DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Colorado residents will have the opportunity to adopt a wild horse or burro during an event hosted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The event will be held on Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. The 35 available horses came from the Piceance East Douglas Herd Management Area near Meeker, Colorado, while the 10 wild burros are from Arizona.
“Part of our job is to really manage those herds and manage the lands those herds live on,” said Katie Palubicki, a public affairs specialist with BLM Colorado. “Part of that is gathering up these horses and bringing them in for adoption to make sure their population numbers don't exceed the carrying capacity of the land.”
Healthy horse populations can double every four years, making population control a critical issue. If left unchecked, the horses can overwhelm their environment.
“If you don't manage them in some way, shape or form, they will take over the whole area,” said Cindy Day, public relations director for Piceance Mustangs, a nonprofit that promotes the livelihood of wild horses in the Piceance Basin. “Then, you end up with horses that don't have enough forage or don't have any water, and it's not any fun to look at horses that are starving and thirsting.”
The BLM utilizes a variety of methods to control horse populations, including bait traps, rangers on horseback, and helicopter gathers. Some wild horse advocates have expressed concerns about these roundup techniques, specifically the use of helicopters.
“In my opinion, they get too close to the horses with the helicopters,” said Teri Hall, an advisor to the wild horse advocacy group Wild Hearts Haven. “I take an issue with the way they round them up. The fact that the people in the helicopters are generally ranchers, so they're trying to clear these horses off of there so their livestock can eat. There’s a little bit of a conflict of interest there.”
“Everybody just wants good homes for these horses and wants the best life possible for these horses,” said Palubicki. “We at BLM are strong proponents of finding good homes for these horses and managing the lands appropriately. Helicopter gathers are one way we do it, and that’s actually been proven to be a very low-risk, low-stress situation for the horses.”
"A recent study published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science found that BLM's wild horse and burro gathers are considered much safer than similar gather operations, usually for scientific research projects of elk, deer, and caribou," Palubicki continued.
Advocates have pushed for alternative population control methods, including a technique known as fertility control darting, where darts containing birth control are shot into mares. The BLM has been implementing this type of population control since approximately 2004 and aims to reduce the frequency of roundups, which can be traumatic to horses.
BLM and wild horse advocate groups all agree that these animals up for adoption are just as wonderful and useful as domestic horses.
“They're great roping horses. They're great reining horses. They’re great ranching horses,” said Day. “Anything that you want to train a domestic horse to do, you can train a wild horse to do.”
“Some are just companion animals and just kind of pasture buddies out in people's backyards,” said Palubicki. “They're really whatever you're looking for.”
Viewing for the animals will begin Saturday at 8 a.m. The competitive bid will take place at 10:30 a.m., and the minimum bid is $125.
To qualify to adopt a wild horse, you must meet the following criteria:
- Applicants must be at least 18 years old with no record of animal abuse.
- Homes must have a minimum of 400 square feet of corral space per animal, with access to food, water, and shelter.
- The corral fence must meet these height requirements:
- Adult horses - 6 feet
- Yearlings - 5 feet
- Trailers must be stock-type and covered with swing gates and sturdy walls/floors.
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