison rehabilitation program in
Kansas. These are adult and yearling horses
and burros that once roamed free on public
lands in the West. The BLM periodically re-
moves excess animals from the range in
order to maintain healthy herds and to protect other
rangeland resources. The adoption program is essential
A horse show featuring trained mustangs
for achieving these important management goals. and burros – along with their proud
adopters will be held Friday and Saturday
Adoption Schedule
October 23-24! A full slate of profession-
Preview all of the animals Thursday, Oct. 22, from
ally judged show classes is scheduled.
noon – 6 p.m. Gates reopen Friday, Oct. 23, at 8 a.m.,
with adoptions starting at 10 a.m., and ending at 6 p.m.
Adoptions continue Saturday, Oct. 24, from 8 a.m. – 6 $500 Adoption Incentive
p.m., then again Sunday, Oct. 25, from 8 – 10 a.m. Belton will be a test site for a new adoption incentive
program in which BLM pays a $500 care-and-feeding al-
Adoption Qualifications lowance to adopters of selected older horses (4 years old
Application approval is required and can be done +). The allowance is paid in full after one year when
on site. To qualify to adopt, one must be at least 18 adopters receive official ownership title for their horse(s).
with no record of animal abuse. Adopters must have All standard adoption conditions and fees apply. A lim-
suitable facilities and can adopt up to four animals. All ited number of eligible horses will be available at the Bel-
animals must be loaded in covered stock-type trailers ton Expo. Younger horses (under 4 years old), burros, and
with swing gates and sturdy walls and floors. BLM trained animals are not eligible for this incentive. If suc-
staff will be on hand to assist adopters through the short cessful, this incentive program could save taxpayers hun-
application process. dreds of thousands of dollars in long-term pasturing costs.
Adoption Fees Wild horses and burros – iconic symbols of Amer-
The minimum adoption fee for most animals is ica’s western heritage – are renowned for their strength,
$125, as set by law. An auction will be held Friday at endurance, agility, and intelligence, characteristics bred
10 a.m. to determine adoption fees for any animals into them in the wild that make them ideal for work or
sought by more than one person. Animals not selected recreation. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than
during the auction Friday morning will be offered for 220,000 of these “living legends” in approved homes
adoption on a first-come-first-served basis for the flat across the country.
fee of $125 for the rest of the weekend (no further bid- For more information about the Belton Expo or the
ding). Those interested in bidding are encouraged to Wild Horse & Burro Adoption Program, call toll-free 866-
come Thursday afternoon or early Friday to identify 4-MUSTANGS or visit www.blm.gov/nm (follow Expo
their desired animals and to complete their adoption
links). w
applications in time.
44 SouthWest Horse Trader October 2009
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